Best Experience Gifts

The very best experience gifts are winners in so many ways as they :

Are clutter free
Can be sent virtually last minute
And will truly delight even tricky difficult people on your Christmas gift lift who have everything.

So I have for you here a seriously huge guide to the best experience gifts in 2023 and 2024.

Experience Gift Guide

The very best experience gifts all feed into people’s personal passions

So this experience gift guide is organised by passions :

There are also little gifts for stocking stuffers and party favours.

In each section you’ll find awesome experience gift ideas perfect for:

both him and her
and every age from little kids & teenagers to grandparents.

Some are expensive but there are also cool affordable ideas you can put together as a DIY gift.

I have included links to experience gift offers in the USA and UK as I am a Londoner with readers in the States but there are loads of ideas you can enjoy wherever you live.

The guide is huge so do save it!!.

The guide includes affiliate links which means I receive a small % of what you pay after clicking on a link.

Experience Gifts For Daredevils & Thrill Seekers

Truly awesome experience gifts for daredevils are not hard to find.

The big experience gift companies all offer a wide range of extreme sports and dare devil experiences but there are lots of independent providers.

Some of the very coolest new experience adventures are :

Sky Diving Simulators

You can now do very cool simulated sky diving in a wind tunnel with iFly World in the USA & UK – a fantastic experience gift for dare devil kids!

Kite Surfing

If you’ve seen kite surfers on the beach it us unbelievably cool.

Blokart

Blokarting offers a similar thrill on the beach to kite surfing but you don’t have to be quite so fit.

Fly Boarding

Flyboarding is an adrenalin filled experience combining water skiing and flying above the water.

Water Jet Biking

The latest twist on jet skis – in the UK check out specialist Jet Ski Safaris.

Gorge Walking & Canyoning

Gorge walking & canyoning transform the good old family hike in the hills into a thrill seeking experience with vertical rock slides, waterfall abseils and more!

Shark Cage Dive

Some great aquariums – e.g. Georgia – and adventure centres like Bear Grylls offer you the chance to face your fear and cage dive with sharks.

Ice Climbing

Take rock climbing thrills to the next step with the amazing Peabody Ice Climbing Center in Michigan.

More Experience Gifts For Dare Devils & Thrill Seekers

And of course all the classic extreme sports experience days are still widely available for gifting including :

Parachuting
Helicopter rides
Power boat river rides
Tank driving
White water rafting
Rally driving
Stock car racing
Bungee jumps
Survival courses
Quad biking
Abseiling
And more …!!!

The experience gift companies all offer vouchers so thrill seekers on your gift list can pick the right experience for them. The coolest experiences are not cheap so get the family to all chip in vouchers for a mind blowing daredevil experience.

Experience Gifts For Serious Foodies

Experience gifts give foodies on your gift list a chance to get up close to food they love PLUS growers & makers and even meet fave chefs.

Foodie experience gifts can also again be an amazing way to use our gifts to put money and jobs back into our local communities …

Cheese Making

Cheese making is having a renaissance & gifting a lesson can be a great way to support small dairy farmers. There’s a list here of cheese making courses in the UK.

Vineyard Tour

Amazing small vineyards are springing up everywhere & a vineyard tour is a great way to support these small businesses.

Wine Tasting

If there’s no local vineyard many small wine bars now offer wine tasting experiences for all budgets.

Brewery Tour

More and more of our communities now have a craft brewery again and many of them offer fun experience gift packages. There are brewery maps here for the UK and USA.

Distillery Tour

Local independent distilleries doubled in the UK in just 5 years. Many offer experience gifts. Check out this US distillery map or UK distillery map to find one near you.

Chocolate Making

What could make a chocolate lover happier than making their own? Check here for local UK chocolate makers and bean to bar makers across the USA.

Fermenting

Fermenting is a big thing right now amongst foodies so buy them a voucher for a local fermenting class.

Foraging

Or get them onto another foodie trend with a foraging course. There’s a guide here to foraging tours all over the USA or in the UK try UK Foraging, Totally Wild & Best Foraging Courses.

Meet The Chef

A cooking lesson at a favourite restaurant where you get to meet the chef is always a winner with foodies.

Restaurant With Rooms Stay

Gift a night away in an amazing restaurant with this guide to the best restaurants with rooms in the UK

Glamping In A Vineyard Or Foodie Farm

For UK ideas try this list of 10 of the best UK glamping sites for foodies.

