You only live once: 13 travel experiences that will change you

This article is part of Traveller’s Holiday Guide to Adventure & Outdoors.See all stories.

“Life’s not a dress rehearsal”. “Carpe Diem”. “You only live once”. There are many motivational proverbs about living life to the max, and nowhere are they more relevant than in the realm of travel.

From splashing out on exotic holidays to seeking out little pleasures on your doorstep, to taking on serious challenges such as high-altitude trekking, embracing life through travel is all about those experiences that you will replay in your mind’s eye years later.

They may not feature the most spectacular destinations, or they may even have cost nothing. But these are the travel experiences that change you and maybe even those around you, the ones that still bring a smile to your face.

In this extract from Lonely Planet’s new book, You Only Live Once, find inspiration for discovering your own ways to seize the travel day.

With adventures to fill an hour, day, week, month or year – or as long as you choose, these ideas are starting points, perhaps to reignite long-forgotten desires, such as learning a craft or language, or to spark new and unexpected ambitions.

Maybe the only thing that’s stopping you is you. Oh, and, of course, it goes without saying that it’s up to you to carefully assess and consider the risks inherent in some of the activities featured below.

Feel the freedom of a freefall

Adrenaline rush: a skydiver jumps from a plane.Credit: Getty Images

What compels a person to jump out of a perfectly serviceable aircraft and fall to Earth at 193 kilometres an hour? Skydivers give conflicting answers: it’s the adrenaline rush and the sense of peace; it’s the freedom and the responsibility. Find out for yourself by making a jump; most nations have a parachuting association that accredits schools. But why just jump when you can jump with a view? Some of the most scenic places on the planet, including Mount Everest, offer the opportunity to freefall into their magnificence. Skydive Franz Josef & Fox Glacier promises New Zealand’s highest mountain at 3724 metres, Aoraki/Mount Cook, and biggest glaciers Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers to your right with the wide blue ocean to your left as you participate in New Zealand’s highest skydive from an altitude of 20,000 feet (6096 metres) with an 85-second freefall. Terrifying? Maybe. But the company is one of only a few government safety approved skydive operators and upholds stringent health and safety practices.
Skydive Franz Josef & Fox Glacier, 69 Cron Street, Franz Josef /Waiau, New Zealand. See skydive.co.nz

Fly like the wind

From dreams about flight to wacky winged apparatus, humans have long been gripped by the yearning to fly. There were centuries of failed flying machines behind us before we finally cracked the code. There’s now a multitude of mid-air modes of transport, but the most bird-like experience is paragliding. Tighten your helmet’s chinstrap, secure your harness, take a running leap, and, yes, do look down. Paragliding in the Pokhara Valley at the foot of Nepal’s Annapurna Himalayan range places you at eye level with a true pantheon of giants. Valley wind currents will send you to lofty heights where you can admire conical Hiunchuli (6441 metres); Annapurna (8091 metres); and Machhapuchhre (6993 metres), a sacred peak that has never (legally) been climbed. After soaring with the vultures, land by the indigo expanse of Phewa Lake to come full circle with an inverted view of Machhapuchhre, reflected in the lake’s glassy surface.
Various operators launch from Sarangkot, 30 minutes from Pokhara. Mid-mornings March–May and September–November have the best weather. See ntv.gov.np

Take a shower to end all showers

Rainbow Falls in Kerikeri, New Zealand. Credit: Getty Images

Splashing alfresco beneath the spray of a rippling waterfall makes you feel revived and alive. Of course, you can’t just jump into any old waterfall. That plummeting power can create dangerous currents, froth and tumult; and some plunge pools are full of gnarly rocks. But pick the right pool – perhaps a small stream-trickled mountain lake or a hidden gushing gorge (clothing optional) – and there’s no finer nor more fun way to wash. Starting from Kerikeri Basin in New Zealand’s Northland, trek between kauri and totara trees, past Wharepuke Falls and the Fairy Pools, towards the tumbling sounds of the 27-metre Rainbow Falls or Waianiwaniwa (Waters of the Rainbow). Reaching this gorgeous gush, you’ll notice how the single drop tumbles over volcanic basalt into a perfect plunge pool. Even on dull days you can catch a rainbow glinting in the fall’s spray.
The waterfall sits along the 10-minute Rainbow Falls Walk. Kerikeri is 240 kilometres north of Auckland. See newzealand.com

