Surfers arrived from as close as Singapore and as far away as Christchurch and Moscow.Wavehouse BaliI'm not very religious. But at 11:30 a.m. on a blue-sky day in Bali, Indonesia, I sent up a prayer to the Boeing 787 roaring above my patch of waves: Singapore Airlines, please, please take me with you.My plea came as I gagged out seawater and paddled back to my new friends. It was November, and I had met this international crew of beginner surfers three days ago.Like me, nearly all of the 30 surf campers arrived at our hostel on Bali's south coast alone.

They ranged in age from 22 to over 50 and hailed from Russia to New Zealand. On the way to our first lesson on the beach, their backstories tumbled out as the sun rose.In our group were digital nomads, startup founders, and working professionals from nearby cities. Many shared a common refrain: They wanted to try something new, but didn't have anyone to do it with.A Singapore-based finance whizz said he had wanted to learn the sport for years, but it was too hard to coordinate a trip with friends.

An Australian woman was ashamed that she had never tried a sport abundant in her backyard. (This surf camp showed her that she hated it, but she had no regrets.)"Most of my friends are in relationships. I was sick of waiting for them to travel with me, so I came alone," said Gina Jaguttis, a 26-year-old real estate project manager who made an 11-day trip from Munich.On day 3, the worst of my sunburn was yet to come.Shubhangi Goel/Business InsiderI came to this all-inclusive, resort-like surf camp from Singapore because late last year, I had started to realize I was burning out at work, even after snagging a big promotion at 23.

After two years of channeling my energy into my job, I was craving a phone-off, brain-off trip.On top of that, I was burning out on trying to organize group trips with my friends. I've repeatedly struggled to wrangle my busy circle into the kind of adrenaline-fueled trips I like to think I'm into.So when an Instagram ad for the surf camp — featuring blue waves, smoothie bowls, and people my age laughing — hit my feed in the fall, it felt like a creepily perfect nudge.No tour buses, pleaseThis surf camp was my window into a growing travel category aimed at people like me: urban Gen Zers with some cash to spend on hobbies that offer a physical challenge and built-in community.From my conversations with the surfers and with Gen Z researcher Meghan Grace, the pull to adventure sports is part of a broader post-pandemic rebellion among young people tired of Zoom calls, social media, and online dating."Gen Z is moving towards intentional investment of their time and their money around their interests," said Grace, a consultant in Nashville.

"They don't want to wait because tomorrow's not promised."Much of my generation is feeling a strong financial pinch, with AI-induced job worries, student loan debt, and the skyrocketing cost of living weighing us down. Many of us are also choosing different budget priorities than our parents, as we ditch or delay homebuying, luxury items, and having kids young. I, like many 24-year-old Singaporeans, live at home, which gives me more money to spend on my main hobbies, travel, and fitness.After rolling back into camp after a long day of surfing, everyone brunched and watched surf footage together.Wavehouse BaliI'm not alone: Younger Americans are leaning into more active experiences and hobbies, according to a February research note from Bank of America based on credit and debit card data.

While Gen X and Baby Boomers saw strong spending growth at bars, Gen Z and millennials are spending on fitness activities like gyms, golf, and country clubs.That card data also showed that Gen Z's travel spend is growing at a much higher rate than the overall population, a trendline echoed by other research. A 2025 BCG report on travel called millennials and Gen Z "the most influential travelers globally" because, compared with older generations, they're planning more trips. And solo travel is hotter than ever."Millennials and Gen-Zers are the most likely to travel on their own," the BCG report said.

"They're interested in connecting with like-minded people at destinations."Paying a premium for communityIt's a good thing Gen Z is saving money on our bar tabs, because these trips don't come cheap.Jaryl Tan, who cofounded Singapore-based social travel company Off The Grid, knows how hard it is to plan with your crew. He and his cofounder, Benjamin Ng, are part of a group of six Gen Z friends who grew up together."We have never once had a big group trip together," he said."It's not that easy to maintain a very close group of friends," he said. "And for this close group of friends, for your interests to align, for your schedules to align, for your budgets to align, and for your traveling habits to align so that you don't break up as friends after you travel, it's not that easy."Off The Grid's 10-day trips can go for over $2,000 per