45 Great Gift Experiences For Adventurous People
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There's a lot of pressure that comes with gift giving, especially around Valentine's Day. You want to get your wife something cool, but for the love of god she doesn't need more pajamas. You want to woo your partner with something romantic, but you can't find a whole new personality that quickly. You want to get your girlfriend something special, but you don't want to be basic with flowers. So it's time to think a little bit bigger.
We're talking the intangible: Adventurous, experiential gifts that will add a whole new dimension to their lives. Now, this idea of "adventure" is not limited to literal adventure, although if your giftee is into that sort of thing, go right ahead. Maybe it could mean zip lining or jumping out of a plane, but it could also mean a local art class or an at-home wine-tasting night. We welcome all levels and types of experience. Go for something less expensive that they can use on their own, or ball out with something huge you can experience together.
We rounded up 43 of the best experiences you can gift to anyone who fits the bill. Sometimes that adventure can be found in your backyard, sometimes in your city, and sometimes in a different hemisphere. Whatever the case, you're going to live a little.
A Meal Subscription
Order Now From $70, blueapron.com
This food service, which mails packaged meals with precise ingredients and instructions included, will teach them important cooking skills and up their kitchen game.
A MasterClass Membership
Order Now $180 for 1 year, masterclass.com
MasterClass gives them the opportunity to learn skills from the best—the literal masters of their fields—through online videos and material. Gordon Ramsay teaches a course on cooking. Annie Leibovitz teaches photography. Steph Curry teaches basketball technique. The list goes on.
A Plant Care Workshop
Order Now Prices vary, thesill.com
A plant by itself is a great gift—cool home décor and a long-term project in one. But the Sill also offers free online workshops that'll teach them how to keep that plant alive, which is a skill that's definitely worth having. Send them a plant, then sign them up.
An Art Subscription
Order Now From $30,000, saatchiart.com
A pricey gift—very pricey—to be sure. But one that'll set them up with a personal art curator to, well, curate art for their home. That means one new piece to hang up every month. Now that's an experience.
A Lifetime Language Membership
Order Now $189, amazon.com
Maybe they've got a big international trip coming up, or a life-long wish to become fluent in a foreign language. This unlimited Rosetta Stone subscription will get them to speak something other than English.
A Virtual Learning Experience
Order Now From $25, uncommongoods.com
There are so many things that can be learned and enjoyed online—astrology, mixology, magic, and beyond. Uncommon Goods curates a selection of such courses that you can gift to anyone with free time and a desire for a new hobby.
A Free Meal at Home
Order Now From $25, doordash.com
A gift card isn't fancy. Far from it. But what this gift card can purchase is nothing to scoff at. With it, they'll be able to order the meal of their dreams to the safety of their home, without having to stress about delivery fees, tipping, or whether or not they should splurge on that appetizer.
A Lesson in Pasta-Making
Order Now From $299, thechefandthedish.com
Knowing how to make handmade pasta means that you can have handmade pasta at any time, no travel expenses needed. The Chef & The Dish offers a ton of cooking classes (pasta and beyond) where you can get private or group cooking classes in a whole range of cuisines. Gift them a specific class you know they'll love or opt for a gift card, where they can pick out the one that's most appealing to them.
A Day at the Spa
Order Now From $50, spafinder.com
Can't think of a single reason why anyone wouldn't appreciate a day at the spa. A SpaFinder gift card will let them book a massage, facial, or full spa weekend near their home, any day they like.
An Introduction to Mediation
Order Now Try one year for free, balanceapp.com
They may be a little skeptical of mediation, and that's okay. Balance offers a perfect introduction into achieving a serene state of mind, with an innovative and personalized meditation experience. They can try this for a year for free, and then if they love it, you can gift them endless sessions.
A Bonding Game
Order Now From $20, werenotreallystrangers.com
No matter how long you've known someone—maybe even especially when you've known someone long—asking deep, meaningful questions can make for an entirely special bonding experience. We're Not Really Strangers makes a few conversation-provoking card games, but this couples one is ideal for romantic nights.
A Planned Date Night
Order Now Priced per date, datesonduo.com
Gifting an experience can be something as simple as a date night. A planned out, organized, very good date night. A subscription to Duo gets you just that: Take a quiz, and have the app plan a surprise date accordingly. It's both a fun thing to plan (sort of) together, and to be surprised by.
A Shaker & Spoon Cocktail Kit
Order Now From $50, shakerandspoon.com
Every month, a box from Shaker & Spoon will arrive in the mail with instructions and ingredients so they can build three different craft cocktails (alcohol not included). If they'd rather learn outside the house, look for cocktail classes in their city.
