Islands are much more than beaches and palm trees. Throughout my travels, I’ve found them to be places where rare adventures thrive—their isolation lets time and tradition hew experiences you won’t find on the mainland.

While everyone’s idea of an island paradise is different (no judgment if you’re a “feet-up-by-the-pool” type), I’m drawn to islands that push me into new adventures. I love a place where I can hike down into a canyon one day and dive over coral the next, then experience a culture completely foreign to me—like riding around town on a motorbike in Vietnam, swapping sake pours in Japan, or trying (and failing) to cut swirls in a miniature pineapple in Mauritius. From one under a rainforest canopy to another deepening into a cave system, each island I’ve ever explored offers the opportunity to make memories as unique as its coastline.

Whether you’re seeking hidden hikes, rock-climbing crags, or ski slopes with ocean views, or just want to unwind on the perfect beach, this list has you covered. These wild isles are truly among the best and most beautiful in the world.

United States

1. Channel Islands, California

Five of the six Channel Islands—Anacapa, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, San Miguel, and Santa Rosa—form Channel Islands National Park, among one of the country’s least-visited (50th out of 63 total). A ferry ride, taking anywhere from one to four hours depending on your chosen isle, transports you into a landscape of sweeping Pacific views, open prairies, and sawtooth mountains.

Take the path less traveled on a 14-mile-round-trip day hike, , which ends in a sloping beach swamped in pinnipeds, where I arrived to the deafening roar of hundreds of seals and sea lions. (Be sure not to leave the actual hiking path on this particular island—the detritus from mid-century military exercises means unexploded ordnance still poses a risk in uncleared areas.)

If you choose to stay the night anywhere in the park, whether backcountry or at a more accessible site, the reward is the same: a California sky untouched by light pollution.

Alone outside of the national park is Catalina Island, where wild buffalo graze the hillsides, having long ago been left behind from a Golden Age film shoot. Here you can trek the stunning , a rugged through hike marked by desert scrub and ocean views.

Offshore, gray whales breach in winter and blue whales glide through in summer, turning the sea into a stage for nature’s greatest performances. Beneath the surface, the waters teem with life.

Each island is distinct. At Catalina’s Casino Point, step into underwater worlds from the stairs that drop straight into the sea, where kelp forests house garibaldi and (if you get a lucky day like I did) enormous sea bass.

Divers encounter a giant sea bass meandering through Casino Point’s kelp forest. Video: Alexandra Gillespie.

Or hop aboard a to see the wonders of Anacapa, where Spanish shawl nudibranch and California sheephead move through towering kelp forests. On Santa Cruz, you can explore sea caves by kayak. Park visitors who have a can enjoy the spoils of the sea: No scallop has ever tasted better than the one I pried from a rock off the shore of San Miguel, carrying it several miles uphill in a drybag full of seawater to fry in ghee at sunset.

2. Kauaʻi, Hawai

In Kauaʻi, nature reigns supreme. With 90 percent of its lush rainforests, jagged cliffs, and hidden beaches inaccessible by car, this wild paradise demands to be explored by foot, in a kayak, or from the sky.

Along the Na Pali Coast, hike the legendary 11-mile , which clings to cliffs that drop into the turquoise Pacific. Then the Wailua River, slipping through dense rainforest to . Maybe strap in for a through jungle canopies or centuries-old tunnels carved into volcanic rock.

For surfers, KauaÊ»i is a siren call. Each winter, legendary breaks transform into rushing walls of water, testing even the most seasoned wave riders, while summer swells mellow out and welcome beginning surfers. Rookies can also cut their teeth at the gentle rollers of PoÊ»ipĆ« or find their rhythm on the dependable waves of Kealia Beach. Thrill-seekers chase dangerous, heavy reef breaks far from the crowds at Shipwreck Beach and Polihale.

Dive into Poipu’s crystal waters to swim with sea turtles, or soar over the rolling peaks of Waimea Canyon in a . At night, seek the traditional experience of Kauai at a luau, where a vibrant culture comes alive through music and dance.

3. Isle Royale, Michigan

Isle Royale strips nature down to its raw essentials on hiking trails through lofty forests and endless vistas of water. Situated in the cold, clear clutches of Lake Superior, this 98-percent untamed Isle Royale National Park in my home state is a haven for adventurers from spring through fall. Hike the 40-mile for sweeping views that make you feel like you’ve reached the edge of the world. Or dive deep beneath the surface of the lake, exploring the eerie wrecks of the 525-foot steel freighter the Emperor or the 328-foot Glenlyon—haunting reminders of Lake Superior’s power.

Gray wolves and moose roam freely, a restless dance of predator and prey subject to an of the volatile population dynamics.

The night sky is a celestial masterpiece unmarred by city lights. Stargazing at Scoville Point might even reward you with the sight of the elusive Northern Lights.

Whether you’re fishing for trout, paddling serene waters, or standing in quiet awe, Isle Royale demands that you lose yourself in its wild interior.

South America

4. Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, Chilean and Argentine Patagonia

Tierra del Fuego, a land of jagged peaks, windswept coasts, and staggering beauty, is the last whisper of the world before Antarctica. Hike along the Beagle Channel on the Senda Costera, or push yourself on the steep for awe-inspiring views of mountains plunging into icy waters. The bold can tackle the Dientes de Navarino Trail—one of the most southerly trekking routes in the world.

In Tierra del Fuego National Park, guanacos graze, condors soar, and dolphins cut through glassy bays. Take a ride on the Train at the End of the World, along a picturesque four-mile stretch of the world’s southernmost railroad, which was initially built for prisoner transport.

Guanacos in Chilean Patagonia, north of Tierra del Fuego in Valle Chacabuco, Parque Nacional Patagonia. (Video: Alison Osius)

Stir history into your trip at Estancia Harberton, a run by the fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-generation members of the first permanent European missionaries to arrive here, an experience that offers a window into early YĂĄmana-settler relationships.

During winter (June through October), carve fresh powder at Cerro Castor, Argentina’s southernmost ski resort, or strap in to go and .

Caribbean Sea

5. Dominica

Dominica is unspoiled and unforgettable. Lace up your boots for the 115-mile , the longest hiking trail in the Caribbean, through thriving rainforests, soaring waterfalls, and misty peaks. Then trek to , a cauldron of steaming water in the jungle, where you can soak in natural volcanic hot springs and mud baths.

For water enthusiasts, Dominica recently unveiled a groundbreaking 32-nautical-mile kayak trail encircling the island—a six-day journey through pristine waters. You can snorkel or dive at , where volcanic springs bubble up through the ocean floor, creating an underwater celebration.

Whale watching here is more than a distant boat sighting. It’s an in-water encounter, as Dominica is home to a . The experience of snorkeling alongside these gentle behemoths is said to be nothing short of transformative.

6. Bay Islands, Honduras

The Bay Islands are three gems of organic beauty and underwater wonders: RoatĂĄn, Utila, and Guanaja. Hike through the Carambola Botanical Gardens and Nature Trails on RoatĂĄn, over 40 acres of tropical forests to sweeping views of the sea, or summit Pumpkin Hill on Utila for a quick, rewarding climb with vistas clear to the horizon. The islands’ rich biodiversity, from tropical birds to marine life, embraces you.

These islands are a diver’s paradise. Whale sharks—gentle giants bigger than school buses—glide through the depths from March and April and October to December, while the Halliburton wreck sits ever-waiting, and another site offers radiant coral reef. Kayakers can lose themselves in the or paddle through the peaceful waters of RoatĂĄn’s West End, where the only company is the song of birds and the soft splash of paddles.

Asia

7. CĂĄt BĂ  Island, Vietnam

My memories of CĂĄt BĂ  Island are faded Polaroids, worn and softened at the edges. Even after half a dozen years, I still revisit my physical and mental snapshots from my time on that rugged, beautiful island in one of my favorite countries.

Lan Ha Bay is Cát Bà Island’s crown jewel, where imposing limestone karsts bursting out of jade-green water craft an otherworldly landscape. Think Ha Long Bay, but without the crowds. You can kayak through hidden lagoons and drift past the region’s . When I visited in 2018, it cost a grand total of $80 to charter a private boat tour for two, and the price included a kayak excursion. can choose from among nearly or go rogue with deep-water soloing, dropping into the sea if they fall or choosing whether to jump from the top.

Inland, beneath the island’s surface, whisper haunting stories of war, and a bombproof hospital used during the American War (or, as we call it stateside, the Vietnam War) still stands as a museum.

Topside, the 102-square mile CĂĄt BĂ  National Park covers a third of the island, with trails that snake through jungles, up mist-shrouded peaks, and across wildlife-rich terrain. Hike 1.5 near-vertical, damp miles to the top of for sweeping views (I found the slippery rocks worth the risk of a tweaked ankle), or take on the challenging Ao Ech route through the rainforest to the remote Viet Hai Village.

When it’s time to unwind, grab a ferry to nearby Monkey Island, where aggressive monkeys provide a good laugh on the beach—or hike there from the other side of the island after a night at , which served a fresh seafood barbecue I still dream of.

8. Taiwan

In Taiwan, adventure collides with jaw-dropping landscapes and a lively culture. Start with its hikes: explore the marble cliffs of Taroko Gorge, or take in the sunrise over ancient forests in Alishan. For a city-side thrill, climb and view Taipei’s skyline with the famed skyscraper Taipei 101 piercing the clouds.

Taiwan’s untamed mountains, like Jade Mountain—at nearly 13,000 feet the region’s highest peak, located in Yushan National Park—invite trekkers to rise above the clouds, where Formosan black bears roar and rare birds like the endemic mikado pheasant pass by.

If the sea is calling your name, head south to , where coral reefs hum with life beneath the waves, or catch the surf at Jialeshui Beach. Cyclists can carve through the countryside on routes that loop around famed , or push through the rolling hills of the . For the sandstone cliffs at soar above crashing waves.

Europe

9. Lofoten Islands, Norway

Sculpted by glaciers and smoothed by icy waters, Lofoten is an ideal Nordic isle for adventurers. In summer, hike the spine of the island chain on the 99-mile , climb Reinebringen for panoramic views of a lifetime, or like the four-mile Justadtinden. For a real challenge, tackle the highest peaks like , or keep it mellow with shorter routes like , where every view is postcard worthy.

Though known for unpredictable weather year-round, the islands are driest and get drenched in October. This dry season also has the longest daylight hours, averaging seven to eight a day. You’ll experience the Midnight Sun from May to mid-July. In contrast, Polar Night—when the sun does not crest the horizon for more than 24 hours—extends from early December to early January, and coincides with high precipitation levels.

From mid-January through March, trade hiking boots for skis and carve down slopes that plunge toward shimmering fjords. Ski resorts like Lofoten Ski Lodge offer powder runs with ocean views that no other ski destination can match. If you’d rather be on the water, paddle through majestic fjords framed by snow-capped mountains, or go deeper and in the icy seas Vikings once fished.

And if you’re here from October to January, shimmy into a dry suit and as they hunt herring in the cold, clear fjords—for a raw, heart-pounding encounter with the ocean’s top predator. As night falls, look up: the often set the sky ablaze in a kaleidoscope of green and purple (especially in October or January to mid March).

10. SĂŁo Miguel, Azores, Portugal

SĂŁo Miguel is a volcanic playground set adrift in the Atlantic. șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű pulses through its hidden trails, arching waves, and steaming hot springs.

