extreme family travel

A trip to Thailand is packed with opportunities for high-adrenaline fun, and there’s no need to miss out on the white-knuckle adventures just because you’ve got the kids in tow. Some extreme activities in Thailand are suitable for all ages, while others are only for adults, teens and older kids, but younger travelers are sure to get a rush from seeing their parents braving these challenging experiences. So get ready to embrace the fear factor and have some extreme fun in Thailand.

Fly Like A Gibbon Through the Jungle

Ever seen a gibbon fly? Me neither, but they do swing impressively through the jungle, and you will too on Southeast Asia’s longest zipline, known as The Flight of the Gibbon. This all-ages activity takes place in rainforest around one hour’s drive from Chiang Mai involves a total of 28 zip-lines, totaling 800 meters, with 53 treetop platforms. The experience also includes four abseils, the highest of which is 50 meters, and you can challenge your head for heights on four dizzying sky bridges, and the vertigo-inducing spiral staircases of the ‘Zigzag Way’.

You Got This: The Flight of the Gibbon might be terrifying for anybody with a fear of heights, but it’s a safe activity that’s suitable for kids aged five and up. Do you really want to wimp out in front of the kids? Family packages with Treetop Asia offer a four-for-the-price-of-three deal (approximately $125 USD per person before discount), and the eco-tourism company works with jungle conservation projects.

Be a Human Slingshot in Pattaya

Wheeeeeee! Being catapulted through the air at 150 kilometers per hour is a thing in Thailand or, more specifically, at the adventure-sports haven that is Pattaya (more about Pattaya bungee jumping later). Flying along like a human Angry Bird is both exhilarating and, let’s face it, freakin’ terrifying, as you experience 4G forces and go from 0-150 kilometers/hour in less than a second. Bigger travelers take note, though: there’s a maximum weight limit of 100 kilograms. Prices from around $35 USD, with discounts for second flights, should you care to repeat the experience.

Mind the Fear Factor: Although there’s no stated minimum age, this one is a bit too hair-raising for younger kids and is best suited to those aged 16 and over. Younger members of the party can look on and laugh as their parents are willingly flung through the air at great speed.

Learn to Skydive in Style

Thrill-seeking families in Thailand can check into an “extreme aviation” resort: Birds Paradise in the northeastern region of Isan. The center is cultivating new skydivers, but guests can also learn to fly ultralights, scramble over obstacle courses, and take on some pretty tricky mountain biking courses. This is one of very few United States Parachute Association schools in Thailand, and with jumps at a minimum of 12,000 feet, the views are incredible. The temperate climate here is in divers’ favor too, and jumps take place pretty much every day of the year.

Need More Convincing? With a spa, restaurants and comfy lodgings, this is the comfortable way to learn to dive. And for those who just want a one-off experience, tandem dives (no experience necessary) are the way to go.

Extreme Bungee Jumping in Pattaya

The east-coast beach town of Pattaya is as famous for its extreme sports as it is for its gorgeous beaches, and no adventurous traveler worth their salt will want to come here without taking the highest bungee jump in Thailand. This is one for older teens and parents, but younger kids can admire their parents’ and siblings’ bravery. After going through the necessary safety procedures, daredevils will be lifted to a cage at nearly 60 meters (try to enjoy the view if you can) before leaping into the abyss. Once it’s over, bungee-ers can sip a drink at the bar and watch the whole thing back on a big screen.

Safety First: Before jumping, you’ll have to sign a waiver to state that you don’t have any medical conditions, and that you’re not intoxicated (pre-loading and jumping do not mix). Bigger brave souls will also need to step on the scales (there’s a max limit of 150 kilograms). Prices start around $30 USD with Pattaya Bungy.

Roll Along the World’s Largest Water Zorbing Course

Get ready to channel your inner hamster! The Rollerball experience in Patong, Phuket, involves two people clambering inside a giant water-filled ball, before they are pushed off the top of a hill to go rolling along a 200-meter custom-built course. Kids aged six and up can join in with this one, and it’s dizzyingly-good fun. The hilltop location makes for some terrific views, and a bar serving cocktails and soft drinks is a perfect place to admire the vista once you’ve done your rolling for the day (don’t drink and roll, it’s unlikely to end well). The experience costs around $20 USD per person, including local area hotel pickup.

