Seeing Paris from the Eiffel Tower or lounging at the beach in Phuket, Thailand are trips of a lifetime, but sometimes you just need to kick your vacation up a notch. From paragliding with vultures to cage diving with great white sharks, these adventure travel experiences are worthy of anyone's bucket list — if you're looking for some heart-stopping fun.

Adventure travel and all its adrenalin-pumping thrills, however, do come with risks, so it's important to be prepared before embarking on a trip that involves "extreme" activities, such as mountain climbing, ziplining or rafting.Because this type of tourism also often involves travel to remote locations, additional adventure travel risks also include the lack of quick emergency response if injured, poor trauma care, and unexpected , according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

(MORE: )

To fully enjoy an adventure trip, travelers should first develop their skills, according to Jeremy Loeckler, founder of , a websitededicated to helping travelers research tour operators and theirtineraries. "The person most responsible for yoursafety is yourself," Loeckler told weather.com. "Study your activity extensively and trybeginner-level versions close to home. An amateur with a false-sense ofbravado is by far the most dangerous factor on an adventure tour."

Experts also recommend checking up on the outfitters. Loecklerrecommends going with an outfitter with at least 10 years of experience. "A company that operates in anunsafe manner can only roll the dice so long before having an incident," he said. "Mature operators evolved their programs over the years to respond tosafety issues."

(MORE: )

And travel insurance? Experts believe it's a must. Before you decide to go on an adventure or extreme tour, alwaysconsider purchasing travel insurance. "The health insurance you have maynot necessarily extend to another country, or the hospitals andemergency providers in those countries may not accept it," Joe Cortez, , said. "By purchasinga travel insurance plan, you can make sure you're covered in the worst-case scenario."

But not all travel insurance policies are the same. "If you do purchase a travel insurance plan, make sure that itcovers all of your planned activities," Cortez advised. "Most travel insurance plans coverrecreational sports, like golf. But for those who are looking for alittle more (like running with the bulls, zip lining, or mountainclimbing), a standard travel insurance plan may not cover an injury fromyour preferred activity. Make sure your travel insurance plan covershazardous activities, or offers a hazardous activities rider."

(For More Travel, )