Easy Does It

What a tough guy can learn from an island off Belize

EXACTLY 12 HOURS after walking out the front door of our Brooklyn apartment into a snowstorm, my wife and I stood on the dock at St. George's Caye Resort, in Belize. I was holding my fly rod while she sipped a fruity cocktail and teased me about my bombastic claim that commercial flights do not count as real travel. Any self-respecting adventure traveler, I often say, needs to follow his flight with a couple of days on a train or the top of a bus in order to feel as though he's actually gotten somewhere.

My perspective on the issue was not well supported by St. George's Caye. It's only a 20-minute boat ride from Belize City, yet it feels like a place that should take a couple of days to reach by outrigger canoe. The two-mile-long island is sandwiched between the Belize Barrier Reef and hundreds of square miles of mangrove swamps and bonefish flats that support raucous colonies of seafaring birds and a few local manatees. You could count the permanent human population on your fingers and toes. But my wife didn't need to mention any of this or cite the relevant statistics. Instead, she simply pointed to the school of tarpon lolling in the shallows 30 feet away.

For the rest of the trip I continued to eat my words—along with immense amounts of spectacular food, such as spiny lobster delivered directly to the kitchen by local fishermen. Between meals—served communal style, on the beach, by a smiling crew in flip-flops—we joined a few planned expeditions. There was snorkeling and diving on the reef; a night cruise in search of crocodiles; and fishing for bonefish and permit with a private guide. But, mostly, we took off on our own makeshift adventures. The resort provides plenty of kayaks and sailboats without the fees, rules, and boundaries that too often turn island getaways into chaperoned walks on the beach. We discovered secluded sand, secret swimming holes, hungry schools of fish, and a curious manatee. At night, we kicked back in one of a dozen thatch-roofed cabanas. We could hear the Caribbean roll in just beyond our front porch. Beyond that, nothing. This self-respecting adventure traveler slept well.

GET THERE: St. George's Caye Resort (om) provides guest transport from Philip S.W. Goldson International Airport. Cabanas for two from $218, including meals and local rum punch. One-tank dives, $60; half-day fishing trips, $325.

Fire on the Mountain

Playing in the shadow of a volcano in Papua New Guinea.

Papua New Guinea

New Britain's Tavurvur volcano gets feisty

IN 1994, a 2,257-foot volcano erupted on the island of New Britain, Papua New Guinea, burying the city of Rabaul under seven feet of ash and prompting 30,000 people to evacuate. Only 3,000 returned, leaving the town essentially like Kauai pre–Captain Cook, only with more pyrotechnics: The island is populated mostly by members of some 50 indigenous tribes, and the resident volcanoes, Tavurvur and Vulcan, are still very much active. Go now and you can lounge on a black-sand beach and watch Tavurvur burp up lava and small columns of ash as many as four times an hour.

I arrived two years ago to find an ashy town—the swimming pools were gray—set on an active caldera with countless adventure options just beyond the city limits. One can scuba-dive at a reef wall that served as a berth for Japanese submarines in World War II; sample grilled crocodile at a sustainable farm in New Britain's jungle; or take a helicopter flight over inland waterfalls so remote, nobody has bothered to name them. But the highlight of New Britain is the paddling. On my third day in Rabaul, I drove five minutes south to Matupit Island and rented a dugout canoe with a guide from the Tolai tribe. We paddled across Simpson Harbor while a hot ash cloud boiled overhead. Afterwards, my guide brought me back to the Tolai village and served me bananas poached in coconut milk, which he said was a traditional feast commemorating the arrival of Fijian missionaries—whom the Tolai ate.

GET THERE: Air Niugini flies here at least twice daily from Port Moresby, on the south side of PNG's mainland (from $300; ). Lodging in Rabaul is limited to the Hamamas Hotel (doubles from $59; ). Ask the staff about tours of the OISCA farm ($18 with crocodile lunch; ) and rides to Matupit. The Tolai guides will find you; a day trip is $9.

