The Best Unusual Adventure Holidays in Europe

Europe has over 50 countries, and counting. Recently Kosovo and Gibraltar have been added to the official FIFA and UEFA country lists and many smaller countries may soon be added. However, despite this huge variety of countries to visit, so many Europeans choose what they know and trust. In other words, they don’t think outside the tourist box. They go for the obvious – the well known, the popular, the common. They choose places like Rome, Paris, Barcelona, London and Dubrovnik. While all those might be worth a trip, they are just not breaking out of any type of comfort zone – they’re overtrodden and not really such a crazy adventure.

However, when you look beyond the obvious, things become more extreme, more exciting, more adventuruous and just more fun and more wild. This list will hopefully inspire some wanderlust beyond such casual, common borders and into the sublime and ridiculous. Get your bags packed and hang on tight for a crazy ride!

Here are six different types of holidays for starters rather than your usual beach, sightseeing and food tour holidays!

1.Hunting Holidays

While getting a gun out and shooting may not be the safest or the most friendly of holidays, it certainlty contains that bit of adventure and adrenalin. To organise a hunting holiday takes a lot more effort than just emailing a company. You need some training, a licence, permission and permits in most countries. It’s a dangerous activity of course so start off safely with either clay pigeon shooting or at a target range. There are places in Russia and Ukraine where it can all be organised at a cost.

2.Ski-Ing Holidays – Poland

Also making the list for real thrill seekers are ski-ing holidays. However most people choose to go ski-ing in places like France, Austria, Switzerland or Italy. Break outside that box and head to southern Poland. The Tatry and Bieszczady Mountains are recommended Polish ski-ing resorts.

The mountains in the south of Poland provide plenty of crazy opportunities to go ski-ing and snowboarding in the winter monehts. Certainly as far as saving money on ski holidays goes, Poland is a good option for this. The best times to go are December to March as after that, the snow tends to disappear. Views are also tremendous and with great food, it won’t just be about the actual ski-ing.

3.Visiting Micronations

This is where the fun really begins for those adventure tourists. Instead of visiting known countries, how about delving into the peculiar world of unknown countries. Yes, such places really exist. Here I will tell you exactly what I mean and why it is cool to escape the norm and go backpacking through Micronations.

Firstly, some people within countries decided to rebel against that country and created their own quirky country. These can be found all over Europe, most countries have some kind of micronation within them, or at least a breakaway group or fashion. Here are a few examples from my own travels.

• Uzupis in Vilnius, LITHUANIA – The Republic of Uzupis has its own flag, borders, passport stamps, currency and beer! It’s a crazy place on the other side of a river in Vilnius. They even have a national day on April 1st which is the best time to visit.
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  Crossing the border into the Republic of Uzupis, 2015, only for a day

  

  Yes, it’s a real country – passport stamped in Uzupis!

• The People’s Republic of Podjistan, NORTHERN IRELAND. This place is a quirky enigma of a country where the national sport is Subbuteo (they even have a national stadium in the People’s Palace), you can get your passport stamped but you cannot drink Buckfast or Coca Cola (both are illegal in Podjistan).
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  Passport stamped in the People’s Republic of Podjistan

  

  Simon Stewart and his world: the Peoples Republic of Podjistan

• The Empire of Austenasia, ENGLAND. One of the craziest and longest running Micronations is Austenasai. I visited the country in 2015, touring the capital city, Wrythe. The Emperor set up this country in 2008 and it functions fully on its own.

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  Backpacking in Austenasia – by the national flag.

• Freetown Christiania, Copenhagen, DENMARK. The hippy freetown of Christiania in Copenhagen is a really cool spot to hang out. There are lots of cool rules here away from the office and commercial lifestyle. For example, no buildings can be over 3 storeys high, they have a good recycling system, soft drugs and alcohol are tolerated, art is a popular hobby and there are no adverts or global corporations. Feel the spirit of a free town!

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  Backpacking in Christiania (the Freetown in Copenhagen – non EU)

4.Extreme Sports

How about Sky Diving over Lake Ohrid in North Macedonia, snowboarding in the Pyrenees or bungy jumping in Germany? All these crazy adventure sports are no longer off limits or off the budget. Look out for the offers and special deals and head for a crazy time. Other extreme sports include zorbing, white water rafting and all sorts of Asian contact sports such as karate and ju-jitsu. I tried a few of these on my travels and am always looking for new options.

5.Weird and Unusual Activities

So you’ve tried ski-ing in Poland, shooting in the wilderness of Ukraine, you have visited a micronation and done a sky dive…but have you ever taken part in a “mobile phone throwing competition”? Perhaps not! Now is the time to start. In Finland, mobile phone throwing is a national sport, I kid you not!

Finland is definitely the place for bizarre “sports” as they also have a “wife carrying World Cup“! Lithuania, Estonia and Finland usually win it! Aside from this, who could forget that age old English “sport” called Cheese Rolling, where people roll a circular block of cheese down a bumpy, muddy hill then proceed to run after them!!

6.Sexual Indulgences

Parts of Europe are certainly not shy of their sexual nature. In Amsterdam, there are many strip clubs, and of course the red light district where prostitution is totally legal. There are sex-themed bars in Ukraine and Russia. Inside Czechia, there is even an entire female complex and Queendom called the Other World Kingdom. It is at such places you can feel free, naked and ready for a sexual thrill. As ever though, such events have their dangers so please take precautions and make sure everything you do is within the law.

So please think beyond the box and escape your comfort zone. You will have an incredible time and an unforgettable experience trying out any of these six weird travel options.

Safe travels!