Who doesn’t love to travel? The excitement that comes with being at the airport ready to board your flight or when you’ve just booked the plane ticket for an upcoming trip is unmatchable.

Although you feel like you would like to experience travel differently, challenge yourself and get out of your comfort zone even more but you’re not sure how.

In this blog post I’ll give you 10 Travel Challenges to try at least once in your life! Some of them are a bit more crazy then others but if you want to have a good time make sure to give them all a go!

1. Throw a dart at a map and go where it lands

You’ve probably seen videos on Youtube of people blindly throwing a dart at a world map and travelling to where it lands. So why not try this challenge yourself? It might sound daunting at first but it will probably take you somewhere you’ve never thought of going before. Grab a large world map, a dart, close your eyes and give it a throw! Hopefully, it will not land in the middle of the Ocean or somewhere inaccessible like the in the middle of the Antarctic lol. If you’re too nervous to only throw it once, do it 3 times and choose the best destination out of those 3!

If you don’t have a dart or a map you can still do this challenge by using the I’m Feeling Lucky Button on Google Earth!

2. Set a budget/no money challenge

Spending money without thinking is probably easy to do when you’re enjoying your holiday and want to make the most out of it. But as a backpacker or a young traveller, it’s essential to have a budget for every day/week. This challenge consists of setting a very low budget that takes you out of your comfort zone. You can try amounts such as surviving on 10-20$ a day. Preferably do this challenge in a not too expensive country to get the full experience. Of course, if you want to go completely out of your comfort zone you can by setting a really low budget! And if you want you can even set your budget as low as 0$.

By doing this challenge you will realize that you can have a great time and experience without splashing out loads of cash.

3. Go full-on luxury

In opposition to the previous point this one isn’t actually a full on challenge but more like a breeze (if you like to spend money that is of course).

Book the most expensive flight, fly first or business class. Find the most luxurious hotel to stay in, try the most exquisite food. Before you know it you’ll be sipping on the most expensive champagne by your private pool or beach eating a steak covered in gold.

This third challenge is best to do in places like Dubai, Las Vegas, New York etc..

4. Get a travel company to surprise you

Did you know that there are some travel companies that offer a mystery trip option? Basically, how it works is that you give the company what type of place you want to head to, tropical, city, etc… and they find the perfect match for you. But here the catchy part: You only know your destination when you arrive at the airport!

According to what company you choose, there are some that even surprise you with a mystery trip without you giving your preferences. You arrive at the airport and they give you a bag with some essentials and you’re ready to go! How exciting!

You can get a more detailed list and more information about the mystery trips here!

5. Buy the cheapest ticket to somewhere

Nowadays, flights are so cheap, it’s unbelieveable. You can find flights starting at a low price of under 100$ round trip! Yeah you read that right! That’s the price of only 20 coffees!

For this challenge, you’d browse flight booking websites and find the cheapest flight and book it! Wherever it’s going to!

It’s probably not going to take you far but it will take you somewhere you’ve never been to!

6. The pick and mix challenge

Write down the name of about 20 countries, 3 places to stay (hotel, airbnb, etc..), 5 fun activities, etc… put them in different bags according to which category they belong to. Now pick one paper out of each and put them together to form your trip! Depending on the extent of your creativity, you can end up with the most bizarre combinations but they will definitely make unforgettable and fun memories!

7. Try different transports

Planes are definitely one of the most common ways of transport for long distances that you can find. So wouldn’t it be fun to get somewhere relatively far by only using trains, buses or taxis? You can do this by buying the Interrail Pass for Europe which is basically an international train ticket for all European countries.

Travelling by train is a great way to get some scenic views you’d never normally see and get to experience. You can also do this challenge if you’re brave enough (and in a safe country), by trying to get from one place to another with autostop!

8. Use Couchsurfing

If you haven’t heard of the Couchsurfing App or don’t know what it’s about, it’s basically an app where you can stay in a random person’s house for the night! You can see who has a free couch or bed for you to sleep for the night for free! This is a great way to meet someone local and experience the local life!

9. Order things you’ve never heard of

Try this challenge in a country you don’t know the language at all. Go to a local restaurant (these are the restaurants where they normally don’t have a translated menu). Order random things off the menu and see what you end up with! It can be something super delicious or totally not appetizing, it’s for you to find out and eat it if you’re willing to take the challenge!

10. Look up the most….country and go there

Do you know what the world’s smallest country, the most populated country, the least visited country are?

Do some research according to what interests you the most. It can be anything, to be honest from the world’s smallest country to the country with the most cows. It’s totally up to you. Once you’ve found the perfect fit for you or the funniest, book a flight there and discover it for yourself!

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post! I personally have never actually tried any of these but they are definitely on my travel bucket list! Will you add them to yours? Let me know in the comments!