Why is there so much fuss about giving an experience instead of an object?

If you need an idea for a really, really special and unforgettable gift for a loved one, choose an experience instead of just more stuff. Why? It has already been proven many times that experiences make us happier than objects, and that this happiness lasts longer.

To help you become everyone’s favorite gift-giver, read our list of 52 experience gift ideas, so you have at least one for every week next year. How thoughtful of us (and you)!

1. Opera/theater/show tickets (for the best seats, of course).

2. VIP concert tickets.

3. Plane tickets. Not really creative, but plane tickets are always a good idea.

4. A day at a spa center. Or, even better, at a warm outdoor swimming pool when it’s winter outside. Raise the stakes by bringing a flask of hot tea and rum.

5. A massage, preferably accompanied by a glass of wine or a cup of hot chocolate.

6. A thought-provoking book.

7. A book full of travel challenges.

8. Wine tasting. Beer tasting. Whisky tasting. Chocolate tasting.

9. A drawing/guitar/piano class.

10. A surprise trip (read How to plan the perfect surprise trip).

11. Bungee jumping.

12. Paragliding – a tandem flight.

13. A paragliding course (a whole new level where you can fly without an instructor).

14. Skydiving, diving, free diving

15. A day at a board games club.

16. A visit to an escape room.

17. A visit to a soundproof (anechoing) room – this is a hard task as there are just few anechoing chambers (absorbing every single sound and providing 99.9% silence) in the world, and they usually open only on specific days. They say that if you stay in an anechoing chamber for a while, you will start to actually hear your heartbeat.

18. A ‘coupon’ promising the recipient one day of your life together to do whatever they like.

19. Stargazing with a cup of hot chocolate.

20. A night at a Bedouin camp (for this particular idea you will need to already be in a country with Bedouins). If you are there anyway, use the chance to organize a great surprise by booking the night secretly, kidnapping your friend and taking them to the desert.

21. Glamping. Or champing (camping in a church) if you feel like scandalizing the religious society.

22. A dinner at a restaurant with such exotic cuisine that you can’t pronounce any item on the menu and you have to helplessly point to dishes to order them.

23. A whole day at a theme park.

24. A balloon flight.

25. A day on a yacht/boat with lots of champagne and a playlist with your favorite music.

26. A day snowshoeing in the mountains.

27. A cocktail night at a rooftop bar.

28. A night picnic.

29. A visit to a haunted/abandoned house.

30. A language course. Or step up your game by arranging a language course that takes place abroad.

31. A professional photo shoot.

32. If the person’s birthday occurs during a cold month, take them to a beach destination for a change. Or take them to a snow-capped mountain if they have never seen snow.

33. A party train ride. Book a whole compartment for the two of you, or for a bunch of friends. Bring goodies and drinks for everyone and let the party begin.

34. A hike in the mountain. Hide a box with a tiny cake and a bottle of champagne in your backpack. When you reach the peak, pop open the champagne and light the candles on top of the cake (you will probably have to buy non-extinguishable candles, because mountain peaks are windy places).

35. A night in a floating bungalow.

36. A dinner themed around the country of your most recent trip together.

37. Reunite the birthday person with an old friend who has been living abroad/faraway for years. Secretly arrange the friend’s arrival and, under the guise of a casual coffee with you, make the surprise meeting happen.

38. A membership for a museum, aquarium or a science center that lines up with the person’s interests.

39. A personal horoscope (if the person is into astrology). Substitute with a personal guided meditation, a human design, a personal coaching session or anything that will suit your friend’s soul.

40. A dance lesson.

41. Horse riding at sunset along the beach.

42. A subscription to yoga classes or any other sporty activity that will keep them healthy.

43. Anything homemade, because a homemade cake or herb-infused vodka is much greater than the product itself; it shows that you put time, effort and intent into creating it.

44. A luxury first night for a budget traveler. If you have a friend who spends most of their life on the road in crappy hostels and low-grade shared rooms, you can give them a ‘voucher’ for a first night in a luxury hotel for their next trip. After 26 hours of flying and interrupted dozes in airports, they will be more than thankful for a fluffy, cloud-like pillow and a real mattress in a soundproof hotel room.

