The Strangest and Most Unusual Travel Tours in the World
While many travellers dream of sandy beaches and tropical cocktails, others are drawn to the weird, the eerie, and the downright bizarre. Around the world, there are tours that go far beyond the standard sightseeing experience—taking you to abandoned cities, extreme environments, or experiences that most people would never dare to try.
Here’s a curated list of the most unusual travel adventures on Earth—plus a few extra ideas for the truly curious and fearless.
Chernobyl: Exploring the Exclusion Zone
The Chernobyl disaster site in Ukraine remains one of the most haunting places on the planet. Following the 1986 nuclear accident, the surrounding area was abandoned almost overnight, leaving entire towns frozen in time.
Today, guided tours take visitors through parts of the exclusion zone, including the ghost city of Pripyat. While safety restrictions limit access, seeing abandoned schools, apartments, and amusement rides under the shadow of the reactor offers a sobering reminder of human impact on the environment.
Expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctica
For travellers who thrive in extreme cold and isolation, few experiences compare to visiting the polar regions. Antarctica remains largely untouched, accessible only via expedition cruises and scientific collaborations. In the Arctic, journeys to destinations like Svalbard, Greenland, or deep into northern Finland offer stark landscapes, encounters with polar bears, and surreal natural phenomena like the midnight sun or polar night.
Both require careful preparation, but the reward is a rare glimpse into some of the planet’s most remote environments.
Haunted and Paranormal Tours
Across the world, there are places steeped in unsettling history—former prisons, battlefields, asylums, and old hospitals—where ghost sightings are part of local legend. Cities like Edinburgh, New Orleans, and York offer nightly ghost walks, while rural destinations may provide full overnight stays in reputedly haunted buildings.
These tours often combine history with spine-tingling storytelling, ideal for those who enjoy a thrill with their cultural experiences.
Space Tourism and Zero-Gravity Experiences
The race for private space travel has moved beyond science fiction. While full trips into orbit remain rare and costly, there are other options:
- Visiting space museums and observatories
- Booking a zero-gravity flight
- Attending a rocket launch in Florida, French Guiana, or Kazakhstan
- Pre-booking a ticket with a private company for future suborbital trips
Space tourism offers a glimpse into humanity’s next frontier—if you can handle the price tag.
Volcanic Tours and Lava Viewing
Standing close to an active volcano is both awe-inspiring and slightly terrifying. Places like Iceland, Hawaii, and Vanuatu offer guided tours to volcanic craters, lava tubes, and geothermal fields. Some even offer night tours where glowing rivers of lava light up the dark sky—a rare chance to witness Earth’s raw power in action.
The Catacombs and Underground Worlds
From the skeletal tunnels beneath Paris to the ancient salt mines in Poland, underground tours offer a completely different kind of travel. Some lead you through vast cave systems, others through crypts and ossuaries filled with centuries-old remains. These tours are often equal parts history lesson and macabre fascination.
Extreme Isolation Retreats
For the truly unconventional traveller, there are tours designed to cut you off from modern life entirely. Remote island stays, survival courses in uninhabited forests, or retreats in Arctic cabins with no electricity provide a rare chance to disconnect completely—ideal for those seeking both adventure and introspection.
Final Thoughts
These tours may not be for everyone, but for those who crave the extraordinary, they provide a chance to see the world from a completely different perspective. Whether it’s walking through an abandoned nuclear city, braving the polar cold, or descending into the underworld, strange travel experiences can leave memories that last a lifetime—and stories few others can tell.