In my early twenties, I worked briefly as a snorkel assistant on a tourist boat in Maui. I helped guests defog their mask and get their fins on and off, but mostly my job entailed making sure everyone had a good time.

On my first day, the captain gave me some sage advice: “Sometimes the best response to a guest is to simply smile and nod.” I did a lot of smiling and nodding that summer, to questions like “Has the ocean been sprayed for sharks?” and “Does the water go all the way around the island?” Maybe the sun was getting to people, I thought. Maybe it was vacation brain, which we all lapse into on occasion. I laughed these off amiably.

Fielding such nonsensical queries gave me a whole new appreciation for wilderness guides. We pepper them with endless curiosities, and they respond with infinite patience and kindness. They educate millions of people largely disconnected from nature and some who think caribou magically turn into elk at a certain elevation. (Apparently, this a very popular misconception.)

I asked my guide friends in the travel industry to tell me the funniest questions they’ve gotten from clients over the years. Here are some of the most hilarious.

Lessons in World Geography

“Can’t I just hop a bus from Quito to the �Ҳ���á�貹���Dz�? How long would that take?” —an American client on a �Ҳ���á�貹���Dz� Islands trip with Rebecca ���ϳԹ��� Travel. Staffer Katie Beckwith explained that the islands lie about 600 miles off the Ecuadorean coast, and that a plane was the best way to travel there from the nation’s landlocked capital city.

“What is the primary language taught in schools here?” —a guest on a Natural Habitat ���ϳԹ���s trip in Alaska. “In a way, this is a testament to how exotic and remote Alaska can feel at times—like another country,” the guide I spoke with told me. “However, they still teach English in schools here, just like they do in Minnesota.”

Coming to Terms with the Concept of Sea Level

“What elevation are we at?” —a client kayaking in Antarctica with G ���ϳԹ���s, in addition to a client standing on Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur, California, during a Backroads trip. More than a few wilderness newbies are still sorting out what sea level means.

Swell Times and Teachings

“Do I need to know how to swim in order to snorkel?” —a traveler on an excursion specifically catered to snorkelers. Andy McComb, founder of Redline Rafting in Maui, said his team fields this question almost daily. Their response: “Well, it’s a great day for a boat ride.” I would have added gently that a snorkel is not considered a floatation device.

“Where are the waves? I paid for the waves!” —a Stoked Surf School client during a lesson on a sunny, wind-free, small-swell day off the South African coast. As surf-school owner Michelle Smith points out, any wave is good when you’re a beginner riding a nine-foot soft top. “I replied very diplomatically that I have no control over the weather, but I could assist in making the most of the conditions,” she said.

The Wilderness Really Is Wild

“Don’t be ridiculous! They wouldn’t put wild animals inside a national park.” —a client visiting Alaska’s Denali National Park and Preserve. Naturalist guide Brooke Edwards of Alaska Wildland ���ϳԹ���s was surprised to hear this comment while explaining to her group that food should not be left out in the open in Denali National Park because animals like bear and marmots would make a grab for it.

Natural Habitat ���ϳԹ���s specializes in eco-conscious wildlife trips. Over the years, company guides have learned how to wittingly respond to naive animal questions such as: “Polar bears look so cuddly. Don’t you think it’s OK to just pet them once, really quickly?” To which guides have replied: “Yes, you can pet them. Once. And you’ll never get to pet anything ever again.”

“Is there any way to call the butterflies closer to us?” To which guides have said. “I left my butterfly whistle at home—sorry!”

And some questions are best left unanswered, like these two:

“How many birds does a giraffe eat in a day?”

“At what age does a rhino turn into a hippo?”

There’s No Remote Control in Nature

“What time do they turn off the waterfalls?” —a frequent question fielded by the staff of Basecamp Ouray in Colorado when guiding summer hikes. Logan Tyler, founder of the outfit, said that after about 30 seconds of awkward silence, he usually just moves on, leaving the question lingering.

You Can’t Have Fries with That

“Do you think McDonald’s would pay to rebuild the Darwin Arch as fiberglass golden arches?” —a client in �Ҳ���á�貹���Dz� National Park on a trip with Latin Travel Collection. Company founder David Torres explained that the famous lava arch of Darwin, which collapsed due to erosion in 2021, is a 14-hour boat ride from the closest inhabited island, so McDonald’s would likely have no interest in such advertising in the middle of the Pacific.

“Can you helicopter in Thai food, burgers, and pizza?” —a Seven Summits client at Everest Base Camp. These guides have had similar requests before, and in this instance they actually coordinated delivery from Kathmandu.

The Wilderness Is Not a Movie Set Staged for Your Pleasure

“Who paints the aspens?” —a client on a snowmobile tour to Colorado’s Maroon Bells. Guide Sam Terlingo explained that the aspens’ “paint” is natural.

“You’ve gone to so much trouble lighting the trees for Christmas.” —a camper with Tribal ���ϳԹ���s, a tour operator specializing in remote adventures in the Philippines, pointing to the acacias along the shore. At this particular off-grid camp, those “lights” were courtesy of fireflies. Staffer Greg Hutchinson said his team just smiled and nodded.

“Is that island always there?” —a client on an Alaska Sea Kayakers trip to Prince William Sound. This was another question the guide just let go.

“Bringing all this sand and creating this lovely campsite is such a great idea. How did you do it? Must’ve taken a lot of effort.” —a guest at Aquaterra ���ϳԹ���s’ Camp Silver Sands site on the India’s Ganga River. Founder Vaibhav Kala jokingly replied to the client, it was even more difficult to build the roads to truck all of the sand there.

“Do you mind calling park management and asking if they can release more of the blue coloring in the water? My photos are just not blue enough!” —a guest in Croatia’s Plitvice Lakes National Park, known for its 16 mesmerizingly blue waterfalls . “After a few moments, when I realized that that his question was not a joke, I explained that the colors of the lakes are all natural and changed hue through the day, depending on the sun,” shared Tihomir Jambrovic, cofounder of the operator Terra Magica ���ϳԹ���s. “I’m still not convinced that he believed me completely.”

Finally, Keep Your Hands Off the Guides

“Is it true the guides aren’t allowed to sleep with guests?” —a woman on a Zion National Park trip with Black Sheep ���ϳԹ���s, Inc. The tour operator’s founder, Fred Ackerman, affirmed that this was indeed his company’s policy. To which the client replied: “That’s too bad. Your tips would be higher.”

Jen Murphy is ���ϳԹ��� Online’s travel advice columnist. She has the utmost admiration for wilderness guides and has to regularly bite her tongue when she hears clients ask ridiculous questions.

The post The Funniest Things Travelers Have Asked Their Guides appeared first on ���ϳԹ��� Online.

“The problem with giant tortoises is that they really love my papayas,” said David Solís as he looked past me toward��his orchard, shifting his weight to get a better look in case one of the mega-reptiles was helping itself to lunch at that very moment.��

It was October��2020,��and we were standing on Solís’s farmstead outside the tourist center of Puerto Ayora, on the �Ҳ���á�貹���Dz���Island of Santa Cruz. Clouds were rolling down from volcanic peaks above; below, only a few Ecuadorean visitors wandered around town. Earlier in the year, in March, as the virus caused havoc on mainland Ecuador, the islands went into strict lockdown.��When they��officially at the start of July, few��actually made the journey in the months to follow. Around 300,000 visitors had been expected in 2020, though by year’s end��just 75,519 had been registered. With around of the islands’ $800 million annual income coming from tourism, their absence was a disaster.��

Yet, for Solís, things didn’t seem exactly catastrophic—throughout 2020, cash had lost a lot of its power on the islands, and farmers like him, able to provide for themselves and their communities, felt newly enriched. “When I was younger, we traded everything and money wasn’t so important,” he said as we walked past his papaya trees. Farther up the slope, he grew sugarcane, while neighboring farms specialized��in coffee. “We’ve gone back to that now, and I have more time for everything,” he said. “Before, I felt like I was running to make money, so maybe I prefer things to stay like this.”

While individual mayors oversee the archipelago’s five inhabited islands, various local government departments—from public health to tourism to environment—are in charge of protecting and managing some 97 percent of the islands’ land as the , as well as the Galapagos Marine Reserve that encircles the islands. With so many involved parties, even without input from the central government in the capital of Quito, the islands can be a Frankensteinian monster of bureaucracy. As traffic and then goods started to slow from the continent, Galápageños turned to each other and a simpler way of life to take care of themselves.��

During the strict 11-week lockdown that began in March, the majority of the 30,000 residents entered into a barter system. Fruit was traded for meat; milk for English lessons. Clothes were handed down,��not just within families but through the community. At one point, Solís swapped 50 oranges for some dental work. Elsewhere, Brett and Maria Peters, the affable owners of �Ҳ���á�貹���Dz� Deli in Puerto Ayora, traded produce they couldn’t use in their restaurant for houseplants to decorate their new home. Nature guide Lola Villacreses, realizing she wasn’t going to be aboard any cruise ships for the foreseeable future, did a crash course online and began growing fruits and vegetables on her smallholding in the fertile Santa Cruz Highlands. During my two-month stay, whenever I bumped into her around Puerto Ayora, she gave me a bucket of tomatoes.��

“Things have been changing very fast. All the money used to be in the town,” said Matias Espinosa, a dive master and naturalist on Santa Cruz whose businesses had been crippled by the pandemic. “Covid froze all our enterprise. Instead, we have this trading now, so these farmers are the kings of the island.”

Cash wasn’t abandoned entirely—even during the strictest lockdown measures from March to June, locals had to use it to pay for fuel for fishing boats that brought in catch on behalf of the community (there was no shortage of fuel, due to an excess created from the lack of ship, taxi, and tour bus usage), among other transactions. Upon returning, the day’s bounty was announced over megaphones, and fish that would ordinarily be exported to Miami at great expense was taken door to door and simply given away, with the understanding that the fisherman and their families would be taken care of with other goods and services in return.��

At times, I thought this sounded Edenic: travesty bonding a community at the very edge of the world, allowing them to eschew money in favor of organic trade and kindness. Inevitably, it was more complicated than that. Many shops and restaurants around Puerto Ayora had been shuttered, and there was no respite from crippling interest on business loans. Of the fleet of around 100 tourist boats and ships that would ordinarily cruise the islands, just three were in service when I visited. Owners were concerned that if tourist dollars didn’t return and revive at least some of these businesses, things would grow desperate and residents may have to resort to fishing in sanctioned areas or hunting endemic species, both of which were common practice before tourism spurred conservation designations in the late 1960s.��

“The �Ҳ���á�貹���Dz� has shown that tourism can directly support conservation,” said Espinosa, who had spent years training divers on Isabela Island to become nature guides. Before, some of those divers made a living by scouring the ocean floor for sea cucumber and lobster to sell to Chinese exporters. He felt as though the eyes of the world were watching to see how the islands managed ecology and tourism, especially in the COVID-19 era. While the pandemic has forced the islands to adapt in some ways, the longer-term effects remain unclear as the government focuses on its immediate financial crises. But Espinosa has hope that this period will have a lingering effect, at least in the way it’s proven how adaptable the islands and its people are. “I think we need to go back to Mister Charles Darwin,” said Espinosa, referring to the British scientist, whose theories on evolution were partly formed by a five-week visit to the �Ҳ���á�貹���Dz� in 1835. “The tourism industry needs its own kind of Darwinism. How can we shrink and survive and reset?”

Two hours west from Santa Cruz via a bumpy speedboat ride is Isabela, the largest and wildest of the Galpagos Islands. Comprising five volcanoes fused together by eruptions and time, Isabela is the most remote of the archipelago’s islands; west of it is nothing but the Pacific Ocean��until you hit the Papuan island of Biak, while heading south will eventually get you to Antarctica’s Ross Ice Shelf.��

Despite having more land mass��than all the other islands combined, Isabela is home to just 2,200 people, who inhabit a tiny sliver between the volcanoes and sea. It’s also the only stretch of land in the �Ҳ���á�貹���Dz� not designated as a national park. Consequently, it doesn’t have much infrastructure. Even in an ordinary year, the rudimentary airstrip took only a few light aircraft from other islands, but in 2020, it had barely been used. San Cristobal, home to the islands’ largest medical facility and its only ventilators, is at least four hours away by boat. This remoteness was often sold as Isabela’s great appeal—the end of the line, away from the mass tourism on Santa Cruz—but COVID-19 rendered that wildness a potentially fatal liability for tourists and residents alike.

