‘You will never risk being dull at the dinner table’

Bungee jumping and scuba diving are so 2010. For real bragging rights these days it’s all about space balloons, survival camps and superyacht treasure hunts, says Rachel Ingram

Test yourself at a survival camp

Braggability

9

In 2022, wellness retreats were all the rage – but for 2023, trends are heading in the opposite direction. Now, it is all about going back to basics, with brave participants signing up for fight-forsurvival camps that are designed to bring out their primal side. Forget creature comforts: guests are taught bushcraft survival skills, such as how to make a fire and how to open a coconut without tools, and then left on a desert island near the Philippines, Tonga or Panama, where they have to fend for themselves for a whopping 10 days. Relaxing beach holiday, eat your heart out.

How to do it Desert Island Survival (desertislandsurvival.com) offers 10-day survival camps from £2,650 per person

Become a secret agent on a 007 mission

Braggability 7

Budding James (and Jane) Bonds will embark on a multi-country assignment, starting at the secret agent’s home in London before proceeding to key film locations across France and Italy. Experiences encompass the arts, culture, action and adventure, including going behind the scenes at Château de Chantilly (villain Max Zorin’s lavish estate in A View to a Kill), waterskiing on Lake Como (inspired by Licence to Kill) and a VIP night at the Casino de Monte-Carlo (as featured in GoldenEye). Created in partnership with Eon Productions, the company responsible for the James Bond franchise, this is as bona fide as it gets – but hurry, as only 60 private trips will be available.

How to do it Black Tomato (black tomato.com) will offer The Assignment: Europe experience from £15,000 per person for five nights including London and one other location. Booking opens in March 2023

Sleep in a jungle bubble

Braggability 7

Transparent domes are, of course, nothing new – but this is the first time they have been taken into the jungle. The Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort, in northern Thailand, has built permanent “jungle bubbles” in its surrounding wilds, meaning animal lovers can spend the night watching rescued elephants roaming in their natural habitat, all while enjoying the creature comforts and safety of their luxurious, airconditioned transparent suite. For a bit of added luxe, some even come with a plunge pool.

How to do it Book a one-bedroom Jungle Bubble from £585 per night, or a two-bedroom Jungle Bubble Lodge from £1,400 per night with Anantara (anantara.com)

Explore the deep in a submarine

Braggability

8

What’s a little scuba dive when you could descend right to the ocean floor in a submarine? With models capable of reaching ever greater depths (the latest can descend to an incredible 36,000ft), there is little to compare with exploring the underwater world we still know so little about. If you can get past the claustrophobia, there are myriad options available, from private rental to similar experiences on board cruise ships.

How to do it Rent a U-Boat Worx submarine from Charter a Sub (charterasub.com) from £70,000 per week. Submarines are also operated by several cruise lines, including Viking

Entertaining friends and colleagues with tales of enviable trips was a key part of the travel experience long before the rise of social media, but the ante as to what now constitutes being boastworthy has certainly been upped in recent years. A luxurious beach holiday on a tropical island? Unlikely to impress at the office water cooler. A stay in a penthouse suite at a five-star hotel? Probably not going to cause a stir at your next dinner party. But talk about a balloon flight to outer space, or a close brush with death, and it’s another story.

As we become increasingly welltravelled, finding new ways to explore has turned into core status-symbol fodder – a way of not-so-subtly demonstrating the size of your bank balance and your capacity for adventure. The more exclusive the experience, the bigger the bragging rights.

From the edge of space to the bottom of the sea, next year is all about extreme exploration. Some trips involve travelling in style – think superyachts, submarines, helicopters and even spaceships – while others are about going back to basics and rediscovering your primal self through extreme camping and survival training. Book one of these status-symbol trips for 2023 and you will never risk being dull at the dinner table.