There are some things in life that are extraordinary, some maybe once in a lifetime and some you may just straight up decline. Here are 5 of the most unique travel experiences in the world. Before we get started, I’m planning to make multiple videos like this, so if you have any suggestions please be sure to leave them in the comments below.

I will be mentioning who I went with for my experiences, but I am not sponsored, I just want to give credit for a great experience.

Glow Worms

The first item on this list is one that I didn’t know I would see, but was mesmerized by. These little worms with just as tiny a life span, glow due to vibrations around them. One of the most famous places you can see them is in New Zealand at the Waitomo Caves, however, I also got to see them around the Doubtful Sound area on the rock walls that led up to our accommodation. While the photos make them look really bright, in my experience they are slightly exaggerated and are much more subdued in person, but the pictures are fantastic. Other places you can see these tiny glowing worms of different places around the world in various forms, but these specific worms are only found in New Zealand. If you’re in New Zealand, my recommendation is to go with Spellbound, they have small groups and fantastic local guides and my experience with them was fantastic and fairly priced.

Beaches

Something that you can find a few different places including New Zealand is coloured beaches. Black sand beaches are a personal favourite and are highly popular on Instagram, there are also pink sand beaches, rock beaches and even glass beaches.

Glass beaches of various forms can be found all over the place. From Hawaii to New York in the USA as well as Bermuda, Bahamas, Russia, England and Japan. They’re cause mostly by litter from the past, old dumping grounds, where people and companies would leave the garbage behind and now are massive tourist attractions.

Sand beaches are some of the best known, likely because they’re the most common, and because of all the tv shows and movies that have featured them. The beaches were most used to seeing are usually sunny and white, but beaches around the world are becoming increasingly popular because of coloured sand. Red Beaches can be found in Greece and Hawaii, while Hawaii also has Green, Black, and even an orange beach! It would probably take hours to list all the different coloured sand beaches in the world, but they can be found in countries like Italy, Bermuda, Iceland, Malta, New Zealand, Prince Edward Island on the east coast of Canada, as well as California and Australia among other places.

My personal favourite has to be rock beaches. The first time I saw a rock beach, was in Newfoundland. The sound is incredible. And while you can’t usually swim because of the rocks being pushed and pulled by the water, spending a day at there beaches is certainly something you can do, but you might have trouble hearing afterwards.

***PLEASE don’t take sand, rocks or glass with you! I know they’re beautiful, that they’re a great reminder of a trip and that many people collect them, but that’s how the beaches deteriorate and are destroyed over time. ***

Wild Life

One of the greatest thrills I think we can ever experience is being out in nature and seeing creatures in their natural habitat, from kangaroos and koalas to lions, jaguars, elephants, turtles, sharks, moose and deer. Until that moose charges, you and you need to speed away, but that’s a story for another time. Being able to see creatures of all kinds in their natural environment is something that is an absolutely incredible experience.

If, like me, you’re lucky enough to see any creatures in the wild, make sure to keep a safe distance from them, the government of Canada recommends 30m (98 Feet) away from large animals and 100m (300 feet) away from bears, wolves, coyotes and cougars. It’s almost unbelievable how quickly they can get from where they are to you in only a few seconds, even at 30 meters away. Also make sure not feed the wildlife, in some cases, can result in them being dependent on humans for food, with some dying because they can’t feed themselves or because they’ve eaten something that is poisonous to them.

Bioliminescence

I remember Bioluminescence being vaguely covered at some point in my advanced science classes in High school, but actually seeing it was a whole other world. Cause by plankton emitting radiation absorbed during the day being disturbed by a motion like swimming or a boat going through water.

I first saw it in the Bay of Islands while on an overnight cruise with the rock adventure cruise. Maybe it was being in a kayak, maybe it was listening to the stories told by our guides, the excitement of one of our first experiences in New Zealand being the water glowing below us like that scene in Moana where her ancestors are sailing with her? Maybe it was all of it, and similar to the glow worms, what you see online is often slightly exaggerated, but still beautiful. I was lucky enough to see it in New Zealand, but you can also see this phenomenon in Puerto Rico, Hong Kong, New Jersey, San Diego, Japan, Florida, Vietnam and the Maldives where that viral image of the lowing beach comes from.

Glaciers

Glaciers are a stunning sight, from both far in the distance and up close. It’s incredible how the temperature drops in the area around the glacier too, there’s usually some hiking involved getting close to them but the air when I was there was cooled by the massive Ice formation. They’re common in many places, especially Europe, but in Canada, where I’m from, they’re only really found on the west coast, so I haven’t seen any here, yet.

These glaciers are left over ice from centuries ago, but sadly are melting at unprecedented rates, prompting some to cover them in protective tarps to try to slow the process. Seeing one of these massive ice formations was one of the most incredible experiences of my life, being from Canada, I’m used to snow and ice, but not on this scale. Sadly, I didn’t take a helicopter tour up because I found the cost prohibitive, but it is something I would like to do in the future if the opportunity arises.