Five thrills for the discerning traveller

For those who want a touch of refinement with their adrenaline, these experiences will rocket to the top of your bucket list.

It’s the ultimate in gourmet motoring: a drive from Massimo Bottura’s Osteria Francescana, which recently topped the prestigious World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, to Heinz Reitbauer’s Steirereck, which placed ninth. The catch? Bottura’s temple to Italian gastronomy is in Modena, Italy, while Steirereck is smack-bang in the centre of Vienna, Austria. All that lies between the two is an 800km drive through the Austrian Alps. Start with Osteria Francescana’s €180 tasting menu then strap on your driving gloves and, rather than make a beeline to Vienna through Udine, head north from Venice to the Austrian frontier and try to work in the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, the highest surfaced mountain pass road in Austria and one of Europe’s most scenic drives. When you hit Steirereck reward yourself with another remarkable meal: Reitbauer’s 7-course, €152 tasting menu with sublime dishes such as Crayfish with Eggplant, Hemp & Fennel Pollen (pictured right)

Gourmands travelling elsewhere — namely the Iberian Peninsula — might also consider a road trip connecting the list’s second-, seventh- and tenth-place getters, driving from El Celler de Can Roca in Girona through Mugaritz in San Sebastian to Asador Etxebarri in Axpe, in the hills outside Bilbao in the Basque Country.

Explore the depths of the South Pacific in a DeepFlight Super Falcon Mark 2 submarine

Owned by Austrian billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz, Fiji’s Laucala Island is one of the world’s most exclusive seven-star resorts. Its unprecedented privacy has made it a haven for the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Elle Macpherson; its 18-hole golf course, designed by David Mclay Kidd, is considered one of the world’s best; and it can be hired in its entirety for US$750,000 plus tax for a minimum of five nights. As though Fijian spa treatments, world-class game fishing and a staff-to-guest ratio of more than four-to-one wasn’t enough to entice discerning guests, the island recently added joy rides in a $2 million state-of-the-art DeepFlight Super Falcon submersible to its line-up of activities. The seven-metre sub, which is powered by electricity and completely eco-friendly, is the perfect way to experience 360-degree views of the island’s aquatic wonders, which include turtles, sharks, stingrays, fish and some of the most enticing coral reefs on the planet. Retire to your villa — one of only 25 on the island — or else take in dinner and sunset at one of Laucala’s five restaurants.

It is the single most luxurious train in the world. An 8-day berth in the Presidential Suite of the Maharajas’ Express — hitting the medieval caves of Ajanta, the forts and palaces of Rajasthan, the Taj Mahal, and perhaps the sacred city of Varanasi and its bathing ghats on the banks of the Ganges — will set you back a mere US$23,700. The two-bedroom suite includes en suites (both with full-sized bathtubs), a living-cum-dining area, a writing desk, and, naturally, a minibar. The train itself, which was named the world’s leading luxury train in 2012, 2014 and 2015, includes two restaurants, a bar, a lounge (which also has a bar) and an observation car equipped with a library, a souvenir shop and — you guessed it — another bar. Presidential Suite passengers are provided with personal cars at each stop and are waited upon by butlers throughout their journey through the magnificent and rapidly changing subcontinent. For colonial-era charm and comfort, one need look no further.

It’s a small world after all. At least it seems that way from the cockpit of a Russian MiG-29 hurtling at Mach 2.5 through the stratosphere, more than 20km above sea level and with more than 95 per cent of Earth’s atmosphere below you. Departing from Sokol Airbase outside Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, a joy ride to the edge of space goes for nearly US$27,000 and gives would-be astronauts an opportunity to take in this crazy, mixed-up world for what it is: a lonely blue-green orb spinning silently in the vast blackness of space. It’s not all contemplation, reflection and touching the face of God, however — with trained pilots running their remarkable machines through series of loops, tail slides, barrel rolls and extreme-G turns, there’s more than enough adrenaline involved to satiate even the most hardened junky.

Experience one of the world’s most striking winter landscapes behind the wheel of one of its greatest sports cars. Based at Levi in Finnish Lapland, well inside the Arctic Circle where temperatures of -18 °C are considered balmy, the Porsche Driving Experience winter program offers an opportunity to improve your cold-weather driving skills — and to make like James Bond and tear up the tundra while enjoying the best that luxury engineering has to offer. With four courses aimed at different skill levels — and a self-drive tour to the North Cape in Norway in a Porsche Cayenne for those looking to add even more adventure to their itineraries — the Porsche Driving Experience is perfect for beginners and out-and-out petrol heads alike. It’s not just for drivers, either: at 531 metres, the Levi fell is home to Lapland’s biggest ski resort, featuring 43 pistes; snowmobile safaris and dog sled tours are available for those less inclined to get their rev on; and the sauna on the seventh floor of Hotel Levi Panorama, only 25 minutes from the training facility, where majestic views of the winter wonderland.

This content was produced in association with the new Porsche Boxster 718. Read our policy on commercial content here.