The Ultimate Adventure Hit List
Guest Post (!) - Beyond the usual surf trips and golf weekends, these adventures deliver adrenaline, camaraderie, and unforgettable moments—designed to create stories worth telling for a lifetime.
A Note Before the Introduction:
When Shane and I plan our travels, we’re in sync 95% of the time—getting married and honeymooning in Italy, celebrating our anniversary in Tokyo, escaping to the Italian and Austrian Alps in winter, and heading to Egypt this spring once he wraps up work.
But every so often, our travel visions couldn’t be more different. Last year, as we wrapped up our time in London, Shane was set on trekking through Nepal, while I pictured myself topless at a beach club in the South of France, rosé in hand. C’est la. So, we compromised—he went on a boys’ trip to Scotland, I met the girls in Puglia, and we met in Lisbon afterward.
Some trips are made for couples, others for friends, and the best are reserved for both! Guys need their dose of adrenaline and a little refined debauchery—just like we all love a great girls’ trip.
With that in mind, Shane has created his ultimate Guys’ Adventure Trip Hit List—a mix of places he’s already explored and those still on his radar.
I’m Shane Habberstad- a Los Angeles-based stuntman and stunt coordinator whose life has been shaped by a love for adventure and travel. My career has taken me across the globe—living in Europe, Canada, and the UK, and filming in some of the world’s most incredible, remote locations. I’ve raced through the Sahara Desert in Morocco, flown helicopters through Norway’s glacier-carved fjords, and sailed across the Caribbean. I’ve also spent cumulative years of my life on a bluescreen stage in the suburbs of Atlanta making superhero movies, far removed from any glamour. But between personal and work travel, I’ve likely spent more time on the road than not.
Around Substack, I’m better known as Jordan’s husband and I’m excited to share my dream travel destinations with you.
We’ve been to the Vegas bachelor parties, the surf trips in Costa Rica, golf in Napa and the Cabo birthdays. These trips are something different. Once in a lifetime, must experience adventures that every guy dreams of….
Backcountry Ski + Sailing - Lofoten Islands, Norway
Sail through the Arctic Circle to access remote slopes that few will ever experience. Earn your turns, ski touring untouched powder, and catching fresh seafood onboard an insane 60’ sailboat. With expert guides tailoring the adventure to your skills and all meals included, this is a truly once-in-a-lifetime trip the boys are dying to do and will never forget.
Stay: Seil Norge - An all-inclusive adventure blending comfort and exploration, with top-notch guides, fresh local meals, and unrivaled access to Norway’s epic Arctic terrain.
Surf Trip - Sumba, Indonesia
Like Bali in the 60’s - perfect waves, warm water, no crowds, with an elite 5-star resort.
It’s only a one-hour flight from Bali, but twice the size with a sixth of the population. I love to surf, but even though I live in LA, I rarely go. The water is cold, the waves suck, and it’s so crowded you’re lucky to catch a wave on a good day. The cure for me and my friends has been at least one surf trip each year - Costa Rica, Mexico, and Hawaii are the easiest for a short rip, but the DREAM trip we are dying to do is Sumba.
Stay: Nihi Sumba - Private villas with butlers, and exclusive access to Occy’s Left, a 300-yard-long break that the resort controls and only allows 10 people at a time in the lineup.
Climb Kilimanjaro + African Safari - Tanzania, Africa
Spend 5 days hiking to the highest peak in Africa, then wind down by catching the Great Migration on a luxe safari. Everyone should summit a continent in their lifetime, and this is both the most achievable and exotic. I climbed in January 2018 with my then 57-year-old (albeit very fit) dad, and we had no problem making it to the top amongst a diverse crowd of hikers of all ages.
I say “hikers” because it requires no technical climbing ability or gear- it’s a few hours of mostly comfortable hiking every morning from one camp to the next, followed by an afternoon of acclimatization (chilling out while your body makes more red blood cells). You carry a max 25lb pack, and porters carry the rest. They say there are 5 climate zones on the mountain, but what that really looks like is starting in the rain forest in shorts and a t-shirt watching monkeys swing by, then slowly working your way up to full alpine glacier as plants and wildlife quickly fade away.
