An all-guys trip is more than just a vacation with the boys; it’s a sacred tradition for male bonding. But as you get older, it gets harder and harder to plan an epic trip with the guys, what with work and family responsibilities close by.
But hey, we need a break too! And while going fishing alone can be a peaceful break from all the stresses of the world, sometimes you just need the presence of your friends who understand you and are going through the same thing.
Of course you and the boys still fantasize about going on 3-day alcohol benders with girls in a club somewhere, but with your bad back and awful hangovers? Hard pass.
So what to do when you and the guys just want to go on vacation but you’re all in your mid-30’s and just way past the whole sex, drugs, rock & roll party life you used to have when you were in college? Actually, quite a lot.
Camping
Let’s start with one of the most basic, but still one of the most popular, all-guys trip: camping. What’s manlier than going out into the woods with nothing but your pocket knife and your wits (and, of course, your essential camping gear like tents and fire starters and other things) and roughing it out for a couple of days? Add your tribe of equally manly friends, and you’ll have the perfect weekend of getting in touch with your primitive side punctuated by late nights of just guy talk like sports or Vanessa Carlton (what, men can like her music).
Golf Destination
Ah, golf, the game of Kings. Take your love of the fairway on the road and visit some well-known golf courses around the country. Make it a golf weekend and book your group in a local resort somewhere to take in as much culture as possible. Heck, if you have the money to splurge, go to the granddaddy of all golf courses: St. Andrews in Scotland. If flying across the pond is a wee bit much, Pebble Beach in California has equally epic greens and a whole lot of golfing.
America’s Stadiums
Speaking of sports, baseball fans should have no trouble finding legendary ballparks in America. Watch a game in each of our country’s most famous parks, from Wrigley Field to Fenway. Make it a road trip and soak in all the history of every ballpark and the wonder of the open road. Football fans can also undertake a trip like this, taking a trip from Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin and driving all the way down to the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
Now that you’ve had your fill of some classic guy’s trip ideas, let’s take a look at other, more off-beat guy’s trip ideas:
Destroy Things With a Tank
An hour and half from Minneapolis, Kasota is home to Drive A Tank, a once-in-a-lifetime experience where you get to drive historic and modern armored vehicles like the T-55, the Mark V Centurion, and the legendary Sherman. Live out your road rage desires and run over cars in their expansive course. You even have the option of driving through an empty mobile home, when you really wanted to tell your boss off but couldn’t.
A Jeep Tour of Patagonia
Patagonia is a massive, 1 million square kilometer area in South America. It’s the southernmost tip of South America and is shared by Argentina and Chile. In Patagonia, you’ll find deserts, swamps, mountains, grasslands, and a whole lot of nature. Take a jeep tour of Patagonia and bring out the inner adventurers in you and your friends as you explore a largely unpopulated and savagely beautiful land.
Volcano Camping
It’s like camping, but taken to an extreme. But camping on active volcanoes isn’t the craziest idea out there: plenty of people go on all-day treks to go to the lip of volcanic calderas and then spending the night on the opposite slope. It’s dangerous enough to be exciting, but safe enough that your wife will still allow you to go. Just, try not to get drunk on this trip.
Become Race Car Drivers
Live out your Jeff Gordon dreams and try your hand at NASCAR racing. You can either ride along with a professional NASCAR racing, or drive one yourself in multiple, 8-minute timed sessions around the speedway, complete with pit stops. Or, if you’re an F1 fan, head over to Provence and drive an F1 car at a private track. Race your friends and leave them in the dust!
Wilderness Survival Training
Ever watch Bear Grylls or Les Stroud and think to yourself, “meh, I can do that”. Well, here’s your chance to prove it! Go on a wilderness survival training class with your friends, and prove once and for all who the real King of the Jungle is. It combines basic camping with some pretty hardcore lessons like starting fires without fire starters, or crafting a tent made from whatever nature is on hand.
A Grand Canyon Tour Unlike Any Other
There are plenty of fun facts about the Grand Canyon, but my favorite is the idea that there are over 300 miles of river that you can explore inside it. Go on a Grand Canyon Tour and spend 2-weeks exploring every bend and break of the Colorado River on a traditional wooden boat. It will be like the Lewis and Clark expedition, but with your friends (and, ideally, a lot of beer).
The Mount Everest of Guy Trips
One of the most exciting trips you and your friends can ever go on, take a once-in-a-lifetime trek of the Annapurna Base Camp in Nepal and see Mount Everest with your own eyes. You can do this on your own, or with a guide, but it’ll be a 150-mile trail that will put you, your friends, and your friendships to the test as you battle the elements and the Himalayas themselves. Imagine telling that story at your next neighborhood barbeque!
This is, of course, a non-exhaustive list. Get creative and move away from the typical booze-and-cruise trips everyone else takes. Be unique and take yourself and your friends on a trip no one will forget!
