Extreme Water Sports for Extreme Travelers

Swimming, fishing and boating are fun and all. But if your clients are searching for a bit of an adrenaline rush, consider exploring these extreme water sports.

Shipwreck Diving

SCUBA diving isn't all coral reefs. Shipwreck dives offer interesting sites for travelers looking to explore a bit of a destination's history under the surface.

A two-for-one site lies 10 minutes from the Kewalo Basin, just outside Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii. The USS YO-257 and a Korean fishing boat, both sunk by the Atlantis Submarines Hawaii, rest only 40 feet apart at a depth of 85 feet.

The Keystorm, resting in New York, is a 255 foot-long freighter that perches at a nearly impossible angle in the St. Lawrence Seaway: The 2,300-ton vessel tips from 25 feet deep to 110 feet. It's an accessible site for divers of every skill set and offers great photography opportunities.

Your clients need to be SCUBA certified in order to dive, but once they're certified, it's for life! If there are any cool diving opportunities in your destination, encourage your clients to invest in SCUBA certification prior to the trip.

If your clients aren't interested in getting their feet (or hair) wet, sites with shipwrecks often have glass-bottom boat tours so tourists could reap the experience without the hassle of diving.

Kiteboarding

Wakeboarding, snowboarding, windsurfing and paragliding all combine to create kiteboarding, an extreme water sport where a large, controllable power kite propels the kiteboarder across the water on a board that's similar to a wakeboard or small surfboard.

Travelers can kiteboard wherever they want and still get a wild ride—it's possible to jump 30 feet in the air off flat water—but Cape Cod, Long Beach, Miami and San Francisco are a few great locations.

All your clients need is some gear ... and maybe some lessons. It takes about a day to get the hang of kiteboarding, but if your tourists are interested, you could plan to spend a couple of days hitting the waves—and the air.

Parasailing

Parasailing gives group tours an entirely new perspective.

Your clients could take in their surroundings as a giant parachute launches them hundreds of feet above the water. Parasailing offers unique views of destinations as a boat tows them along in a tour unlike any other.

While the Gulf Coast, Myrtle Beach and Ocean City are all great places for travelers to enjoy picturesque views with salty ocean spray, you're likely to find parasailing opportunities near any large body of water.

And don't be fooled: Parasailers may be out of the water, but they'll still get wet.

Written by Cassie Westrate, staff writer for Groups Today.

Photo courtesy of the Domincan Republic of Tourism.