45. Premium membership for their favorite app or online subscription. This could be Spotify, Calm or whatever service they love but would never splurge on.

46. Make one of their dreams come true. Has your friend always wanted to publish a book? To record their own song? Help them make their hobby a little bit more tangible by paying for the record or the publishing service.

47. Laughter. Have any of your friends been under the weather recently? Think of a way to make them laugh a bit: buy them tickets for a stand-up comedy show, take them to a comedy movie, or just organize a meetup with a mutual friend who is known to be light-hearted and always full of creative jokes.

48. A list of 52 challenges to complete during the next year. Make them fun and creative, and remember that some of them should be goofy and silly because that’s what friends are for! Thus, your gift won’t be forgotten for an entire year (and probably much longer). Browse through our Inspiration section to get some ideas.

49. A fixed sum of money with a catch. A 100-dollar note with a different kind of note, like: “On May 17, wherever you are, you have to spend this money on something unconventional, something you wouldn’t normally do. Spoil yourself, get adventurous or do whatever you feel like in the moment”.

50. A surprise party. OK, this is a classic. But if you haven’t done it yet, it’s almost always a cool idea.

51. A test drive of a fancy sports car.

52. A short video you secretly shot for this special person during your travels. Use a basic free video editor to make it shine a bit, then give it to the person on a memory stick wrapped in a ribbon.

53. Personal gift with print 🙂

I would also add a luxury pen to create memories. Or rather to preserve memories :)

Pin it now because you never know when you are going to need a list of good gift ideas:

Creativity is very important and a big plus in many ways.
For example, see who are creative agencies and what they do. You can inspire on the website hd-room.com 🙂

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Sometimes, in your lunch break, you’re in the mood to do something way more adventurous than eating lunch at your desk or hopping to the nearest coffee shop for a vanilla latte. We’re here to shower you with ideas so you know what to do during these rare moments of enlightenment.

Here’s our list of cool, weird and extraordinary things to do during your lunch break, so you can restart your mind at midday.

#1 Visit a museum or a gallery.

#2 Go to the movies.

#3 Organize a small reunion with a college friend whom you haven’t seen for years.

#4 Challenge your liver with a wine-tasting session (only to be attempted if you have a very cool boss).

#5 Visit a festival.

#6 Go to a faraway neighborhood to have lunch at a particular restaurant.

#7 Join a free tour of your city and learn new facts about where you live.

#8 Sweat it out in the gym.

#9 Go into a shop you would never enter and take a look around. Ask the shop assistant about what they sell and delve into details. This is a tiny exercise to help you expand your world.

#10 Join an art class and create something with your own hands.

#11 Meditate in a quite place.

#12 Go to church.

#13 Go for a walk amid nature – it’ll do wonders for your mental health.

#14 Go to the beach.

#15 Ride your bike (and listen to this perfectly themed playlist of cycling songs).

#16 Take a careful look at the menu and order something you would normally skip.

#17 Volunteer.

#18 Every weekday, go to a different place to eat, but order the same meal (like, pizza Margherita or Cesar salad). Rate every dish from 1 to 10 and then go back to the place where you had the best one to congratulate the staff.

Pin it for later to tick off every completed point:

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The worst thing about making New Year’s resolutions is that we forget about them by mid-January. So it’s best to print the list and hang it on the wall where you can see it every day (look for the printable version at the end of this post). Another option is to set up your calendar app so that it sends you a link to this article every month as a reminder.

Here’s the list:

1. Accept adventurous invitations more often.

2. Make more friends on the road. 

3. Try more new food.

4. Sail more.

5. Fly more. 

6. Be more curious. 

7. Get lost more often. 

8. Bring home memories and recipes instead of souvenirs. 

9. Try something for the first time more often – at least once a month.

10. Introduce at least one more person to the joy of traveling. 

11. Travel to more places where people know what happiness is. 

12. Become more immune to bad weather; don’t let it stop you from traveling.

13. Read more travel books. 

14. Get more organized and plan that grand adventure you’ve been postponing for years.

15. Spend less on clothes and gadgets and more on travel. 

16. Communicate more often with your new travel friends (send postcards or just random photos from your everyday life). Start right now. 

