Tours often end up being my favorite part of a trip.
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After all, who wouldn’t remember mushing with sled dogs in northern Sweden? Or shooting an M60 outside Ho Chi Minh City? Or descending eight floors into the earth on a palace tour in Sintra, Portugal?
Tours give us the chance to connect with our destination in a way that feels more meaningful to us. Over the last five years, they’ve become a staple for many travelers. Some tours have even evolved into full-on, multi-day excursions.
In short, it’s not shocking for travelers to be inspired by prospective tours. A catchy tour with a unique theme can even inspire our wanderlust, introducing us to new ideas, adventures, and destinations. That’s certainly the case with more over-the-top tours, whether birding in a famous nature reserve to taking cooking classes with famous chefs.
Are you looking for a little travel inspiration for this autumn and winter season? Let’s let the craziest, most OTT Viator tours lead the way.
Pure travel inspiration: 6 OTT Viator Tours
Hunt for the Aurora Borealis in Fairbanks, Alaska
If you want to see the Northern Lights, there’s no need to book a trip to Iceland or Norway. Instead, head to Fairbanks, Alaska. This aurora tour comes with free photography, which is a must for any Northern Lights tour, in my opinion. (You need a pro to get those droolworthy shots! A phone probably can’t handle the same.)
On top of the photography perks, you can expect guides who are passionate and knowledgeable. They know the area, they know the skies, and they’re dedicated to getting you a shot that you can take home and show your family.
Paddle through a bioluminescent show in San Juan, Puerto Rico
If you’ve visited or dreamed of visiting Puerto Rico’s capital of San Juan, I’m sure you’ve noticed bioluminescent kayak tours on the docket. But let’s not forget about Vieques, where this tour is located. Vieques is a small island near San Juan—and it’s home to the area’s brightest bioluminescent display.
Not only is this a great trip to plan during winter, thanks to Puerto Rico’s mild temperatures, but you also get the benefit of less daylight. Less daylight = more darkness = more time to kayak through a bioluminescent fantasy land.
Just don’t forget about the moon. Travelers who have gone on this or similar Viator tours have noted that if it’s full, don’t expect as bright a show thanks to light pollution.
Learn the street art ropes in Chicago (while you escape the frost)
Street art isn’t seasonal, but I think staying indoors is usually top-of-mind for anyone visiting Chicago during autumn or winter. The BYOB sip-and-spray setup is housed indoors, letting you learn the ins and outs of how to make art with a can.
Along the way, you’ll also learn a bit about the history of street art and graffiti from local experts and guest artists. By the end of the class, you’ll be able to create your magnum opus.
Soak in a hot spring hidden inside a crater in Utah
Nearby Park City waits one of the coolest Viator tours out there, which is housed inside the US’s most awesome hot springs, known as the Midway Spa and Utah Crater.
It’s the US’s only year-round natural hot spring where temperatures hover in the mid-90s. That’s a pretty sweet promise, but the cool factor here is actually the location.
The hot springs are located inside a hollow crater. The water source is a whopping two miles below the surface—but I’ll leave a few surprises for when you take the tour. Like I just mentioned, this hot spring is active year-round, but visiting during the cooler months is recommended.
Watch the monarchs migrate near Mexico City
Want to see one of the loveliest migrations in the world? On this small group tour, you’ll head outside Mexico City to a large monarch butterfly sanctuary (Sierra Chincua).
It was built for the butterflies to overwinter from November to March, meaning you’re guaranteed to see thousands of fluttering monarchs on a visit during that time.
The cover image for this article was taken inside the Sierra Chincua park during peak monarch season. Yes, there are really that many!
Get up close and personal with volcanoes in Reykjavik, Iceland
What makes Iceland so dramatically beautiful? It’s a volcanic island that is uniquely positioned where two major tectonic plates merge, and it is also sat atop something called a ‘mantle plume’, which spews hot air from deep underground.
Thanks why Iceland is home to things like dangerous black-sand beaches that are prone to rogue waves, vibrant and expansive hot spring formations, and formations like the Table Mountains.
Here’s my point: Iceland’s volcanic nature gives you access to one of the hardest-to-find travel experiences in the world. That’s the ability to get up close and personal with a volcano by actually descending inside of it. While it’s not the only dormant volcano by a long shot, it’s the only place in the world where you can go inside one. For now, at least.