When I met guide Pablo Valladares by the island’s main dock, Isabela had only just opened up to outsiders. Valladares, who leads hiking and nature tours across the island, explained that I was his first guest since February, and that after our days together in late October, he didn’t have anything else booked for the rest of 2020.��

Valladares’s availability was unheard of—the last time Sir David Attenborough and his BBC crew came to Isabela, he was their local fixer. His day rate was high, his availability low, and then the world shut down. For several months, he’d been spending his time surfing and tending to a small farm, grateful he had some savings. It wasn’t ideal, but he was nonetheless relieved to have been able to make ends meet.��

The previous spring, Valladares had been on a trip of his own, to Nicaragua’s Corn Islands, when the pandemic broke and he��found himself in a frantic dash home to beat Ecuador’s national lockdown. With his wife and son, Valladares made it as far as his sister’s apartment in the plague-ridden city of Guayaquil before the planes stopped. After a grueling three-month lockdown there, the family returned to Isabela, where they quarantined. On arriving, Valladares found that his neighbor had dropped off a basket of fruit from his garden. These care packages continued to arrive every day until he could finally cross the street and shake the man’s hand. He repaid this debt by teaching the neighbor’s��son how to surf.

As of March 2021, Santa Cruz has seen a slight improvement in tourist numbers, reducing its dependency on bartering. Though many local businesses remain closed, supply lines from the mainland are no longer an issue, and with the arrival of vaccines, hope for more of a revival later this year is growing. The same cannot be said on remote Isabela, where the reliance on trading has continued in lieu of visitor dollars.��The internet connection on the island is notoriously unreliable, but there is enough bandwidth to coordinate through a huge and sometimes unruly WhatsApp group of 256 members, the maximum allowed by the app.

Valladares explained that this ramshackle marketplace was also being supplemented by hunting feral animals. In the 1800s, buccaneers brought animals like pigs, goats, donkeys, and cattle to the islands, where they quickly broke loose, settled, and started causing havoc for endemic species, trampling on bird nests, eating young tortoises, and spreading seeds of invasive flora.��

For decades, the progeny of these original invaders have been reduced, though they still inhabit��the park and roaming freely on Isabela. At the start of the pandemic, residents revived a form of hunting, heading out of town on horseback and returning with feral cattle or pigs.��

“Hunting has been happening on the �Ҳ���á�貹���Dz� since the first settlers were here,” Valladares told me the following day as we hiked toward��the Sierra Negra volcano, a blasted, blackened peak that rises above Puerto Villamil, the only real settlement on Isabela. “Of course, back then they were going after the giant tortoises, too, but it wasn’t really a hunt, more like a collection.”

With more wild mammals��abundant, no one seriously looks at the reptiles in that light anymore. Besides, tourists are unlikely to come back if the locals are eating the emblem of the islands, Valladares added. In any case, he expects it will take at least two years for tourism to fully recover here. In the meantime, trading among the islanders will need to continue. “We have to adapt,” he said. “It’s one of the golden rules here on �Ҳ���á�貹���Dz�.”

The post How the �Ҳ���á�貹���Dz� Adapted to the Pandemic appeared first on ���ϳԹ��� Online.

Our little rubber Zodiac boat��wove around icebergs eight stories high and entered a fjord flanked by high mountain basins. Jagged peaks��called nunataks��rose 5,000 feet into the Arctic clouds, forming a skyline to rival any Patagonia silhouette. Our native east Greenland��guide, Julius Nielson, cut the motor and pointed to two fleeting spouts of water to our left. A humpback whale breached, her calf surfacing beside her a second later. Drifting beside their rhythmic rising, our small group was awed into silence.

But it was far from quiet on these northern waters. The explosive breath of the two creatures echoed against the intermittent thundering created by restless tidewater glaciers��and another sound: the soft crackling of thousand-year-old air bubbles streaming to the surface, released from icebergs broken off from the vast Greenland ice sheet.

I noticed tears falling down my cheeks. This place had staggered me.

I was boating through Sermilik Fjord as part of a trip with , a company that specializes in responsible adventure travel. Once a relatively obscure spot on the globe, Greenland has been making headlines lately for both trivial reasons () and consequential ones. Its��ice��sheet��is melting at an alarming rate. But those science-heavy climate-change stories often fail to convey the magnitude of this place. Even as someone who considers myself a conscious environmentalist—having gotten a master’s degree in environmental studies and spent the past decade doing advocacy work—this in-person experience made me want to enact more serious change than any article or statistic has inspired.

So when I was sitting in the Reykjavik airport in Iceland on the way home and saw an article from pop��up in my feed about how the best thing we can all do to combat climate change is stop traveling, I couldn’t help but feel irked. It��was spurred in part by a recent that found that the environmental impact of tourism is responsible for 8��percent of global emissions��from transport, shopping, and food. (It should be noted that calculate air travel as only 2 to 2.5 percent of global emissions.) The piece was authored��by an established travel writer who’s already gotten to see the world, and it was essentially telling people that they should feel guilty for doing the same.��Frankly, it pissed me off.

Not only that, but it missed an important point. Travel is what opens our eyes to what’s at risk—from fragile ecosystems and disappearing wildlife to warming oceans and people struggling—and inspires��us to fight for it. Could seeing a place actually be worth the 8��percent of global emissions? Especially when that number, while not insignificant, seems diminutive next to the for our buildings and homes��or the . In fact, mounting studies show that tourism plays a big role in preservation of the natural world.

The research on how travel has a positive effect on conservation is still relatively new, and one of the most compelling ways to measure it quantitatively is through people’s willingness to pay to see and conserve our environment. “Dollar value is the best way to turn heads to show that nature is valuable,” says Court Whelan, director of sustainability for Natural Habitat ���ϳԹ���s. A from the World Travel and��Tourism Council shows that wildlife tourism generates five times more revenue than illegal wildlife poaching worldwide. Thanks to tourism, an elephant is than dead; India’s tiger population has increased in major part because a single wild tiger is in tourism; and several experts agree that gorillas are right now because of tourism. Other similar studies abound for pandas, one-horned rhinos, wolves, polar bears, and other species at risk.

“There’s no amount of PowerPoints or David Attenborough specials or magazine articles that come even close to having a personal experience with the things we’re protecting,”��says James Sano, vice president of travel, tourism, and conservation for the��, which protects wildlife and vulnerable places and communities.��“People can read about Glacier National Park, but that doesn’t hold a candle to someone actually going there.” Those personal experiences, at destinations��like Glacier—whose namesakes are melting so fast that ��it will have to be renamed—spur new behaviors toward conservation, and the WWF has the data to prove it. “Travelers contribute [money]��at significantly higher levels to our conservation work, on the order of 27 times more compared to those who don’t travel,” Sano says about those registered with the company’s membership program.

Not only can travel help enact change on a personal level, but it can initiate change on��a federal level, too. Once governments see how many tourism dollars are going into their natural attractions, they often realize the economic viability in preserving them.��“Many countries know that without natural resources and cultural resources, tourism doesn’t work,” says Casey Hanisko, president of the , citing recent efforts in Jordan and Japan.��“In��Jordan, the development of the Jordan Trail as a tourism asset focused on adventure travel has��ensured that the land and communities around it are protected,” says Hanisko. Meanwhile, in Japan, “while its cultural appreciation for nature makes it more naturally focused on preservation, with almost 30 percent of its lands protected, its aging population has made the country more focused on adventure-tourism development, to support a need to bring in international visitors to replace their declining domestic-tourism market.”

In Greenland,��out on Sermilik as we followed in the ripples left behind by the whales, Natural Habitat’s Nielson told us that this fjord used to freeze solid in winter with sea ice, making a nearly seamless connection between his village of Tiniteqilaaq and the glaciers descending from the ice sheet across the channel. That ice sheet is��the second largest in the world, behind Antarctica, and accounts for the vast majority of the polar ice cap. It’s two miles thick at its center��and stretches 1,500 miles north to south, covering 80 percent of Greenland.

But Sermilik no longer freezes in winter, Nielson said. And this past summer, scientists measured unprecedented melt of the ice sheet while watching parts of its center . Most of the icebergs we threaded through broke from the Helheim Glacier, just north, which has been calving from its sister, the Midgard Glacier, that seals off the fjord to the east. Neilson relayed a conversation he had last week with a sailboat captain who has��long given tours to this isolated region and believes that in ten years the Midgard will be gone completely, that he’ll be able to sail straight through the fjord to the ocean. Nielson thinks it’s more like seven years.

As we passed by these ancient pieces of ice devolving into sea, the low clouds muted everything to gray. After my eyes adjusted, I was struck by a kaleidoscope of color, with each layer of ice taking on a different shade. Then the clouds suddenly parted��and revealed a bright blue sky that put our surroundings into new focus.

Watching the clouds part, I was struck by a feeling of heartbreaking clarity, similar to that of understanding something fully for the first time. It’s this moment that Sam Ham, a professor of communication psychology at the University of Idaho, identifies as the transformative lynchpin. Ham, who has been studying environmental interpretation in tourism for nearly 20 years,��explains that it’s not just the act of travel that will lead to measurable transformation��but the interpretation of the experience.

Ham pioneered this concept when he consulted with adventure-cruise company in 1998 on its small-boat �Ҳ���á�貹���Dz� Islands program. In 1997, owner Sven Lindblad had a hunch that if the company asked its passengers to donate to local conservation efforts at the same time they were asked to tip the crew at the end of the journey, they’d jump at the chance. Lindblad raised $50,000 that year��but believed the sum��could have been��much higher. He brought in Ham, who designed a new approach that was all about helping clients interpret Charles Darwin and the animals��and connecting passengers to the environment. At no point were travelers asked to give, but donations to the ��increased by a staggering 270 percent the next year.

Upon returning home from our close-up with the impacts of climate change in Greenland, my fellow traveler��Kim Borovik��found herself imagining the flight path of an aging banana she bought in the tiny Tasiilaq grocery store while there, leading her to a habit of basing her produce purchases off the origin labels in her own supermarket. Another new friend from the trip, Linnet Tse, began conscious attempts to reduce food waste, which of global emissions,��by being more strategic with purchases and eating out less. As for me, I dove headfirst into the rabbit hole that is carbon offsetting. I’d never offset my travel before, but now I wanted to figure out how to do it for my upcoming flights��to Tanzania.

I found numerous companies that will calculate travel emissions and offer projects that travelers can invest in to offset their trips. I decided to use , a Swiss nonprofit that’s certified with strict third-party auditors like CDM, Gold Standard, and Plan Vivo. The website provides options for calculating individual parts of your trip, from a flight to a car ride, as well as��trip’s entire carbon footprint. Carbon emissions are measured in metric tons, so offsets are measured in equivalent reductions of metric tons, which are priced anywhere from . My flights from Missoula, Montana, to the Kilimanjaro airport via Amsterdam weighed in at 4.7 tons of CO2, which translates to a cost of $135, a shockingly small price to pay and in this case went to helping small farmers with reforestation in Nicaragua.��

The effectiveness of carbon offsetting has seen , which is why it’s crucial to choose projects with third-party certifications. But spending my money on programs��like reforestation, renewable energy, and��water-filtration systems for villages in developing countries, so that people don’t have to cut wood and burn it to sanitize drinking water, are all worthy add-ons in��an effort to be��a more conscious traveler in general, whether that means flying less or��more thoughtfully.

Not every travel experience will be transformative or lead to behavior change, and offsetting flights doesn’t give��us carte blanche to turn up the taps, but the answer is not to stop traveling altogether. In fact, nowadays, there are as many answers as there are innovative solutions. One of my answers is understanding the impact, both bad and good, of the trips we choose to take. When that understanding leads to concrete steps toward��investing in climate-change solutions, or when our valuing a place or species through tourism is a driving force in conserving it, then yes, travel is worth the carbon footprint.

The post Travel Is Worth the Carbon Footprint appeared first on ���ϳԹ��� Online.

A scroll through Instagram is a sure-fire way to get travel-inspired. But plug those mountain towns��and remote islands into your Google flight search, and the logistics and costs involved can make anywhere far from a major city feel inaccessible.

But arm yourself with some insider��intel, like when to book your flight and how to get creative with your connections, and you can make almost any obscure destination a reality. We consulted industry experts for their tips on getting to and from out-there locations on a budget.

Get Creative with Low-Cost Airlines and Regional Airports��

There’s a where low-cost carriers offer better fares out of smaller, regional airports than large hubs. The more popular airlines dominate big airports because they can take over a terminal and service a massive amount of people daily. In this model, regional airlines find it harder to compete due to outsized brand recognition, so they turn to tiny, local airports.��

“In the U.S., for example, you can save money on flying with Norwegian Airlines to Dublin out of [upstate New York’s] Stewart Airport, located an hour and a half by airport shuttle (from $20) from New York City, for a median airfare of about $385, versus flying out of John F. Kennedy Airport [on the same airline], which can cost upwards of $500,” says Steven Sintra, regional director of North America at . Carriers like Frontier and Southwest are also known for servicing smaller airports to lure customers. You don’t have to stick with one airline for your entire booking, either. According to Sintra, “Oftentimes, booking two one-way tickets on different airlines can save you money versus booking a traditional round-trip ticket.”��

For your international arrival, this argument is inverted. Because flying into a smaller airport is usually your only option, direct flights from international hubs are typically sky-high. According to Jesse Neugarten, founder of budget flight-finding site , “Ninety-five percent of the time, it’s going to be more expensive to fly directly into smaller airports than bigger ones,” he says. “It’s simple supply and demand.”