Hike the craggy ridges of Sete Cidades, where twin sapphire lakes glisten below kayakers, or meander on the winding paths to the crater lake of Lagoa do Fogo. Brave the canyon walls of Ribeira dos CaldeirÔes, into hidden pools, or skip through into the clear waters off Vila Franca do Campo, where whales and dolphins . The surfing in Portugal is more than the 100-foot waves at Nazaré: Experienced surfers can tackle the powerful swells at Praia de Ribeira Grande on São Miguel.

São Miguel is also a place to savor. When you’re ready to slow down, sip your way through Gorreana, Europe’s only tea plantation, where the salty ocean air infuses every leaf. Then sink into the mineral-rich hot springs at Furnas, where the earth itself simmers beneath your feet, or wander through the botanical paradise of Terra Nostra Park, home to over 600 different types of camellias, one of the largest collections in the world. End the day with Cozido das Furnas—a local stew , a culinary experience as raw and earthy as the island itself.

11. Corsica, France

Corsica is an adventure where mountains, sea, and sky meet.

For the hardcore hiker, the through Corsica’s craggy ridges, where granite peaks and expansive vistas remind you of just how small you are. But there’s something for everyone—take the family on a coastal stroll at Cap Corse or stand in awe at the serrated spires of Aiguilles de Bavella. Climbers on the red cliffs of will revel in Mediterranean views.

Corsica’s waters are as clear as glass. Dive into the , a UNESCO World Heritage site, where cliffs plunge into an underwater world brimming with life such as crabs, bottlenose dolphins, and over 450 different seaweeds. Paddle along the Gulf of Porto and uncover hidden coves or snorkel over vibrant reefs at .

Even in winter, Corsica keeps calling. for views that stretch to the sea, or hit the runs at Ghisoni where seven slopes stretch before you.

Oceana

12. Moorea, French Polynesia

Moorea is a paradise that stitches the seam between lush peaks and crystalline seas. Hike through changing canvases, from the steep, thrilling climbs of Mount Rotui—offering dual bay views—to the rainforest-draped paths of the . For those seeking a quick yet rewarding trek, the two-mile Magic Mountain trail rises more than 1,300 feet to unveil a panorama in turquoise waters. Zip line adventures at Tiki Parc offer another bird’s-eye view of the verdant landscape.

But the true wonders of Moorea are beneath its waves. The island’s clear lagoons are snorkeling sanctuaries where colorful reefs flourish. Kayak in waters so pure you can see the ocean floor through the bottom of your transparent vessel, or get up close and personal with reefs diving . Moorea brings you face-to-face with the ocean’s gentle giants, whether it’s watching resident dolphins play in the wake of a boat or witnessing the majestic humpback whales.

Africa

13. Zanzibar, Tanzania

Zanzibar is a crossroads of the senses. Beneath its turquoise waters, the reefs come alive—dive , where the marine biodiversity rivals that of any aquarium, or explore Nungwi’s sprawling coral gardens. For the more adventurous, offers out-of-the-way dives where dolphins twirl through the currents and reef sharks glide by in silent elegance.

Above the waves, the consistent winds and shallow waters at Paje Beach make for a , drawing aficionados from around the world. And far, far above the waves, soar over lush terrain as the Indian Ocean glimmers ahead, offering rare shoreline landings on white sands.

Prefer something more tranquil? along Zanzibar’s serene coastlines through mangroves and lagoons that feel untouched by time.

But Zanzibar is more than its beaches—it’s alive with history. In Stone Town, a Swahili coastal trading town with UNESCO status, every corner is a story. Stop at the Old Fort, get lost in the buzz of Darajani Market, or taste the island’s blend of Swahili, Arab, and Indian flavors on a .

Alexandra Gillespie is a freelance writer covering water and outdoor travel. From Mauritius to Mackinac, islands hold a special place in her heart—if you need a boat to get there, she’s game. She was previously the digital editor of Scuba Diving magazine. Her most recent stories for șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű include “The 12 Most Beautiful Scuba Diving Destinations in the World,” “Gear-Testing Trips That Let You Try Before You Buy,” and “Stockton Rush, the Pilot of Missing Titanic Sub, Told șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Why He Kept Going Back.”

The post The 13 Best Islands in the World for Outdoor șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

Every scuba dive starts the same way: Gurgling bubbles and a hissing regulator. Then silence. Signaling “okay” to your buddy, you descend into whatever adventure waits below. After this, there’s no script—nature determines what will come. You’re just the lucky witness. And fortunate you are. A scuba certification is an underwater passport that lets you access some of the best scuba diving in the world. Just like topside travel, you can pick destinations based on what you enjoy most. Some divers swear swimming with a bait ball is the most stunning experience under the sun. You’ll also find others who insist a calm reefscape can’t be beat while others chase the drama of a wall dive.

I’m a kelp woman. To me, the sunbeams of a kelp canopy are holier than any light seeping through cathedral stained glass. I’ve dived around the world and have yet to find anything that beats twirling sea lions and scuttling crabs. Other divers will tell you nothing is worth squeezing into a 7 millimeter wetsuit. More forest for me, I suppose. And, as my family often says: De gustibus non est disputandum—in matters of taste, there can be no disputes. (Though, to be honest, we usually say it with sarcasm about a clearly poor opinion. I have a huffy ‘de gustibus’ ready for anyone who thinks soaring through kelp isn’t worth wearing a hood.)

So, what are you waiting for? The ocean’s ready. Pack your bags, grab your gear, and choose your adventure. The options are endless, but here’s my shortlist to the best scuba diving in the world. (By the way, I got scuba certified in 2019, I was the digital editor of Scuba Diving magazine from 2020 – 2022, and I’ve gone diving in four countries across three continents, racking up 150—and counting—total plunges. So yeah, I know what I’m talking about.)

Best Places to Scuba Dive in the U.S.

Monterey, California

California’s Monterey Bay Submarine Canyon is a geography that demands superlatives. The largest undersea canyon on the U.S. West Coast, it’s comparable in size to the Grand Canyon. The slope starts at the shore of the Monterey Peninsula and quickly plummets more than a mile. This is why the Monterey Bay Aquarium constantly releases amazing deep sea footage so often—the deep is their backyard.

It also means divers can access a unique underwater environment in the bay’s sheltered conditions. A swift ascent from the shallows delivers stunning encounters on a shore dive, from massive fried egg jellyfish to hulking mola-molas. Below you, California sea stars slouch in silence. And overhead? The current drives opalescent and the Rainbow nudibranch to wiggle hello at the sea nettles drifting past. You can dance with playful sea lions and marvel at massive kelp—there’s a reason these are called the Sequoias of the Sea.

Don’t Miss: Fried egg jellyfish are easy to spot in the water column, but that doesn’t make the sight of a 2-foot fried egg with tentacles that can stretch to 20 feet any less impressive.

Awesome Dive șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű: Monterey Expeditions, a outdoors tour company owned and operated by two local divers, runs expeditions to lesser-known spots along the Monterey and Big Sur coast. include sea lion dives ($199), where you can meet upwards of a dozen resident pinnipeds, and the Canyon and Canopy tour ($299)—a 2-tank kelp forest trip with sightings that can include a mola mola cleaning station and lingcod, followed by a beach grill out.

Conditions, Gear & Training:

  Water Temps: Up to 65°F from August – October, down to 50°F from December – February
  Visibility: 10 – 50 feet
  Equipment: 7 millimeter (mm) wetsuit with hooded vest and boots minimum; a drysuit is recommended.
  Training: ; drysuit cert if you’re using one

Hawaii

Volcanic fury sculpted these islands, and their handiwork is visible in the blue (after all, the islands are just the portion of the eruptions that broke sea level). Lava tubes—underwater caverns and tunnels—weave through the reef, remnants of its fiery creation. And all around coral explodes in color, a testament to the volcanic soil’s rich nutrients and the deep water’s bounty.

This aquatic Arcadia attracts the underwater glitterati: turtles glide with ancient grace, sharks patrol the edges, whales breach the surface, and dolphins weave through the blue. Even the state fish, the humuhumunukunukuapua’a (or reef triggerfish, for the less tongue-tied), flaunts its vibrant colors.

Don’t Miss: The waters off of Kona boast a resident population of more than 200 oceanic mantas, which have a wingspan that can hit 26 feet. Having dived with these animals in Mexico, I can attest that they are truly awe-inspiring—and you can meet them at night off the shores of Kona. Divers drop into the water shortly after sunset with flashlights, which pull the mantas in to swoop directly overhead as they feed.

Awesome Dive șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű: Several operators offer after-dark manta encounters, including: (from $170); (from $149); (from $199 for a 2-tank); (from $199 for a 2-tank)

Conditions, Gear & Training:

  Water Temps: 75°F – 80°F
  Visibility: 50 – 120+ feet
  Equipment: 3 mm
  Training: Open Water Diver Certification

Best Places to Scuba Dive in the Caribbean, and Central and South America

Cozumel, Mexico

Ditch Cancun’s beach clubs for the currents of Cozumel, Mexico where drift dives whisk you to a new world.

Now, don’t let the word ‘drift dive’ scare you. Although the currents at famous sites like the Santa Rosa Wall dictate your dive, it’s like floating along in an underwater lazy river, not a riptide. You get to kick back, breathe deep from your regulator, and watch ocean life hustle by. As you flit through this low-rise coral city, keep your eyes peeled for eagle rays soaring overhead, green turtles flapping by, morays opening wide for cleaner shrimp, nurse sharks resting on the sand, and dozens of fish species dancing around.

Keep your eyes peeled for the endemic splendid toadfish — found only in Cozumel—that has a spiky beard and settles into cracks like a grumpy man on his front-porch rocking chair.

Don’t Miss: Palancar Reef, on the southwest side of the island, is one of the most popular reef systems in the area. Divers can swim through caves and underwater tunnels while keeping their eyes peeled for eagle rays and stingrays.

Awesome Dive șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű: Dive with Martin offers a that, in addition to two days of Cozumel reef diving, includes a day of diving the Yucatan Peninsula’s famous cenotes, limestone sinkholes that are essentially underground lakes ($380).

Conditions, Gear & Training:

  Water Temps: 75°F from December – February; 85°F from June – August
  Visibility: 80 – 100 feet
  Equipment: Rash guard or 3 mm shorty; surface marker buoy (SMB)
  Training: Open Water Diver Certification

Belize

The world’s second-largest barrier reef is a riot of life—nearly 1,400 species call this UNESCO world heritage site home. Green, hawksbill and loggerhead turtles all scuttle around here, as well as angelfish, blennies, seahorses, and parrotfish. They spend their days weaving in and out of a rich tapestry of hard and soft corals that stretches for 190-miles. Shark aficionados will be delighted with the chance to encounter several shark species, including lemon, nurse, and Caribbean reef sharks.

To me, ”ț±đ±ôŸ±łú±đ’s real magic arrives after dark. I can never get enough of the sea life that comes out in the light of the moon, especially unfurling octopus and eels with glinting eyes. During my week there, not a night went by without a Caribbean reef squid encounter. One little guy that swam straight into my face, balled his tentacles into fists, and inked me in a fit of pique.

Don’t Miss: The Great Blue Hole—made famous by SCUBA inventor Jacques Cousteau himself—is a 407-foot deep sinkhole in the middle of Lighthouse Reef. The staggering submerged stalactites jut downward into a (seemingly) infinite darkness, making this a one-of-a-kind dive.

Awesome Dive șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű: Experience the in just three days with Ambergris Divers (five dives, from $499).