Vieques Rising

Puerto Rico's Vieques has come a long way from when the Navy played war games on its beaches.

Back in 2001, the Navy was still using Puerto Rico's Vieques for war games on the beaches. There was just a handful of restaurants and hotels on the 21-mile-long, four-mile-wide Caribbean island, and it was the kind of place where guests didn't wear shoes. Today, the Navy is gone and the old bombing ranges have been designated a national wildlife refuge. Now, Vieques is exploding in a different way: New roads are being built; old ones are getting paved. One of the military's old bunkers is now a sports bar by day and a disco by night. Swanky hotels, like the W, which opened in March (doubles from $379; ), and restaurants, like El Quenepo (787-741-1215), are popping up.

But don't worry. While it's now possible to have the resort experience, Vieques is still funkier and more laid-back than most Caribbean islands. Book a ��������ñ���ٲ�—one-room cottage—at La Finca (doubles from $125; ), a clean but rustic joint with outdoor showers and mismatched towels. Then head for the sand. There are more than 50 beaches—perfect for everything from kayaking (Green Beach) to snorkeling (the islet of Blue Beach) to paddling at night in one of the biggest bioluminescent bays in the world (Puerto Mosquito, a.k.a. “Bio Bay”). The best way to see the latter is in a clear canoe from the Vieques ���ϳԹ��� Company (two-hour rentals, $45; ), which, should you start getting antsy for more action, can also set you up with decent mountain bikes to explore all the old military roads ($25 per day) or take you kayak fly-fishing for tarpon ($150).

Twilight Zone

Happily lost on a Croatian island haunted by vampires.

Lustava

Northern Lustava

Dalmatian dinner, Croatia

Dalmatian dinner.

BY THE TIME we reached Lastovo, we were made of salt water and octopus. For a week, my family—14 of us, from age 78 down to 16—had sailed along Croatia's Dalmatian coast in a 100-foot Turkish gulet, gorging on grilled fish and pickling ourselves with local wine. We'd come far from the cruise ships of Dubrovnik and left the nightlife of Korcula behind. Lastovo (pop. 800) was the last and most remote island, one big national park with, from the look of the charts, great sheltered kayaking. But even our guide, adventure writer Maria Coffey, had never been.

We'd heard there were vampires on Lastovo—in the 1700s, the island had a little problem with vukodlaci, undead corpses that rose, as our guidebook said, “to visit the beds of bored wives and pleasure them in the night.” This sounded fine to some of our clan, but the island still emitted a creepy vibe. Even today, one of Lastovo's biggest celebrations involves the ritual humiliation of a straw puppet led through town on a donkey.

Sure enough, the crags showed little sign of life—just crying gulls and the colorful towels of naked Germans, the predominant pink-skinned species here, found sprawled along Dalmatia's rocky coast. But the little harbor of Skrivena Luka was a miracle, a still blue bay ringed with stone cottages. At the lone restaurant, Porto Russo, the proprietor brought out homemade verbena-infused Croatian grappa, then white wine (from his own grapes), home-cured olives, and local squid cooked for hours pod pekom—under a metal bell in a wood-fired outdoor oven. Later, in Lastovo Town, a 15th-century wonderland of vineyards and minaret-topped churches teetering on the island's summit, the local street sweeper—who still uses a broom—dragged us into his courtyard for thick, sweet coffee.

Did we come here by plane? Was the World Cup still going on? What was my name again? The Dalmatian islands aren't exactly off the beaten path, but in Lastovo you can feel like you sailed in and discovered them yourself.

GET THERE: Hidden Places owners Maria Coffey and Dag Goering guide ten-day kayaking-and-sailing trips along the Dalmatian coast for $4,550 per person ().

Sweet Bondage

There's no vacation quite like a Colombian-prison-island vacation.