Savour the sounds of silence

From mornings of Zoom meetings to evenings scrolling TikTok, we spend most of our days talking or listening. What if we could just turn down the volume to zero, and not just for a few minutes? That’s what silent retreats are all about. An increasingly popular type of getaway, they force us to make space for quiet. Though this can be uncomfortable at first, the benefits are many: reduced stress, better sleep and a greater understanding of who we really are – minus the noise. Dhamma Sikhara Dharamsala India is deep in the Dhauladhar Range of the Western Himalayas. This is one of India’s many Vipassana retreats, all funded by donation only. The 10-day retreat here is no spa experience: Vipassana is a difficult, even gruelling practice of sitting in silence and stillness with discomfort until our minds learn to observe and accept without judgment. The gorgeous setting, in a high-altitude cedar forest, is one of few luxuries: expect dorm-like rooms and basic vegetarian food.
The centre is two kilometres outside McLeod Ganj, reachable by foot or auto-rickshaw. Dharamsala’s airport has flights to and from Delhi. See dhamma.org

Dive in to a new world

A turtle diving back to the reef in a shallow lagoon on Lady Elliot Island.Credit: Shutterstock

Sure, man-made pools are great for swimming laps or cooling off during a scorching summer. But make it a life goal to swim with fish – or sea turtles, or rays, or sharks – in an ocean, lake or river. Unlike in tiled pools, this swimming is full of surprises. You may spot a dolphin breaching. You may hear the crick-crack sound of a loggerhead snacking on coral. You may feel the tickle of minnows nibbling your toes. Think “Great Barrier Reef’” and many of us imagine scuba diving. But at Lady Elliot Island, the southernmost of the reef’s coral cays off the northern Queensland coast, you don’t need to go deep to see green sea turtles, manta rays, speckled carpet sharks and sherbet-coloured parrotfish. This ecotourism destination is a snorkelling fairyland, with a family-friendly shallow lagoon on the eastern side, and a deeper coral garden to the west. From June to October, migrating humpback whales pass by, filling the water with eerie whale song.
The island has a small eco-resort and welcomes day visits with the airstrip receiving flights from several mainland Queensland cities. Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort, Lady Elliot Island, Queensland. See ladyelliot.com.au

Experience the ultimate chill-out

The Forty Foot, Sandycove, Dun Laoighre, Dublin, Ireland.Credit: Getty Images

It’s the electrifying, all-body inhale after plunging yourself into velvety, icy depths that seals the deal – cold water is as addictive as it is daunting. From invigorating dunks to restorative wild swimming, it’s not just the many health benefits that make cold-water experiences so beguiling. There’s a meditation in the process, in meeting yourself in the water as the initial shockwaves flow into endorphins – indeed, this is such a known adage that cold-water swimming devotees will probably have told you so before you’ve even asked. A hearty face full of the fresh salty spray of the Forty Foot, at the tip of Sandycove’s Dublin Bay - where the water temperature never exceeds 15 degrees Celsius and is usually way below that mark - is all you’ll need to be enticed into the waters of this rugged promontory. A men-only swim spot until 1974, dedicated locals and cold-water pilgrims alike adorn this speck of coastline year-round to sample its renowned charms. The traditional Christmas Day swim has an added atmosphere of festivity and community that’ll truly warm the heart – if not the extremities.
Forty Foot is a short train ride from Dublin City centre, a 20-minute walk from Dun Laoghaire or a five-minute walk from Dalkey. See Ireland.com

Get way, way off the beaten track

Humans have long been walking for health, pleasure, problem-solving and connection with the land and each other. Science has proven what we knew instinctively: walking sets thoughts free and brings people together; it’s good for the brain, body and community. And our feet can carry us where cars can’t. So take the scenic route with a long-distance hike, and you’ll likely discover a clearer mind and killer views – not to mention new friends – along the way. Get way – way – off the beaten path in one of Europe’s most culturally diverse regions by walking the multi-country Transcaucasian Trail. Intrepid, self-sufficient hikers can become part of history by tackling the relatively new Transcaucasian (TCT), a growing network of trails (covering 3000 kilometres) that cross the Caucasus Mountains, touches on Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan and more than 20 national parks and protected areas – plus ancient monasteries, wineries, alpine meadows and more.
TCT hikes in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan range from four to 10 days. Or be one of the first to thru-hike Armenia (25–45 days). See transcaucasiantrail.org