Extreme Planking: Rolling around in a giant ball not extreme enough? Try Rollerball planking: essentially lying on the ground, flat out, while two people roll over you in a ball. Just think of it as a rather unusual massage.

Maybe you will also enjoy our special route for nature-loving families traveling to Thailand.

A family trip to China is never going to be dull: the simple act of ordering a meal or crossing the road can be a white-knuckle experience in the big cities. But adventurous families looking for adrenaline-packed thrills and spills can rest assured that there are plenty of extreme activities in China that will step up the insanity levels a notch or 10. The only question is, are you brave enough to tackle them?

The Ultimate Skywalk: Coiling Dragon Cliff Walkway

A head for heights is going to be essential for some of China’s most extreme attractions! You don’t need to be in perfect shape or be above a certain height to experience this daredevil attraction on Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Hunan. A glass walkway stretches for 100 meters around the mountain, clinging perilously to a cliff edge 1,400 meters high, while offering mind-blowing mountain views for anybody calm enough to appreciate them. The 1.5-meter-wide walkway is open to anybody game enough to step out onto the heart-stopping skywalk. Opened in 2016, it’s the longest and most dramatic of three similar walks in the Tianmen Mountain Scenic Area, and looks out over Tongtian Avenue, which makes 99 dramatic turns as it snakes up the mountain.

Take a Walk Across the World’s Highest and Longest Glass Bridge

Hunan is establishing itself as quite the destination for thrill-seeking visitors to China! In addition to the hair-raising, cliff-clinging skywalk, iit also hosts the world’s highest and longest glass bridge. At a height of more than 300 meters, the bridge stretches 430 meters over the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon, and visitors can add extra spice to the experience by bungee jumping or ziplining over the abyss.

? Tip: Don’t try to wing it with this one–there’s some advance planning needed. The bridge can hold a maximum of 600 people at any one time, and entrance (from around $18 USD for bridge only) needs to be reserved in advance for a specific time slot. A Chinese ID card is required to book on the official site, so families on holiday in China would be well advised to book with a tour agency.

⛷ Boxout: Even taking a trip to Walmart can be an adventure in China! Expect to see whole sharks, turtles and crocodiles on ice, and even live, hopping frogs. Being brave enough to cook and eat one is a further step up the adventure ladder.

Tackle the World’s Biggest Skate Park

If heaven is a half pipe, then the SMP Skate Park, on the outskirts of Shanghai, is Paradise itself. This is the world’s largest skate park, hosting seven concrete bowls, a 40-meter half pipe, rails and a mock street-scene, all set out in a somewhat spooky lunar-esque landscape. Built by skate specialists Convic at a cost of around $25 million, it’s the ultimate place to showcase your mad skills (or just watch the offspring showcase theirs). Entrance to the park is around $10 USD. The park has bleachers seating several thousand spectators, and gets busy at weekends for major skating events. During the week things are quiet – somewhat eerily so, allowing visitors to hone their skills without onlookers.

Brave this Terrifying Cliff Swing

Ahhh, swinging through the air, so relaxing…except when you’re being pushed off a cliff edge into misty nothingness over a 300-meter sheer drop! Few parents are going to willingly watch their kids be strapped into this vertigo-inducing swing at Wansheng Ordovician Park. The highest mountain swing in the country comes complete with safety harness, but this might be one that’s strictly for the grownups. In addition to the swing, there’s a daredevil footbridge over a canyon to reach a lookout point, and the world’s longest and highest cantilevered walkway, which juts out in an A-formation for more than 80 meters from a sheer cliff edge. White water rafting, climbing and canyoning are other activities in the park.

Keep Cool with Whitewater Rafting

Daredevil families in Shanghai can escape the city swelter and get an adrenaline rush with white water rafting trips out remote locations such as Xinan Jiang, near Huangshan, and Bairma Tan, Anqin. Against an impossibly scenic backdrop, visitors will navigate Class III and Class IV rapids (on a 1-6 scale, 6 being near impossible). Dragon Adventures offers trips that can be tailored to meet families’ individual needs, and younger visitors can simply splash in calm pools.

You can also try our route for nature-loving families going to China.