10 activities for adrenaline seekers

These 10 adventure activities guarantee you great GoPro footage, a few bumps and bruises and a hell of a good time.

1. Sky Diving

Sky Diving is one of the most expensive on the list but was an awesome experience. I went with a company called Thai Sky Adventures in Pattaya – it felt pretty safe. Most of the staff were western. Check their current price list for tandem jumps and filming extras; their FAQ says you can't take your own camera in the aeroplane.

After we turned up, we had a safety briefing, I met my instructor, got geared up and off we went. It was a surreal experience climbing into a little plane with basically no doors, no seat belts, no chairs and darting off into the sky. The pilots are required to wear parachutes, which I liked – it made it feel more dangerous than it actually was. Around 10,000 feet, we clamber to the edge of the plane, head back, feet back, and we drop over the edge. The initial drop was intense, you’re falling into nothing-ness and it’s horrible and amazing at the same time. The wind resistance quickly picks up and you lose that sensation. There’s only about 30 seconds of free-fall plus a nice ride down with the canopy open.

2. Wakeboarding

Wakeboarding is an excellent sport to keep fit, keep cool and obviously look cool (unless you keep falling over). There are several wakeboarding locations throughout the country (we DO NOT recommend going in Pattaya), but we always have a good time at Thai Wake Park, a little outside of central Bangkok.

Thai Wake Park has food, drink, music, a nice lake, plus jumps and rails for advanced riders. Check the current rates and membership terms for the branch you're visiting.

3. Flowboarding

Flowboarding is currently one of my absolute favourite things to do here. At the moment there are two well known locations; Flow House Bangkok and Surf House Phuket – Although I’ve heard that you can also flow at a waterpark in Pattaya.

Flowboarding is super challenging, doesn’t depend on the weather and afterwards you can eat a burger and have a beer, or two. It costs 750 baht per hour for non-members, 650 baht per hour for members but they regularly have promotions and with a package it’s possible to pay just 300 baht per hour.

4. Kite Boarding

Kiteboarding was extremely challenging, quite expensive, but great fun. I did my kiteboarding lessons in Pattaya over three days and it set me back 12,000 baht. If you’re considering starting the sport, absolutely go and do this – if you’re just on holiday it could be less worth your while as there’s a steep learning curve and it’s very weather dependant. I’m hoping to do a one month retreat on the beach to kiteboard every day – but we’ll see.

To be honest, I don’t recommend the company I used, I felt like the instructor just wasn’t interested so I will let you do your own research on Trip Advisor, or whatever you prefer.

5. Go Karting & Buggies

Who doesn’t like to go karting? Thailand has several karting locations, but we usually go to Pattaya Kart Speedway. There are varying prices for two tracks and different sized karts but of course we go for the biggest. Check the current kart choices, prices and session lengths before you go.

The 800 meter track is pretty fun, you can’t full throttle the entire thing and unlike other places I’ve been, you have room to overtake on corners and straights. Safety is… there, but don't take that as a guarantee. Pattaya Kart Speedway's professional-track rules require a helmet and also cover ID, tied-up hair and footwear; check the rules for the track you choose.

Next door they have other activities such as bungee jumping (we didn’t try it) but they do have some cool buggies at 700 baht which we did try!

6. Wipeout parks

Wipeout parks are awesome, and dangerous. Who doesn’t like to turn up at a lake with a bunch of mates and get destroyed by an obstacle course? Save the beer for afterwards: the CDC advises against alcohol before or during water activities.

We’ve tried two places so far, Phangan Wipeout and Pattaya Splashdown. Both were awesome, costing around 500 baht for the day, BUT be warned the price is higher for the Pattaya Splashdown if you don’t live here and you’re just a tourist. Normally I wouldn’t promote a company with this dual pricing policy, but their park was good. I didn’t have my documents with me, so instead I told them in Thai I had forgotten them, and they believed me. Generally you need a Thai drivers license or work permit.

Pattaya Splash Down – Excellent place just outside of Pattaya, has a ton of obstacles and things to mess around with – technically much better than Phangan Wipeout. There’s a huge water slide, zorbing, big red balls and tons of stuff you can break your neck on.

Phangan Wipeout – Although not as big, this is a lake, so they have a cool rope swing and chillout area with food overlooking the action. It’s very easy to get to even if you don’t know where you’re going so definitely stop by – awesome time.

7. Flyboarding

Another expensive one at around 2800 baht for 20 minutes (ask for a discount if there are multiple people going), but it’s something you should absolutely try once if you’re an activity junkie like me. We went with Flyboard Station and had a good time. It’s fast to learn the basics, you look like Iron Man and you can put awesome pictures on Facebook – that’s a definitive list of reasons to go. Book direct with them to haggle for a discount and they’ll pick you up from your hotel.

8. Scuba Diving

Scuba! I take my gear on every trip I go to near the coast. If you’ve never done it, you absolutely must get certified and experience the underwater world. It’s relaxing (eventually) and amazing that you’re basically becoming a fish. Just the day out on the boat is worth it too on its own.

I mostly dive in Koh Chang where my friends run the Scandinavian Chang Diving centre (tell them I said hi). But other spots such as Koh Tao and Phuket are known to be awesome too. Koh Tao is basically the epicenter of diving here in Thailand.

9. Shooting Ranges

The shooting ranges aren’t quite like the time I was shooting rocket launchers in Cambodia but it was still an awesome experience. We don’t have anything quite the same in England so it was a great experience.

We were at a shooting range in Koh Chang. Check the range's current prices and rules before booking.

10. Rent dirt bikes and go off-roading

Not the safest way to go off-roading, but we had an excellent time renting Honda CRF dirt bikes and finding our own way into the jungle. We spent a day outside of Chiang Mai looking for rivers, lakes and jungles to explore. We didn’t have any protective gear and we got a bit scraped up from a few crashes. Don't copy our lack of kit: the Motorcycle Safety Foundation recommends a helmet, goggles, long sleeves and trousers, over-the-ankle boots and gloves, hands-on training and designated trails. Check that your route is open and permitted. Go out, get muddy and have a laugh.

Other ideas

This is by no means a definitive list, so here are some other suggestions:

• Rock Climbing – Plenty of indoor gyms and professional climbing spots throughout Thailand.
• White water rafting – We experienced this in Chiang Mai, it was awesome when someone fell out of the boat.
• Jungle Trekking – Literally everywhere, shouldn’t be missed.
• Free Diving / Spear Fishing – See our post on spear fishing.
• Cliff Jumping – Don't jump just because you've found a cliff.
• Quad Biking – Plenty throughout Thailand but can’t be ridden on the road.
• Bungee Jumping – Not tried bungee jumping yet, what’s it like?
• Base Jumping – You’d have to be insane, like my Dad.
• Surfing / Windsurfing – Never surfed, but in the right season it’s possible in the South.

Do you have any other ideas? We’re always looking for something new to impress the ladies. Note: Rarely do we impress the ladies with these things.