Conditions, Gear & Training:

  Water Temps: High 70s December – April, low 80s May – November
  Visibility: 40-80+ feet, best April – June
  Equipment: 3mm shorty – 5 mm full wetsuit, depending on personal comfort and number of dives
  Training: A will allow you to go 130 feet deep, instead of the standard 60 foot limit for an Open Water diver.

Bonaire

You don’t need a boat to do Bonaire. This Dutch Caribbean island, the “Shore Diving Capital of the World,” lets you roll out of bed and into adventure. Vibrant reefs teeming with 470 fish species wait right off the shore—Salt Pier, Alice in Wonderland, Bari Reef, and 1000 Steps, to name a few sites. Rent a truck, go through the , and you’re ready to dive.

Dip below the waves and you’re instantly transported. Tarpon streak past, eels slither from their dens, stingrays glide like phantoms. Turtles—hawksbill and green—cruise serenely, while playful dolphins weave through the blue. Keep your eyes peeled, you might spot a frogfish camouflaged amongst the coral, a seahorse clinging to a swaying fan, or even a pygmy goby, smaller than your fingernail. Disappointment is as rare as a bad day in paradise when you can spot more than 100 species on a single dive.

Don’t Miss: Turtle lovers rejoice – this is a great place to meet your flippered friend on their turf. Hawksbill and green turtles live near the island year round, and lucky divers can encounter loggerhead turtles from April to December.

Awesome Dive șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű: Get the full Bonaire experience with Buddy Dive’s week-long , which includes a car rental, accommodations, unlimited shore diving, six boat dives, and more (from $1,256).

Conditions, Gear & Training:

  Water Temps: 78°F – 84°F
  Visibility: 100 – 150 feet
  Equipment: Rash guard or 3 mm
  Training: Open Water Diver Certification

Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

This world-famous chain of 13 islands is nestled 600 miles from mainland Ecuador. Divers who make the crossing get a view of the islands even Darwin didn’t experience during his formative five-week stint here. (I wonder how the sight of hundreds of hammerheads bustling beneath the HMS Beagle would have shaped his theory of evolution—talk about a plot twist.)

These waters are stocked with once-in-a-lifetime encounters: One in five marine animals is endemic, meaning they are found nowhere else in the world. This includes the world’s only marine iguanas—which forage underwater for sea algae—and tropical penguins. Plenty of large animals live here as well, setting the stage for incredible encounters, including Galapagos and hammerhead sharks, and whale sharks (the world’s largest fish, which top out longer than a school bus).

Don’t Miss: Hammerhead sharks are the only shark species that schools, and hundreds of scalloped hammerheads aggregate at a time in the Galapagos Marine Reserve. While they live there year-round, they are most abundant in January around Darwin and Wolf Islands.

Awesome Dive șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű: Spend an entire week diving the islands aboard the , a 16-passenger scuba yacht that offers up to four dives a day and two land excursions during the trip. (From $7,100; $100 for nitrox). And, fun fact, passengers on this boat witnessed the Darwin Arch collapse in real time when it crumbled in 2021.

Conditions, Gear & Training:

  Water Temps: Highly variable. 62°F – 68°F from June – December; 70°F – 82°F from December – May
  Visibility: 10 – 70 feet
  Equipment: 7 mm wetsuit, hood, boots, gloves, SMB, marine rescue GPS
  Training: Advanced Open Water Diver Certification recommended to be better equipped for local conditions, which can be challenging

Best Places to Scuba Dive in Asia and Oceania

Indonesia

Variety is the name of the game in Indo. Whether you want to dive a reef or a wall, see a wreck or encounter endemics, catch a drift or search through muck, you can do it here.

This immense archipelago is the epicenter of the Coral Triangle, a global hotspot of marine biodiversity, and home to some of the best scuba diving in the world. Divers can encounter a dazzling array of sea creatures, massive manta rays and impossibly tiny pygmy seahorses, the bizarre mola mola, the deceptive Rhinopias, the gelatinous cuttlefish, and the mimic octopus, just to name a few.

And that’s before you consider the wreck diving. Due to its strategic location in the Pacific during World War II, these waters were a major battle ground. The remnants of this conflict lie scattered on the ocean floor, including USAT Liberty, Emma Miller, and Spiegel Estate.

Don’t Miss: Here’s my one topside tip—Komodo dragons can only be seen in Indonesia, so don’t miss your chance. Visit Komodo National Park on Komodo Island to see these fascinating lizards live before you hit the deep sea.

Awesome Dive șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű: Sail in style on the , a luxury wooden ship with spa, outdoor dining, and more staff than guests. Itineraries shift throughout the year depending on the season. (From $4,760 for 7 nights.)

Conditions, Gear & Training:

  Water Temps: 82°F – 84°F
  Visibility: 30 – 60 feet
  Equipment: 3 mm; reef hook; SMB
  Training: Open Water Diver Certification

Sabah, Malaysia

Sipadan’s a riot, a swirling, fish-drunk mess that’ll leave you reeling. Walls of coral tumble from this small inland into the impossibly blue, teeming with so many turtles they cause traffic jams. Schools of jackfish swirl like underwater tornadoes, thousands strong, parting to reveal patrolling sharks. Then there’s the muck, the weird stuff—frogfish, seahorses, and other minute creatures. It’s Barracuda Point, though, that’s the main event. A whirlwind of teeth and scales, these fish frenzies hypnotize even the most seasoned scuba divers.

Across the channel, Mabul and Kapalai offer a different dance, a quieter ballet of the bizarre. Dive down to the sandy havens, where flamboyant cuttlefish strut their chromatic wares, and flamboyant cuttlefish wannabes, the mimic octopus, put on their one-man shows. Torchlight reveals the otherworldly: bobbing nudibranchs in fluorescent hues, and the toothy grin of a moray eel peeking from its coral castle. It’s a land of the strange and the small, a microcosm of wonder waiting to be unraveled, one seadragon swirl at a time.

Don’t Miss: Barracuda Point is the show stopper here. Where else will turn your head with a tornado of teeth?

Awesome Dive șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű: Advanced divers can snag a coveted Sipadan permit through their chosen dive operator. These permits (178 daily) are limited to conserve the ecosystem. It’s advised that you stay for at least four days to get a dive day in. guarantees a permit for 3 day, 2 night bookings (from $468)—the other days are spent diving Mabul and Kapali.

Conditions, Gear & Training:

  Water Temps: 78°F – 84°F
  Visibility: 30 – 80 feet
  Equipment: 3 mm; reef hook; SMB
  Certification: Advanced Open Water Certification required

Great Barrier Reef, Australia

This is no aquarium. So large it’s visible from space, the Great Barrier Reef is the beating heart of the ocean, wild and unforgettable. You could spend a lifetime scuba diving here and still not see it all.

Vibrant coral unspool beneath your fins, teeming with fish that swirl and flash like neon confetti. Turtles cruise with the calm of ancient mariners, sharks sleek and curious. Then there’s the big stuff: the manta rays, whale sharks, and dugongs. And if you’re lucky between November and March, maybe, just maybe, you’ll time it right and see a coral spawning—an underwater blizzard of life beginning anew.

Don’t Miss: offers liveaboard itineraries that overlap with coral spawning, though the experience is not guaranteed. Coral typically spawn between the 2nd and 6th day of the November full moon when the water has been north of 80 degrees for a month, a date that can shift with water temperatures. (I promise that’s , not a horoscope.) Contact Mike Ball to see which itinerary is expected to line up with the upcoming spawning.

Awesome Dive șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű: Fin through the Coral Greenhouse, the world’s largest underwater structure, at the —one of dozens of installations in Queensland’s submerged gallery crafted by underwater artist Jason deCaires Taylor. ($390 adult, $340 children; departs from Townsville and Magnetic Island)

Conditions, Gear & Training:

  Water Temps: Low of 68°F June – August; High around 84°F December – February
  Visibility: 30 – 100 feet
  Equipment: 3 – 5 mm
  Training: Open Water Diver Certification

Best Places to Scuba Dive in the Indian Ocean

Maldives

There are more dives than islands in the Maldives—and that’s saying something in a country stitched together across more than 1,100 islands. Whether you crave drift dives through vibrant coral gardens, adrenaline-pumping pinnacles, or the eerie allure of wrecks, this scattered paradise caters to every diver’s whim.

Pelagic lovers will be delighted by the wide variety here, from tiger sharks to manta rays, mola molas to barracudas. Drift dives generally offer the best opportunities to encounter these big animals, as the currents bring in nutrients that pull them in from the blue. South Ari Atoll is known for its drift adventures; other spots with awe-inspiring big animal encounters include the cleaning station at Lankan Manta Point in the MalĂ© Atoll and Hammerhead Point in the Rasdhoo Atoll. Photographers will delight in the candyland that’s Rainbow Reef, which bustles between islands in the MalĂ© Atoll.

Don’t Miss: Whale sharks, the world’s largest fish, live in the Maldives year-round. Growing up to 40 feet in length, this is an encounter many divers chase for years—and happens pretty much every day at South Ari Atoll.

Awesome Dive șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű: Contribute to whale shark research when you spend 11 days aboard the M/V Felicity, swimming with whale sharks to collect data for the (From ).

Conditions, Gear & Training:

  Water Temps: 80°F – 86°
  Visibility: 30 – 100 feet
  Equipment: 3 mm; reef hook; SMB
  Training: Open Water Diver Certification

Seychelles

Forget the overfished reefs and crowded coral walkways. Nestled at the intersection of the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea, and the Somali Current, the Seychelles offers solitude on land and vivid adventure below.

Here, the vibrant hues of coral gardens rival any rainforest canopy. These healthy reefs —protected by the country’s unwavering commitment to conservation — teem with biodiversity. Silent giants like manta rays and whale sharks soar through technicolor depths. Reef sharks patrol their claim with quiet purpose, while more than 20 species of playful dolphins weave between divers, their curiosity as boundless as the ocean itself. Layer turtles, eels, batfish, yellow snapper and another 1,000-or-so fish across this aquatic city, and you have more than enough beauty to last you a lifetime.

Don’t Miss: Keep your eyes peeled for nudibranchs—these minute and stunning sea slugs that come in every hue and shape imaginable. Orange polka dots with purple ruffles? Sure. Zebra striped with yellow splotches? You got it. With hundreds of different species in the Seychelles seas, these sands are a slug circus.

Awesome Dive șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű: Explore as you like with Dive Explorer Seychelles, which offers everything from a day ($520.50) to a that lets you taste everything the islands have to offer ($3,567).

Conditions, Gear & Training:

  Water Temps: Low of 77°F from June to September; highs around 84°F April – May and October – November
  Visibility: 30 – 100 feet
  Equipment: Rash guard or 3mm
  Training: Open Water Diver Certification

Best Place to Scuba Dive in the Southern Ocean

Antarctica

A certain breed of divers itches for ice. If that’s you, the fractured ice shelves of Antarctica will be Eden.

Unlike the brazen hues of coral, the palette here is stark—glacial blues, inky blacks, the occasional flash of silver. With patience and luck, action ruptures the stillness: Gentoo penguins rocket past in a black and white ballet before colossal leopard seals glide with alien grace, their yellowed eyes locked on yours.

Spring unveils a feast. Krill, the lifeblood of the Southern Ocean, paints the water a cloudy red. This bounty draws colossal whales, their mournful songs echoing through the water column.

It’s a world usually untouched that radiates with untamed power. And it’s not for the faint of heart, but for those who dare, it etches the soul.