17. Take better care of yourself (because you need to travel in good shape).

18. Drink more water on planes. 

19. Spend more time off the tourist trail to discover the unknown.

20. Spend more time observing the world around you instead of rushing to your next destination.

21. Start enjoying the changes in your plan.

22. Spend more time in nature. 

23. Tweak classical holidays and celebrate them according to your own interpretation (check out our unusual Christmas travel ideas here).

24. Stop relying on other people’s opinion about places. 

25. Stop paying for tacky tours and use local transportation more. 

26. Fulfill (or take steps to fulfill) your biggest travel dream.

27. Pack lighter. 

28. Learn more words from the languages of the countries you visit.

29. Say “YES” more often.

How many of our travel challenges have you completed so far?

Pin or print this list to remind yourself of the good stuff you’ve promised yourself to do:

The post The traveler’s New Year resolutions (printable) appeared first on 203Challenges.

1. Do something unusual in your lunch break (visit a museum or indulge in a wine-tasting session). >>> Discover 16 more ideas in our list of fun and unusual lunch break ideas.

2. Send a kind card to someone for a random silly holiday (something along the lines of “ARRRRRR, we be wishin’ ye a jolly National Talk Like a Pirate Day!!!”).

3. Cook a recipe from a country you’ve never visited.

4. Plan a mini-adventure.

5. Read a travel book and then visit the places described in it.

BONUS CHALLENGE: Have a glass of very special, very young French wine on Beaujolais Nouveau Day (the third Thursday of November).

Or pin/print this list to always have it close for reference:

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These are only a few of the useful tips you need to know, in case you have decided to head to the coldest inhabited place in the Northern hemisphere – a Russian village called Oymyakon. If you ever come to Oymyakon during the winter, your idea of Siberian freeze would take on a whole other dimension. The fact that people live here, even when the average January temperature is -50oC, sounds unbelievable. What is even more incredible is that the locals are famous for their longevity, with some inhabitants at around 100 years old.A lot of things in Oymyakon seem unusual and contradictory to the laws of physics.

A lot of things in Oymyakon seem unusual and contradictory to the laws of physics. For instance, the lake doesn t freeze over, even at -60oC. The reason for this phenomenon is that when the soil surrounding the underground lake freezes, it also expands and pushes the water upwards, which means that the water is in a state of perpetual movement. That is why the local tribe, called Evenki, has named the region Oymyakon – it means “water that never freezes” in their language.

Oymyakon is a part of the Republic of Yakutia (Sakha), which is a federal subject of Russia. This place is the edge of the populated world. In 1926 a record temperature of -71,2oC was measured in the region. During the winter months, you can reach this remote place either by a helicopter, or via the winter road – a path of packed snow. Oymyakon has around 500 residents, who live a simple life, though not in igloos or yurts, as one might imagine. They have adjusted their lifestyle to the harsh environment. Since the ground is completely frozen all year long, no crops can grow here. That is why the most common foods are stag and horse meat, as well as whatever has been caught through means of ice fishing.

Life in Oymyakon hasn t changed for decades, as the progress of the modern world is barely crawling into this region. There are no hotels here, but many of the locals are happy to provide shelter to visitors. There is no mobile network coverage either, but even if there were, it would be useless, since phone batteries last only a few minutes at these temperatures. In 2008 the local school adopted an innovation – an inside bathroom. There is a single shop in the village, where you can purchase some groceries and household products. Furthermore, the mayor hands out a certificate to every visitor, for being at the “Pole of Cold.”

Would you visit this place to experience one of nature s ultimate challenges?

The post The coldest place in the world: Oymyakon appeared first on 203Challenges.

Get inspired…

Matt Green – He sets himself the goal of walking every street in New York. He also keeps a blog to write about the little surprises and interesting people he encounters as he walks. It all began in 2011 and the challenge has continued for several years. More on imjustwalkin.com.

Graham Hughes – Graham managed to visit 201 countries and territories in the world, without even once taking a plane. His adventure has gone on for almost three years and included a short stay in a Congolese prison, an arrest in Russia and running in Iraq with a gun in his hand. Graham was given a Guinness World Record certificate as a record holder for visiting the most countries in a year without flying (130). More on theodysseyexpedition.com.