The solution? Fly into a major airport and book a separate connecting flight to a smaller one. He gives the example of the Galapagos Islands, off the coast of Ecuador. “Roundtrip flights from U.S. hubs to the islands run roughly $1,500 on average,” he says. “[Instead], you can fly roundtrip into Quito for $300 to $500, then book another roundtrip to the Galapagos for around $200. Just by doing that, you’ve saved [as much as] $1,000.”��

Time Your Booking

Although some of the old-school advice you’ve heard, like booking late at night or on Tuesdays, has largely been discredited, timing your booking correctly is still crucial to ensuring you get the best price.��

First off, start your search��two to three months in advance for domestic flights and three to five for international flights, suggests Neugarten. When you see a great fare that far out, his advice is to jump on it—it won’t last long, and you’re unlikely to find a cheaper price by waiting. He also notes that if you can be flexible, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday are the cheapest days to fly. Most booking sites, include Google Flights, have a calendar view option that allows you to compare ticket prices across days and months to quickly find the cheapest travel dates.��

Time of year can also make a difference. “We typically see a decrease in median airfare for those searching for travel in January, as opposed to April or May,” Sintra says. “This is likely because they’re traveling in March or April—two of the cheapest travel months of the year.” The two most expensive months are easy to guess: July and August, where most destinations enjoy warmer and drier climes.

Save on Rental Cars

If you can’t fly into a small local airport, your other option is to fly into a large airport and make up that distance by renting a car. Between credit cards and discount memberships, there are plenty of ways to knock some cash off of your rental.��

or offer some of the best discounts around. With a Costco membership ($60 a year), you get a 30-percent discount on major car rental brands such as Budget, Enterprise, and Hertz, as well as the ability to add a second driver free of charge.��

Car sharing companies like , which services cities across the U.S., Canada, Germany, and the U.K., have made car rental more accessible in destinations that typically didn’t have a market for it. You can book a variety of cars and SUVs online and many car owners will even provide delivery to the airport or a convenient location. For more out-of-the-way destinations, oftentimes, your best cost-saving bet is going through local companies, like in Iceland and in New Zealand.

Make the Most of Your Layover

Traveling to distant spots—and taking advantage of those handy connections—usually means a long layover. Sintra encourages travelers to not just endure a layover, but to enjoy it. “Several airlines such as Icelandic Air, Finnair, Air Canada, and TAP offer stopover programs so strategic travelers can get two vacations for the price of one,” he says. Kayak’s recent Travel Awards Guide offers a list of top stopover destinations, including Reykjavík, Helsinki, and Panama City.��Some of those airlines, like TAP (which makes pit stops in Lisbon and Porto, Portugal), even offer upgrades that let you explore the city for five days with discounts on hotels and restaurants.

If leaving the airport isn’t an option, you can still get a much-needed reprieve without stepping out of the double doors. Frequent travelers should get a credit card, such as , that includes lounge access. Or check out , a lounge-crashing app that often allows you to purchase access for rates that compete with a typical airport meal.��At other airports, you can partake in luxuries without a pass at all: Munich, Dubai, and London Heathrow are among the airports that have nap pods, beer gardens, yoga rooms, and pet parks. ��

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The giant �Ҳ���á�貹���Dz� tortoises’ recovery from the brink of extinction is one of modern conservation’s great success stories. This Wednesday, Google Earth acknowledges that achievement with the release of its Street View imagery to allow people around the globe to ��as they eat, sleep, and travel the islands.
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The plight of the giant tortoise is a familiar one: Once so abundant that 16th-century explorers dubbed the archipelago “galápago,” the old Spanish word for tortoise, the animals were decimated when humans arrived. Whalers hunted tortoises for meat and stowaway rats on transatlantic vessels poached the animals’ nests.
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By the 1960s, the number of giant tortoises on Española, one of the oldest and most secluded of the �Ҳ���á�貹���Dz� Islands, had dwindled to 15, and it looked like the species was destined to go the way of its neighbor, the Pinta Island tortoise, whose last surviving member, Lonesome George, died in 2012, at the age of roughly 102.
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But with the establishment of breeding centers and invasive species eradication programs in the 70s, . Now more than 3,000 giant tortoises have been released from captive breeding programs on Española alone.
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It was in the midst of this rebirth, in 2013,��that ��and the Directorate of the ��first approached the ��team about a collaboration to collect images of the archipelago.

“The aim was to explore the potential use of street view images for the research and monitoring of �Ҳ���á�貹���Dz�’ ecosystems,” says Pelayo Salinas de Leon, senior marine ecologist for the foundation.

The first round of images, taken in 2013, marked the first time the �Ҳ���á�貹���Dz� had been . They were so popular that a second project was commissioned, this time to map the habitat and migratory patterns of the archipelago’s most famous inhabitant: the giant tortoise.

In order to document even the most remote corners of the islands, Google Maps loaned the foundation a Street View Trekker—a 40-pound, GPS-enabled backpack equipped with a spherical 15-lens camera that takes a photo of the wearer’s surroundings every 2.5 seconds.

“The park arranged for the trekker to go to some of the places that are off-limits to tourists, where the tortoise had been restored to its natural habitat,” says��Raleigh Seamster, the project lead from Google Earth Outreach. “People are able to see places—where the turtles eat in the morning, where they sleep at night, their migratory routes—they wouldn’t otherwise be able to visit.”

The Trekker was lugged around the islands for ten days in December 2014 and captured the wide range of environments—highlands and cliffs, mangroves, and coastline—representative of the archipelago. They brought it into areas under different management schemes—some that are open to tourism, some that are restoration sites, and some that are completely protected.

Already the newer images are being compared to the 2013 data to monitor changes in the ecosystem. Salinas de Leon says��the plan is to continue to collect and monitor 3-D imagery on a long-term basis. The potential benefits of the project extend to educators and citizen scientists, Seamster said.
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“We’re hoping that, by bringing street view there, people will be able to appreciate the efforts that are going on to preserve the islands for future,” Seamster says. “These are places you can’t drive to, can’t visit, and we’re bringing them across the world.”

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What, no on-board rock climbing walls and ice skating for you? No all-you-can-eat buffets? No nightcaps on the Lido Deck with Captain Stubing and Julie? I’ve got you covered, Mike. These four cozy cruising options (two in the South Pacific, two in other wildlife hot spots) are more about letting you experience what’s around the ship than what’s on it. Just one tip on the snorkeling: bring your own gear.

The underwater world of Papua new Guinea

The underwater world of Papua new Guinea

, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
This 90-passenger, 237-foot-long ship takes blue-footed booby-gazing amateur wildlife watchers on three-, four-, and seven-night cruises through the Galapagos Islands. Along the way, there are Zodiac cruises, hiking, swimming, and of course, snorkeling. The Santa Cruz participates in Ecuador’s sustainable Smart Voyage program, aimed at protecting the pristine delicate environment of the area that inspired Charles Darwin to come up with that whole evolution thing. Starts at $1500 per person for three nights.

Oceanic Discoverer, Papua New Guinea
A 16-day cruise on the edge of one of the world’s most exotic places on this 68-passenger, 207-foot-long ship (complete with hot tub) is a once-in-a-lifetime experience—mostly because you’d never be able to afford to do it twice. But the trip, organized by and National Geographic provides an authentic cultural and natural experience. You’ll swim and snorkel among coral reefs, be greeted by locals paddling outrigger canoes, explore hidden rivers, hike to quiet mountain villages, visit remote volcanic islands—and be accompanied by a biologist and naturalist. Starts at $17,690 per person.

MV Orion, Thailand and Malaysia
You want snorkeling? How about kicking your flippers through the crystal waters of the South China Sea, which brims with exotic aquatic life? The Gulf of Siam Explorer cruise aboard the 337-foot, 106-passenger MV Orion takes you to a greatest hits list of paradisiacal outposts off the coast of Thailand and Malaysia like Ko Samui, Ko Kut, and Tioman Island. The seven-night trip is organized by the boutique adventure outfit Orion . Starts at $4,850.

, Tahiti and Society Islands
Take sea safari snorkeling tours in Bora Bora, a lagoon and beach exploration on the island of Moorea next to Tahiti, and on your final day, a remote reef swim on the tiny Taha’a atoll. These are a tiny sample of the many excursions offered aboard the MS Paul Gauguin on its seven-night Tahiti and Society Islands trip. At 513 feet long, and with a capacity of 330 guests, the ship feels more like a small, traditional luxury liner—down to the on-board WiFi access—but its cruises are aimed specifically at active travelers, not buffet-eating shuffleboard players. Starts at $4,147 per person.

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Conveniently, 2009 marks both the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species. This has fur-and-feather nerds everywhere aflutter. But the occasion should also be cause for celebration among adventure travelers. After all, before the British naturalist's obsession with �Ҳ���á�貹���Dz� finches changed the way we look at life on earth, he was a scrappy, seasick wanderer exploring a wild place. And though Darwin's playground has seen some unfortunate changes in recent years—a 135 percent jump in tourism since 2000 has turned the �Ҳ���á�貹���Dz� archipelago into a haunt for cruise ships as well as sea lions—there's a smarter way to pay homage. On a multi-day sea-kayak trip, travelers can see the islands and the blue-footed boobies much as Darwin did: from the water and the beach, instead of the buffet table. Explorer's Corner offers 11-day trips for small private groups (nights are spent on an eight-person catamaran; from $4,500; ). Meanwhile, ROW ���ϳԹ���s is one of many outfitters offering largely symbolic discounts on 2009 trips to commemorate the anniversary. Visitors get a $150 break on select ten-day multisport trips, which involve kayaks, snorkels, ten-mile hikes, and nights spent camping on beaches alongside sea lions still unfazed by two-legged visitors. Think of it as a recession special ($3,340 with discount; ).

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The Andes cut across cross Ecuador from north to south, and the equator runs east to west, which means almost any climate in the world can be found within the diverse terrain of this South American country. From ice-capped glaciers to the Amazon, alpine valleys to tropical beaches, visitors looking for an adventure are literally bound to run, bike, or hike into one.

Galapagos

Sea Lions frolicking in the Galapagos

Cotopaxi National Park, the most visited park in Ecuador, is an hour and a half south of the city of Quito. While the main attraction is viewing the highly-active Cotopaxi Volcano at an elevation of 19,347 feet, hiking, climbing, and mountain biking are also popular. Park visitors will also find a cultural museum, rustic cabins, Inca ruins, and camping sites (Visit for additional info). Once you’ve arrived and have acclimated to the change in elevation, be sure to attempt an ascent of to the volcano. Hook up with a guide in Quito, and plan on an early rise for the six- to eight-hour attempt as sun-melt on the snow in the later half of the afternoon can create avalanche danger. But once you reach the top, you’ll find yourself gawking down at a crater 2,624 feet in diameter and peaks such as Uilidaña (15,977 feet), Rumiñahui (15,492 feet, and hiker-friendly), Sincholagua (16,067 feet), and Pasochoa (13,845 feet). Climbing season for Cotopaxi is December through April, although experienced guides will take you during the off-season months. Surtrek (+593.22.231.534; ) offers a five-day acclimatization tour that will help prepare you for the higher elevations and a summit of Cotopaxi.

The Incas were known for their trail-making skills, and many indigenous people use bikes for their main mode of transportation today, so you’ll find Ecuador to be an extremely biker-friendly country. Just 30 minutes from Quito, access the Pululahua Cloudforest Reserve for singletrack trails that wind through valley meadows, and old-growth forests that lie among the clouds. Quilotoa Crater Lake in Ilinizas National Park near Cotopaxi, is biker-friendly simply because of the sandy terrain and breathtaking views of the Andean Mountains. But if you’d rather climb up (or descend down) some chain-snapping elevations, visit the spa town of Baños site of the 2004 PanAmerican Mountain Biking Championships. At an elevation of almost 6,000 feet, you’ll find trails around 16,475-foot Tungurahua Volcano, which erupted back in April 20047. Hike during the day, then relax in the natural hot springs pools at night. From here, find your way to the Pastaza Gorge, Ecuador’s gateway to the Amazon River. And if you’d rather descend Cotopaxi Volcano on a bike instead of climbing to the summit, there’s a trail for that, too. Laid-back rides from village to village more your style? Head to Otavalo, site of Ecuador’s famous Indian Market. Woven baskets, wool clothing, and locally crafted rugs are all sold here. Or ride through the Chota Valley and tour some of the local sugar cane plantations. Plan ahead for self-supported bike travel if that’s your goal. Maps can be found at the Instituto Geografico Militar (+593.02.252.2066; ) behind Casa de la Cultura in Quito. If you’d like your trip mapped out for you, book a bike tour with ���ϳԹ��� Planet Ecuador (+593.22.871.105; ). They offer 3- to 15-day packages that will take you to one or more of the places above.

