There’s only one drug on this planet that comes free: Adrenaline. At least, that was once the case, until corporate interests put a dollar amount on every cave and mountain out there. Here’s the good news: You can still find amazing experiences, in any location, for pennies on the dollar. All it takes is a little creative thinking.

Let’s start with the purest adrenaline-inducing activity available to everyday adventurers. Jumping off a cliff attached to a thin wire spanning across football-field lengths of trees and ravines. Fun stuff, right?

Ziplines are almost always relatively cheap. (Probably something to do with the cliff-jumping and thin wire…) On the scale of cost per adrenal spike, its value is unmatched. Despite being the staple of upscale getaways in made-for-TV movies, these excursions typically cost around $100 or less. Whether it’s the $109 zipline across Yosemite, or one of the many sub-$50 ziplines across the Canadian tundra, I’ve never heard anyone regret the investment. Of course, those who regretted it might not be around to tell the tale...

If just thinking about a zipline gives you the cold sweats, maybe it’s not about embarking on a new adventure, but finding a new take on a classic. For example, if you’re ever in Hawaii, put a twist on your typical vacation hike by venturing into aptly named Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. It’s only $5 to enter on foot and $10 with a vehicle, while offering hikes along the calderas of volcanoes and across dried lava fields.

You can’t hike everywhere, unfortunately. People are sometimes reluctant to take a guided tour, as though it’s an adventure cop-out. But choose correctly, and you’ll find the exact opposite. It can be easy to jump on the first fancy covered jeep that comes by, but it will never be as memorable as riding shotgun in a door less jeep, splattered with mud and hanging on for dear life.

In my experience, the guys driving a spotlessly clean tour bus or stretch hummer with headrest TVs are not the same caliber of guide as the local who owns a single beat-up vehicle — he’s been giving tours for 20 years and knows all the secret crevices. They are cheaper and frankly more fun than a franchised tour conglomerate. Tour guides never want to leave the metaphorical driveway with an empty seat, so catch them right before takeoff and you can usually finagle a tidier rate.

Most places you’ll travel are bound to have some sort of indiginous species or favored local critter — while it can be tempting to gravitate toward the flashy grandiose of structures man-made or otherwise, the safari is often a low-price adventure rivalling the best waterfall or monument. Whether Saharan Africa or Custer State Park — where you can drive past herds of roaming buffalo for around $50 — just don’t try to take a selfie with them, that’s a bad idea.

The archetype of slapstick comedy films (National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, anyone?), RVs can actually be economical sightseeing vessels, without the hassle of finding hotels or carting around camping supplies. At face value, they might not seem cheap, but considering the offset of housing, plus allowing you to travel cross-country? There’s even an RV rental marketplace similar to AirBnB available now.

No one wants to be the guy walking around in a fanny pack and visor, but there are benefits to playing the part of a hapless tourist. The method behind tourism is to lure people in with free spectacles and then once they’re hooked, upsell the crap out of ‘em. If you have the mental discipline to toe that line, being the tourist can open a lot of doors. Game the system by falling into tourist traps. You’ll see some cool stuff, often for free, and duck out before they sell you a tchotchke.

If you’re creative, you can entertain yourself on the cheap, but often, getting there can be the most expensive part. For a small dose of adventure, look closer to home. Very few people have truly explored everything their own community has to offer. Look through the eyes of a visitor and you may be surprised what you’ll find in your own backyard. You can also give neighboring communities a try — novelty is the cornerstone of adventure, and it doesn’t always require exotic locales.

There are nearly 400 sites under National Park System auspices, covering 84.6 million acres. Most of them cost next to nothing — sometimes actually nothing. Why spend hundreds of dollars on a fancy roof when you can sleep under the best ceiling in the world practically for free? (The sky, duh.)

Backpacking and camping can require an up-front investment in supplies, but quality equipment is built to last, and if you commit to using it, you will come out ahead over time.

A destination’s culture isn’t about the most-impressive structures or beautiful landscapes, it’s about the people. Some of my most memorable experiences from backpacking through Europe were getting to know one quirky character or another — like the club promoter I met in Mykonos, the owners of a cafe in middle-of-nowhere Rhodes, a starving artist in Madrid, the pretty German student in Milan — more so than the party beaches and ice bars (though those were pretty dope, too), and these experiences are free.

Adventure can be overwhelming, there’s no way around that. Just remember to take a step back, look beyond the surface, and have faith that you’ll find a truly unique experience when you embark on your next odyssey — without breaking the bank.