If you’ve spent any time in Byron Bay (or any of the dreamy beach towns along the NSW coast, for that matter), you’ll know full well that there are two types of holiday-goers in the world. First up, you’ve got the easygoing traveller, whose idea of a perfect getaway is endless hours of lounging by the pool with a cocktail in hand. On the flip side, there are the adrenaline junkies – the ones who live for the thrill of the ocean’s swell (or whatever other adrenaline-pumping activity is in the vicinity). If that’s you, you’ll be stoked to hear that Australia is home to three of the world’s ten best destinations for thrill-seekers – with Sydney ranking at number ten.
To find out which cities were the best for blood-pumping adventures, entertainment site CanadaCasino.ca analysed Google search data to gauge interest in 48 of the world’s riskiest activities, ranging from skydiving to bull riding. They then combined these scores with the number of adrenaline-packed activities available in each city, including the percentage of challenging hiking and biking trails, to rank the destinations.
Coming in at number ten, Sydney just made the cut. The Harbour City boasts the highest number of adrenaline-fuelled attractions in Australia, from jet boating on Sydney Harbour to hang gliding over Sydney’s iconic beaches and horseback riding in the hinterland. While Sydney topped the Aussie charts for interest in thrill-seeking activities, its ranking was brought down by a limited number of challenging biking trails. If you're keen to get amongst the high-energy fun, we'd suggest seeing how you fare at one of Sydney's best indoor climbing gyms first.
Sydney isn’t the only Aussie city to make the cut – with more cities cracking the top ten than any other country in the world. Melbourne was crowned as Australia’s best city for risk-takers and ranked sixth globally. Whether you’re soaring over the city in a hot air balloon at sunrise or racing on its iconic F1 circuit, you could easily spend an entire month ticking off the 41 heart-pounding experiences on offer.
Chasing at its tail is Brisbane, which ranked as the second-best city for adrenaline in Australia and the seventh-best overall. It had a higher search volume for risk-taking activities and is home to more challenging hiking trails than Melbourne. However, it offers less diversity, with only 30 attractions to get your heart pumping, including paragliding over Mount Tamborine, abseiling at Kangaroo Point Cliffs and cage diving near Moreton Island.
Keen to take your adventures overseas? Famous for its incredible alpine slopes, intense multi-day treks and rugged mountain biking trails, Interlaken in Switzerland claimed the top spot as the best destination for thrill-seekers worldwide. The Swiss city is home to more hiking trails than any other city in the top ten, with 94.6 per cent of these classified as difficult. Second place went to Los Angeles, which recorded the highest number of challenging bike trails at 633. London took the third spot, offering more than 130 adrenaline activities – the most of any city included in the final ranking.
Here are the ten best cities for risk-takers and adrenaline-seekers:
- Interlaken, Switzerland
- Los Angeles, USA
- London, UK
- Whistler, Canada
- Mexico City, Mexico
- Melbourne, Australia
- Brisbane, Australia
- Barcelona, Spain
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Sydney, Australia