A Night in a Luxury Hotel
Book Now Prices vary, tablethotels.com
A luxurious stay spent being pampered in a gorgeous boutique hotel is a treat for everyone, even if the hotel is down the street from their home. Tablet scopes out worthy hotels in cities around the world to give them an escape from their everyday life.
An Interior Design Upgrade
Order Now From $159, havenly.com
Who isn't sick to hell of their home after the past year? Havenly is a personalized interior design service that pairs your giftee with a designer who'll help them revitalize their space with new concept, layout, and decor ideas, then makes ordering any new furniture or accents easy.
An Adventure of Their Choosing
Order Now From $50, virginexperiencegifts.com
If you want to get them "an experience," but haven't got a clue what kind of "experience" they'd like best—a spa day? a white water rafting trip? a hot air balloon ride?—then just direct them to Virgin Experience Gifts, which offers tons of options across the country, from rugged to luxurious. And foot the bill with a gift card.
A Vinebox Shipment
Order Now From $79, getvinebox.com
Vinebox mimics the experience of a wine-tasting class, but in the privacy of their own home. Every mail-order box comes with nine different wines, packaged in single-serving vials. If they like one in particular, they can order more. If not, it's onto the next glass.
A Ticket to Anything
Order now prices vary, stubhub.com
A StubHub gift card is truly a gift to just about anything. From sports games to concerts to Broadway theatrics, this is truly a "choose your own adventure" type of present. When you don't know what to get the person that seemingly has everything, this is a safe bet.
A Series of Cooking Events
Order now From $20, williams-sonoma.com
From a virtual Holiday dinner at Bobby Flay's to a private coffee club, Williams Sonoma is running exclusive virtual and in-person events all year long. Your kitchen game is getting a massive upgrade.
An Online Guitar Lesson from Fender
Order Now $149.99 for a year, fenderplay.com
Or ukulele lessons, or bass lessons. Whatever their musical inclination might be, Fender offers a year of online lessons, with tabs for popular songs, easy videos to learn good form, and the ability to track progress. And then they're that much closer to living out their rock star dreams.
A Fancy Sushi Dinner
Order Now $199.95, goldbelly.com
The only thing better than going out for a fancy meal is, well, not actually having to go out at all. Goldbelly ships the best meals, snacks, and desserts from around the country to wherever you need, but we're partial to gifting an upscale Blue Ribbon sushi night at home.
A Better Music Experience
Order Now $599, amazon.com
Any audiophile will tell you that music was made to be heard on vinyl, and, actually, becoming a record player person is an experience that keeps on going. Not only does the object itself invite adventures into albums but it also means they can adopt the hobby of finding great records in surprising places while their out and about on their more outwardly facing adventures.
A (British) Picnic Kit
Order Now $255.95, williams-sonoma.com
This Fortnum & Mason kit is full of the fanciest goods from Piccadilly and comes package in a wicker hamper they can use to carry those goods to a place of their choosing. Inside, the best snacks for anyone who has left some of themselves in the U.K.: coffee, biscuits, preserves, and more.
An Endless Supply of Books
Order Now Prices Vary, audible.com
An audible gift subscription is the kind of thing that they might not even know how much they like until they're fully immersed in the experience. Audiobooks make reading so much more accessible, both in a physical sense and a temporal one: It's much easier to hear a book and, say, drive a car than it is to read one doing the same.
An Overnight Getaway
Order Now $199, wonderbox.com
This box was designed to gift experiences without having to do mental gymnastics to get you there. The box comes with a voucher to spend a night in a hotel (with an option to add on breakfast) wherever they want and a notebook to remember the whole experience.
A Stocked Home Library
Order Now From $59.99, bookofthemonth.com
For the bibliophile, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better gift experience than getting a brand-new book in the mail every month. And without even having to think about it! Opt for gifting a three-, six, or 12-month membership.
A Game Night
Order Now $59, amazon.com
For the homebody, a fun at-home game night is an experience they can keep on having. Ark Nova is a strategy game that blends building zoos with animal conservation. Especially good for family game nights.
A Black Literature Book Subscription
Order Now From $80, cratejoy.com
This library-inspired quarterly book box shines a light on Black literature and authors of the African diaspora, supplying your giftee with new reading material they'll devour and book-adjacent gifts to enjoy while reading.
A Sports Stadium Tour
Order Now Prices vary, ticketmaster.com
Got a sports fan who needs a gift? Send them on a behind-the-scenes tour of their favorite team's stadium, ballpark, or arena. That could mean any team from the New York Yankees to the New Orleans Saints to the Denver Broncos. Just search for it on Ticket Master.