Dixe Wills set himself the goal of visiting every place in Great Britain whose name begins with the letter “Z”. The total number is 41. He managed to do it within a year. Then he wrote a book, entitled “The Z-Z of Great Britain”. After he completed this challenge, Dixe traveled Great Britain’s entire sea coast by catching local buses only – 196 buses in six and a half weeks. More on dixewills.com.

Other ideas: Climb every peak on the nearest mountain. Visit all villages that begin with the letter of your first name and take a picture with the village sign. Eat fresh pasta in every town in Italy.

Create your personal crazy challenge: …………………………

The post Create your own challenge – the crazier, the better appeared first on 203Challenges.

#1 Ditch your camera at least for a day of your trip. It’s been proven that taking too many photos impairs your ability to remember details of the trip later. But how many is too many? Read here.

#2 Get a local guide. Locals know the secrets.

#3 Don’t stop traveling even if you have just a few dollars left. There are so many travel options when you’re broke. Here’s our list of places to go if you have no money.

#4 Enjoy an unplanned detour.

#5 Send a paper postcard home. Very few things are as exciting as spending two weeks checking your mailbox every day (the real one, not your email) for that card you are expecting from Sri Lanka.

#6 Accept an invitation you would normally decline. 

#7 Travel solo at least once a year to recharge your inner peace.

#8 Learn how to skip the lines at the most visited attractions. Here’s how to beat the crowds in Paris and at Angkor Wat.

#9 Sleep in the car.

#10 Learn to enjoy rainy days and make the most of them. If you can’t keep still, but the weather outside is frightful, here’s a list of 20 fun things to do on a rainy day.

#11 Read a book about the place you visit and then follow the steps of the main characters. Here’s a list of books to read before you visit London.

#12 Get out of your comfort zone.

#13 Forget about Facebook when you’re abroad. A week without Facebook has been proven to make you happier.

#14 Organize a surprise trip for someone you love.

#15 Use all the available free resources to organize your trip.

#16 Sleep in the wild on a weekday. Here’s how last summer I slept in a hammock in the forest on weekdays while still continuing to go to work. 

#17 Break the law but make it fun. Here are 15 unusual ways to be a lawbreaker around the world.

#18 Dine alone. It’s not such a big deal. Treating yourself to a nice meal in a nice place alone is about as good for your wellbeing as doing the same with the company of friends. Plus, it allows you to observe and romanticize the atmosphere around you, making you feel like you’re in a movie – and who doesn’t like to feel like that?

The post 18 things every traveler should try at least once appeared first on 203Challenges.

Big adventures are inspiring and they are great for impressing strangers in bars, but they happen quite rarely and the gap between them can make your life feel empty and uneventful. Plus, sometimes you just can’t take a day off from work even when you’re itching to get out and do something fun.

But all hope is not lost! There are several options that you’ve probably failed to notice in your despair.

After all, on a normal working day you’re free:

• in the morning;
• during your lunch break;
• after work (including the evening).

Here are 12 ideas for mini trips and adventures that you can squeeze into these breaks. They’re exciting, Instagram-worthy (because we all crave that killer shot that gets 100+ likes) and will help your free spirit survive until the weekend comes.

#1 Organize a sunrise picnic

A sunrise picnic by the lake | © Maria Angelova/ 203challenges.com

A picnic can be so much more than eating an alfresco meal on a blanket. Simply changing the time of your picnic can completely change the experience. Leave home an hour or so before sunrise, take a flask of coffee and breakfast in a basket, then drive somewhere beautiful to greet the new day.

>>> Try more creative picnic ideas.

#2 Head outside for your morning workout

Outdoor yoga routine | © Maria Angelova/ 203challenges.com

Yoga, tai chi or downhill biking – whatever your sporting passion is, try it somewhere new and exciting. Why practice your morning meditation in your living room when you can do it in a forest or a quiet park?