Don’t Miss: Encountering a leopard shark is far from guaranteed, but meeting this apex predator in their natural habitat is to encounter unbridled energy.

Awesome Dive șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű: Add diving to your , which traverses waters traveled by Humpback, Minke, and Fin whales. (From $5,450 for the cruise, plus $815 to add dive excursions; 30 drysuit dives required to book dives)

Conditions, Gear & Training:

  Water Temps: Mid 20s to mid 30s °F
  Visibility: 40 to 100 feet, excluding plankton blooms
   Equipment: Drysuit; heated vest; hood; gloves; boots; ice-rated regulator
  Certifications: Ice diving required and rescue diver training recommended

Life was never the same after getting dive certified in the 54°F waters of a flooded Ohio quarry. Local diving led Alexandra Gillespie to a globetrotting stint taking dozens of dives in cool places and writing about them afterward. Now a freelancer for șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű, she covers water and travel. Her writing has also appeared in NPR, National Geographic, Scuba Diving, and other national outlets.

The post The 12 Most Beautiful Scuba Diving Destinations in the World appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

Would you marry somebody the first day you met? Or get to know them for a while before committing?

Probably the latter. The same principle applies when committing to outdoor gear. Under the shiny lights of REI, amid all the new and eagerly marketed merchandise, everything looks ideal. But making a purchase under those conditions is like proposing based on somebody’s Tinder profile: impetuous, likely irrational, and overly optimistic, given your needs and expectations. You can’t know if something is a true fit until you’ve covered tough terrain together.

And outdoor gear is a big commitment, considering that skis can retail for hundreds of dollars and bikes thousands. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the cost of outdoor equipment and supplies before cooling slightly to 9 percent again this year.

Fortunately, brands are cognizant of this. And to better help consumers determine which equipment is worth a long-term relationship, several have designed travel experiences that encourage you to try their equipment over a period of days (or weeks) days before you buy. What’s new is the specialized nature of the programs, which are looking to meet the needs of niche outdoors people—women cyclists, for example, or novice campers, or avid recreationists from specific metro areas. What they are finding is a receptive, captive audience.

You, too, can get down and dirty with gear you’re considering before making a commitment. Here are our recommendations for some of the best brands offering travel-and-test adventures worth your time and money.

EvoTrip

This fall, recreational mountain biker Annika Delfs, who lives in San Diego and works in the mountain-bike department of an REI there, took part in a travel-and-test getaway to Utah with EvoTrip, a 15-year-old arm of the established retailer. Delfs got into mountain biking during the pandemic, and while she’s clocked quite a few hours on local trails over the past few years, she was reluctant to spring for a pricey off-road bike without hands-on experience and time to decide which model was right for her style of riding.

“Demoing bikes in a store setting typically isn’t ideal for mountain bikes and mountain-bike gear,” Delfs says. “It’s definitely more beneficial to get a true sense of how the bike responds to different rocky or gravel trains, and see how the suspension performs.”

So in September, she flew to Salt Lake City for a ($995), hosted in conjunction with Juliana bicycles and Momentum Mountain Biking, and for two days in nearby Park City she rode two Juliana bikes—the Furtado and Roubion (another two bikes, the Joplin and Wilder, were also available to participants).

Delfs said that testing the bikes “at a bike park specifically, where we had access to jumps, drops, really any type of terrain you can think of for mountain biking,” gave her time to learn about each and understand how they perform. She left with a much clearer idea of what she’s seeking in her next ride: “Good rear suspension and low-hanging suspension.”

The trip price included two nights’ accommodation at the year-old Evo Hotel, instruction by pro coaches, two lunches and daily snacks, and of course the demo models. The sold-out event was offered once last year, with available for two offerings in 2024.

At the moment, the Utah bike weekend Delfs attended is the only EvoTrip in which gear demos are included in the package price (though more are in the works). However, its trips aren’t limited to domestic locales; travel-and-test experiences in Japan, Chile, and the Alps include access to beautiful outdoor areas and iteneraries ideal for demoing skis, snowboards, and mountain bikes, says EvoTrip senior manager Michelle Linton.

For four of its Japanese destinations (Hakuba, Niseko, Furano, and Myoko), a 10 percent discount is offered on equipment rentals, which include skis and snowboards that retail for upward of $450 and as much as $1,000. Clients can choose to test Armada’s ARV JJ and Armada VJJ, K2’s Mindbender 106C and Mindbender 99Ti, and Völkl’s Deacon 84 and Revolt 121, as well as Burton’s Deep Thinker, Capita’s Birds of a Feather, Gnu’s B-Nice, Lib Tech’s Orca and Cold Brew, and Yes’s 420.

Other trips include gear gifts that travelers can take home with them. On its eight-day adventure to the ($3,050, next scheduled for March 3 to 10), participants visit the Capita Snowboards factory, and everyone receives a free custom snowboard, says Linton.

čóÂáĂ€±ô±ô°ùĂ€±č±đČÔ

In 1979, čóÂáĂ€±ô±ô°ùĂ€±č±đČÔ founder Åke Nordin began lending trekking gear to beginners and guiding them through the Swedish wilderness. Thus began the first-ever čóÂáĂ€±ô±ô°ùĂ€±č±đČÔ Week, which has evolved into a multi-country program called . These backpacking trips are offered in six countries: its home country, Denmark, South Korea, Germany, the UK, and the U.S. (Colorado). Chile is slated to join the lineup in 2024.

On Classics trips, backpackers carry their own gear and pitch their own camp, but they follow a clearly marked trail where čóÂáĂ€±ô±ô°ùĂ€±č±đČÔ representatives are stationed along the way to lend a hand and replenish supplies.

The reasonable prices are one of the big appeals: they range from about $200 (Germany) to about $260 (Sweden). Costs cover everything from bus transportation to the nearest town before and after the event to freeze-dried food and snacks, gas for campstoves, toilet paper, and wag bags.

The cost of gear rental is additional but encouraged. For the Sweden trip, for example, you can test its Abisko tents—the Endurance 2, View 2, Dome 3, and Endurance 4, the least-expensive of which retails for $800—as well as 65-to-75-liter packs and Primus Lite+ or Primus Lite XL stoves. In 2023, trip-goers paid 100 Euros (about $107) to rent a two-person tent, 50 Euros ($54) for a backpack, and 50 Euros for a campstove and kitchen set.

Incorporating gear rentals into čóÂáĂ€±ô±ô°ùĂ€±č±đČÔ Classics fosters inclusion and sustainability, says Claire Sisun, a global communications specialist for the Swedish brand.

“We have this gear, and we want you to be able to come out and not have to spend $600 on a tent to do the event,” says Sisun. It’s more of a philosophy of “Let’s get you out there” and less of a hard sell to consumers to buy the latest and greatest gear, she continues. “We’d rather have somebody borrow a tent, and have multiple people use it hundreds of times, than have someone purchase a tent that they use once and then it sits in their garage.”

TrekTravel

To better cater to the huge world of cycling’s various fitness and interest levels, TrekTravel created biking trips to cater to four levels of riders: leisure, recreational, active, avid. One of its most popular is a new six-day leisure-level route from ($4,699), though active cyclists may prefer its six-day adventure in the ($4,199). The use of Trek’s or bikes are included in all packages, or you can upgrade to its Domane+ e-bike (from $399).

Most cyclists on a TrekTravel trip use a Trek bike, says Jake Fergus, the company’s director of marketing. It saves participants the hassle of shipping their own to and from the destination. Plus, he says, “It’s a great way to experience a bike if you don’t want to spend $7,000 on a new ride before you’ve tried it out pretty extensively.”

If the trip proves that the brand’s bikes are a good fit for you, TrekTravel offers guests a $500 coupon to put toward a future Trek bike purchase.

Orvis șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍűs

Orvis was founded in 1866 in Vermont as a fly-fishing-equipment company. And today use of fly-fishing gear is included in the cost of —a network of schools, outfitters, and lodges—around the world. Colorado, Vermont, and Alaska are popular domestic getaways, says Scott McEnaney, its director, and is a hot international destination.

“Each location has gear there and ready to go for guests when they arrive,” McEnaney says. “They’ll have waders, they’ll have boots your size, they’ll have the rods and reels for the type of fishing you’ll be doing that day—which could mean multiple rods and reels.”

Any gear that’s a keeper can be purchased directly at the Orvis șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Lodge where you’re staying, or from a retailer once you’re home.

L.L.Bean

This decades-old Maine company encourages novice campers to embrace the outdoors via its package, designed to let complete beginners get going with no gear investment.

A sustainable campsite for up to six people is set up at the oceanfront Wolfe’s Neck Center Campground in Freeport, Maine, and kitted out with the some of brand’s best gear, including its Northern Guide six-person tent, Adults’ Mountain Classic Camp sleeping bag, Ridge Runner sleeping pad, Flannel camp pillow, Eureka Ignite Plus campstove, ENO Double Nest hammock, Woodlands screen house, Waterproof Outdoor blanket, Acadia Camp chair, and Trailblazer Snap 300 Combo headlamp. Purchasing this entire setup would run you more than $1,600; instead, you can spend $149 per night and test all of that gear (two-night minimum required), with tips and tricks offered to make it a positive experience.

REI

Guided local outdoor experiences that include gear are offered at in San Francisco, Seattle, and Scottsdale, Arizona. For example, you can try your hand at in San Francisco or explore the deserts via a or ) in Scottsdale.

Want to experiment with gear on a DIY adventure? Each has a unique selection of rentals that include brands like REI Co-op as well as Black Diamond, Coleman, Jetboil MSR, NRS, and Rossignol. You can try everything from camping and rock-climbing equipment to essentials for cycling, paddling, and cross-country skiing.

During warm-weather months, REI sees the biggest interest from customers seeking camping necessities, namely sleeping bags and stoves; in the winter, the most popular rental item is snowshoes, says Ryan Holte, a stores-program specialist. Rental prices vary. Accessories like lanterns or trekking poles typically run for less than $15 per day; larger items, tandem kayaks, can go for $100 a day.

There’s no limit on how long an item can be rented. And while day-of rentals are offered, it’s a good idea to reserve gear ahead of time, especially on big outdoor weekends like Labor Day.

knows firsthand that packing scuba equipment in a carry-on is a great way to earn a TSA bag search. The former digital editor of Scuba Diving magazine, she now covers travel and water-related topics as a freelance journalist.

The post Gear-Testing Trips That Let You Try Before You Buy appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

Like any beloved seasonal activity, holiday shopping kicks off with a big opening weekend: Black Friday, on November 24, followed by Small-Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. An avalanche of ads are headed your way, and with them the opportunity to score a great flight deal—for those who know how to navigate the ins and outs of the discounts.

And there’s another day to keep on your radar for flight deals, too: entered the lineup six years ago. Backed by the travel industry, November 28 is also expected to woo consumers with discounts on flights, hotels, and vacation packages.

Although it now has a formal name, the Tuesday following Thanksgiving has for years “consistently offered the highest volume of deals in the post-holiday sales week,” says Lindsay Schwimer, senior communications manager of , the accredited travel agency whose app is famous for predicting when airfares will drop. Hopper collects between 25 and 30 billion flight and hotel price quotes every day and has built a huge historical archive of trillions of prices from over the past ten years that analyze such data, she says.

This year, I’m going to follow rock-bottom prices somewhere—anywhere—fabulous. My husband and I have yet to take our COVID-delayed honeymoon, and three years on, I’m happy to let the pricing algorithm decide.

To guarantee that you get the best deal, start your research now and leverage these crucial tips from travel experts below.