Experience Gifts For Travellers

Best Experience Gifts - Heritage Railway Trip

Buying avid travellers on your gift list a whole trip is an expensive experience gift and most prefer to plan their own trip. But there are cool more affordable experience gifts to help them travel more …

Immersive Scavenger Hunts

Immersive scavenger hunts can be a super fun way to explore your own city or discover new cities. There are a number of companies offering them from as little as $20 including :

UK : Hidden City, Great Game, Agent November, Locked City
US : Let’s Roam

Bushcraft & Survival Experiences

A brilliant experience gift for travellers who want to get into wild camping and trekking.

Train Ticket Vouchers

We’ve had cool trips to Paris & more with Eurostar vouchers & Amtrak do vouchers that never expire.

Train Sleeper Tickets

Sleeper trains are awesome & making a massive comeback in 2021. Amtrak has stunning sleeper routes or in Europe check out Nightjet who are transforming night trains across the continent.

Meet The Locals

Gift authentic experiences with local experts via Backstreet Academy who help to put money back into local communities and offer gift vouchers.

Rock Climbing

A rock climbing session or course is a great way to gift an experience that will get adventurous travellers exploring even further.

Heritage Railways

A steam train ride is a lovely family experience gift both little kids & grandparents will love.

Train Driver

Driving a steam train is a childhood dream come true for many travellers and most UK & US heritage railways offer it as a gift package.

Classic Car Hire

Hire a classic sports car for a weekend on the roads. Most of the big experience gift companies offer these packages but you can also book direct with companies like Classic Car Hire in the UK or Turo and Vinty in the USA.

Membership Passes

Membership passes such as the America The Beautiful National Parks pass or in the UK English Heritage or RHS Gardens give frequent travellers free access to all sorts of great sites wherever they go.

Experience Gifts For Animal & Wildlife Lovers

There are all sorts of lovely ways to gift experiences to animal and wildlife lovers of all ages on your Christmas gift list …

Llama Trekking

A lovely opportunity to go walking with these friendly, curious animals.

USA : you can gift everything from short treks in the Smokey Mountains to a llama trek expedition with Wildland Trekking in national parks.
UK : book directly with local businesses like Catanger Llamas, Merry Harriers, Nidderdale Llamas or Lakeland Llama Treks.

Swim With Sharks

Go snorkelling with the gentle giants of the sea the whale sharks.

Meet The Meerkats

Meetin meekats is a big winner with British kids and available at most zoos including London & Bristol plus Paradise & Drusillas wildlife parks.

Zoo Keeper Day

Most local zoos offer this gift experience for kids & adults. They can be expensive & this can be a time when it will be cheaper with an experience gift company.

Zoo Sleepover

Many zoos now also have both sleepover nights for kids and safari lodges for family breaks.

Wildlife Weekend

You don’t have to travel to the back of beyond for amazing wildlife adventures. There are lovely local wildlife trips in the UK and ideas here for USA wildlife experiences.

Wilderness Glamping

Enjoy the most stunning wilderness locations in the USA from the comfort of a luxury glamping bed or in the UK try Elmley or Knepp where you can sleep amongst the wildlife.

Sheep Dog Training

Some experience companies offer sheepdog training days but you can also book directly with farms in the Lakes and Yorkshire.

Falconry

There are lots of local falconry, bird of prey & owl experience days where you meet and handle birds and see them fly close up. You can book with experience gift companies but if you google you’ll probably find somewhere great locally.

Pony Trekking

Pony trekking might not be anything new but its timeless fun and great for all ages from beginners to experienced riders.

Bee Keeping

Bee keeping is making a big comeback and many local apiaries and honey makers offer half & full day experience courses.

Experience Gifts For Culture Vultures & Music Lovers

Best Experience Gifts For Culture Vultures & Thrill Seekers

Theatre or concert tickets can be great experience gifts to buy for all the culture vultures on your gift list but for something super special try one of these awesome experiences :

Backstage Theatre Tour

Many of the best UK & USA theatres offer backstage tours for less than £15/$20 per person so can be a great affordable experience gift for theatre lovers. There are guides here London and New York backstage tours.

A Bard In The Yard

Gift a personal Shakespeare experience in their own back garden with a bard in the yard.

VIP Backstage Experience

Gift big concert goers VIP passes from VIP Nation & Gigs & Tours.