An Uber Exploration
Order Now Prices vary, uber.com
An Uber gift card is powerful. It gets you food and transportation, sure, but we bet you didn't know that you can also book a unique experience with it. They can go to the Uber Explore tab in the app to discover and reserve anything from dinner reservations to live events to other activities.
A Luxurious Night of Sleep
Order Now From $10,000 a night, expedia.com
They can live like a royal for one night, at the Hästens Sleep Suite in the Lotte New York Palace. Featuring breathtaking city views and the brand's iconic Swedish mattresses, a night of absolute luxury beckons.
A Baking Class
Order Now Prices vary, classbento.com
They may think they know their way around the kitchen, but do they know their way around the mixer? Get them a baking class where they can learn to whip up their favorite pastries. From lava cakes to beignets, the world of baking awaits.
A Personalized Celebrity Message
Order Now Prices vary, cameo.com
Cameo is ridiculous, and also genius. With it, you can pay one of its many D-list celebrities (along with a few B-listers!) to record a personalized message for your giftee. They got a thing for the Housewives? They're on Cameo. A certain drag queen? Yep. A New York Yankee? Also there. The options get crazier the deeper you dig.
A Getaway House
Order now From $50, getaway.house
Venture to a pristine little cabin in the most stunning of locations with Getaway House. The properties are spread across the country, so you can truly give the gift of escape wherever they might be. With complete immersion in nature, these houses are a little slice of utopia.
An Airbnb Experience
Order Now Prices vary, airbnb.com
Airbnb is probably the best place to look for an unexpected experience. Depending on where your giftee lives—or where they're traveling to—you can book them an adventurous experience, a cooking experience, a cultural experience, and more. Right now, you can browse through online-only experiences too, like a coffee masterclass or a virtual tour of Ireland. Dealer's choice, here.
A Hunt a Killer Box
Order Now Prices vary, huntakiller.com
Any true crime junkie—that's quite a few of us, if Netflix's slew of new true crime docs is any indication—will devour what Hunt a Killer has to offer: murder mystery board games with clues that come all at once or on a regular basis in the mail, depending on what you decide to gift.
A ClassPass Gift Card
Order Now From $50, classpass.com
ClassPass is great for fitness freaks who dabble in all manner of guided workouts. With it, they can sign up for different classes at different studios around their city, trying their hand at everything from boxing to spinning to boot camp.
A Private Museum Tour
Order Now Prices vary, museumhack.com
For connoisseurs of fine arts and really big dinosaur bones, Museum Hack offers private, personalized tours in five major cities (New York, Chicago, L.A., San Francisco, and D.C.). Get them a tour so they can absorb a history of museum secrets, scandals, and more that they might never know otherwise.
A Beer Brewing Class
Order Now From $99 for 1 year, learn.beerandbrewing.com
Craft Beer and Brewing is an online portal for craft brewing classes ranging from intermediate to advanced for beer lovers, with a gift option. If that doesn't suit, UC Davis offers advanced online courses for those interested in the science behind brewing. And you can always check out options at a local brewery for gift ideas.
A VIP Tour of Paramount Studios
Order Now $215 per person, paramountstudiotour.com
A movie buff'll love a more exclusive look at the Paramount studios, where Hollywood magic literally happens, from props to sound stages to sets.
A National Parks Yearly Pass
Order Now $80, usgs.gov
A year-long pass to the Unites States National Parks and federal recreational lands is great for outdoors adventurers who are always looking for an excuse to pack up the hiking gear and spend a weekend among the trees.
A City Scavenger Hunt
Order Now Prices vary, letsroam.com
Let's Roam has a library of scavenger hunts set up in cities across the U.S. If you're giving a gift to someone who loves a challenge—or who just moved to a new city—a pass lets them chose a date and time to go on the hunt for clues.
A Season on the Slopes
Order Now From $119, ski.com
Epic Pass is an excellent adventure gift for ski bums and ski bum wannabes alike. There are a few tiers of passes: the Epic day pass, the Epic season pass, and the Epic pass, which includes some extra resort stays. The pass works at partnering ski resorts across the country.
An Exclusive Resy Event
Order Now Prices vary, resy.com
Resy caters to the person who craves a night (or morning, or afternoon) out on the town, drinking in the good life through exclusive restaurant, bar, and otherwise foodie-centric events. For instance, a sake tasting in Brooklyn, or a Wu-Tang and Wings night in D.C., or a Southern Smoke benefit dinner in Houston.
A Tailor Made Luxury Journey
Order now Prices vary, abercrombiekent.com
From Antarctica cruises to immersive Zambian safaris, Abercrombie & Kent curates luxury itineraries for all types of travelers. Whatever adventure is desires, they will handle all of the logistics, activities, accommodations, and even transportation, so that you don't have to. A hassle-free vacation of epic experiences awaits.
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