BETWEEN 1960 AND 1984, visitors to Colombia's Isla Gorgona arrived shackled and blindfolded and slept behind barbed-wire fences, on wooden bunks without mattresses. The 2,500 inmates of Gorgona Prison were warned that, if they escaped, the venomous snakes on the tropical island would kill them and, if they braved the ocean, the sharks would get them instead.

Today, the lush, 6.5-square-mile island, 30 miles off Colombia's Pacific coast, is a national park; the lodging here has been managed since 2006 by the winner of the Colombian version of the TV show The Apprentice. Which is to say, this is one strange escape. I arrived last September via speedboat from the coastal town of Guapí. Upon touchdown, military police searched my bags for alcohol (it interferes with the requisite antivenin) and weapons. The other guests—the island hosts 130 at a time—were mostly schoolchildren and besotted couples, enjoying king-size beds in the updated guard quarters by the beach.

I spent my days exploring: first, the grisly ruins of the mammoth stone penitentiary, said to be modeled after a Nazi concentration camp and now overrun with capuchin monkeys and foot-long basilisk lizards, then the dense tropical jungle that covers 85 percent of Gorgona, for which the island provides obligatory boots. There really are pit vipers and coral snakes here, as well as easier-to-spot (and mostly harmless) boa constrictors.

The trekking's good and the kayaking better—I spent a few afternoons dipping into the equatorial water as blue-footed boobies and frigates flew overhead—but the main activity on Gorgona is diving. The island has a fully equipped dive center, and I'd regularly see 20 to 30 moray eels at any site, many as thick as my thighs. Gorgona's nature preserve extends to a six-mile radius around the island, so fish and turtles are plentiful, intrepid, and big. But size is relative. From July to September, humpbacks come to Gorgona's banks to mate and calve, and to see them breach and slap the surface with their gargantuan tails is to forget that once this was a place no one ever, ever wanted to go.

GET THERE: Three-night packages, including three meals daily, island transfers, and flights from Cali to the coastal town of Guapí, in the Cauca department, from $463 (). Two-dive day trips from Gorgona's dive center, $90. Kayak rentals, $5 per hour.

King Kauai

Lush greenery, volcanoes and an endless supply of hidden beaches.

The Big Island has size on its side, not to mention fun volcanoes. Oahu has the storied North Shore. And Maui—well, let's just say that the honeymooners storming its beaches year after year don't come for nothing.

But little Kauai has it all: lush greenery, volcanoes, small towns not yet overrun, and a seemingly endless supply of hidden beaches for surfing, snorkeling, and sunbathing.

This year, all those options are more accessible than ever. On the island's north shore, the St. Regis Princeville opened its doors last October (doubles from $385; ); after taking over the historic Princeville Resort, St. Regis revamped the whole place with a classy retro look. (Think coconut palm floors and a new spa and restaurant by über-chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.)

But you don't go to Kauai to lounge. Join the locals for stand-up paddleboarding in Hanalei Bay—there's a great SUP surf break by the Hanalei Pier—or along the flat calm of the Hanalei River. Kayak Kauai offers lessons and boards (rentals from $42 per day; ). In the nearby Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge, a coastal wetlands teeming with endemic bird species, you'll find the Okolehao trail—a windy, two-mile path offering views of Hanalei Bay and the mind-blowing Na Pali coastline. If it's surf you're after, head 45 minutes south to Poipu, rent a board at Nukumoi Surf Co. ($6 per hour; ), and try the Poipu Beach surf break, one of the island's best. Afterwards, crash just 50 yards away at the year-old Koa Kea, the first and only boutique property here (doubles from $299; ).

Trippin' on Indo

Short-term memory loss in the South Pacific.

Indonesia

Shrines decorated for the Hindu Odalan festival.