Private Historic House Tour

Gift the chance to explore exclusive historic houses with HHA in the UK or some of these beautiful historic houses in the USA.

Private Gallery View

You can book private views directly with someone’s favourite gallery or museum or in the USA try Museum Hack or Art Smart.

Painting Holidays

If you’ve got an artist in the family book them a painting holiday. In the UK try HF Holidays, Not In The Guide Books or Art Is Travel.

Location Tours

For TV & movie obsessives book them onto a location tour for their favourite programme or movie

UK Into The Blue, Brit Movie Tours,
USA : On Location Tours, famous movie locations in the USA

Gallery Membership

Most galleries offer membership cards that give free access to all the paid exhibitions so are a great experience gift for any culture vultures on a budget.

Art Pass

Or give a card like English Heritage or the National Art Pass that give free or discounted access to a massive range of cultural venues.

Opera Company Membership

Buy opera nuts membership for an opera company or festival to give early booking and backstage access :

USA : check Opera America to find countrywide opera companies
UK : check out this guide to British opera festivals.

Theatre Vouchers

Many theatres accept vouchers and are available from Theatre Tokens, London Theatre & ATG in the UK and Broadway.com in the USA.

Experience Gifts For Super Sports Fans

Superb experience gifts for sports fans can be super expensive but there are some cool ideas that are much more affordable :

Stadium Tour

Stadium tours can be a good affordable experience gift for sports fans. Most football stadiums offer them from less than £20/$30 for kids and even more expensive packages meeting sports legends from their club are only £30/$40.

Local Team Tickets

Tickets for a local lower league sport match are a more accessible way to take young kids to their first sports events, much cheaper & a great way to connect with the community.

Season Ticket Shares

Individual season tickets are not cheap but shared between siblings & cousins are more affordable and a lovely way to build bonds.

Alternative Big Final Tickets

The very big final tickets are crazily expensive but lots of sports fans love watching ALL sports and sports like athletics, cycling, rugby league, women’s football, cricket in the USA etc can be much more affordable.

Sports Coaching

Personal sports coaching is a wonderful way to take people to the next level in a sport they love.

Sports Crash Course

Or for anyone generally sporty give them a crash course into a totally new sport like archery.

VIP & Hospitality Tickets

If money is no object VIP tickets in a box at their favourite sports events can be an amazing way to meet some of their sporting heroes.

Experience Gifts For Geeks

The best experience gifts truly are about them NOT us and let our loved ones indulge true passions even if we don’t share them.

For science & history geeks – of all ages – in your family gift these …

Dinosaur Sleepover

All the big Natural History museums with dinosaur collections offer fun sleepovers for kids.

Archeology Dig

You don’t need to be an archeology expert to join a dig. Dig Ventures offer gift vouchers and run Dig Camp for under 12s or you can gift a spot on the amazing dig at the Vindolanda Roman Fort.

Fossil Hunt

In the main fossil hunting locations in the UK & USA you’ll find fossil hunting tours for the whole family & you can actually book private tours for people, e.g.:

UK: Dinosaur Expeditions, Hidden Horizons, Wight Coast Fossils
USA : Charleston Adventures, Fossil Recovery

Digger Day

For digger geeks young & old gift them a day at Digger Land.

Code Camp

Book wannabe coders & tech whizz kids a slot on Code Camp.

Museum Membership

Or gift membership to a science or natural history museum for free access all year round to exhibitions and special access to private events.

Experience Gifts For Keen Gardeners

We can always buy keen gardeners gifts for the garden and there are lots of inexpensive DIY garden gifts you can make easily but many gardeners love the opportunity to get inspiration from other gardens and other gardeners …

Garden Show Tickets

Gift tickets to one of the big annual garden shows such as Chelsea and Philadelphia Flower Shows.

Open Garden Membership

Gift the chance to experience beautiful gardens all over the UK and USA with RHS or AHS membership.

Kitchen Garden Restaurants

Inspire vegetable gardeners with more ideas for what to grow in their kitchen garden with a meal at a kitchen garden restaurant.

Farm To Fork Restaurants

Or book them a slap up meal at a lovely farm to fork restaurant.

Garden Consultancy

If you have a garden beginner or someone ready for a garden makeover on your gift list book them time from a gardening consultant.

Flower Farm Tour

A day out at a local flower farm can be an inspirational experience for flower growers. Some flower farms offer growing, cutting & arranging workshops & classes.