But ask anyone who’s visited Ecuador where to go and they’ll probably tell you to head straight for the Galapagos Islands. Consisting of 13 main islands and six smaller islands, the otherworldly terrain and the plants and species of the Galapagos inspired Charles Darwin’s first theories of evolution. To really appreciate the gob-smacking biological diversity of this archipelago, sign up for a tour package that will let you sea kayak, hike, scuba, and snorkel throughout the islands for up-close-and-personal encounters with iguanas, sea lions, marine turtles, and blue-footed boobies. While most visitors end up sight-seeing from the deck of some ultra-yacht, the folks at Sea Kayak ���ϳԹ���s (800.616.1943; ) offers a tour that takes you off the beaten path and into places only kayak can reach. Sign up for their 11-day multi-sport adventure and you’ll visit the terrain and wildlife of over ten of the archipelago’s islands. Highlights include day three, when you’ll venture into the highlands of Santa Cruz to observe the 200- to 500-pound Galapogos Tortoises, and day six, when you’ll hike up to 4,890-foot Sierra Negra, a volcano with the world’s second largest caldera at a diameter of six and a half miles, as well as multiple opportunities to dive below the water’s surface and swim with hammerhead and white-tipped sharks, eagle and golden rays, and hundreds of tropical fish and wildlife species. You’ll pay a pretty penny (approximately $3,390 per person, not including airfare or the $100 national park entrance fee to the Galapagos), but this diverse adventure is well worth it.

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We’ve been tracking the adventure travel world for more than three decades. Our latest discovery?

The planet is more wide open for exploration than ever. Whether you want to raft an unknown Himalayan river or link a few Colorado peaks in your own backyard, we have 30 adventures to stoke your wanderlust.

The New, New Places

Go here now—before the secret gets out

PANAMA
Azuero Peninsula
It seems everything is expanding in Panama. A $5.25 billion upgrade will more than double the Panama Canal’s capacity by 2014, tourism nationwide has nearly doubled in the past six years, and in 2005 alone more than one million visitors spent upwards of $1 billion in this tropical destination. The Azuero Peninsula, four hours southwest of Panama City, on the Pacific coast, is a direct beneficiary of the cash infusion. The still-uncrowded peninsula has been getting increasing attention, thanks to its surf-filled beaches and world-class tuna and marlin fishing. Popular digs for foreigners include Villa Camilla, a classy seven-room hotel built mostly from local materials (doubles from $300; meals, $50 per day; 011-507-232-6721, ).

BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
Tofino
Take a province with more than 16,700 miles of coastline and a few hundred thousand snowboarders itching to embrace the coming summer and you get the British Columbia surf scene. Tofino, a sleepy town of 1,711 on Vancouver Island’s Pacific side, explodes into a mini-metropolis every season as a horde of surfers descends in pursuit of consistent beginner and intermediate breaks. For the student who wants to mix surfing with celebrity, there’s Bruhwiler Surf School, owned by one of Canada’s renowned big-wave riders, Raf Bruhwiler (two-and-a-half-hour group lessons, $75; 250-726-5481, ). At the Wickaninnish Inn, every room has an ocean view (doubles, $208–$398; 800-333-4604, ).

CHINA
Yangshuo
Beijing may be the center of the 2008 Olympics universe, but the heart of China’s adventure-sport community sits more than 1,000 miles to the south, near Yangshuo (pop. 298,000). Climbers first began setting routes in the myriad karst peaks here in the 1990s; today there are about 300 established climbs. (Last fall, Briton Neil Gresham set the region’s first 5.14b.) After climbing, there’s caving, hiking, and mountain biking. And anglers can hire a guide—who’ll use a trained cormorant—to catch fish at night. Get on belay with China Climb ($40 per half-day with guide; 011-86-773-88-11-033, ), then crash at the peaceful Yangshuo Mountain Retreat (doubles from $40; 011-86-773-87-77-091, ).

BULGARIA
Bansko
Get a piece of the Pirin Mountains while you still can. Bulgaria’s January 2007 admission to the European Union will only bolster its booming vacation-home market. Towns like Bansko—where property values have more than doubled in recent years—are where everyone’s buying. It’s no wonder: One of the most modern ski resorts in Bulgaria is nestled below 9,000-foot peaks with Jackson Hole–style off-piste steeps. Even if you don’t have a couple hundred grand to snag a condo, the resort’s multi-million-dollarupgrades make it visit-worthy. The new Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena (doubles, $213; ) has a mod Swiss-chalet vibe and a primelocation at the base of the gondola.

INDIA
Madhya Pradesh
Last November, Taj Hotels and CC Africa generated big-time adventure travel buzz when they opened Mahua Kothi, the first of five upscale resorts in central India, marrying the African safari with Indian hospitality. Bandhavgarh National Park, abutting the Mahua Kothi, is one of the most famous tiger habitats on earth, with centuries-old man-made caves that now serve as big-cat dens. After a day exploring the sal forests and bamboo jungle, guests chill out in one of 12 suites on the 40-acre property, which offers all the best amenities of a conventional luxury safari—but with hookah pipes in the common area, private butlers in traditional costume, andin-room Ayurvedic massages ($600 per person, all-inclusive; 011-91-11-26-80-77-50, ).

The Classics

The definitive life list for intrepid travelers

TANZANIA

Kilimanjaro
One of the world’s tallest “walkable” mountains, this freestanding 19,340-foot massif draws some 30,000 wide-eyed—and often ill-prepared—hikers annually. Though technical climbing is not required, it’s no stroll: A number of those who attempt the five- to nine-day push through rainforest to wind-flayed icefields turn back before reaching the top; about five die en route every year (often from altitude sickness). The payoff for summiters? Views of Africa, in all its brawny magnificence, in every direction. Guides are mandatory; book one in advance through a reputable company, and avoid touts pushing cut-rate outings via the tourist-trampled Marangu Route (the Umbwe Route and others get less traffic). For group treks, seek out experienced companies like Thomson Safaris, which offers hikes on less-traveled trails, with summit-success rates near 95 percent (from $3,990; 800-235-0289, ).

ARIZONA


The Grand Canyon
Few paddling experiences come close to matching the epic 297-mile Colorado River run from Lees Ferry to Lake Mead. There’s the monster whitewater (including Lava Falls, called the fastest navigable rapid in North America), the mile-high bisque- and red-hued rock walls, the tent-perfect beaches, and the sheer, walloping Great American West feel of it all. About 22,000 people a year raft a portion of the Colorado’s 277 Grand Canyon miles; most travel with one of 16 outfitters licensed by the Park Service, but those with strong river-running skills can arrange a private outing. Good news on that front: As of 2006, noncommercial launch permits are being awarded by lottery (800-959-9164, grca), replacing the laughable 25-year waiting list. Motorized or oar-powered rafts are the most common way to go, but purists say nothing beats the grace and responsiveness of a wooden dory. Veteran outfitter OARS offers 15- to 19-day full-canyon dory trips (from $4,535;800-346-6277, ).

NEPAL


The Annapurna Circuit

After years of violent unrest, a 2006 peace agreement between the government and Maoist rebels promises to return the tourism spotlight to this Himalayan wonder—one of the original adventure travel meccas. No trekking route is more spectacular, or more accessible to reasonably fit hikers, than the three-week, roughly 200-mile inn-to-inn Annapurna Circuit. With a constant backdrop of 20,000-foot peaks, the trail loops from the semitropical city of Pokhara, over 17,769-foot Thorong La pass, on the edge of the arid Tibetan Plateau, and back to the terraced lowlands. Thanks to the détente, U.S.-based outfitters have noticed a surge in interest in Nepal. Wilderness Travel will return to Annapurna this fall after a four-year absence (from $2,795 per person;800-368-2794, ).

FRANCE & SWITZERLAND

The Haute Route
Linking the two most iconic peaks in the western Alps—Mont Blanc, in Chamonix, France, and the Matterhorn, in Zermatt, Switzerland—this famed seven- to ten-day, 70-mile high-country journey is best suited for advanced skiers who feel confident in dicey conditions. (If kick turns on icy steeps aren’t in your repertoire, consider waiting for summer and hike the route instead.) Nights are spent in small hotels and dorm-style alpine huts, where you’ll find goulash, beer, and the kind of conviviality that generally ends in off-key singing. Even if you’re an accomplishedski mountaineer who can parlais français (quick, what does “Danger de mort!” mean?), it’s wise to hire a guide (consult ) or hook up with an outfitter like Selkirk Mountain Experience ($3,225; 250-837-2381, ). Prime ski-touring season is mid-April to mid-May.

ECUADOR

The �Ҳ���á�貹���Dz� Islands
Straddling the equator 600 miles off the west coast of Ecuador, these far-flung volcanic islands have been the focus of scientists and wildlife lovers since Charles Darwin first scratched his head here in 1835. Now that the �Ҳ���á�貹���Dz� have become one of the most popular destinations on the planet—120,000 yearly visitors come to spy on the islands’ famous giant tortoises, fur seals, and blue-footed boobies—the �Ҳ���á�貹���Dz� National Park Service keeps tight control on where boat passengers disembark and how long they spend at designated land and underwater visitor sites. The best way to avoid crowds? Charter a private yacht that’s stocked with dive gear and sea kayaks. Mountain Travel Sobek can arrange private one- to two-week yacht charters (from $3,795; 888-687-6235, ). Or join ���ϳԹ��� Life’s new nine-day hiking trip, with overnights in small inns (from $2,095; 800-344-6118, ).

Epic Journeys

Work off your wanderlust the hard way

Kenya

On most days, the closest you’d get to sharing the trail with a Kenyan is probably several miles behind. Not so on this new running safari, a 12-day pounding that places you on twice-a-day runs with some of Kenya’s most gifted athletes. You’ll start in Eldoret, a city about 200 miles northwest of Nairobi and the heart of the country’s long-distance scene. Next you’ll team up with 1997 and 1998 Los Angeles Marathon winner Lornah Kiplagat in her hometown of Iten for runs through the verdant hills. The group—not the champ—sets the distance and pace. Most nights you’ll sleep in basic accommodations in villages and get your carb-to-protein ratio right with meat pastries called samosas. Move on to Mombasa, where, on March 24, the World Cross Country Championships unfold—the first time Kenya will host the prestigious race. March 14–25; $3,900; Micato Safaris, 800-642-2861,

INDIA

The Tons River

The Tons River roars from 20,000 feet in the Indian Himalayas with such sustained intensity—think 55 miles of nearly continuous rapids—that the river hasn’t seen a single paddler since whitewater pioneer Jack Morison first rafted it in the 1980s. Now the whitewater gurus at New Delhi-based Aquaterra ���ϳԹ���s have reopened the river to expedition-style, 11-day rafting trips, using upgraded equipment like self-bailing boats that were unavailable in Morison’s day. Start at Camp Lunagad, about 270 miles north of New Delhi, and spend the next seven days floating through chilly glacial runoff that boils into Class IV–V rapids. Come evening, pitch tents in alpine meadows redolent of rhododendron and chir, and mingle with Gujar tribesmen. April 24–May 4; $1,250; info@treknraft.com

COLORADO

The Colorado Trail

Of all the big hikes that run across U.S. wilderness, few pack as much awe per step as the Colorado Trail. But tackling all 482 miles from Denver to Durango, through six wilderness areas and eight mountain ranges, would take you about a month. Instead, concentrate your efforts during a ten-day romp along a remote 95-mile ribbon that runs just east of San Luis Peak to Molas Pass, in the southwestern part of the state. Start at Spring Creek Pass, 33 miles northwest of Creede amid the 13,000-foot-plus San Juan Mountains. Plan on grinding up to 15 miles a day along airy ridges, down steep gorges, and up winding switchbacks. You’ll spend four days cruising above tree line, at nearly 12,000 feet, and the closest you’ll come to a town (Lake City) is about 17 miles, which means tackling thousands of vertical feet each day with a heavy pack. Take a break and frolic in Snow Mesa, a flat, grassy expanse so huge it takes a few hours to cross. 303-384-3729,

COSTA RICA

There may come a time—perhaps after your third endo over the handlebars—when pedaling 160 miles across Costa Rica by mountain bike makes an overcrowded bus tour look appealing. But keep riding—you won’t regret it. Head out from San José for about 20 miles a day and 14,000 feet of total climbing to eventually reach the town of Nosara, overlooking the Pacific. For eight days you’ll pedal Specialized hardtails (or your own bike) into villages where people still get around by oxcart, spending nights in hotels, research stations, and a private home tucked into a misty cloudforest. Get off the bike to bushwhack through monster ferns to reach the summitof Cerro Chato, a 3,937-foot sleeping volcano. When you slip into a hot spring near the 5,741-foot Arenal Volcano, your sore muscles will melt away. $2,596 per person with your own group of four; Serendipity ���ϳԹ���s, 877-507-1358,

GREENLAND

Arctic Circle

When Fridtjof Nansen became the first to schlep across the Greenland ice cap, in September 1888, he studied Inuit culture, weathered minus-50-degree storms, and spent a cold, dark winter waiting for a ship to take him home. Today, adventurers can follow his tracks along the Arctic Circle using kites to pull them on skis—at about 12 miles per hour—under the guidance of polar explorer Matty McNair. Never skied behind a kite? You’ll spend a few days on Frobisher Bay, on the southeast coast of Canada’s Baffin Island, learning techniques that advanced skiers can pick up quickly. Then hop a two-hour flight to Greenland for a 345-mile trek, where the kites will help you pull a 150-pound pulk (loaded with tents, stoves, and beef jerky) in 20-below temps. The adrenaline rush will diminish the hardships as you rip in 24-hour sunlight through a landscape of dizzying white. May 1–31; from $5,000; NorthWinds Polar Expeditions and Training, 867-979-0551,

Big Frontiers

Formerly off-limits, these territories are finally opening their doors

ALASKA

Adak Island

Shrouded in fog and mystery, most of this remote Aleutian isle went public in 2004, after its naval air station was closed and transferred—lock, housing stock, and runway—to the Department of the Interior and the native Aleut Corporation. Most of 280-square-mile Adak is now a federally designated wilderness and wildlife refuge. Bald eagles soar above dormant volcanoes, and 3,000 caribou (introduced during the Cold War as an emergency food supply) roam the moors. Roughly equidistant from Alaska and Russia, the “Birthplace of the Winds” is also a birdwatching hot spot—nearly one-fourth of the 200 species recorded here are migrants found nowhere else in the Americas. High Lonesome Bird Tours leads expeditions ($4,600 per person for eight nights, all-inclusive; 800-743-2668, ), or check out .