#3 Go ‘forest bathing’ like the Japanese

Go forest bathing | © Maria Angelova/ 203challenges.com

The Japanese call it shinrin-yoku (forest bathing) – the practice of walking in the forest to improve your health. The Swedes have a somewhat similar tradition called gökotta, which involves heading to a forest before sunrise to listen to the first birdsong of the morning. It’s much more exciting to tell your colleagues you practiced shinrin-yoku or gökotta instead of simply saying “I went to the park this morning.”

#4 Walk to work

Swap your daily commute for a walk to combine a healthy lifestyle, physical activity and a peaceful rebellion against big city’s pollution. It’s no coincidence that there’s a Walk to Work Day – use it as inspiration!

#5 Do something unusual in your lunch break

If you stop thinking of your lunch break as just a meal time, you’ll be able to come up with tons of amazing activities that you can squeeze into your day. If you’re struggling for inspiration, read this list of unusual lunch break ideas.

#6 Hop on your bike and ride to the nearest peak

Cycle for the sunset | © Maria Angelova/ 203challenges.com

All the sweat and pain of climbing a hill on two wheels is worth it when there’s a jaw-dropping view at the top. Take a bottle of wine and share it with your fellow mini-adventurers on a summer’s day; you can enjoy the sunlight long after work is over.

Psst. We’ve compiled a cycling playlist here.

#7 Dine on a lake shore

Dine on a lake shore | © Maria Angelova/ 203challenges.com

Instead of having dinner at home or at a restaurant, grab your favorite takeaway and head to the nearest lake. Reservoirs, river banks, city ponds and fountains will also suffice if your neighborhood is lacking in lakes. Of course, lakeside meals are often interrupted by lakeside birds, so keep some crumbs at hand for your feathered friends.

#8 Book a table at a restaurant in another city

Indulging in a scrumptious meal is always a special event, no matter whether you’re abroad or at home. To make this weekday night even more special, research a good restaurant in a neighboring city and head there. Don’t forget to try the dessert of the day!

#9 Go stargazing

A blanket, a friend and a half-hour drive out of the city are the only three ingredients you need for a memorable night under the stars. If it’s August and you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you can plan to see the Perseids meteor shower.

#10 Sleep in a hotel in your own city

Choose a cozy boutique hotel in your own city and treat yourself to a midweek vacation. Take advantage of all the services: the spa center, the gourmet restaurant, the rooftop bar…

#11 Go midweek camping somewhere close to your city

Go midweek camping | © Maria Angelova/ 203challenges.com

Midweek camping is so unexpectedly refreshing that once you’ve tried it, you may wonder why you’ve wasted all those years sleeping under a ceiling. It’s much easier than it sounds; you don’t need a day off and you don’t need to drive for miles. Simply read our guide: How to organize a midweek nature escape in 10 easy steps.

#12 Go on a night hike

Provided you have an acceptable mountain/hill close to where you live and there’s a trail you know like the back of your hand, you have no excuse not to put your headlamp on and head on a refreshing hike under the moonlight. Choose a night with a full moon for an extra special experience.

Featured image: © Maria Angelova/ 203challenges.com

Like these ideas? Pin them so you always have them at hand:

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1. January: organize a surprise trip for someone you love

It might be for a special occasion, like their birthday. Or you might want to surprise them just because.

Here’s a detailed plan for how to organize a surprise trip in less than 30 minutes.

Morning on the road | PicJumbo

2. February: travel for free

It’s not as hard as it sounds to travel for free. We’ve covered the topic in detail in our article How to travel for free (without feeling like a tramp).

3. March: head on a mystery trip

The only things you will know before your mystery trip are the starting point and your budget. Then 1) hop on the first bus and get off at a random stop, or 2) take the first cheap flight at the airport, or 3) blindfold a friend and let them give directions while you are driving (please make sure that YOU are driving, not your blindfolded friend).

4. April: go for more nature walks

Walking in nature is good for your physical and mental health (look at this infographic for more details), so why not put aside a little ‘me time’ this April and go to the nearest wilderness/forest/mountain every weekend?

5. May: travel solo

Because everyone needs to travel alone at least once a year to replenish their inner world and return to themselves.

Spend some quality ‘me time’ on the road | PicJumbo

6. June: for a week, do something unusual during your lunch break

Visit a museum, go to a yoga class, indulge in a wine-tasting session, go to the movies, meet a friend from your college years or do any other unusual activity that comes to your mind.