The move here is to have the wives and girlfriends go wine tasting in Franschhoek, South Africa, or chill on the beach in Zanzibar, then all meet up for a safari afterward. You’re pretty smoked after the 5-day climb, so the best way to wind down is to be waited on hand and foot in a game lodge eating incredible local meals, and cruising in Land Rovers looking for the Big 5: Lion, elephant, leopard, rhino, and water buffalo. I saw lions making love, cheetahs chasing down gazelles, hyenas chewing through leftover zebra, and the Great Migration of millions of wildebeests on the Serengeti. Unforgettable, core memories.
Climb: There are great guides and terrible ones, so book this through Jo.
Stay: Singita Serengeti House - best of the best safari lodges all over Africa.
For the girls: Babylonstoren- a Dutch-style farm hotel in the Franschhoek wine valley with posh rooms and world-class wine.
Mountain Bike + Whisky Tasting Tour- The Scottish Isles
The world’s premier mountain bike and whisky destination for a windy, rainy, thoroughly miserable time that you will love every second of. This 6-day trip was hands down the most physically exhausting and mentally rejuvenating trip I’ve ever done in my life.
The boys had tried for years to get it together for various birthdays and bachelor parties, finally culminating in a couple of buddies deciding to come visit me in London after I finished a film.
We took the train from London Kings Cross to Inverness, way up in the Highlands, picked up our top-of-the-line, full-suspension mountain bike rentals and set off with the coolest guide I’ve ever met in my life. The biking level is as advanced as you want it to be and we pushed each other to our breaking point. We took a 6 am ferry to the Isle of Raasay, rode up and over that twice, stopped at the Raasay Distillery for a wee dram (5 whiskies in about 20 minutes), then caught the ferry back to a charming seaside village of about 50 people called Plockton. That was day one and the rest were equally incredible.
By the end of the 5 days, we were sore, all banged up, but still buzzing. We rented a car and spent 3 days driving down to Edinburgh, past Loch Ness, hitting a couple of whisky distilleries, and spending a night in Fort William to climb Ben Nevis (the highest mountain in the UK, and only a 6-hour round trip). We spent a night in Edinburgh, ditched the rental car, and took the train back to London to meet the wives and girlfriends who had spent the week sipping Prosecco by a pool in Puglia.
The boys and I talk about this trip constantly and can’t wait to do another similar in the Dolomites or Slovenia.
Bike: H+I Adventures - the best mountain bike guiding company in the world and it’s not even close. Their whole ideology is to create an elevated MTB tour- stay in nice hotels, eat at great local restaurants, they clean your bike every evening, and then give you the best riding experience every day. 12/10 recommendation.
Stay: Gleneagles Townhouse in Edinburgh - If you’re already there, best to spend a couple of nights unwinding in the classic luxury of this incredible hotel.
Deepwater Rock Climbing + Cycling Trip - Mallorca, Spain
Psicobloc, or deep-water soloing, was born in Mallorca, where steep cliffs rise dramatically from the sea, begging to be climbed without ropes or a harness. Made infamous by legendary climber Chris Sharma and his iconic ascent of Es Pontas, my buddies and I first saw this video in college and have been dreaming of Mallorca ever since. In the years since then, we’ve all become full-blown cyclists—lycra and all—and discovered that Mallorca is also cycling’s most popular island, offering world-class rides and top-tier hotels to match.
Stay: Belmond La Residencia – Rest your legs by the pool at La Residencia, one of the best properties in the Belmond lineup. Timelessly cool, perfectly posh while always feeling casual.
This is my first guest post, and hopefully not my last. Let me know what I missed and what trips are on your list. I want feedback.
-Shane
The dream travel duo, I’ll be sipping Prosecco with you while the boys are on their next adventure.
Love this - so interesting! I wish I was an active girlie but I’m a beach girlie - but this was so interesting to read and see how others travel! Fascinated to hear more about the stunt work, too! You’re both so well travelled! I’m jealous!