Kurdistan

The typical headline out of Iraq is about roadside IEDs, not roadside attractions. Yet last fall this long-suffering autonomous region bordering Syria, Turkey, and Iran launched an irony-free international marketing campaign, “The Other Iraq,” to showcase its superb scenery, ancient history, and relative security. Virgin snow blankets the mountains, while the plains hold Sumerian ruins and the hospitable capital, Erbil, one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities. In December, Austrian Airlines began twice-weekly flights from Vienna to Erbil. For information, go to .

PERU

Cordillera Azul National Park

Imagine a forest primeval, with uncontacted jungle tribes and animals with no fear of humans. That Lost World still exists in this national park in the eastern Andes, established in 2001 after biologists from Peru and Chicago’s Field Museum recorded 28 new plants and animals—including a bird species confined to the cloudforest atop a single mountain. Only three other scientific groups have since surveyed the 5,225-square-mile Cordillera Azul, which holds endangered jaguars and spectacled bears. In July, the Sierra Club will run a pioneering trip (non-members welcome) that includes an eight-day transect of the preserve by foot, bamboo raft, and dugout canoe ($3,395–$3,795; 415-977-5522, ).

LAOS

Houaphan Province

Sealed off by the daunting Annamite Range and shackled by its past (unexploded wartime ordnance, guerrillas, reeducation camps), Houaphan—in northeast Laos near the Vietnamese border—lies beyond the typical backpacker trail. But a trickle of DIY travelers now seek out this lush outpost for its unaffected hill tribes and vaulting karst mountains. In Vieng Xai district, about 20 miles east of Xam Nau, you can explore the cave-riddled peaks that served as rebel fortresses throughout the Vietnam War. While the U.S. unleashed its bombing campaign, 23,000 Pathet Lao hunkered down in limestone caverns equipped with electricity, dorms, and weapons depots. The Lao Association of Travel Agents () can provide a list of tour operators.

FINLAND

Kvarken Archipelago

The 5,600 islands in the Kvarken Archipelago are literally in flux; released by the diminished weight of melting Ice Age glaciers, the seabed is rebounding from the Gulf of Bothnia at the rate of a third of an inch annually. The astonishing amount of uplift—more than 900 feet over the last 10,000 years—prompted UNESCO last year to designate some 480,000 acres as Finland’s first natural World Heritage site. Paddle the ever-changing labyrinth of emerging islets and expanding peninsulas, washboard moraines and shallowing lakes, then bunk down in a former pilot station on Rönnskar. Björkö Wardshus () runs guided boat trips; offers travel info. But get there now: In a few millennia, the uplift will form a land bridge to Sweden.

Top Travel Innovations

Eight indispensable travel innovations

Solio Charger

Solio Universal Hybrid Charger

Singapore’s Changi Airport

With some 160 stores, 80 eateries (including a cigar lounge and live jazz bar), a Balinese-style swimming pool, leather “snooze chairs,” and massagesoffered 24/7 at the Rainforest Lounge, there’s no rush to claim your bags.

The MLC

Short for “maximum legal carry-on,” this handy bag holds up to a week’s worthof gear—just enough for hitchhiking through Belize. Tuck away the ergonomic shoulder strap for a presto backpack. Two large compartments separate the clean stuff from the sweaty climbing gear; the coated reflective fabric repels rain. $148;

Want your trip to be socially sound and eco-friendly? The Green Globe program, launched by the World Travel & Tourism Council, certifies hotels and tour companies that meet top standards for everything from water managementto noise control.

Founded by a frustrated frequent flier, this time-tested site allows users to share info on how to get the most out of their bonus miles, with discussion forums for every major airline, a live chat for last-minute queries, and an option that helps you create a mileage-maximizing itinerary.

Ex Officio Give-N-Go Skivvies

Breathable, lightweight, moisture-wicking, and bacteria-resistant, these boxers and women’s bikinis won’t let you down. Super comfortable (made of nylon and spandex), they air-dry in a snap. Boxers, $25; bikini briefs, $16;

Solio Universal Hybrid Charger

This groovy solar-power station—the size of a deck of cards, with interchangeable connector tips—offers a one-stop charge for your camera, cell phone, PDA, GPS, and digital audio player. (One hour of sun equals one hour of iPod use.) $100;

A juicy source of inside information and tips about the good, the bad, and the disgusting. Check out the Hotel Hell stories about not-so-hot spots (like Room 15 at Nevada’s Caliente Hot Springs Motel, home to polygamist ceremonies), or skip to the Hotel Heaven tales (which for one woman included sunglasses-cleaning pool boys at the Grand Rotana Resort & Spa in Egypt).

Canon CP730 Selphy Compact Photo Printer

Create personal postcards in 58 seconds with thispaperback-size portable printer. It hooks up to any laptop or Canon camera(and some cell phones), churning out 300-dpi, four-by-six color photos on address-ready cards. $150;

Notes from the Guru

Take it from adventure travel trailblazer Richard Bangs: Understanding the world requires immersing yourself in it

If you could trace the roots of adventure travel to one person, Richard Bangs, 56, might well be the man. In 1973, back when big chunks of the world, like Russia and Eastern Europe, were virtually closed to Americans, he and high school pal John Yost headed to Ethiopia to explore the Omo River (a trip featured on the first cover of this magazine). What began as a last hurrah of youth morphed into the founding of a travel company, which eventually became Mountain Travel Sobek, one of the largest, most respected outfitters in the industry. Although Bangs is still a co-owner, he left MTS in 1991 to bring travel to the Internet, launching Microsoft’s now-defunct online adventure ‘zine Mungo Park in 1996 and going on to produce travel features for Expedia, Yahoo, MSNBC, and . His latest film project, a documentary on the vanishing crocodiles of the Nile, airs on PBS this summer. Senior editor STEPHANIE PEARSON recently caught up with him in San Diego for this as-told-to about the past, present, and future of wild journeying.

I was 22 in 1973 and had this notion to head to Africa to see if I could explore some rivers that hadn’t been navigated. It turned out to be such a magnificent experience that I decided to organize a little company to take people on extraordinary adventures. It was patched together in my mother’s basement in Bethesda, Maryland. We began to offer trekking, climbing, ballooning, diving—at that time there was no adventure travel landscape. The concept of travel with a purpose, travel with meaning, travel that would bring you back fitter, with a clearer mind, with a better connection to the world, did not exist.

���ϳԹ��� travel is in a much better place than it was 30 years ago. We owe a lot of our global interconnectedness to adventure travelers. People who started to wander the earth and appreciate its beauty were people who became activists. Now everybody talks about ecotourism and green travel. It’s all the rage. There are downsides and abuses, but it’s a good attitude, and it comes from people who are willing to step off the beaten track.

Is the world a smaller place? Absolutely. Within 24 hours you can get to almost anywhere on the planet. But all of this is good. Dark political things would happen when doors were closed. It’s very easy to be judgmental and raise the fear index when you don’t really know who the other person is. Mark Twain said it best: “Travel is fatal toprejudice and bigotry.”

What will adventure travel be like 30 years from now? I was in Bosnia a few months ago, and they have all these outfitters in places where the Croats and Bosnians were once lobbing mortars at each other. This is much harder to do when people are roaring with laughter as they roll down a river… ���ϳԹ��� travel is the fastest-growing segment of the travel industry. It’s increasingly impossible to find a country that does not have it. Places are opening up and landscapes are shifting all the time. I just received an invitation to Lebanon. We do a trip to the �Ҳ���á�貹���Dz� almost every week of the year now. Lots of people are doing things that were unimaginable a few years ago.

I’m an advocate of traveling with technology. I have an Iridium sat phone I take with me everywhere. If you need a moment of Zen, it’s easy to take off all your clothes and be as natural as you want, but when it comes to survival, sat phones have saved a lot of lives. In Namibia, a doctor broke both ankles on a trek and was in danger of dying. I was able to call an evac and get him out. The less you have to worry about your own survival, the more you can assimilate the actual experience. Technology in the field can give you an assurance of survival so that you can be more in the moment, more in the experience—so you can contribute and extract more.

���ϳԹ��� is a very elastic concept, but it has to deal with stretching your consciousness and going beyond your comfort zone. The world, or you, will not change if you are static. If you are willing to stick your neck out, try untried things, have that moment of unknown discomfort and sharpness, then you’re fully alive. When I did the first descent of the Zambezi, nobody considered it. Now when I go back to the Zambezi, there are thousands of people tumbling down. Everybody who rafts it has an amazing experience, and it makes a difference. It becomes transformative when you go beyond the concrete and the familiar.

Travel rejuvenates. It’s new, it’s very childlike, it keeps things fresh. Anything is possible. There could be dinosaurs around the corner. If you don’t travel, you deaden yourself. I continue to look at maps and get very excited by the places I haven’t been. The more you see, the more you recognize what you have yet to see.I have a long list. It’s an endless quest.

2007 Trip of the Year Winners

The best of the best

Overall Winner


Trek to the Source of the Tsangpo, Tibet

The last time trekking guide Gary McCue set out to explore far-western Tibet, he happened upon an acre-size hot spring that tumbled from a mountainside near Lake Manasarovar. “I’d never seen a boiling creek just come crashing out of a hole in the ground,” he says. But it’s just the sort of surprise the Tasmania-based author of Trekking in Tibet: A Traveler’s Guide has come to expect from this part of the world. Tourism may be booming—the controversial new Qinghai-Tibet Railway helped bump up visitation to Tibet by 30 percent last year—but much of this mysterious land of Buddhist temples and mist-shrouded peaks remains blissfully unexplored by outsiders. This spring, McCue will return to the Himalayas on a quest to reach the source of the Tsangpo River, the mightiest of four rivers that flow from the sacred 22,028-foot peak of Kailas. The 42-day exploratory trek is the first commercial expedition to a pilgrimage site very few Westerners have seen since a Swedish explorer hiked nearby in the early 1900s. After driving across the plains from Lhasa to Darchen, you’ll trek the perimeter of Kailas before camping in the Lha Chu Valley during the annual Saga Dawa full-moon festival. Then you’ll start the weeklong journey through a glacial valley to Tamchok Khabab, the river’s source. The trip ends with a visit to the temple-strewn Limi Valley, a newly opened region of western Nepal. “It’s hard to find wilderness this wild and remote that doesn’t require Reinhold Messner-level skills to reach,” says McCue. “It’s the closest you can come to what the explorers experienced 150 years ago.” OUTFITTER: Wilderness Travel, 800-368-2794, ; PRICE: $10,560–$13,160; DIFFICULTY: Challenging; WHEN TO GO: May–June

North America


Cross The USA On Two Wheels

This epic, coast-to-coast challenge takes you from Santa Barbara, California, to Charleston, South Carolina—2,949 miles with 167,000 vertical feet of climbing—in 33 grueling days. You’ll pedal on two-lane blacktop across the Mojave Desert, over Rocky Mountain passes, and through southern prairies en route to the Atlantic seaboard, staying in roadside hotels along the way. You’ll earn a lifetime’s worth of bragging rights (you’re averaging a century ride per day) and get a two-wheeled take on the classic American landscapes that most travelers experience only as a blur through the car window. Just be sure to remember to dip a toe in both the Pacific and Atlantic or your efforts might be in vain. OUTFITTER: Trek Travel, 866-464-8735, ; PRICE: $10,000; DIFFICULTY: Challenging; WHEN TO GO: September–October

