If the “laying on the beach” vacations or touring museum after museum have begun to or always bore you, perhaps its time to get to know our inner-adventurer a little better and instead of the same ol’ thing— branch out on your next trip.

Here are three tremendous adventure trips for the daredevil in you!

1. Heli-biking
Most of you have heard of Heli-skiing. You’re dropped at the top of some insanely high snowy mountain and left on your own to get down with just your skis or snowboard strapped to your feet. Heli-biking is exactly the same, except the mountain has no (or limited) snow and instead of skis– pedals connected to a bike are strapped to your feet. While visions of crashing and burning run through your head, keep in mind that many heli-bike companies around the world offer experiences for all levels, including beginners. New Zealand in my opinion seems to have a corner on the market with this adventure so if interested, look down under for a trip up high.

image from haka tours in New Zealand

2. Swim with Moby Dick
Like to snorkel but tired of seeing just small fish? Like the Caribbean? Well then you will love this adventure trip idea. Although in the last month or so there has been some bad press around swimming with whales in captivity in front of hundreds of people, there are areas in the Caribbean, like the Dominican Republic, that offer guests an opportunity to “swim with whales” in their natural environment. Don’t worry if you are not at a competition swimming level or a free-diving master– you have minimal snorkel gear and really, there isn’t much swimming involved. Tours involve a dozen or so guests who all stay together and float calmly as a group. The whales, somewhat used to this type of encounter, generally feel comfortable and do approach the group. But as I mentioned, it is their environment and since its pretty much impossible to force a natural whale encounter peacefully– sadly there is no guarantee you’ll be up close to one.

picture from ocean eyes photography

3. Fly a Fighter Jet
To make your favorite movie from the 80′s a dream come true (come on, you know you loved Top Gun) get signed up with one of the many pilot programs offered all over the US to fly in mock-combat complete with an expert pilot to act as your co-pilot (Goose), bullets (fake) and all of the daredevil maneuvers like loops, rolls and spins (real). The speed these jets normally reach–even for the beginner–200 mph and 5 g’s.

Prices can vary from the mid hundreds to the mid thousands depending on the type of jet and the time in the air. Most include a dvd to take home of you fighting those “migs”– just like Maverick did. Many of the flight schools originate near Los Angeles so its not hard to find an inexpensive ticket to get there—via commercial airline of course.

picture from incredible adventures.