Step 1: Be on the Lookout for Flight Deals Now

Get ahead of the game by looking out for discounts now. American Airlines has already launched domestic , while . And Costco members can capitalize on a that can be redeemed for $500 worth of flights.

Travelers who prefer to fly with a particular carrier should sign up for that airline’s newsletter. Some carriers will give subscribers early access to their holiday offers, improving your chances of snapping up cheap seats.

Step 2: Know What Fares Have Been Going for Before You Buy

Pre-sales preparation will optimize your search, especially if you have a specific destination in mind. All of the travel experts I spoke with recommend setting up flight alerts ahead of time. This will give you context about the going rates.

If you’re only now realizing you should have started investigating fares last month, don’t worry. You can still get a good sense of the going rate for your dream routes if you check your data with , says Clint Henderson, managing editor of , a well-regarded website that has long focused on travel deals. Its price-history tool displays a range of rates for your flight—including high and low prices—and as well as what it calls the “best departing flight,” based on cost and convenience. The site can also show you what it would cost to book the same length trip on different days.

Step 3: Be Flexible About Your Travel Dates

“The more open and flexible you are, the bigger winner you are in these Cyber, Black Friday, Travel Deal Tuesday games,” says Gabe Saglie, ​a senior communications manager for , a site that publicizes travel deals and alerts its members about unbeatable rates for specific trips.

Airlines are unlikely to discount the most convenient flight times or the most popular routes—those tickets tend to sell without the holiday razzle-dazzle. Instead, the best deals will usually be for the off-season or an atypical weekday departure. Keep this in mind to maximize savings.

Flexibility also extends to which airline you choose to fly with. Loyalty to a specific carrier limits the number of deals you have to choose from (although frequent-flier members can usually access additional sales—more on that in a minute). Surveying the full field will increase the likelihood of finding that rock-bottom fare.

Even if you’re committed to a particular airline, you can still benefit from taking a flexible approach. A flight that leaves at 5:30 A.M. in February is likely to be discounted more heavily than an otherwise identical flight that leaves at noon during peak spring-break season, for example, letting you score savings even within a single airline’s service.

Step 4: Search for Rewards-Specific Deals

While airline loyalists have fewer sales to pick from, there are still perks to this approach. In addition to discounting the cash price of a ticket, many airlines offer their members mileage discounts this time of year—a great way for points-obsessed travelers to squeeze the juice out of every last mile.

“Delta sometimes will have discounted mileage awards to Europe for as low as 22,000 Delta SkyMiles. Those are the kinds of deals I would look for on Black Friday,” says The Points Guy’s Henderson.

Step 5: Wake Up Early the Day You Plan to Look for Deals

Set an alarm to make the most of all that preseason conditioning.

“Make sure you’re acting as early as possible,” advises Henderson. Airlines frequently announce deals in the morning, and they are often only for a limited time or set number of seats. “It’s all about acting fast on those days.

The day of, check any newsletters you’ve subscribed to, surf airlines’ websites, and watch airlines’ social media accounts for live deal announcements. According to Hopper, quite a few airlines have already committed to offering Travel Deal Tuesday prices, including Aer Lingus, Air New Zealand, Explore Azores Islands, Fiji Airways, French Bee, Porter Airlines, SATA/Azores Airlines, and Singapore Airlines.

And anyone interested in visiting a national park and hoping to fly into a gateway city should check out United Airlines’ , which are expected to reflect any relevant deals over the holiday weekend.

To see deals from multiple airlines, watch the emails and posts from round-up services like The Points Guy, whose staff will be working to share the best deals its team can find. The travel section of its site lists flash sales, deals on both major and low-cost carriers, and limited offers, so it pays to check back regularly.

Step 6: Do All the Math Before You Book

Let’s assume you do it all right: You research fares before Black Friday, get up before sunrise to scan various sites, and find a good price for just the place you want to go during a time you can travel. Great! But don’t hit Purchase quite yet.

Look into the ticket’s fine print. The last thing you want is a surprise fee that turns your cheap getaway into an average-price (or costly) trip. A $29 ticket on a budget ticket may not include baggage fees, for example, especially if you’re bringing sport gear.

“This is part of being prepared,” says Travelzoo’s Saglie. If “I’m looking for a deal to destinations for a big family ski trip, and I want to bring my equipment along, then I want to know what specific airlines might charge, as it does vary.”

The same goes for surfboards. “Some airlines won’t charge you for a surfboard, because they consider it checked luggage, whereas other airlines will charge $100, $150, or $200,” Saglie says.

Step 7: Keep Monitoring Airfare Prices

If you book on Cyber Monday and then find a better price on Travel Deal Tuesday, don’t let buyer’s remorse overwhelm you. You can keep shopping for a better deal—within limits.

If you book directly with an airline and that price drops within 24 hours of when you booked it, you can cancel and your credit card will be fully reimbursed,Ìęsays Katy Nastro, a spokesperson for  (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights). Not just a trip credit, she emphasized: “You get a full refund.”

Some airlines offer similar deals for mileage shoppers. “The beauty of buying airfare with miles is that if you’ve already got a ticket in hand, you can cancel it without any penalty. They will put those miles back into your account,” says Saglie. “If I’m looking at that same flight, that’s now 30 percent fewer miles required [than yesterday], I can go back in, cancel, and rebook just because I’m saving myself 20,000 miles a ticket.”

first experienced the magic of cheap flights when she scored a round-trip ticket from Chicago to Vietnam for under $600. She’s stretched every travel dollar since while working as freelance journalist and digital editor of Scuba Diving magazine.

The post 7 Steps to Find the Best Black Friday Flight Deals appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

While researching an șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű story on high-end adventure tourism, I spoke twice by Zoom with Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, once in 2021 and again in 2022. The company is located in Everett, 25 miles north of Seattle.

Energetic and passionate, Rush talked about the need to advance the world’s oceanic knowledge and why he was pursuing deep-sea tourism as a business. A picture of an OceanGate submersible cockpit served as his video-chat background, giving him the appearance of taking my calls from the helm of his fleet.

Rush and four others disappeared in the Titan on Sunday, June 18, during a dive to see the historic wreck of the Titanic. A fervent search-and-rescue mission ensued across an area about 900 miles off the coast of Cape Cod—in a region often referred to as twice the size of Connecticut—as the sub’s final hours of oxygen were believed to be dwindling.

In an update at 3 P.M. ET on June 22, Coast Guard officials announced that a “catastrophic implosion,” which instantly killed all the passengers, occurred in the submersible, and offered “heartfelt condolences.” Debris from the submersible was found on a smooth section of sea floor 1,600 feet off the bow of the Titanic by a remotely operated vehicle searching the site.

Three adventurers were onboard with Rush: British businessman and explorer Hamish Harding, and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman. The French maritime expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet was also onboard, serving as the sub’s Titanic expert after more than 35 dives to the wreck.

While marine rescue is never simple, °ŐŸ±łÙČčČÔ’s depth complicated this mission even more. The Titanic rests 12,500 feet deep, so it took two-and-a-half hours for his sub just to reach the wreckage, Rush told me.

What We Know About Stockton Rush, OceanGate CEO

Rush, 61, graduated from Princeton in 1984 with a degree in aerospace engineering. He had become the world’s youngest jet-transport rated pilot at age 19, and went on to build his own Glasair III experimental aircraft in ’89—the same year he earned an MBA from U.C. Berkeley. Rush led several successful IP ventures over the subsequent decades and served on the board of multiple tech companies. He married Wendy Rush, also a Princeton ’84 graduate, who works as communications director at OceanGate. In an uncanny coincidence, Wendy is the descendant of the married couple Isidor and Ida Straus, who died in the Titanic sinking in 1912.

How Rush Launched His OceanGate Business

When Rush recognized in his 40s that he would never achieve his dream of being the first person to walk on Mars, he told in 2017, he turned his attention to the sea. He then built his own submersible (which he dived in over 30 times). In 2009, he founded , to conduct commercial research and exploration. Moving sub research and development into the private sector, Rush aimed to bring down the cost of deep-sea exploration and to make it more accessible to scientists and researchers. On most trips, scientists are on board. OceanGate has provided grants for scientific and archaeological marine research through its .

While OceanGate has offered other underwater exploration trips, like to the , the Titanic expeditions have been the company’s marquee project. Fusing research and tourism, missions discovered a deep-sea reef and another shipwreck, collected environmental DNA, and captured the first 8K footage of the Titanic (see video below). Private individuals have paid $250,000 to take part in the trips, helping underwrite the cost of the research. Hamish Harding,Ìę Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman, were such participants.

The Titan was one of very few vessels capable of reaching these depths with humans on board. The only other one in operation is The Limiting Factor, which was until recently owned by Victor Vescovo. The Deepsea Challenger, the submersible that James Cameron went down in to see the Titanic, was damaged in a highway fire in 2015.

When we talked, Rush was frank that his company pushed the boundaries of underwater exploration.

“Nargelot made a comment to somebody that every deep diving submarine is a prototype, that they haven’t made more than one of all of them,” Rush told me last year. “The first year we had prototype issues, we had some equipment problems. We had some tracking and communications problems. We overcame those, and by the end got to the Titanic and took a bunch of people down.”

As many are questioning the ethics of deep-sea tourism and safety issues with the design of °ŐŸ±łÙČčČÔ’s carbon fiber hull—and as we await the results of the ongoing investigation about what happened—here are Rush’s thoughts from our conversations about diving the Titanic.

The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity. It includes comments from my conversations with Rush in March 2021 and September 2022.

șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű: Why visit the Titanic? Why do these expeditions?

Rush: The Titanic is just such a unique thing underwater. I like to say that if you stopped someone on the street and said name three things in the deep ocean, they’re gonna say sharks, whales, and the Titanic. Everything else is a distant second.

There are some other great wrecks that we hope to go see, and there are great wrecks we’ve seen before. But the Titanic really has captured the world’s imagination, and it is the pinnacle of things underwater at this time. And it’s a proven site that people want to visit. When the Russians were in need of hard cash, they did some tourist trips out to the Titanic. James Cameron went to it [numerous] times. There’s some history about people wanting to go see it.

Equally important is, it’s decaying and nobody really knows how fast. So there’s a lot of science that hasn’t been able to be done on the Titanic. Past exercises in tourism didn’t do any science, and ours is all going to be focused on not just the decay of the Titanic, but also looking at the biology. There are hundreds of species that have only been found on the Titanic wreck.

The short answer to your questions is the Titanic draws attention. It’s a great research component. It’s basically an artificial reef in the abyssal plain, and what life forms are there? What fish and corals and the like is a huge question. And it’s decaying and we don’t know how fast.

What are the scientific objectives?

They’re twofold. There’s an archeological component. The fundamental question is the one everyone wants to know: When is the thing going to collapse? 
 It’s being eaten by bacteria that are literally eating the steel, eating the iron. So with the laser scaler, we’ve been able to take measurements of the expansion joint that was in the ship as well as the starboard crack
I’d say the number-one [archeological] goal, other than to document its current state, is to come up with a better answer to how long it will be recognizable. That’s how I like to define it, because it will always be an artificial reef.

The biological objectives are longer term, and that’s really where we’re focusing. How does that as an artificial reef compare to other structures around the Titanic that don’t have this metal structure there? And how is that changing? How are these creatures growing and being colonized? How are they colonizing other sites nearby?