Polar Regions


Canoe With The Caribou In Alaska

The 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve, on Alaska’s north coast, holds the largest swath of unprotected wilderness in the U.S.—and you needn’t look beyond its name to guess its primary purpose. But the region harbors much more than black gold: Half a million western arctic caribou march across its sprawling plains each year, along with grizzlies and wolves. On this 11-day trip, you’ll follow the herd by foot and in two-person canoes on the untamed Kokolik River, hiking where woolly mammoths and saber-toothed tigers once roamed. OUTFITTER: Equinox Wilderness Expeditions, 604-222-1219, ;PRICE: $4,495; DIFFICULTY: Moderate; WHEN TO GO: June

South America


Three Jewels Of Aysén, Chile

This isolated piece of Patagonia, where the population density is just 1.2 people per square mile, is framed by vast icefields that feed blue-green rivers and streams so pure you can drink from them. The 27-day, 132-mile expedition combines three seldom-traveled routes: the Cerro Castillo hike, where you’ll camp amid the basalt spires and crags that gave Castle Hill its name; the Aysén Glacier Trail, a year-old hut-to-hut circuit through an unspoiled wilderness dotted with glacial lakes; and on to the icefields surrounding 11,073-foot FitzRoy, where iconic Andean peaks rise dramatically from the frozen lowlands. OUTFITTER: Patagonia ���ϳԹ��� Expeditions, 011-56-67-219894, ; PRICE: $4,850; DIFFICULTY: Challenging; WHEN TO GO: January

Eastern Europe & the Middle East


Journey Through Ancient Oman

Just east of Saudi Arabia, on the Arabian Sea, centuries-old shepherd trails crisscross the rocky ridges and deep wadis of the Al Hajar range, which rises 10,000 feet above Oman’s placid northern coastline. It’s the Middle East that doesn’t make the nightly news, and it’s virgin territory for most American travelers. On this ten-day trip, you’ll trek and camp in lush valleys filled with date palms, in ancient sand-colored villages that blend seamlessly with the surrounding hills, and on a sugary beach where you can snorkel in a sapphire bay. OUTFITTER: KE ���ϳԹ��� Travel, 800-497-9675, ; PRICE: $1,995; DIFFICULTY: Moderate; WHEN TO GO: March–April, November–January

Western Europe

Giro Del Gelato, Italy

Finally, a trip that acknowledges the number-one reason we cycle in Italy. Vacations don’t get much sweeter than this eight-day ride through southern Piedmont with gelato-making genius Danilo Zecchin, of Ciao Bella Gelato. Pedaling an average of 40 miles per day on paved roads that roll through vineyards and over patchworked hills, you’ll work up just enough hunger for the copious Italian dinners, private wine tastings, and all-you-can-eat frozen treats. Recharge at 500-year-old castles and 17th-century farmhouses as the chef spills the secrets behind his sinful concoctions. Then pedal, gorge, repeat. OUTFITTER: Ciclismo Classico, 800-866-7314, ; PRICE: $3,995; DIFFICULTY: Moderate; WHEN TO GO: May

Asia

Discover Rinjani, Indonesia

If trekking near active volcanoes isn’t daunting enough, how about climbing a few—including the 12,224-foot Gunung Rinjani, on the island of Lombok, east of Bali, via a scenic new route to its unexplored southern rim. On this ten-day trip, you’ll start in the village of Aibuka, scramble to the gorgeous Sengara Anak crater lake, then paddle inflatable rafts to the base of Gunung Baru (7,752 feet), an active young volcano in mid-lake. After topping that “warm-up” peak, you’ll soak in surrounding hot springs, then trek to Rinjani base camp. The push to the summit begins under a full moon at 2 a.m. and ends at about sunrise. OUTFITTER: No Roads Expeditions, 011-03-9502-3789, ; PRICE: $1,422; DIFFICULTY: Challenging; WHEN TO GO: May–June

Bahamas, Mexico & Central America

Island-Hop In Nicaragua

If the crater lakes and verdant slopes of Nicaragua’s volcanoes have hosted few adventurers, it’s not for lack of suitable terrain. The playground potential in the rumpled topography of this fun mecca rivals that of its neighbors. This nine-day trip takes you island-hopping by kayak in Lake Nicaragua, hiking through a rainforest, and wandering among the pre-Columbian artifacts, caves, and rock art of Zapatera National Park. You’ll spend most nights in wilderness lodges, where howler monkeys provide the morning wake-up call. OUTFITTER: Mountain Travel Sobek, 888-687-6235, ; PRICE: $2,690–$2,990 (plus $150 internal airfare); DIFFICULTY: Easy; WHEN TO GO: January–February, October–December

Oceania

Dive Into Palau’s Shark Week

Reef sharks in the midst of mating season are the headliners at Shark Week, the Micronesian Shark Foundation’s annual conservation-oriented celebration of these cartilaginous creatures. Expect cameos from silvertip, tiger, and hammerhead sharks, among others, as you explore the reefs and walls of underwater Palau on this ten-day, resort-based expedition. By day, a 28-foot boat will take you to dive sites, many of which are open only during this event; the nights are enhanced by lectures from experts on sharksand preservation. OUTFITTER: Oceanic Society Natural History Expeditions, 800-326-7491, ; PRICE: $2,990–$3,490; DIFFICULTY: Moderate; WHEN TO GO: March

Africa

Paddle Madagascar

Long isolated from the flora and fauna of the African mainland, the world’s fourth-largest island teems with evolutionary anomalies, such as the 30 lemur species and countless other miscellaneous critters that exist nowhere else on earth. You’ll hear a cacophony of grunts and wails as you kayak the aquamarine water of the Indian Ocean through the newly designated Masoala National Park. Inland you’ll paddle on calm rivers and lakes through forest reserves on this 18-day adventure. In the tropical home of indiris, sifakas, and octopus trees, you’ll sleep in wilderness lodges and camp on palm-shaded beaches where you can snorkel in secluded lagoons few outsiders have seen. OUTFITTER: Explorers Corner, 510-559-8099, ; PRICE:$4,553; DIFFICULTY: Moderate; WHEN TO GO: October–November

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BRAZIL (2006 Winner)

���ϳԹ��� Trip of the Year

Tribes of the Amazon
Price: $5,386-$6,983
Difficulty: Easy
Very few outsiders have traveled to the heart of the Xingu Amazon Refuge. The 9,000-acre forest reserve is the isolated home of the Kamayura Indians; no roads link it to the modern world. Tribal elders have granted special access to trip leader John Carter, a former Texas cattle rancher, because of his years spent lobbying the federal government to protect their surroundings and way of life. This translates into one of the most authentic cultural-immersion experiences you’ll find anywhere in the Americas. After being deposited by Cessna on a hand-cleared runway, you’ll hike and canoe beneath the thick rainforest canopy, then sleep in hammocks inside the chief’s own hut before flying out the next day. The rest of the 12-day trip is only slightly less remote, with a visit to a frontier cattle ranch and the Xingu Refuge Lodge— simple riverside retreat built to resemble a native village—and an overnight stay with the Waura Indians.
Outfitter: Ker & Downey, 800-423-4236,
When to Go: June-August

PERU (New)
Cordillera Blanca Climb
Price: $2,750
Difficulty: Strenuous
This triple-summit foray into high-altitude climbing in the Andes requires little technical skill, but the thin air and occasional crevasses make the two-week journey anything but easy. After a few days of acclimatization in the foothills of the Cordillera Blanca above the town of Huaraz, you’ll trek through the lupine-carpeted meadows of the Quebrada Quilcayhuanca valley. The hike takes you on pre-Inca trails that trace the edges of alpine lakes. Here you enter crampon country, where you’ll camp and, in less than a week, top three snowy peaks—aparaju (17,470 feet), Huapa (17,761 feet), and Ishinca (18,138 feet)—before returning to civilization and a well-earned Peruvian feast.
Outfitter: Mountain Madness, 800-328-5925,
When to Go: July

ECUADOR
Sea-Kayaking the Galápagos
Price: $3,650-$6,280
Difficulty: Easy
When a turtle the size of a grizzly bear glides beneath your kayak, you’ll understand the significance of Lindblad’s new status as the first and only large-ship operator with a Galápagos paddling permit. The conservation-minded company has been escorting visitors to the islands since 1968. Travelers onboard the 80-passenger MS Polaris have access to another perk when not snorkeling, beachcombing, hiking, or viewing wildlife: outdoor spa services administered on a glass-bottomed pontoon.
Outfitter: Lindblad Expeditions, 800-397-3348,
When to Go: Year-round

ARGENTINA
Northwest Trek
Price: $1,375-$1,735
Difficulty: Challenging
Amid the deep red gorges of Argentina’s rugged northwest, aboriginal adobe huts stand as reminders that this country’s rich history far predates the tango. This nine-day trip covers both past and present, from the pre-Spanish Calchaquis relics in Quilmes to the up-and-coming wineries of Cafayate. After a stay at a comfortable bodega lodge, you’ll embark on a three-day trek through the Cachi Mountains, where you and your packhorses will hoof it 29 miles up the Belgrano River Gorge to the multicolored sandstone formations of the Pukamayu Valley.
Outfitter: ���ϳԹ��� Life, 800-344-6118,
When to Go: April-October

CHINA��(2006 Winner)
Hiking and Rafting in Yunnan
Price: $4,990-$5,490
Difficulty: Strenuous
The Mekong may be renowned for its starring role in Apocalypse Now and as the newest target of China’s village-displacing hydroelectric-dam campaign, but it’s never been known as a commercial whitewater hot spot—until now. Under the leadership of your veteran guides, kick off the beginning of what may be a Mekong revival: commercial rafting trips on the wilder Class IV-V sections of the upper river. You’ll spend the first week acclimatizing to Yunnan’s Tibetan culture and altitude, with hikes through the 700,000-acre, bamboo-dense Baima Nature Reserve and a 5,000-foot ascent to the 12,000-foot-high village of Yubong, while sleeping in traditional Tibetan homes. By the second week, drop your raft into the Class IV rapids beneath the flapping prayer flags of Xidang’s monastery for six days and 80 miles of gorge-squeezing whitewater bliss.
Outfitter: Mountain Travel Sobek, 888-687-6235,
When to Go: March

INDONESIA��(New)
Cycling Remote Bali
Price: $2,798
Difficulty: Moderate
Though the major Balinese tourist centers on the southern coast may still be reeling from the 2002 and 2005 bombings, the heady scents and lush foliage of the island’s secluded interior and northeastern coast remain as untouched as ever. On this eight-day sampler, you’ll get the full-immersion tour, biking 12 to 47 miles a day and sleeping in garden and seaside spa resorts at night. Starting inland, in Ubud, pedal to the Pura Taman Ayun, a “floating” 17th-century royal temple surrounded by a moat, and past acres of hydrangea and clove plantations. When you reach the northern coast and the black sands of Lovina Beach, strip off those Lycra shorts and take a dip in the Bali Sea. Then head east past volcanoes and verdant rice paddies, stopping to snorkel the coral reefs of the Blue Lagoon and dine on fresh coconut rice and rich green curry in the town of Candidasa.
Outfitter: Backroads, 800-462-2848,
When to Go: October, January-April

MYANMAR��(New)
Exploring the Mergui Archipelago
Price: $3,995-$4,495
Difficulty: Moderate
The Moken “sea gypsies” who travel the recently opened Mergui Archipelago, an 800-island cluster off the southern coast of Myanmar, are among the few who still practice their traditional nomadic marine life, fishing for sea cucumbers and lobsters and wandering from island to island in hand-built boats. For 12 days you’ll emulate this vanishing culture, hopping from the powdery beaches of Clara Island to the stunning old-growth coral of the underwater reef gardens around Hayes Island. Snorkel and dive uninhabited Lampi Island’s boulder-strewn seafloor and kayak through the limestone cliffs and tunnels along Horseshoe Island’s dramatic coast. Base camp is one of five air-conditioned cabins aboard an 85-foot wooden yacht, where meals are a merging of Moken and Thai flavors, such as fish fresh from the Andaman Sea steamed with coconut and lemongrass.
Outfitter: Wilderness Travel, 800-368-2794,
When to Go: November-March

INDIA
Tracking the Snow Leopard
Price: $3,575
Difficulty: Strenuous
Hidden in the Himalayan high-desert passes of Ladakh are some of the oldest untouched Tibetan monasteries in the world, as well as one of the highest concentrations of the near-mythic snow leopard. For 19 days, play Peter Matthiessen under the guidance of the Snow Leopard Conservancy. You’ll sleep in tents and mountain farmhouses while trekking and tracking the elusive cats through the 5,000-square-mile Hemis National Park, home to about 170 of the world’s last remaining 4,600 to 7,000 snow leopards. Along the way you’ll visit the spectacular tenth-century Hemis Monastery, enjoy the view at your 12,500-foot-high Rumbak homestay, and trek to the 16,700-foot-high pass of Kongmaru La. A portion of your trip’s fee is donated to the conservancy to help improve conditions for the locals—both human and feline.
Outfitter: KarmaQuest, 650-560-0101,
When to Go: April-October

