For a few minutes of pure, unfiltered, scream-out-loud fun, nothing beats a ride on a roller coaster. We’ve rounded up the world’s most exhilarating rides, from old-school wooden wonders to towering steel creations that take you into another dimension.

Buckle up for a white-knuckle ride like no other as we count down our favourite 34 rides in the world...

The first, and still the steepest dive coaster in California, HangTime towers over Knott's Berry Farm at a lofty 150 feet (46m). After an initial stomach-churning beyond-vertical drop, riders hurtle around 2,189 feet (667m) of steel track which includes five gravity-defying inversions, mid-air suspensions and top speeds of 57 miles per hour (92km/h).

You can also experience the ride at night, when the track is illuminated.

Whiz back to ancient Egyptian times on board Parc Astérix's most exhilarating ride, OzIris. You'll whip along at over 90 miles per hour (145km/h) with your legs dangling 130 feet (40m) off the ground. Expect vertical loops, sidewinders, hairpin turns, tunnel plunges and lots of loud whooping on this fun coaster at this theme park in northern France.

This isn't a roller coaster in the traditional sense, but we couldn't not include this interactive ride in Disneyland Park's newest 'land', Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge. On board Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run, you'll feel like you're being propelled through space as you take the controls of the fastest ship in the galaxy.

The special effects provide the illusion of G-force and make the experience hugely entertaining. 

Hold on tight if you plan to ride this bullish roller coaster, which combines the best of classic wooden coasters with modern engineering techniques. El Toro is tall, fast and fierce. With a winding action, the experience simulates clinging on to the back of a furious bull.

The first drop plummets riders 176 feet (54m) at an angle of 76 degrees, making it the steepest wooden coaster in the US. It then charges along the 4,400-foot (1,341m) track at speeds of up to 70 miles per hour (113km/h), offering nine opportunities to experience zero gravity.

Enter the secret world of the Beornen, a mythical pagan group, on this high-adrenaline, imaginative roller coaster. Riders career around more than 2,000 feet (610m) of twisted track with burning embers lighting their path.

As they hurtle towards a wooden effigy, it bursts into flames on impact. The spectacular ride cost £16 million ($20m) and was the first new wooden roller coaster to be built in the UK for 20 years.

Set inside and around the icy unforgiving peaks of the Himalayas, Expedition Everest in Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom is the park's most elaborate themed coaster. You'll career forwards and backwards around the tracks and plunge deep inside the pitch-black mountain on a runaway train as you try to escape the abominable snowman.

It's fantastic, scream-out-loud fun.

Opening to great excitement in PortAventura World's Ferrari Land during 2017, Red Force is the tallest and fastest roller coaster in Europe. It stands at 367 feet (112m) and accelerates from zero to 112 miles per hour (180km/h) in just five seconds. If you have little coaster fans with you, they can test their mettle on the kids' version at Ferrari Land Kids.

Loop the loop three times and whiz through the air at 50 miles per hour (80km/h) on The Demon, the scariest ride in Denmark's historic amusement park Tivoli Gardens. For an extra fee riders can wear VR glasses and feel as if they're soaring into the sky on the back of a thundering dragon.

Free fall 123 feet (37.5m) into a dark mineshaft on a quest to find greedy mining lord Gustave Hoogmood's gold in this immersive dive coaster, one of only 18 in the world. The ride features plenty of thrills and reaches speeds of up to 56 miles per hour (90km/h). It's slightly on the short side but seriously memorable. The ride is currently closed, but due to reopen in December 2025.

New York City's legendary amusement district Coney Island is an absolute must-visit for any roller coaster fan. It has some brilliant rides, old-school and otherwise. For a modern thriller, board Thunderbolt, a 115-foot-high (35m) coaster that covers more than 2,200 feet (670.5m) of steel track.

There's a 100-foot (30m) vertical loop, a corkscrew section and a zero-gravity roll. It's a modern spin on the classic Coney Island coaster of the same name, which was built in 1925 and appeared in the film Annie Hall.

There's no need to imagine you're racing through a spectacular setting on this heart-pounding ride in Switzerland. You really are plummeting down the side of a snowy mountain on the world's highest Alpine coaster.