Lavender Farm Visit

Joining the lavender harvest on a lavender farm is a lovely experience gift for herb growers.

Gardener

For any garden lovers who aren’t able to look after the garden as much as they would like the treat of a gardener coming to do some weeding or pruning or planting can be a real blessing.

Experience Gifts For Ghost Hunters & Mystery Seekers

Best Experience Gifts For Paranormal Lovers

If thrill seekers on your gift list prefer their thrills spooky to physical, you are again spoilt for choice for cool experience gifts for all budgets …

Ghost Walking Tour

There are cool ghost walking tours in all sorts of spooky cities – we did a great one in Draclua’s Whitby – and they make a very affordable experience gift. To find one near you check out these guides :

Ghost Hunting Event

For something scarier still buy a voucher for a ghost hunting event :

UK: Dark Encounters, Haunted Happenings
US : Bump In The Night, Ghost Hunt USA, Nightly Spirits

Haunted Hotels

For the brave at heart you could book a night at a haunted hotel :

Haunted House Weekend

Or you could gift in a stay in a spooky rental, although having stayed in the UK’s most haunted house, I must say, this is NOT for the feint hearted or – like me – total scaredy cats!

UK : Spookiest UK Cottages To Rent
US : Most Haunted Airbnbs In The USA

Escape Rooms

For a fun experience gift that is not too scary – or scarily priced – book an escape room for the family. It’s $25-30 per person and there are escape rooms everywhere now.

Zombie Survival Experience

For more immersive scary fun gift a zombie survival experience. They are now available in many major cities:

UK : Zombie Experiences, Zombie Infection, The Last Survivors
US : Mortal Monsters, Apocalypse Global

Army of The Dead VR Experience

The Army Of The Dead VR experience is now live in New York & London and coming to more cities soon.

The Dungeons

For a classic spooky experience gift tickets to the Dungeons now in London, York & Edinburgh.

Murder Mystery Event

For anyone on your guest list who’s a bit more Miss Marple than monsters gift a murder mystery experience. Lots of companies run murder mystery events including

UK : Murder57, Murder Mystery Events, Joe Swift & The Killing Game
USA : The Dinner Detective, Murder Mystery.

Horror Theme Parks

For the very scariest rides in the UK & USA check out this guide to horror theme parks.

Experience Gifts For Those Who Need Pampering

Sometimes our loved ones just need to escape and be pampered and there are all sorts of experience gifts that are perfectly for them exactly that. Take your pick from :

Massage
Hot stone massage
Spa day or weekend
Facial
Manicures & pedicure
Awesome hair cut
Hair colour or highlights
Hair styling class
Makeover
Make up lesson
Wardrobe consultation

Little Experience Gifts For Stocking Stuffers & Party Favours

Best Experience Gifts For Stocking Stuffers Party Favors

Experience gifts can be expensive but there are lots of little ways to gift experiences for under £5/$5.

So if you are looking for stocking stuffers or party favours or planning Christmas on a budget include clutter free vouchers likes these :

Ice cream parlour
Pizza palace
Florists
Hairdressers
Coffee shop
Beauty parlour
Swimming pool
Cinema
Ice rink
Go kart track …

They are also a smart way to support lovely local independent businesses at the heart of our communities.

Experience Gift Companies

Many companies sell experience gift packages these days which can be amazing but also very expensive and not live up to the hype.

Some of the best experience gifts can be those we create ourselves.

But if you are short on time and and need an experience gift quickly these popular experience gift companies offer everything from adventure and culture to pampering and sports :

UK Experience Gift Companies

Experience Days
Red Letter Days
Truly Experiences
Into The Blue
The Indytute
Imagine Experiences
Bear Grylls Adventures – this adventure centre at the NEC in Birmingham offers a wide range of thrill seeking adventures.

USA Experience Gift Companies

Virgin Experience Gifts (previously Cloud9)
Great American Days
57Hours
Tingly.

More Clutter Free Gifts

The best experience gifts are clutter free but there are other ways to give gifts that don’t overload our homes with stuff we will never use.

For more gift ideas for anyone who is decluttering or is trying to live a more zero waste lifestyle do check out these other gift guides …

I do hope you found this post helpful and got lots of great ideas for what’s a good experience gift for everyone on your Christmas or birthday gift list. Do bookmark or save it for later.

And for more Christmas inspiration check out my other guides to :

Best Experience Gifts For All The Families