SOUTH PACIFIC��(2006 Winner)
Secluded-Isle Hopping
Price: $5,950
Difficulty: Moderate
In 1790, the mutineers of the HMS Bounty selected Pitcairn Island, some 1,200 miles southeast of Tahiti, to live with their Tahitian brides because it was so far away and nearly an impossible place for their pursuers to anchor safely. Today, their 50-some descendants see few visitors for the very same reasons. Get a feel for their isolationist way of life by spending a week hiking craggy hills, helping the residents maintain their longboats, and hearing tales of life on a forgotten island. That’s just the headliner of this three-week South Pacific voyage, most of which you’ll see from the comfort of a 60-foot luxury sailboat. You’ll also snorkel reefs teeming with tropical fish, hike the goat paths of Mangareva (a “floating mountain” in the Gambier Islands, 320 miles west of Pitcairn), and learn to trim the mainsails en route to uninhabited sand spits like Henderson and Oeno islands, where you can pretend you’re starring in your own episode of Lost.
Outfitter: Ocean Voyages, 800-299-4444,
When to Go: July-October

NEW ZEALAND
Circumnavigating the South Island
Price: $2,999
Difficulty: Challenging
During Active New Zealand founder Andrew Fairfax’s 2,700-mile cycling expedition from Istanbul to London in 2003, he thought, Why aren’t we doing this at home? The result of that epiphany is the Weka, a 13-day supported bike trip circling the South Island. It hits all the top spots, like the majestic peaks and gushing waterfalls of Milford Sound and the blue ice of the Franz Josef Glacier, while staying off most of the main routes, worn thin by tourist traffic. You’ll log roughly 400 miles on Specialized hybrids that can handle gravel farm paths and other classic Kiwi obstacles like cow dung and stubborn sheep. Typical day: Pull off the Central Otago Rail Trail, ditch your gear in a renovated millhouse that serves as home for the night, and head to a tiny rural-outpost pub for a Speight’s with the locals.
Outfitter: Active New Zealand, 800-661-9073,
When to Go: October-April

FRENCH POLYNESIA
Sea-Kayaking Raivavae
Price: $4,775
Difficulty: Moderate
Want to find out what Bora Bora was like in the days before tourism took over? Set out on a 13-day paddling recon mission to Raivavae (Ri-VA-vi), one of five time-forgotten archipelagos in the Austral chain, 2,244 miles northeast of New Zealand in French Polynesia. On this, one of the first outfitted kayaking trips from the island, you’ll hop from motu to motu (tiny uninhabited islands) in the outer reef in the mornings, set up camp for the night, and head to the lagoons on an underwater hunt to spear grouper for dinner. (Don’t worry, other provisions will be provided if you come up empty-handed.) Keep an eye out for blue whales—the reef’s horseshoe shape brings the deep-dwellers of the Pacific right up to the shoreline.
Outfitter: Explorers’ Corner, 510-559-8099,
When to Go: July

AUSTRALIA
Diving with Sharks
Price: $1,570-$1,950
Difficulty: Moderate
After three days spent exploring the ribbon of coral along the Great Barrier Reef, you’ll keep heading east, some 110 nautical miles off the northern coast of Oz, to the Coral Sea, where the currents converge and the heavies of the Pacific come out to play. That’s where Osprey Reef gives way to a 3,300-foot underwater shelf swarming with barracuda, tuna, manta rays, and scads of sharks—threshers, blacktips, whitetips, hammerheads, and leopards. Take it all in on four daily dives over six days. (If the deeps start to give you the creeps, try snorkeling.) Above water, watch and learn from Undersea Explorer’s resident marine biologists, who measure and tag the reef sharks in an effort to secure protection for this remote and still-pristine marine environment.
Outfitter: Undersea Explorer,
011-61-74-099-5911, When to Go: April-December

CYPRUS��(2006 Winner)
Mountain-Biking the Trails of the Troodos
Price: $1,895
Difficulty: Strenuous
For a trip to fat-tire nirvana, try this six-day, 170-mile mountain-bike excursion on the island of Cyprus, south of Turkey. Pedal over rocky singletrack, fire roads, and chalky foothills, all of which have a mountain backdrop or a Mediterranean view. Your base camp is the Pendeli Hotel, in the high-country resort of Platres. From here, take daily cross-country explorations into the 6,000-foot Troodos Mountains, offering cool riding conditions even under the summer sun. Terrain is a mixed bag: technically demanding loose rocks and tight turns, scrappy climbs, fast traverses, and even faster descents. Ride up skittish slopes to the 6,401-foot summit of Chionistra and down to the sea, but be sure to pack that extra tube: The support vehicle can’t follow you here. Postride, swim laps, soak in the hot tub, or have a sauna back at the family-run Pendeli Hotel.
Outfitter: KE ���ϳԹ���, 800-497-9675,
When to Go: June, July, September

TURKEY
Sea-Kayaking the Mediterranean Coast
Price: from $3,495
Difficulty: Moderate
Scout Turkey’s dramatic Mediterranean shoreline from the cockpit of a sea kayak on this eight-day multisport adventure. Then explore it on foot with a local guide, visiting ancient Lycian rock tombs, Apollo’s birthplace, and tiny Kas, a chic and lively 2,400-year-old village. A luxurious wooden gulet with a gourmet chef is your floating hotel, but the starry nights will make you ditch your stateroom for a mattress on deck. Paddle your kayak along empty beaches before dipping into Greece to snorkel over sunken ruins.
Outfitter: The Northwest Passage, 800-732-7328,
When to Go: September-October

YEMEN
Arabian Trek
Price: from $4,995
Difficulty: Moderate
Once home to the Queen of Sheba, Yemen had an advanced civilization more than 3,000 years ago. While security concerns have deterred visits in recent years, conditions seem to be improving. Over 18 days, you’ll explore the diverse Arabian countryside. Begin in Sana’a, the 7,425-foot-high capital, then travel to the hilltop villages of the north before winding down in seaside al-Makallah. En route, sleep in castles right out of the Arabian Nights, wander through colorful, spice-infused souks, and four-wheel through steep-walled dry riverbeds.
Outfitter: Geographic Expeditions, 800-777-8183,
When to Go: March and November

BELARUS, UKRAINE & MOLDOVA
Touring New Republics
Price: $4,895
Difficulty: Easy
Newly designed for 2006—Ukraine recently dropped visa requirements for U.S. citizens, and expanded flights have made the area more accessible—this 16-day cultural traverse starts in Minsk and heads south, for visits to cathedrals in Kiev, Yalta’s seaside homes (where Pushkin and Chekhov summered), and the marble Livadia Palace. You’ll sleep in charming four-star hotels, hike the Black Sea coast, and taste wine in Moldova, the unsung charmer of Eastern Europe.
Outfitter: Mir Corporation, 800-424-7289,
When to Go: May, August

COSTA RICA��(2006 Winner)
Cross-Country Traverse
Price: $2,790
Difficulty: Challenging
Here’s how to get off the tourist track in Costa Rica: Try crossing the country from the Pacific to the Caribbean by bike, foot, and raft. You’ll start this 18-day sea-to-sea journey by pedaling two days from the coastal pueblo of Dominical to the Tinamaste Mountains, where you’ll hike through the cloudforest to your first night’s campsite—a cave surrounded by waterfalls. The next day takes you over a ridge, where you’ll stay at a quaint hotel on the Chirripo River before starting a porter-supported weeklong trek through the highland forest of the Cordillera de Talamanca. You’ll spend the last several days on a rugged stretch of the Pacuare River, running Class III-IV rapids and floating through lush canyons where water cascades from hundreds of feet overhead. The river will deposit you in the Caribbean lowlands, and you’ll spend your last wilderness night camping at the rainforest’s edge.
Outfitter: World Expeditions, 888-464-8735,
When to Go: March, September, December

PANAMA��(New)
Darién Explorer Trek
Price: $4,995
Difficulty: Strenuous
As your piragua putters along the Tuira River en route to an abandoned mining town, you’ll see far more tapirs and peccaries than travelers. Total seclusion is the payoff for five to seven hours of daily trekking (and canoeing) across rugged, often muddy terrain on this two-week exploration of the Darién Gap, the mysterious 6.4-million-acre rainforest that separates Central and South America. When you do come across humans, it will be at the remote villages where you’ll stop to mingle with Embera elders. You’ll overnight at ranger stations and rustic camps, and wake to a cacophony of macaws and caracaras.
Outfitter: Myths and Mountains, 800-670-6984,
When to Go: December-April

BAHAMAS
Fishing Tutorial
Price: $3,190
Difficulty: Easy
This South Andros Island outpost will re-define your notion of “fishing lodge”; everything at Tiamo Resort—from its solar power to its banana-fiber office paper—is geared toward protecting the environment without sacrificing luxury. Breezy raised bungalows are steps from a secluded beach where you’ll spend four days kayaking, snorkeling, and learning to cast for bonefish and tarpon in the island’s legendary shallow flats. Beyond that, the Adirondack chairs on your beachfront porch lend themselves nicely to loafing.
Outfitter: Orvis, 800-547-4322,
When to Go: March-July, October-December

MEXICO
Scouting for Jaguars
Price: $1,500
Difficulty: Moderate
Jaguars roam the tropical forest, wetlands, and dunes of Mexico’s Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, a Delaware-size protected zone along the Yucatán coast. With the help of biologist guides, you’ll likely spot their tracks during your weeklong stay at the no-frills Santa Teresa research station, a ten-minute walk to a white-sand beach, and take daytime and nighttime hikes in a jungle that few outsiders get to explore after dark. You’ll also camp one night amid the spider monkeys and white-tailed deer, and visit nearby Maya ruins.
Outfitter: EcoColors, 011-52-998-884-3667,
When to Go: January-March

SEYCHELLES��(2006 Winner)
Fly-Fishing the Cosmoledo Islands
Price: $6,000
Difficulty: Moderate
When you encounter the foot-and-a-half-long coconut crabs that reside in the Cosmoledo Islands, 500 miles off the coast of Tanzania, give them a wide berth: Their pincers can lift up to 65 pounds and crack coconuts with diamond-cutting precision. Then again, you won’t be spending much time inland on this outer subgroup of the Seychelles—the real action is casting in the turquoise flats surrounding the four atolls. The Cosmoledos, protected by a ten-mile-wide coral ring, have never been inhabited—they had their last documented brush with humanity in 1822, when British captain Fairfax Moresby came ashore during an Indian Ocean mapping expedition. This isolation has led to a freakish evolution of fish species, including the giant trevally, weighing in at 70 pounds. You’ll spend six days casting over the crystal water and seven nights aboard a retired 1935 North Sea research vessel, complete with teak-and-brass-appointed saloon and dining room.
Outfitter: FlyCastaway, 011-27-82-334-3448,
When to Go: November-April

BOTSWANA
Safari by Elephant
Price: $6,270
Difficulty: Moderate
The trouble with most elephant-back safaris is that you never properly bond with your transportation. This issue is smartly resolved at the elegantly understated Abu Camp, in the Okavango Delta of the Kalahari Desert, where you live alongside eight resident elephants that roam the 395,000-acre reserve outside the six handsome platform tents. With assistance from the camp’s wildlife experts and mahouts, spend four days and three nights interacting with the herd and riding them into the floodplains to graze undetected among zebras, wildebeests, giraffes, and impalas. At night, soak in the trill of some of the 500 species of birds while finishing off your five-star grub of sweet potato soup and harissa fish stir-fry by the campfire.
Outfitter: Classic Africa, 888-227-8311,
When to Go: May-October

SOUTH AFRICA��(New)
Archaeological Expedition
Price: $7,995
Difficulty: Easy
Jump into the hottest archaeological debate going—the true origin of man—with an exploration of the 3.2-million-year-old “Cradle of Humankind” sites at Sterkfontein and Swartkrans caves, 45 minutes north of Johannesburg. Led by the top archaeologists and paleontologists in the country, you’ll spend 13 days poking around the gravesites of prehistoric Australopithecus africanus, from the limestone caves of Limpopo to the Knysna coastline, while bunking in wine-country estates and elegant hotels. You’ll also check out the Big Five at Mthethomusha Game Reserve and the success at Addo Elephant National Park, where the pachyderm population has grown from 11 to 420 in the past 75 years.
Outfitter: Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, 800-422-8975 ext. 146,
When to Go: June

NAMIBIA
Cheetah Conservation
Price: $4,400
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Though Africa’s largest population of endangered cheetahs—about 3,000—lives in Namibia, their propensity to snack on livestock keeps them in jeopardy. You’ll try to change that during this two-week safari, five days of which are spent working at the Cheetah Conservation Fund training Anatolian shepherd dogs, building fences, counting wildlife, and staying in a nearby farmhouse. On your first night in Namibia, take in the view from the 1914 castle of Count von Schwerin, where the wine collection is stored in a cellar carved out of a stone hillside. Later, you’ll check out the black rhinos of Etosha National Park, the shipwreck-littered Skeleton Coast, and finally the Namib Desert. After a day of sand-surfing the 1,000-foot-high dunes, refuge is in a kulala, an open-air bungalow with rooftop stargazing.
Outfitter: Mango African Safaris, 888-698-9220,
When to Go: July-August