Open from May until September, the coaster is propelled by gravity and speed can be determined by the riders. The toboggans twist, turn and jump down the slope.

Take on T Express at Everland in Yongin, which sees riders career down a track at a 77-degree angle with top speeds of 65 miles per hour (104km/h). The mighty coaster, which opened in 2008, is one of Asia's absolute must-do rides.

Despite being wooden, it delivers an extremely smooth ride, as each piece of track was cut by laser so it could be fitted together with a higher degree of precision.

Hardcore thrill-seekers will know Steel Vengeance in Cedar Point is the world's first 'hyper-hybrid' roller coaster.

The Wild West-themed ride towers 205 feet (62m) above the prairie and has an initial 90-degree drop. It delivers almost 30 seconds of air time (the most of any roller coaster), four 'head-over-boots' inversions and ricocheting movements from up-to-down and side-to-side. It's a thriller alright.

The aptly-named Hair Raiser steel coaster certainly messes with your follicles as you hang perilously above the South China Sea. The towering ride is built on a cliff overlooking Deep Water Bay and gives riders incredible views of Hong Kong Island as they're whipped around the track. It's a looping thriller of climbs, drops, loops and brake runs.

Riders are warned to prepare for enormous centrifugal forces before they step aboard the Silver Star in Germany's popular Europa-Park. The sleek and colossal steel roller coaster reaches heights of nearly 240 feet (73m) and zooms up to speeds of 80 miles per hour (130km/h). It's a star attraction which boasts a thrilling combination of speed and weightlessness.

With a top speed of over 71 miles per hour (115km/h), drops of 83 degrees and a full dozen moments of weightlessness, Sweden's wooden roller coaster Wildfire gives riders two minutes of pure excitement. When you reach the ride's peak you can see the stunning surroundings of Bråviken Bay before plummeting back down to Earth.

You'll need to summon superhero strength as you shoot along the tallest, longest and fastest hypercoaster in the Southern Hemisphere, on Australia's fun-loving Gold Coast. With menacing drops, a non-inverting loop and fast air time hills, the DC Rivals Hypercoaster has definite star quality. True fans can purchase a 'Ride It Backwards' experience for an unforgettable time. 

If you love the thrill of the ride, try out SeaWorld's Mako: it's the longest, tallest and fastest ride in Orlando. Inspired by one of the world's fastest sharks, the mako, the ride rips through a shipwreck reef, hurtling thrill-seekers along 4,760 feet (1,451m) of track at speeds of up to 73 miles per hour (117km/h) and heights of up to 200 feet (61m).

To try India's biggest, fastest and wildest roller coaster, head to Imagicaa, a 90-minute drive from Mumbai. Nitro is 132 feet high (40m) and has more than 2,800 feet (853m) of track to race along. You'll experience plenty of high-speed drops, curves and loops during an electrifying 150 seconds.

Riders whip along 2,600 feet (792m) of track at speeds of 50 miles per hour (80km/h) on Twisted Cyclone at Six Flags Over Georgia. The ride features steep drops, three hair-raising inversions and a total of 10 air time moments.

The coaster combines a classic wooden structure with a modern, steel track to allow for multiple inversions and create a smooth but intense riding experience.

Sitting spectacularly at the base of Mount Fuji, this top Japanese amusement park has some sensational roller coasters including Fujiyama.

Billed as 'the King of Coasters', it was once the world's tallest coaster and commands incredible views of the mountain as well as featuring a gut-wrenching 230-foot (70m) drop. Hold on tight and prepare for maximum speeds of 80 miles per hour (130km/h).

Roller coaster fans will adore the terrifying Pepsi Hyperion in Poland's Energylandia theme park. The tallest and fastest Mega Coaster in Europe, it runs for nearly a mile (1.4km), featuring a 262-foot (80m) drop at an angle of 84 degrees and speeds of over 88 miles per hour (142km/h).

With an abandoned space research station theme, Hyperion promises daredevil special effects and plenty of squeals.

Climb aboard the whirling, twirling Vortex, one of Thailand's most terrifying rides and one of the world's largest suspended roller coasters – a type of ride where the train is held underneath the track. You'll reach top speeds of 47 miles per hour (76km/h) on this extreme coaster in fun-filled Siam Amazing Park.