Research a research expedition

Take a journey of discovery – scientific discovery – by joining a research expedition to a far-flung corner of the world. You don’t need a PhD, just enthusiasm and the willingness to take samples, label containers or sit by a computer entering info. Why simply hike when you could also be logging data about endangered trees? Why just snorkel when you could also be taking coral samples to track reef health? Bring your curiosity and sense of adventure, and both you and the world will benefit. Australia is home to six out of the seven species of sea turtle, and local communities rely on volunteers to monitor and protect the animals during nesting season. At Western Australia’s Ningaloo Reef, volunteers wake at dawn to walk the beaches in search of eggs and ward off predators like foxes. You might be asked to camp on a remote beach to monitor nesting sites, or to join in a turtle rescue. Cool off with a dip in the vodka-clear Indian Ocean – then do it all over again.
The turtles come to nest on the beaches of Ningaloo Reef between November and March. See ningalooturtles.org.au

Go skinny dipping

Atalviuinti: Skinny dipping the Finnish way. Credit: Alamy

Skinny dipping is one of life’s great freedoms: a spontaneous collision of giddy excitement and the right environment. Quick, there’s no one around. Clothes off – and in. Up near the Arctic Circle, where huskies pant in the cold and the Northern Lights dance like psychedelic flames against inky-dark skies, there is a type of skinny dipping favoured by hardy Finns: talviuinti (ice-swimming). Lakes are frozen October to May, so locals carve out an aavanto (ice-hole) for the perfect post-sauna cool-off. At a bits-shrivelling -20°C, even the quickest of splotches sees skinny dippers reappear alive and bright-eyed.
Spa Hotel Rauhalahti, Katiskaniementie 8, Kuopio, Finland. See rauhalahti.fi

Trek a rainforest

The Wildlife Conservation Society has declared Madidi in the Amazon, north-western Bolivia, “the world’s most biologically diverse protected area”, home to more than 8800 species, many of which are endemic. But where Madidi overdelivers is in its biodiversity, as it provides you also with a stark reminder of the precariousness of the Amazon. You may pass sites of proposed hydroelectric dams that could flood vast regions or encroaching deforestation. Your journey begins in Rurrenabaque, a former rubber-trading post, now an ecotourism hub.
Various operators run trekking itineraries from there. See wcs.org

Climb a volcano

Feel the heat and connect with the deepest reaches of our little planet. Arrive at the summit and you’ve reached the top of the world. The crater might be quiet for now, gently puffing out smoke or, at its most dramatic, bubbling with lava. Take a day to hike to the top. Dominating Ecuador’s central highlands with its glacier-draped cone and smoking fumaroles, the 5897-metre Cotopaxi promises an accessible high-altitude climb. After acclimatising at 4800 metres, you leave the climber’s refuge at midnight, stepping out in a headlamp glow across a moonscape of snow, shadow, rock and ravine. You’ll don crampons and ice-axe, and rope up when you hit the glacier.
Various trekking operators can facilitate your adventure and several tour companies include Cotopaxi in their itineraries. See ecuador.travel

Get the silent treatment

For a dose of true peace and quiet, retreat to an isolated beach, park or desert. Wait until you’re out of earshot of the crowds and then feel yourself become absorbed by the sheer remoteness and quiet. This near silence has the capability to bring you the utmost peace. Covering 655,000 square kilometres of Saudi Arabia, Oman, the UAE and Yemen, Rub al-Khali (Empty Quarter) spans one fifth of the Arabian Peninsula. Long chains of sculpted dunes reach up to 250 metres where cloaks of early morning fog further deaden any sounds.
Arrange overnight stays or trips to the more scenic dunes further in with a tour company or an experienced tour guide. Abu Dhabi is a good jumping-in point. See visitabudhabi.ae

Bathe in healing waters

Hot or cold, clothed or not, nothing washes away the day like immersing yourself in a bath. Hungarians have long known this, and the baths at the Gellert hotel in Budapest are just one of several grand indoor and outdoor bathing spots in Hungary’s capital. The 1918 Art Nouveau Danubius Hotel Gellert on the banks of the Danube shares the building with the Gellert Bath. Locals and travellers converge for the indoor and outdoor swimming but mostly the thermal baths, world-famous for their beauty. It’s true – some Hungarian bathhouses have clothing as optional though Gellert is not one of those. See gellertfurdo.hu

This is an edited extract of You Only Live Once, Lonely Planet, $39.99. See shop.lonelyplanet.com