At 18,000 feet in the air, the view is peaceful: Monterey Bay and Santa Cruz sprawled out below, bordered by the immense blue of the Pacific Ocean. And yet, this view is also exhilarating—it means you're about to leap out of a King Air 200 airplane and fall at 120 miles per hour. Luckily, if it's your first time with Skydive Monterey Bay, you'll be strapped to a tandem instructor.

These USPA certified instructors take their guests up to one of the world's highest jumps, in one of the fastest and largest jump planes. Their mission is to balance the right amount of thrills with the utmost consideration for safety, whether they're with a skydiving newbie or an experienced parachuter. In addition to leading—and filming—first-time jumps, they host one-on-one lessons and accelerated freefall training for students who want to dive on their own. They can teach visitors to pack their own parachute, fall in different postures, and frighten William Shatner on the wing of a plane, all before coming back to earth. And according to their FAQs, landing is as gentle as "stepping off the curb."