Life

World’s top fun destinations

Top ten fun places

Take off eh.comIn a career which has included several of the biggest vacation companies in the world, Chris has travelled to over 150 countries. In his Top Ten Favourite Places he selects his personal best destinations in a range of categories. This week he picks his favourite “Fun Places”.

In the course of my travels I have rafted, zorbed, swooped, bungeed, free-fallen and dueled with dragons. I have flown on a trapeze, snowbiked Rocky pistes, swung over canyons, jumped off the top of the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere and climbed the highest mountains in Africa and Southeast Asia. And along the way I have met Santa Claus, Mickey Mouse, The Killer Bee Man, and a Cowboy Poet to name but a few… Here is my list of zany, anything goes, fav’s.

  1. Orlando, Florida<
    The Theme Park Centre of the Universe, there’s one for every day of the week with everything from Disney’s unique “imagineering” to Universal’s incredible tributes to popular culture and Seaworld’s magical animal experiences. I go every year and rediscover the kid in me everytime. There’s no better stress buster.
  2. Branson, Missouri
    Entertainment is the name of the game in this city of over 100 stage shows – every one is good clean family fun that you could take your Granny to see. My personal favourite is the world’s largest Titanic Museum attraction where for a while you become a guest on the ill-fated liner.
  3. Las Vegas, Nevada
    There is nowhere on the planet where it is quite so true that “anything goes.” Many of my most bizarre human interactions have taken place in this City of Sin. So it’s just as well that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!
  4. Queenstown, New Zealand
    This is where the fine art of bungee jumping was invented. Dedicated to soft adventure of all kinds including skydiving, bungee jumping, jetboating, canyon swinging, whitewater rafting, parapenting, heli-skiing… If you’re short on adrenalin – this is your kind of place.
  5. Legoland, Denmark
    The original and still the best – this is every little kid’s dream… and some big kids too. If it can be built with lego bricks it is here – as well as thrill rides galore. For us Boomers brought up on these building blocks, it’s a perfect excuse to revert to childhood.
  6. Santa Claus trip, Lapland
    Taking a wide-eyed 4 year old to a land where the sun creeps over the horizon for just an hour to illuminate Santa Claus, sleigh, reindeer and Xmas presents – is a very special experience for kids and parents alike. I’ll never forget the wonder on Pip’s face when Santa strode out of the Arctic twilight…
  7. Club Med Sandpiper, Florida
    Of all the Club Med Resorts, this is perhaps their most successful family resort with the best Kids Club my kids have ever encountered. Circus school is a must for everyone, although I found I was out-performed by my boys.
  8. Rotorua, New Zealand
    The soft adventure capital of North Island, NZ, this is the place to do all kinds of crazy things. My favourite was zorbing, which entailed careering down a hillside inside a giant transparent plastic ball! I am now a confirmed “Zorbanaut”.
  9. Banff, Alberta
    Snowbiking is one of the most hilarious and ridiculous activities I have ever enjoyed. I sat on a tricycle on skiis, hurtling down the slopes in Sunshine Village in very varying stages of control. Two words: try it!
  10. Xel-Ha, Mexico
    This eco-park on the Mayan Riviera has something for everyone – it’s a natural aquarium, water park, ancient Mayan site, soft adventure playground and more…all set in a verdant jungle.

Photo Credits: Chris Robinson

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