7. July: swap your bed for a hammock for at least one night in the summer. On a weekday.

Now, the second part is more important, because it’s not such a big challenge to do this on the weekend. But what a refreshing experience it is to spend the night in a hammock somewhere around the city (you can hang a hammock basically anywhere) and then, after having your well-earned morning coffee, go back to the office with a silly grin on your face. We did it last summer; here’s what happened.

8. August: bathe in a waterfall

Nothing is better than a free shower from nature. Here are a few of the best waterfalls to take a dip in the USA.

9. September: confront one of your fears

Think about one of your greatest fears, take a teeny-tiny step to overcome it. Then another one. Aaaand another one. Push your limits as far as you can.

10. October: you’re gonna like this – spend a whole day enjoying the sweetness of doing nothing.

Or as the Italians call it, il dolce far niente. There’s no need to run around the world crossing countries off your bucket list all the time. Just slow the f* down and practice dolce far niente for a whole day.

11. November: embrace the bad weather

Choose a day with bad weather and force yourself to go outside into nature. You’ll need to follow a few important rules to actually enjoy this. 1. Dress according to the weather (there’s no bad weather, just inappropriate clothing). 2. Take a flask full of hot tea. 3. Take photos, or simply observe the world around you. Observing is delightful.

12. December: spend Christmas like never before

This could mean anything from ‘go to Lapland to meet Santa in person’ to ‘go to a Bedouin desert camp on Christmas Eve’.

Read our list of cool unusual things to do this Christmas.

The post 12 creative travel ideas to make 2024 a year to remember appeared first on 203Challenges.

Meet locals: Global Greeter Network

Global Greeter Network is my favorite way to find a local guide to show you around for free and answer all the questions you might have about the place you’re visiting. The network now includes more than 150 cities all over the world, and it’s continually growing. Unlike many other similar services, Global Greeter Network is not tip-based; it’s completely free.

Meet locals: MeetUp

MeetUp is a platform where everyone can create or join a meeting in their current location. These are social events ranging from yoga classes to book clubs, mindfulness practices, outdoor sports and language exchanges. The events themselves can be free or paid, but don’t worry – this is specified in the meetup description. If you don’t find any meetup that suits you, just create your own!

Offline navigation: Google Maps

Since Google Maps released its offline version, travelers’ lives have changed forever. No longer do you need to use expensive data roaming to find your way in a foreign city! Of course, one of the main drawbacks of the app is that the downloadable files are huge (usually several hundred megabytes) and take up large chunks of your phone’s memory. You can find full instructions on how to download and use offline maps here.

Offline navigation: Maps.me

In some countries (Thailand for example), Google Maps doesn’t support offline navigation. That’s when you need to find a substitute, and the perfect substitute is Maps.me. This app requires way less phone storage space than Google Maps and has proven to be incredibly accurate (like that one time when it guided us through a secret passageway in a floating market – it was so well-hidden that we didn’t even realize we were supposed to buy tickets).

Meditation: Calm

Calm is a leading meditation app that offers enough free stuff to keep your spirituality high on the road. Choose from the list of meditation melodies, and download your favorites for those moments when (gasp!) you don’t have internet access. The app also features a few guided meditations, timed meditations and sleep stories. The handy calendar makes it easy for you to catch up if you miss a meditation session.

Find the cheapest flights, regardless of the dates and destinations: Kiwi

Sometimes you simply have a little extra cash and no preferences for where and when you want to go. Kiwi.com is the perfect tool for these situations – you can set your outgoing destination and dates (or not!), and Kiwi will find you the cheapest flights to anywhere in the world.

Find cheap flights and error fares: Secret Flying

Of all the error fare services I’ve tested, Secret Flying has proven to be one of the best. On its Facebook page, it posts flight deals and worldwide error fares several times a day. Just hit the “See first” option on Facebook to make sure you don’t miss a good deal. There’s also a search bar on the website, which allows you to search by destination or date.

>>> Read more: How to travel for free (without feeling like a tramp)

Pin it for free and return later, when you’re wondering “what was that website for meeting locals…?”:

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