ITALY��(2006 Winner)
Walking the Piedmont
Price: $3,995
Difficulty: Moderate
This six-day introduction to the still-quiet agricultural region 40 miles southeast of Turin is a glutton’s guide to Italy. Long a gastronomic hot spot (the Slow Food movement began here), Piedmont produces the country’s noblest wines—Barolo and Barbaresco—and hearty and refined cuisine like wild boar and risotto with fresh truffles. After daily hikes of six to 15 miles, arrive at a farmhouse ringed with vineyards. When you’re not hiking with a naturalist or dining in an award-winning restaurant, taste wines with a local family, sip spumante with a top producer, trail a trifulao (truffle hunter) and his prized dog, or take cooking lessons—then soak in a hot bath enriched with crushed grapes.
Outfitter: Butterfield & Robinson, 800-678-1147,
When to Go: May, September

FRANCE
Cycling the French Alps
Price: $3,695
Difficulty: Challenging
A ten-day fantasy camp for serious cyclists: Accompanied by a former pro rider/professional photographer, you’ll ride stages of the famed Dauphiné-Libéré, contested over many of the same roads as the Tour de France. Ditch the peloton at day’s end for elegant digs in picturesque mountain villages such as Uriage-les-Bains, where you’ll fortify yourself for the next day’s ride with local delicacies like goat sausage from Savoy Alps pastures and flinty white wines. Save your legs for the final 73-mile day (you can also opt for either a 55-mile or 93-mile route)—the Megève-Mont Blanc Classic, with 9,000 feet of climbing over three magnificent cols.
Outfitter: Velo Classic Tours, 212-779-9599,

When to Go: June

MALTA��(New)
Swimming the Coast
Price: $1,200
Difficulty: Challenging
Caught in the narrows between Sicily and North Africa, Malta is a group of islands with some of the warmest and clearest waters in the Mediterranean. On this six-day swimfest, you’ll self-propel two to three miles a day, hopping from island to island and drying off in small family-run inns. You can always hop aboard the escort boat, but rest assured that your guides know their stuff—many have completed solo crossings of the English Channel. In the evening, the fun continues with talks on swimming technique and video analysis in the hotel pool.
Outfitter: Swim Trek, 011-44-20-8696-6220,
When to Go: April-June, September

SPAIN��(New)
Dressage Training and Trail Riding
Price: $1,995
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Saddle sores will be your only worry on this six-day romp through Spain’s vast central plateau. HQ is the utterly tranquil El Molino, an 18th-century equestrian center on the fringe of the medieval town of Pedraza. Each morning, saddle up your horse, perhaps a purebred Andalusian, and train in dressage technique. Then take guided afternoon trail rides through the wheat fields and rolling hills of the Castilian countryside, galloping by deep gorges and velvety forests or trotting through Roman ruins. Come evening, you’ll dine on tapas, fresh seafood, and el frite—fried lamb with garlic and lemon—accompanied by dry local wines.
Outfitter: Cross Country International, 800-828-8768,
When to Go: January-November

BRITISH COLUMBIA��(2006 Winner)
Mega-Yacht Heli-Skiing
Price: $36,000 per day (for 12)
Difficulty: Moderate
When the B2 A-star helicopter drops you at the apex of a powdery slope amid millions of glacier-rimmed acres in B.C.’s Coast Range, you may think you’ve achieved the pinnacle of exclusivity. But that’s only half the fun. After carving so many fresh tracks that your quads scream for mercy, you’ll chopper back to a 201-foot luxury yacht to sip Dom and soak in an eight-person, 80-jet Jacuzzi. Moving anchor between two inlets in the Georgia Strait, the Absinthe serves as home base for the most extravagant, over-the-top heli-skiing in the world. Should the mountain weather turn foul, take out the kayaks, fire up the 40-foot fishing boat, or simply bask in the opulence of it all.
Outfitter: Sea to Sky Helisports and Megayacht ���ϳԹ���s, 866-935-3228,
When to Go: March-April

UTAH��(New)
Hiking the Waterpocket Fold
Price: $1,375
Difficulty: Challenging
Grant Johnson has been exploring southern Utah’s Waterpocket Fold, a 3,000-foot-high, 100-mile-long dinosaur-era geological formation, for 30 years. Thanks to drought conditions in nearby Lake Powell, he recently discovered an ancient Anasazi trail that allows him to lead trips into this remote, unmapped backcountry region. For six days, shimmy through two-foot-wide narrows and hike on slickrock to incredible vistas, camping beneath the cottonwoods while listening to his stories of the prehistoric landscape.
Outfitter: Escalante Canyon Outfitters, 888-326-4453,
When to Go: April, October

SASKATCHEWAN��(New)
Paddling the William River
Price: $2,700
Difficulty: Moderate
Here in northern Saskatchewan, all life depends on the rivers that flow toward the Arctic. The Class I-II William River, congested with foraging moose, black bears, and ospreys, is no exception. This 13-day trip begins and ends with great fishing (grayling and walleye at the outset, trout once you reach Lake Athabasca). Take a pit stop in the middle at the 100-foot-high Athabasca sand dunes to explore the ever-shifting topography.
Outfitter: Piragis Northwoods Company, 800-223-6565,
When to Go: June

HAWAII
���ϳԹ��� Boot Camp
Price: $3,075
Difficulty: Moderate
When you wake to the sounds of your personal chef whipping up an egg-white omelet in your oceanfront villa on Kauai’s north shore, you’ll know this boot camp isn’t Parris Island. Here you can customize all your meals and five days of activities to reach your fitness goals. Start out by surfing in Hanalei Bay or hiking to the base of 250-foot Hanakapeii Falls. After one-on-one yoga or weight training, recuperate with a massage, and cap off the day by learning how to grill fresh ahi.
Outfitter: Pure Kauai, 866-457-7873,
When to Go: Year-round

CALIFORNIA��(New)
The Epic Tour
Price: $2,398
Difficulty: Strenuous
Lance, Levi, and LeMond all trained on the 15-degree inclines of Northern California’s roads, and after you finish this seven-day epic, you may be able to keep up with them—for a few minutes, anyway. Starting from Santa Rosa, you’ll ride up to 75 miles a day on inland country byways. Once you hit Mendocino, you’ll return to Santa Rosa via the coast—with plenty of opportunities to regroup in some of the area’s finest restaurants and hotels, like Bodega Bay’s Inn at the Tides.
Outfitter: Bicycle ���ϳԹ���s, 800-443-6060,
When to Go: October-November

ANTARCTICA��(2006 Winner)
Climbing and Photography Journey
Price: $5,190-$8,390
Difficulty: Challenging
Hundreds of unclimbed peaks form the towering spine of the Antarctic Peninsula. Your footprints could be the first atop two of them on this 12-day journey to the frozen south. A refurbished Finnish research vessel, the Polar Pioneer, will carry 56 passengers—including a photography expert and a naturalist guide—from the tip of South America through the Beagle Channel and across the Drake Passage to the peninsula’s west coast. First stop if the weather’s good: the South Shetland Islands, where Zodiacs will take you ashore with climbing guide Tashi Tenzing, grandson of the famed Norgay, who’ll help you navigate the crevassed terrain. As the ship makes its way south, you can scale the bluish bergs or paddle a kayak along the shore. You’ll pass leopard seals and penguin rookeries, and may even have some up-close encounters when you spend a night camping ashore. Life on the ship is comfortable; you’ll appreciate the onboard collection of polar literature and the porthole view from your cabin on the long cruise home.
Outfitter: Aurora Expeditions, 011-61-2-9252-1033, .au
When to Go: November-March

GREENLAND & ICELAND��(New)
Arctic Odyssey
Price: $5,295-$6,995
Difficulty: Moderate
When you and your camera venture into the realm of polar bears and musk ox, it’s comforting to know there’s an expert on board whose input could turn a wasted frame into the shot of a lifetime. Award-winning nature photographer Frans Lanting—as well as renowned polar explorer Will Steger—will accompany you on this 11-day voyage from Spitsbergen, Norway, to Keflavík, Iceland. The 46-passenger polar research ship Grigoriy Mikheev carries a fleet of Zodiacs for explorations of Greenland’s east coast, where migrating seabirds and whales skirt the pack ice. The ship will make its way up Kaiser Franz Joseph Fjord in search of rare narwhals and visit Ittoqqortoormiit village en route to Iceland’s southwestern shore.
Outfitter: Wilderness Travel, 800-368-2794,
When to Go: September

ANTARCTICA��(New)
Emperor Penguins Safari
Price: $8,495-$15,495
Difficulty: Moderate
For March of the Penguins fans, here’s something new: A penguin specialist who helicoptered close to Snow Hill Island, in the Weddell Sea, during a 2004 Quark expedition, discovered an uncharted emperor rookery with 4,000 breeding pairs. You’ll be among the first to witness the penguins on this two-week journey to the Weddell. Starting in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, you’ll set out on the 108-passenger icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov, traveling to shore by Zodiac or helicopter, then hiking about a mile across the ice to the rookery. You’ll make up to three trips, and because it’s early in the season, you’ll likely see parents nuzzling chicks at their feet.
Outfitter: Quark Expeditions, 800-356-5699,
When to Go: October-November

KENYA��(2006 WINNER)
The Great Walk, Tsavo National Park
Price: $6,900
Difficulty: Challenging

“You smell them as you come closer,” says safari veteran Nadia Le Bon, director of special programs at Mountain Travel Sobek. “You see the prints, which way they go, which way they come.” Lest you forget that humans are not at the top of the food chain, the fresh tracks of a Tsavo lion serve as a poignant reminder—especially when you’re traveling on foot through East Africa’s largest national park, home of elephants, rhinos, crocodiles, and the infamous man-eating felines that terrorized railroad workers a century ago.

This 11-day, 110-mile Kenya journey is a walk in the park for trip leader Iain Allen, an honorary warden and seasoned adventurer who once trekked 300 miles from Mount Kilimanjaro to the Indian Ocean. You’ll trace his steps along the wildlife-flush Tsavo and Galana rivers, tracking the Big Five (lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant, rhino) as you cross the 8,300-square-mile park from west to east. As for the carnivorous critters that are bound to catch your scent, Le Bon says, “They tend to walk away.”

The trek begins at Mzima Springs, a hippo hangout at the base of the Chyulu Range, 149 miles southeast of Nairobi. From there you’ll follow the palm-fringed Tsavo River through giraffe and kudu habitat to your first campsite, at the base of the jagged Ngulia Mountains. After a nap beneath the down comforter in your plush safari tent, you’ll be ready for an afternoon game drive and cocktails by the fire. In the next few days you’ll track gazelles, impalas, and zebras en route to the park’s more arid eastern side, where it’s easy to spot hartebeest and fringe-eared oryx across the open plain. The journey ends with a night of pampering at the Hemingways Resort, a posh hotel on a white-sand stretch of Watamu Bay, where you can lounge by the swimming pool and ponder your epic feat.

Outfitter: Mountain Travel Sobek, 888-687-6235,
When to Go: March, June, September

2007 Trip Preview

LET THE RATING BEGIN: Istanbul, one of the stops on the Holy Places by Jet tour.

01 CHILE
Heli-fishing
Trout fishing in the Chilean fjords has always been popular, if a little rough around the edges. But you’ll be living large when the brand-new, 120-foot custom expeditionary yacht Nomadsofthesea begins offering heli-fishing excursions from its base in Puerto Montt in January 2007. The 22-passenger boat, equipped with a helicopter, Zodiacs, and jet boats, offers unprecedented access to both fresh- and saltwater fishing in the Rí;os Baker, Cisnes, and Simpson, among others. The myriad travel options mean that it’s possible to cast a fly every day, despite the sometimes dicey weather, during Chile’s peak trout season.
Price: About $10,000
Outfitter: Orvis Travel, 800-547-4322,

02 ITALY to TURKEY
Holy Places by Jet
On this crash course in world religions guided by renowned scholar John Esposito, travel to major sacred spots via private jet and come to your own conclusions about which faith works for you—or doesn’t. In late March 2007, a custom-fitted Boeing 747 will take you to nine countries on three continents in 24 days, starting with Vatican City and journeying on to the holy sites of Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shinto, and Islam. The trip ends in the multi-cultural city of Istanbul, where you’ll visit the famed Hagia Sophia.
Price: $44,950
Outfitter: TCS Expeditions, 800-727-7477,

03 UNITED STATES
High-style Trekking on the Appalachian Trail
Brace yourself for a debate as luxury through-hiking arrives on the Appalachian Trail in spring 2007. Foot Travel, an outfitter based in Black Mountain, North Carolina, will begin offering gear transport and other logistical services at key points along the trail, which means that the only chores left to you on this 2,170-mile, 153-day slog from Georgia to Maine are carrying a daypack and setting up your tent. Foot Travel does the dirty work—from cooking to cleaning to carrying that heavy load of Russian classics.
Price: $10,120 ($66 per day)
Outfitter: Foot Travel, 866-244-4453,

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