Experience Days Gift Guide: 15 Unique Gift Ideas for Teenagers!

That’s right, we’re starting off strong. Why not skip the body spray gift-set this year, and treat the teen in your life to an experience they’ll remember for longer than it takes for the smell of that unwanted Lynx to dissipate?

With its idyllic white sandy beaches and rugged mountains, Cape Town is a remarkable place to look at from the ground, so imagine what it looks like from the sky!

During this amazing 25-minute helicopter flight, your teen will experience some of Cape Town’s most iconic landmarks from new heights, and fly over some beautiful views of mountains, beaches and oceans. They’ll be safe in the hands of the professional and friendly pilot and crew, who will ensure they’re completely informed on all the safety features of the flight.

This experience also includes a City Sightseeing bus ticket, so why not make a day of it?

Or, if you’d like to browse through all our amazing Helicopter experiences, click here.

You know that phrase, ‘They grow up so fast?’

It’s not just the parents who feel that way.

For all their wishing the schooldays away, by the time they reach the end of their education, teenagers might be looking over their shoulder and wondering where the years went. With this memory book, they’ll have the opportunity to save some of their most important memories. The purpose of this book is to record a line for each day of their life, every day for 5 years.

This is a truly unique gift they’ll treasure not just throughout their teens, but for the rest of their life.

The best part is, it only takes a couple of minutes each evening to jot down what they did that day. They’ll slowly accumulate memories over time until one day they have a record of everything significant that’s happened to them over the past five years, written in their own words.

We think this gift is a no-brainer … as long as you promise not to sneak a look, that is.

It’s a tired cliché that teenagers are ‘always on their phones’, but with technology moving at such a rapid pace, who can blame them for utilising it?

Let them take their smart phone to the next level with this incredible smart phone projector. Gone are the days of friends huddled around a tiny screen, trying to watch a video. With this new gadget, their phone fits neatly into the slot, and the footage they select to play is projected onto the wall. They can turn grainy phone camera videos into cinematic events for all their friends to watch, creating movie nights with a difference!

With the pressure to do well at school, preparations for further education, and the endless piles of homework, it’s likely that after a while, teenagers can start to feel burnt out. That’s why they deserve a day to feel pampered and looked after. What better way to show them you care than with a makeover with a photoshoot included?

Makeovers don’t have to be all powder and lipstick; they can be as fun and laid back as the participant chooses, and the friendly staff for this experience will be on hand to make them feel comfortable during the shoot.

They’ll feel like the best version of themselves as they get their makeup done however they want, before striking a pose for a professional photographer.

At the end of the day, they’ll have photographic evidence of their amazing makeover on a compact disc to take home with them.

The teenager in your life doesn’t need to be artistically inclined to enjoy this gift.

It’s been proven that the process of putting pen to paper is a meditative one, even if it’s writing a shopping list or doodling a sunflower in the margins of a notebook.

With this gift, teenagers will feel the benefits of this process, without needing to keep the evidence. The Buddha board is made from special material; as is the beautiful black ink you draw with. Once the Buddha Board is drawn on, you have a couple of seconds to enjoy your artwork before it slowly disappears and you are left with a blank slate again.

Designed for purely experiential purposes and not for the end result, The Buddha Board makes a great gift for teenagers who need to take a break from school work, and experience the relaxing process of putting pen to paper (without being graded on it!)

There’s nothing that quite says ‘Rite of Passage’ like learning something new, especially if that new thing whisks you off your feet and throws you head-first into the water. You can browse our range of surfing experiences here.

Your teen will feel the thrill of using the waves as a tool to carry them away from dry land, as the sea guides their surfboard … whichever way it chooses! Yes, it’s true that surfing can occasionally prove to be a little treacherous, but who’s more daring and willing to take on the world than a teenager? After they’ve completed their lesson, they’ll feel exhilarated, tired and proud to have developed an incredible new talent.

This Bluetooth speaker is a brilliant little gift for the music-mad teen in your life. It is completely wireless apart from the charger, and easily connects to their device via Bluetooth. This means they can move seamlessly from room-to-room, taking their favourite music or podcasts with them as they go.

Its compact size makes it ideal to fit easily into luggage to take on a trip, or even into a backpack or handbag for a night at a friend’s house. But this little speaker’s miniature size does not compromise its quality. Your teen will experience crisp, clear audio from an object so small, you may not even be able to tell where it’s coming from. We can’t take responsibility for the dance moves that may follow.

Lots of teens are preparing to go off to university, and while more and more young people are taking an interest in cooking, there may be some remaining who are not as… um… culinarily-inclined, shall we say. (Ketchup sandwiches, anyone?)

While this toasted sandwich maker is not the answer to a home-cooked dinner, it could be the answer to late night study-session munchies.

Even if your teen is not going to university any time soon, this is still a great gift – mostly because literally everyone likes toasted sandwiches.

Maybe they love to keep active and test their physical ability. Gift them with a new challenge with this rock climbing day pass for two.

Rock climbing is a unique way to improve hand-eye coordination, strength and concentration. All equipment is provided by the professionals at the rock-climbing centre, so your teen will be in safe hands as they traverse the artificial rocks! They’ll feel the thrill of using the strength of their own body to reach new heights, and experience a rush of adrenaline as they are lowered back onto the ground.