The bright red and yellow FireWhip coaster in Santa Catarina theme park Beto Carrero World is one of South America's most scary and legendary rides.

With almost 2,300 feet (700m) of track, this ripper of a ride reaches up to 62 miles per hour (100km/h) at maximum speed, offering riders a feeling of flying over the surrounding lakes and waterfall.

Would you like to be launched up 205 feet (62m) of steel track, catapulted from 0 to 80 miles per hour (129km/h) in under two seconds and put through the same brake horse power of two Formula 1 cars?

If the answer is a resounding yes, then Thorpe Park's Stealth is the ride for you. It's a short ride (all over in 20 seconds) but it's seriously fast and furious.

If it's the G-force factor you're after, ride Formula Rossa at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, which claims to be the world's fastest roller coaster. The turbo-charged thriller is designed after the Ferrari F1 racing car and reaches an electrifying speed of 150 miles per hour (240km/h) in just under five seconds.

Riders experience up to 4.8G – so much that they have to wear protective glasses. Race you there?

The UK's first double launch roller coaster opened in Blackpool in 2018 and proved an instant hit. The towering steel construction propels passengers through a cloud of artificial fog before a steep climb throws them into a hair-raising descent.

There are twists, turns and loops aplenty, plus drops of up to 82 feet (25m). ICON snakes its way over and around 15 of the park's other rides, including The Big One (the resort's tallest roller coaster), and has recently been fitted with a spinning car in the train’s back row.

Live life in the fast line aboard Xcelerator The Ride at California's Knott's Berry Farm. There's no easing into this one – riders are immediately rocketed 205 feet (62m) in the air, going from zero to 82 miles per hour (132km/h) in 2.3 seconds. Then there's a 90-degree vertical drop, followed by plenty more twists and turns. 

Dare to take on the Leviathan, the mystical sea creature that forms Canada's tallest and fastest roller coaster, and you'll be rewarded with a rip-roaring ride. You'll reach a height of 306 feet (93m) before you confront a breathtaking 80-degree drop down the track.

The giga coaster – a roller coaster that's between 300 and 399 feet (91 and 122m) tall and completes a full circuit – reaches speeds of over 90 miles per hour (148km/h). You might need a lie down afterwards.

As you teeter at the top of this vertical-drop roller coaster in Johannesburg's Gold Reef City, your life may flash before your eyes. But before you know it, you'll be plunging 164 feet (50m) down into a mineshaft at a 90-degree angle. It might be a short, sharp thrill but the memories will last.

There's a good reason that it scores 10/10 for fear factor on the resort's website. Need more reasons to visit Joburg?

After a 45-degree climb, riders on board Valkyria reach 154 feet (47m) in the air. To really amp up the anticipation, the ride pauses right on the edge of the dive, suspending passengers in the air for a few nail-biting seconds before they plummet vertically into an underground tunnel. Hold tight for speeds of up to 65 miles per hour (105km/h).

The shock factor is high on this rip-roaring ride in MagicLand, near Rome. Passengers shoot from zero to 62 miles per hour (100km/h) in just two seconds. Expect lightning fast turns, deep dives, twists and corkscrew-style inversions. 

Voted Best Roller Coaster in Europe in 2025, the Ride to Happiness certainly lives up to its name. That’s especially true if your idea of happiness is being catapulted, twice, to a speed of 56 miles per hour (90km/h) and flipping upside down five times while suspended up to 115 feet (35m) above the ground.

What’s even more exciting is that the cars are free-spinning, making every ride a unique experience.

Opened in 2022, and combining all the nostalgia of a wooden frame with a modern steel track, the multi award-winning Iron Gwazi has been hailed as one of the most exhilarating rides in recent years. North America’s tallest (and the world’s fastest and steepest) hybrid coaster, it plunges riders into a jaw-dropping 91 degree drop from a height of 206 feet (63m), reaching speeds of up to 76 miles per hour (122 km/h).

Offering a dozen airtime moments and three inversions, it certainly lives up to its formidable reputation.

Now check out the most hair-raising theme park rides in the US