One of the key elements of the Titanic that I get is: Why do we go back to the Titanic? We’ve been there a lot, and it has been visited a lot. But what’s amazing is, there are very, very few sites—a handful, probably—that get visited more than once, when you get down to this kind of depth, more than 3,000 meters. There’s so much to be explored that if you’re a typical research organization, you’re just going to go to a hydrothermal vent, you’re going to analyze it, you’re gonna go to another one. Or you’re going to go to a subsea canyon and document the flora and fauna. But you’re not gonna go back again, because there are so many other sites to go to.

Because people want to go to the Titanic, it’s a very unique opportunity, because they’re going to pay us to go there. And now we can go every year. I don’t think there’s anywhere else on planet Earth at that depth where you’re gonna be able to take researchers every year to get that kind of granular data: ‘Hey, this type of coral is more prevalent, here it’s not.’ That’s quite relevant, because there are a million shipwrecks, and there are tens of thousands that are in the deep ocean from World War II. We really don’t know their impact and how they’re affecting the ecosystem. The scientists are pretty excited, because you just don’t get that opportunity.

Given the scientific aspect of your expeditions, why involve Mission Specialists (what OceanGate calls the paying tourists)?

I started OceanGate back in 2009, with the idea that there were two needs out there.

The first one was, we knew very little about the ocean. Our knowledge of the ocean, particularly the deep ocean, anything below scuba-diving depth—it’s sad, very sad, how small it is. It’s getting better, and there are a lot of efforts to increase ocean knowledge, but we don’t have it. And there were researchers who wanted to go and actually see the environment in person, not just look at an image from a robot.

So you had on the research side a huge need. But subs were expensive. I knew from my own personal travel experience that there was also this growing market of people who want to do a different type of travel. In particular, I looked at Earthwatch and how they were able to get people to pay to work on archeological digs. They had the same kind of thing: a great need for manpower to dig an archaeological site and help fund it and a research need. So I thought in the ocean, maybe there’s a match there.

That’s really what OceanGate’s been working on for the last 10 years, coming up with different projects. We’ve done over 18 major expeditions (at much less cost than the Titanic) matching these adventure travelers who want to do something different than just sit and then get a tourist experience where somebody tells them what’s going on. They want to be involved in both the planning of the operation and the execution and the follow up. That’s why we’ve set up the Titanic mission and why we bring the Mission Specialists, because they help underwrite the cost of doing this research.

Who are you finding is in the current market for these experiences? Who are the people that are coming to participate?

It’s a remarkably diverse group. The Titanic is an outlier in that it is such an iconic piece. So on the Titanic we have what are often referred to as Titaniacs. These are people who are just [obsessed]. I’ve had young kids come up and say, “I just love the Titanic. I know everything about the Titanic.” Yet they weren’t even born when the movie came out, which was a huge bump in enthusiasm. There’s been something like 16 feature-length movies on the Titanic. Lord knows how many books. So in the Titanic world, we have the folks who are just all Titanic. They really want to see it.

That’s probably half of our client base. The other half are these people who are these adventure travelers who go scuba diving in Indonesia or set up their own safari off the grid in Africa. One couple shipped their bikes to Croatia and started biking without a backroads guide or anything. So they’re definitely early adopters this first year.

They range in age from I think 26 to 80. We’ve actually taken a 92-year-old gentleman in the sub. They range from people who have climbed Everest to people who are not that physically able. We’ve designed the sub to handle the average person. Our requirements are: you should be able to climb a ladder or stand on a chair, and get up off the floor (you can use your hands). Basic agility is really all we need, given what we’ve done to design the experience. We try and make it as accessible as possible.

For the Mission Specialists that first time that they see the Titanic, when they’ve made such an effort to get there, what is that moment like?

It varies from specialist to specialist. In general, everyone says it’s more amazing than they expect. They have an idea of what it’s gonna look like from the movie, or maybe some of our earlier videos. But when you get there, the colors are just incredible. And the colors—as you get closer and closer, once you get within about five feet, all of a sudden the oranges and the reds come out. It’s this pastel portrait. It’s so amazingly beautiful as a wreck.

Then you’ve got this giant window [on the sub]. One of the great things is it’s 21 inches, so you can have three people all looking at the same image and not looking at this teeny little porthole like they had to do with the Russian Mir subs. That ability to be in a group setting and have multiple people is really one of the key elements
With five people they really get an interesting dynamic. You get two and a half hours going down. People get to know people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x40SAJS2whY

Can you tell me about the personal travels that inspired you?

I built my own airplane and went in the early 2000s on a trip to Central America with a group called the Baja Bush Pilots Association. That was sort of a weird form of extreme travel: 21 private planes flying through Central America, [landing on] the little dirt strips all over the place
I realized that the trips I enjoyed most, it really depended on it being different and having a purpose. I really didn’t enjoy going and looking at a museum. It’s OK, but I’d rather go out and hike or explore a new area
.

If you want to do extreme travel, one of the other challenges was, I’m not going to be climbing Everest. That’s something that has huge physical requirements, time requirements, and other things. I had wanted to go to space, and I still do, maybe when it gets cheaper. But when I looked at space, I thought there wasn’t a purpose there. I’d love to go work on the space station for a month, but that’s not generally available at any real price point.

So I looked at my own personal experience, and that of the folks that I travel with, I said, going somewhere with an exploration—this bush pilot thing was like we showed up without a purpose, and you land in the middle of nowhere. And you have to figure out where’s the hotel? Where am I going to get gas and all these little—I liked problem-solving. Those experiences and my love of the ocean blended together.

What is this article going to be about?

Exploring tourism at the edge of existence, including space and deep-sea travel.

We’ve been talking to a couple of the space folks on using the sub as a space analog
. The only really good [analog] is underwater, because in that case, you’re in a capsule with some people in a life-threatening or a potentially dangerous environment. It’s about as close to being in a space capsule [as we] can get.

If you mock it up on the surface, you know, ‘I can just open the door and go to McDonald’s if I don’t like it.’ When you’re in the sub, it’s a good stress test. We’re talking to the space folks about, “Hey really your folks should go in a sub. If they want to go to space or they want to go to Mars. If they want to go around the moon, a good training exercise is to put them in a setup where they’re in there with four other people for 12 hours, two and a half miles away from anything. If they’re going to lose it, that’s where they’ll lose it.”

How accessible is deep-ocean exploration right now in your view, and what needs to change for it to become more broadly accessible?

If you want to go on the web and see pictures of deep-sea creatures, that’s becoming more accessible. If you want to actually go down and see them and be part of that discovery process, it’s extremely inaccessible.

The only way you’re gonna get into the deep ocean in a submarine is if you work for NOAA, or you have a PhD and you can get time on Alvin or one of the deep-diving subs, or you’re a billionaire. There are a number of billionaires—Ray Dalio, Victor Vescovo, who made the sub to go to the Mariana Trench. Then you have to be a friend of theirs, or have something to offer
 If you want to dive shallow, there are a few subs out there. So [if you] want to go 100 feet, or 1000 feet even, you can do that. But if you want to get to the average depth of the ocean of 4,000 meters, there really isn’t an opportunity to do that.

What would need to change for those sorts of experiences to become more broadly accessible, like you’re working on?

We came at it from that perspective. My perspective is from a business background, and I looked at what was happening
.There were a number of projects, but they were typically altruistic. The idea was, We’re going to either go to the government to get money, or go get donations to do a project.

To make a business, and the only way we’re going to get more people underwater is to have more subs available, more people doing it so the price can come down. That’s what we did with OceanGate. We do dives in the Puget Sound area that are only $2,500 to be a Mission Specialist, up to the Titanic [at $250,000]. What needs to happen is—and I hope to have many imitators—you need to have more OceanGate subs out there, or more OceanGate-like subs
.We are hoping to lead the way in that so that if you come to, say, New York City, one of the things you might be able to do is go dive in the Hudson Canyon at a reasonable price. It’s always going to be expensive, but we hope it gets down to the cost of, you know, premium seats at a Super Bowl game or something like that.

Is there anything else important I should have asked?

I think the biggest piece for us
is this need for knowledge of the ocean. We all were taught that two-thirds to three-quarters of the planet is underwater, but it’s actually 95-plus percent of the livable volume. Most of the life on this planet is underwater. If there’s life in the solar system, it’s probably aquatic. If there’s life in the universe, it is largely aquatic. NASA came to this conclusion that where you have water and energy and carbon, you have life. They find that with these extremophiles and the like.

The size of the opportunities is going to require lots of methods of exploring it. There’s a place for the average person to contribute and to really get out there and do something. That’s really what we want to do, be able to make it accessible to help advance our knowledge of the world.

of Ann Arbor, Michigan, is a freelance writer who specializes in water and travel coverage. Her writing has appeared in NPR, National Geographic, and other national outlets. She is the former digital editor of Scuba Diving magazine.

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Foraging went mainstream during the pandemic with influencers like @ and @ showing people how to decipher the edible world around them. Now that many of us are free to roam, tour operators are eager to show off the trailside snacks in their neck of the woods.

“There’s been an uptick in people who are offering this type of tour,” says Allison Keeney, the global communications manager for Travel Oregon. “It’s an added way for outdoor enthusiasts to enjoy local trails and connect with the local landscape, similar to bird-watching.”

Wild food tourism existed pre-COVID, but it can thank 2020 for trending. Oregon, for example, has touted its , and for years, and ‘foraging with a specialist’ is among the most popular food tour experiences requested worldwide, according to a 2015 survey of tour operators. 

But “during the pandemic, when we were in familiar surroundings quite permanently
 we were looking for ways to engage with familiar landscapes in different ways,” says Anna de Jong, a senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow who has the rise of foraging tourism in the UK. As we return to traveling, foraging “allows people who are unfamiliar with the landscape or place to really engage with that place in a meaningful way.”

“Foraging turns travel into a giant edible scavenger hunt,” says chef , star of the James Beard award-winning travel foraging series Field, Forrest, Feast and author of the book The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora. “Every year when I go to Arizona, I bring back edible souvenirs” like “barrel cactus that look like pineapples.”

Why You Shouldn’t Forage Alone

Foraging guides and experiences are a great way to explore what flavors nature has to offer without breaking laws and risking your life. Experienced foragers are familiar with legal foraging areas and know when to stop picking so the land isn’t stripped of natural resources. Not only that, but guides will keep you from making mistakes such as wandering away from the trail, picking the wrong plants and eating too much along the way.

What You Need to Know Before Foraging: Packing the Right Gear, Identifying Species, and Harvesting Techniques

Essential Foraging Clothes and Tools

Travelers should dress for conditions they’ll be foraging in, whether that means galoshes, a sunhat, or both. Tools of the trade include scissors or a knife to cut the plants, a bag or basket to carry them, and field guides to spot-check species identification. 

We recommend first and foremost durable gloves for safe foraging. are great for protecting against needles, brambles and thorns. Another gear essential to pack is a compact for underground edibles like wild potatoes, leeks and burdock root. Make sure to also pack and a to make short work of cutting stalks and vines.  

Identifying Poisonous Plants 

Anyone looking to forage on the go should familiarize themselves with what plants are edible and in-season at their destination, as well as collection regulations and proper harvesting methods. Enthusiast Facebook groups, local mycological (mushroom) societies, field guides and Department of Natural Resource (DNR) websites are great places to gather information about the where and when of wild edibles, and how to identify dangerous plants. 

Many wild plants look like food but are toxic. For example, a southeastern wild plant called Horsenettle looks almost identical to a green tomato but is extremely poisonous. Similarly, toxic pokeweed, often found nestled on the edge of forests, could easily be mistaken for blueberries. Study the poisonous wild plants most confused as edible plants and if ever in doubt, pass on foraging. 