This pass is for two people, so they can even bring a friend if they want. Or you know, perhaps you can tag along…?

Is the teenager in your life a complete animal-lover?

This Elephant Encounter and Monkey Sanctuary Tour in Hartbeesport should prove to be the experience of a lifetime.

It’s not just the extraordinary activities they’ll get to take part in that make this experience a winner for the teen in your life; it’s the location, too! Picture the stature of Mageliesberg mountains rising up above them, and Crocodile River stretching out just a short distance away. Is there a more perfect setting for such an experience?

Educational as well as fun, this tour will take your teen on a remarkable journey as they arrive and are greeted by the friendly staff, before being taken through to the next exciting stage of the day: The Elephant Interaction!

The expert staff at this sanctuary have trained these gentle grey giants so that they respond positively to human interaction and will be completely comfortable being fed, touched and walked around the sanctuary.

Following from this elephant experience, they’ll move on to the Monkey Sanctuary for a tour of the facility. They’ll get up close with these adorable creatures – but remind them to hang onto their valuables. These mischievous pickpockets may look cute, but they won’t shy away from trying to steal from their less fluffy descendants!

This will undoubtedly prove to be an unforgettable day out for the animal-loving teen in your life, so treat them to an experience that will stay with them forever.

This instant film camera from Fujifilm is sure to make an impression on your teenager, who can use it to take beautiful photos they’ll keep forever. They can hang them on their walls, send them to friends, or keep them as mementos.

It’s another tired cliché that teenagers are obsessed with new technology, with no regard for the ‘old fashioned’ way of doing things. In many cases, the opposite is true. It’s much more valuable to have a wall full of physical photos to look at and treasure, rather than a phone gallery filled with seventeen photos of the same dog in slightly different positions. The nature of an instant film camera means they can capture memories as they happen, print them out and keep them forever… Seventeen photos of the same dog in slightly different positions have never looked so good.

Your teen can indulge their inner Katniss Everdeen with this 1-hour archery experience on a purpose-built range by the Muningi Gorge, and bring a friend with them, too. There are few gifts as precious as those that teach the recipient new skills – especially when those skills encompass professional techniques to improve their aim, and the opportunity to wield a bow and arrow.

And not just any bow and arrow, either. Even Katniss herself would be impressed by this Olympic-standard equipment.

Expertly guided by their friendly and professional instructors, your teen will learn techniques to perfect their aim and hit the target every time. They’ll go through a safety briefing, before the demonstration on how to properly hold the bow, nock the arrow and fire the target.

Your teen will have an hour to practice and learn, and the instructors will always be on hand to help them out if they need it. By the end of their time on the range, they’ll notice a significant improvement in their overall aim and accuracy. Let’s hope you haven’t done anything to annoy them recently…

Sometimes you just need to sit down and relax with a book, so give them the gift of reading with one of our young adult novel recommendations. They deserve the down-time.

We’ve compiled a short list of book recommendations for teenagers below, so why not have a browse and see if anything jumps out at you

Perks of Being a Wallflower

This is one of those books that makes people say, ‘I wish I’d had that when I was a teenager!’ Although set in an American high school, this story will be relevant to teenagers the world over.

The book focusses on Charlie, a teenage boy coming of age in America, who has unusual ideas about the world, and a dark past. He befriends a couple of high school kids who are older than him, and they introduce him to a world of parties, drive through diners, Rocky Horror picture show performances, and friendship.

The story is sure to bring comfort and solace to any teen who reads it, as it also deals with issues that a lot of teenagers face today.

The Outsiders

Some people peak in high school. The author of The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton, was 16 when she penned the American classic, which went on to be adapted into a film by Francis Ford Coppolla. This novel is set in the 1950’s and centres around a group of rockabilly children who’s adventures lead them down a more serious and dark path than they were prepared for.

This book is likely to be eaten up in a matter of days by the teenagers who receive it, proving that no matter the time or setting, story triumphs over all.

The Hunger Games

If your teenager is one of the few who hasn’t read this bestselling series of novels by Suzanne Collins, give them the push to do so. This is a page-turning, emotional and unpredictable story which uses a Dystopian fantasy setting as a way to discuss modern society. Not to mention its enigmatic heroine, Katniss Everdeen, whose strong character is an inspiration to teenage girls and young women all over the world.

This is the ideal gift for the animal-mad teen in your life, and makes an unforgettable experience for anyone wishing to take a dive with a difference – without having to actually take any diving lessons!

Cape Town has a fascinating history, and is home to breath-taking landscapes as well as indigenous wildlife. This experience makes the most of all of those things, in the most magical of locations!

They’ll begin their experience with a safety briefing and a wetsuit fitting, followed by a short training session using a mask and snorkel to ensure confidence in the water.

Then it’s time to board the boat! They’ll head out to sea, and drop anchor in a prime seal spotting location. They’ll spend their time snorkelling with the incredible wildlife and sea creatures who live under the water, finishing up with snacks and hot drinks on the boat.

This is a perfect day for adventurous animal-lovers wanting to experience their favourite creatures from a new perspective!

This is another great gift if they’re going off to university soon. It’s also great for overnight stays at friend’s houses, or for a weekend away. There’s something very grown up about having a big holdall for packing your things into for a trip, and with one this stylish, they’re bound to feel the part, too.