Harvesting Edible Plants Efficiently and Sustainably 

Learn sustainable collection techniques, such as how to cut plants so they will grow back instead of pulling them out at the root. DNR websites can also provide information about the location’s foraging rules and regulations—many state parks, for example, prohibit plant collection. 

Get a Guide

All this preparation is expedited if you hit the trail with a guide. “Learning from an expert in the field is hands down the fastest, easiest way to learn plants in your area,” says Bergo. 

Here are seven operators that will do just that, both in the U.S. and overseas.

U.S. Foraging Experiences

Asheville, North Carolina

Run by one of the world’s leading foraging education companies, this 3-hour ($77) includes a guided collection experience near central Asheville and the option to end with a meal at a partner restaurant that cooks your ‘catch’ into the appetizer. The exact location depends on the season and weather conditions. What you’re likely to bag in the Blue Ridge Mountain meadows and woods varies by season, with more than 500 edibles available throughout the year. Plants and mushrooms are the main focus of this tour; truffle tours are coming in 2023.

San Francisco, California

Learn how to rummage along the shore with a ($125). Led by Kirk Lombard, commercial fisherman and author of The Sea Forager’s Guide to the Northern California Coast, participants learn how to gather food from San Francisco’s mud flats—including clams, urchins and seaweeds—and to ‘poke-pole’ for local species like monkeyface eels and rockfish. The takeaway from this course is skills, not snacks, but participants with a valid California fishing license are welcome to apply the lessons in the field right after the course. These tide-dependent tours are usually held once or twice a month. Private tours for up to 15 people are $1,125.

Clayton, Georgia

Wander through the woods of northeast Georgia with Wildcraft’s 2-hour guided by a plant identification expert (starting at $200). Seasonal finds include branch lettuce and wild garlic in the spring, or wild mountain mint and chanterelles in the summer. If plants can be collected during the tour depends on abundance. Those looking end to the tour with a meal can book the Foraging Walk & Wild Foods Tasting Picnic, which includes a three-course, chef-prepared meal in the backcountry at the end of the walking tour (starting at $300). Tour participants can choose between touring the Foxfire Museum and Heritage Center or the Terra Incognita Vineyard; wine tastings can be added to tours that start at the vineyard ($15). Private tours start at $200.

New York Tri-State Region

Take a taste of the concrete jungle with any of Brill’s , part of his tri-state foraging tours which run on weekends and holidays from March to December (suggested adult donation $20). Brill, who has led foraging tours since 1982, is the author of Foraging New York and Identifying Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not so Wild) Places. What you’ll look for depends on the season—in summer his Central Park tour might include peaches, chicken mushrooms and wild spinach, while in the late fall he’ll scour the same park for roots like sassafras (used to make root beer) and enoki mushrooms. Private tours typically run from $450 to $550.

International Foraging Tours

Galloway, Scotland

Sample Scotland’s seaweeds, sap, succulents, herbs, mushrooms and more with Mark Williams, who leads (adult £85; child £45) and multi-day (£575). “When people come on my walks, I like to send them away with a full belly to enhance what we learned, so they get a little picnic box full of foraged Galloway stuff,” such as fermented wild garlic, mushroom tart, pickled chanterelles and dehydrated crab apples, he says in a video interview about the business. Private tours are available for up to 12 people at £125 an hour, plus mileage, for a minimum of three hours.

Eastern Jutland, Denmark

Make your own gin when you collect juniper berries with Svend Hamann, an outdoorsman of more than 30 years who leads group foraging tours part-time outside the city of Aarhus. He can help you search for botanicals (think herbs or other berries) to flavor the drink, and sends you home with a wild tipple that will be ready in a few days time. Hamann’s tours (about $400, typically a 10 person minimum) vary seasonally—his other winter experience is oyster foraging—and it’s recommended you reach out at least two weeks in advance. Custom trips can be arranged. 

Tasmania, Australia

Try Italian food with a Tasmanian twist with Mic Giuliani, forager and chef of Sirocco South. Small group tours ($330) start in the morning with coffee and end with a six-course meal overlooking Frederick Henry Bay. Giuliani and his team personally turn your foraged finds—such as asparagus, mushrooms and saltbush—into dishes like wild mushroom pate and stuffed lamb breast with a weed salsa verde before pairing them with wine from the local Bream Creek Vineyard. 

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Taking an island vacation doesn’t have to mean splurging on some ritzy all-inclusive resort. You can grab your tent and get away from it all for a fraction of the cost year-round. Even better, the winter season on these U.S. islands has a different feel, marked by diminished crowds, an abundance of waterfront space, and a quiet beauty.

I love camping on islands, especially those with empty beaches. In honor of National Camp Day, on November 19, I’ve compiled a list of nine U.S. island destinations that beckon with warm weather and plenty of outdoor adventure.

1. Santa Rosa Campground
Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California

($15) is nestled in a beautiful valley on the northeast side of Santa Rosa Island, the second-largest island in this national park, just 50 miles off the Southern California coast. Book your passage over with (from $55 one-way), which leaves from Ventura Harbor. The ferry will drop you off at the pier, and from there it’s an easy 1.5-mile hike to the campground, which offers potable water and modern bathrooms.

Each of the 15 sites has a wind shelter, which is key this time of year, as gusts can whip through the valley. I’m speaking from experience—you want to pitch your tent behind that shelter. But even a windy night is worth waking up to the sound of the Pacific crashing on the beach below the nearby cliffs, and the sunrises are spectacular—book sites one through four for the best views.

I recommend fishing or diving for your supper from the bay by the pier; although 20 percent of the park’s waters are marine-protected areas, fishing is allowed everywhere else in accordance with state (permits from $9). During my trip here, it was easy to collect overpopulated urchin and spear rockfish.

Hikers can enjoy the island’s many trails, which range from a mile to 28 miles, and keep an eye out for the adorable foxes—I counted 14 when I was there!—one of the park’s 281 endemic species.

2. Cinnamon Bay Beach and Campground
Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands National Park

Kick it in the Caribbean when you bunk at the only in U.S. Virgin Islands National Park. Visitors can choose from a variety of tent sites ($50) or cottages ($285) December through April and pop in to the on-site Rain Tree CafĂ© for options like smoothies or food to go. This is a paradise that begs exploration by land and by sea; take to the more than 20 trails in the park, some leading to petroglyphs and an old sugar mill, or rent snorkeling gear at the campground and spend hours swimming the island’s turquoise waters and coral reefs home to some 400 species.

3. Cannabis Farm and Greenhouse Garden
Mountain View, Big Island, Hawaii

Campers on the eastern side of the Big Island can choose between two unique sites at this forest —next to the cannabis grove or within the greenhouse deck ($45 for two people per night). Enjoy hot outdoor showers, but expect to pay for electricity.

The host offers one-hour cannabis tours ($50 for two people), surf lessons ($75), and customizable island tours. Or head off on your own to explore the nearby Wao Kele o Puna rainforest, sacred home of the goddess Pele as well as native habitat to the endangered apapane and akohekohe birds. The hot spot of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is also just ten miles away.

4. A Gulf Coast Island Retreat
Gibsonton, Florida

Now’s your chance to cosplay Robinson Crusoe: an with four campsites is available to rent in the middle of the Alafia River, about a 20-minute drive south of Tampa (from $65). Designed with elevated wooden platforms for your tent, an outhouse, a fire pit, and a picnic table, you pack in the essentials (including water) and pack out all your trash.

Although the island host offers shuttle service for a fee, renting one of his kayaks or canoes for the quarter-mile crossing is your best bet: you can paddle to area mangroves, catching sight of dolphins and stingrays; request a river tour; or, for a night out, tie your boat up at the across the water.

5. Stafford Beach Campground
Cumberland Island National Lakeshore, Georgia

Only 300 visitors a day are allowed on Cumberland Island, a barrier island more than twice the size of Manhattan. ($12) has ten sites and offers necessities like flush toilets, fire rings, potable water, and (cold) showers. A 45-minute from the town of St. Marys will drop you off at the pier. From there, you’ll take a 3.5-mile trail to the campground, part of a 50-plus-mile island-wide network.

Or bring your bike and cruise around with your binocs—there’s plenty of wildlife to see, including wild horses, loggerhead turtles, and alligators. Saltwater fishermen can look to hook species like catfish and crocker. Historical relics also remain an attraction; tour Dungeness Ruins, a former mansion occupied by the British in the War of 1812, and Plum Orchard, once the winter home of the Carnegie family, built at the turn of the 20th century.

6. A Private Horse Farm
Saint Helena Island, South Carolina

This 70-acre , set on the property of Camelot Farms Equestrian Center, is a working farm once part of the Coffin Point Plantation. Its five sites ($15) rest between two ponds below a grove of oak trees, potable water is available from a spigot, and campfires and pets are permitted. (There are no bathrooms.)

with the farm ($100), or head three miles down the road to (from $5), the filming location for Forrest Gump’s Vietnam War scenes, where birders can check oystercatchers and yellow-rumped warblers off their list this time of year, hikers can enjoy more than nine miles of trails, and anglers can rent a rod and reel and try their luck at the end of a renovated pier or along the shore.

7. Bird Island Basin Campground
Padre Island National Seashore, Texas

Bird Island Basin’s steady wind and warm shallows qualify it as one of the best windsurfing spots in the country. You can pitch your tent at one of the first-come, first-served sites ($8, plus a $25 vehicle entrance fee) along Laguna Madre and then make the easy two-minute walk to for a windsurfing class (from $70) or to rent kayaking or paddleboarding gear.

If you’re there for the birds—plenty are, as it’s located on the Central Flyway—winter sees thousands migrating through the area, and the double-crested cormorant and snowy egret. Aficionados might tack on ’ six-to-eight-hour birding tour ($600 for up to four people). Come prepared with food and firewood, as the nearest stores are 12 miles away.

8. Rainforest Camping
Utuado, Puerto Rico

Leave the mainland behind for this ($30) in the mountains 90 minutes southwest of San Juan. Ask the host for a map of the property when you arrive and hit the trails in search of waterfalls. Amenities include an outdoor shower, a bathroom with hot water, fire pits, and potable water. There’s also a on the property ($59), and breakfast and dinner can be ordered for an additional fee.

Up for an eco-adventure? Host-led tours include hiking, exploring subterranean rivers, caving and more. Or venture into the town of Utuado for rappelling, river caving, and horseback riding on a coffee farm,Ìęor to visit the pictographs and stone monoliths of Caguana Indigenous Ceremonial Park,Ìęan ancestral site of the native TaĂ­nos.

9. Kahua Lehua (Hoomaluhia)
Oahu, Hawaii

A campsite within Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden? And just nine miles from the island’s beloved Lanikai Beach and 12 miles from central Honolulu? Yes, please! At Kahua Lehua ($32), you’ll have access to the sprawling 400-acre property, which features plants from major tropical regions around the globe as well as those indigenous to Hawaii.

Birders can request its garden-specific checklist, which includes local species like the Pacific golden plover and black-crowned night heron. Five campsites are available (each can accommodate groups of up to ten) and offer picnic tables and fire circles. The required permit is available for purchase two weeks ahead of time, so be ready to book—this place is popular.

Alexandra Gillespie is a travel writer whose work has appeared in National Geographic,ÌęScuba Diving, and NPR. She lives in Southern California, where she spends much of her free time shore diving.

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In 2020, former astronaut Kathy Sullivan descended nearly seven miles below the Pacific’s surface. When she touched down at a spot on the ocean floor known as Challenger Deep, in the depths of the Mariana Trench, the 68-year-old became the first person to visit both outer space and the deepest known part of the ocean. The next year, multimillionaire video-game developer Richard Garriott, now 61, became the first man to execute the same feat. (Garriott had purchased a trip to the International Space Station in 2008.)

Their rare distinction as intrepid explorers of distant frontiers may not remain unusual for long. Just as tour operators turned quests once reserved for explorers into potential destinations for anyone with the means (read: money)—climbing Mount Everest, treks to the North and South Poles, sailing trips around the world—today’s entrepreneurs are now building paths to the ocean’s depths and up to the stars. Say hello to tourism at the edge of existence.

Vacations in Space

American entrepreneur Dennis Tito kicked off space tourism in 2001 with his $20 million seat on a Russian rocket to the International Space Station. Several private astronauts have visited the ISS since, including four men who spent 12 days at the station last year as a part of NASA’s Private Astronauts Program. Their $55-million-a-seat visit helped mark the arrival of entirely modern space travel.

Elon Musk’s company SpaceX oversaw that first all-civilian ISS trip in April 2021, as well as the first first all-civilian orbit around the earth that September. Last year also saw billionaire Jeff Bezos make a suborbital sortie on a rocket built by his space company, Blue Origin, and next year, SpaceX plans to send Japanese billionaire and fashion mogul Yusaku Maezawa on the. Then there’s Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, a company taking reservations for suborbital microgravity flights, slated to start next year. Thousands have already shelled out for the $450,000 plane-like ride, which will start and end in New Mexico. The 90-minute experience will take travelers up 50,000 feet before boosting into space to experience a few minutes of microgravity.

SpaceX’s earth orbit was “the first purely tourist-oriented sightseeing flight,” says Rod Pyle, space historian and author of Space 2.0: How Private Spaceflight, a Resurgent NASA, and International Partners Are Creating a New Space Age. “That really draws a bright line for me that we’ve moved into space tourism at last after talking about it for decades.”

Purely private launches like this are still the minority of annual orbital launches—44 of the 146 orbital launches last year were entirely private, according to the analytics and engineering firm —but the companies behind them are slashing the cost of spaceflight by increasing the number of trips and improving innovations like reusable rockets.

“How many people would be flying to Europe if they had to junk the plane after each flight?” asks Pyle.

This commercial-spaceflight boom enticed NASA to fund $415.6 million at the end of 2021 to private, established companies that can support the development of commercial destinations in space. This furthered the federal agency’s long march toward the  privatization of space travel. A congressional act in 2010 had essentially “ended the space-shuttle program and got the United States started on the commercial-cargo and crew paths,” says Paul Stimers, a commercial space lobbyist who worked on the legislation.

As a result, NASA funded millions to companies like Boeing and SpaceX to kick-start the transition and launched its own to deepen these partnerships. Thanks to such efforts, the cost of reaching space has fallen significantly since increased privatization, says Phil McAlister, NASA’s director of commercial space flight.

Soon, however, a rocket won’t be your only avenue to the edge of the atmosphere. Starting in 2024, the Florida-based and Arizona-based aim to take travelers up to 100,000 feet in pressurized capsules suspended from high-altitude balloons (which are more commonly used as weather balloons). At this height, riders will be able to see the earth’s atmosphere and 1,000 miles in every direction, according to WorldView.

There’s no microgravity aspect—a sensation triggered by free fall in flights like the $8,200 Zero-G Experience—as high-altitude balloons move slowly up and down; Space Perspective, for example, says its Spaceship Neptune rises at just 12 miles per hour. It’s not cheap, though: the ride will cost you $150,000, whereas WorldView, whose 2024 flights from the Grand Canyon and Great Barrier Reef are already sold out, charges $50,000 a seat.

As tourists line up to leave the planet, Orbital Assembly is working to greet them with humanity’s first private space center, . The U.S. company is aiming to have mints on pillows as early as 2027. Pioneer Station is being built for both tourism and business. Bookings will be segmented into a tourist season, a business season, and one for both; this overlapping period could give space tourists opportunities to contribute to cutting-edge science, like bio- or pharmacological research, says Orbital Assembly CEO Rhonda Stevenson.

The microgravity accommodation will be formed by individual pods, called free-flyers, connected by steel trusses in a spoke-and-wheel formation. Any number of free-flyers can be hitched together to form a habitable space station; the current plan is for Pioneer Station to host between 28 and 54 guests. Meanwhile, , Orbital Assembly’s planned space hotel, could eventually host as many as 440 guests. Stevenson declined to give a price estimate for a stay at either station, but said a vacation there is likely to span between four days to two weeks and involve activities like microgravity sports.

Assuming adequate funding and launch availability are nailed down, she says they hope to send the first free-flyer to space in 2025. Orbital Assembly projects this sets the stage for a completed Pioneer Station by 2027 and other outposts like Voyager Station to be constructed by the end of the decade. The company is currently in conversation with several space travel providers to arrange transportation to its stations.

“It will be like you have a hotel but you can take any number of airlines to get to that place,” says Andrew Lavin, who oversees Orbital Assembly’s communications.

Despite how this all sounds—will it really pan out?—space experts view the project as more likely than science fiction. Orbital Assembly’s timelines are optimistic to Anita Gale, head of the National Space Society and a senior engineer with Boeing’s space program who previously worked on the space-shuttle program, but she thinks sometime in the 2030s is a sound expectation.

“For decades, the idea of space settlement had
 let’s call it a giggle factor. In the technical community, that giggle factor is gone,” she says. “We can talk about living in space, and engineers who are in touch with what’s going on in these spaces are saying, ‘Yeah, we’re gonna do it.’ It’s a question of when, but it is inevitable. We will be doing business in space.”

Deep-Sea Tourism

Going to great depths in the ocean has never seen the public zeal or government support of space travel. While a flurry of rockets reached the moon in the years immediately following the Apollo 11 landing in 1969, more than five decades passed between the first and second visit to Challenger Deep.

Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard were the first people to hit the ocean bottom, in 1960, recording a depth of more than 35,000 feet in a submersible called the Trieste during a U.S. Navy research mission. Famed film director James Cameron became the second person to visit Challenger Deep—in 2012. But both the Trieste and Cameron’s submersible sustained damage during their expeditions and could not make repeat trips. Then along came Victor Vescovo, a private-equity investor and retired naval commander, in the possibility-redefining submersible Limiting Factor.

His groundbreaking vessel, built by Florida-based Triton Submersibles, has been the first to repeatedly visit the ocean bottom at such remarkable depths, allowing Vescovo to descend to Challenger Deep an astounding 15 times, become the first person to reach the deepest point in every ocean, and probe the world’s deepest shipwreck sites.

“It’s the Model T Ford of Hadal submersibles,” says Rob McCallum, CEO of EYOS Expeditions, which handles the logistics of Vescovo’s adventures. “It’s the pathfinder to the last frontier of exploration.” (On earth, anyway.)

More than a dozen people visited the trench and conducted scientific experiments with Vescovo, some on donated trips and others thanks to a $750,000 Mission Specialist expedition contribution, making them the first group of travelers to personally pay for a ride to the bottom of the Pacific. Going forward, however, Limiting Factor will be used purely for science under new ownership.

Travelers have also made the deep dive down to the Titanic—nearly 2.5 miles underwater in the North Atlantic—with . The company has taken more than 30 travelers from Newfoundland to the wreck over the past two years and is currently accepting 2023 reservations for its eight-day adventure. A $250,000 per-person fee helps underwrite the voyage, during which participants support scientists and researchers in the documentation of the rapidly decaying shipwreck and its surrounding environment. They contribute underwater or topside, working on tasks that range from conducting sonar scans from the sub to servicing the vessel post-dive.

“There are very, very few sites that get visited more than once, when you get down to this kind of depth,” says OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush. But because people will pay to go to the Titanic, his company can make trips there every year. “The scientists are pretty excited, because you just don’t get that opportunity.” Previous expeditions produced the first 8K video footage of the Titanic (see video below), discovered an undocumented deep-sea reef and nearby wreck, and gathered data on environmental DNA and coral growth rates for future analysis.

If a trip down to the Titanic in a submersible seems too much for you, OceanGate is planning less intensive options for interested ocean explorers in late 2023 and 2024: a one-day dip off Grand Bahama—starting at a cool $45,000—to support University of the Bahamas research in a deepwater basin, or an exploration of Puget Sound in Washington that costs $20,000, a tab that can be split between you and three friends.

Other wealthy travelers are skipping organized trips altogether, opting instead to play beneath the waves in their own submarines and submersibles. Submersibles are typically deployed from a large boat as, unlike submarines, they cannot maneuver at the surface. They are also substantially smaller—small enough, in fact, to fit on the deck of a luxury yacht.

“There’s lots and lots of yachts that have submersibles on board,” says Bill Streever, a former commercial diver and author of In Oceans Deep: Courage, Innovation, and șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Beneath the Waves. The demand for such vessels within the research community largely disappeared with the advent of underwater drones, he says, explaining: “It just didn’t make sense to put human beings down to do what a robot can do without any risk.” So submersible companies went looking for a new market and quickly found one in superyacht owners.

Such owners are “looking for the next big thing, and exploring the unknown is the ultimate big thing,” says Roy Heijdra, marketing manager at , a Norwegian company that began building submersibles for yachts 16 years ago. U-Boat Worx’s submersibles regularly descend to 1,000 feet, near the deep end of the ocean’s twilight zone; custom builds can be made to descend as much as 10,000 feet; and its five-to-eleven-passenger Cruise Series can explore more than a mile below the surface.

The basic one-seater NEMO model, small enough to tow behind a car, starts at approximately $543,000. Don’t want to commit to full ownership? Try a time-share: the brand’s new , rolling out next year in the Caribbean and the South of France, will offer training and partial ownership of a sub for about $154,000.

These vessels are already popular with the cruise crowd.

“Before 2023, there will be 33 newly built expedition cruise ships on the market,” says Heijdra, and “most of these cruise ships will have one or two of our cruise subs on board.” Crystal, Seabourn, and Viking are among the cruise-liner companies with vessels already carrying at least one U-Boat Worx submersible. And you don’t have to be a cruise passenger to get a taste of a U-Boat Worx experience: its Substation Curaçao, based on the Caribbean island, offers experiences from the harbor down to 450 feet for as little as $350.

If that’s not luxurious enough, what about a full-blown private submarine? No longer the exclusive domain of the military, the Norwegian company can build you your own custom vessel, complete with a library, bedroom, chairs with leather seats, a full kitchen, trained crew, and more. Too large to be launched from even mega-yachts, these often set off from private beaches, says Ocean Submarine CEO Martin van Eijk. They are rated to more than half a mile deep.

Ocean Submarine sold six private subs between 2010 and 2020. Then demand spiked, and the company received upward of 120 inquiries from potential customers during the first year of the pandemic. “We have a lot of clients who [are] interested in something where you can safely go down under, have your own eco-assistance and control systems for all the air,” says Van Eijk.

For some deep-sea travelers, this exploration is merely a prelude to space travel. OceanGate has partnered with several space-tourism organizations to provide preflight training to the starstruck among us.

“You’re in a capsule with some people in a life-threatening or potentially dangerous environment,” says OceanGate’s Rush. “If they want to go to space, a good training exercise is [to] put them in a setup where they’re in there with four other people for 12 hours, two and a half miles away from anything. If they’re going to lose it, that’s where they’ll lose it.”

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