Indonesia

Lembongan traffic

LEMBONGAN ISN'T EXACTLY out of the way—just seven miles southeast of tourist-clogged Bali—but it stays perfectly out of your way. Nothing about the place gets between you and your vacation. A three-square-mile speck of coral reefs, empty beaches, and hillside bungalows, the Indonesian island is what Henry Miller meant when he said of Big Sur, California, “There being nothing to improve on in the surroundings, the tendency is to set about improving oneself.”

The easy access from Bali—plus the presence of several consistent surf breaks and dive spots—has given Lembongan a small but steady tourism economy to supplement the traditional kelp farms. My wife and I thought it might be a nice change of pace during our 16-day honeymoon on Bali. It ended up being the highlight of our trip.

It's hard for either of us to say exactly why. I know we surfed and took a beginner scuba excursion. But mostly what we have are hazy recollections of long naps, afternoon strolls, and laughing over dinner about how we'd managed to fill another day doing … er, well, we were never quite sure. And still aren't. We barely even have any photos from our stay. That's Lembongan's gift: letting you let go.

I imagine this empty-mindedness is the sort of self-improvement people seek from meditation retreats. But this retreat has cold beer and a really hollow reef break—from what I can remember.

GET THERE: Island Explorer Cruises offers day trips to Lembongan for $85 per person, including food and activities, and beachside bungalows for two from $90 per night ().

Have Lots, Want Not

The curious challenge of living it up on a private island in Fiji.

Fiji

Three acres of paradise: Wadigi

Indonesia

Wadigi's open air suites

I HAD TWO WHITE-SAND beaches and an infinity pool that overlooked an endless sea. I had a boatman ready at a moment's notice to take me snorkeling, water-skiing, windsurfing, fishing, or paddling in a glass-bottom kayak. I had two chefs waiting to prepare any whim; an open-air villa; an on-call masseuse; and a statuesque hostess who greeted me with a fruity cocktail in a fresh-cut coconut. In other words, I had Wadigi, a tiny islet in Fiji's Mamanucas, at my command.

I'd been sent there by a dive magazine to experience the singular indulgence of a private island. And, as a chronically underpaid writer, I planned to soak up every last perk. But after a couple of days of diving among spiky lionfish at half a dozen world-class sites, dinners with too many courses to count, and enough gin-and-tonics to get me kicked out of any self-respecting American bar, a funny thing happened: I found myself doing absolutely nothing.

As it turns out, when you have everything you might want, your wants start to subside. OK, so I never did get bored with that glass-bottom kayak, but I spent most of my free hours simply lolling around and contemplating the preposterous views. On my last evening, instead of ordering extravagant cocktails and back-to-back massages, I ate all the home-baked cookies in the jar and then simply sat in the pool watching the sun dip below the horizon and the clouds sweep across the mirror-still sea.

GET THERE: From $2,327 per day for two, including meals, most activities, and lodging; two-tank dives, $100;

New Outposts

Seven island getaways to fit every fantasy.

Anguilla

The Viceroy, Anguilla

FISH
Islas Secas, Panama
A group of 16 private islands, Islas Secas sits 25 miles off the Pacific coast, close to the wahoo, marlin, and grouper crowding Hannibal Bank. On land, the place is Gilligan's wildest dream, its seven solar oceanfront yurts holding only 14 guests. Go for the surfing or diving, but mainly go fish: Last winter, fishing director Carter Andrews helped a guest set seven world records here. In a week. Six nights, $6,600 per person;

SAIL
Scrub Island, British Virgin Islands
This 230-acre private island, which opened in February, is the first new resort in the BVIs in 15 years. At the heart is a 53-slip marina, the perfect base to launch a sailing excursion of the BVIs. Or stick around in one of the island's 52 rooms to enjoy day sailing, diving, hiking, and three restaurants. Doubles from $359;

DIVE
Shearwater Resort, Saba
Set some 2,000 feet atop Saba, a five-square-mile volcanic island in the Neth­erlands Antilles, Shearwater offers panoramic ocean views but is only a ten-minute drive from the docks. There, dive boats will take you out to some of the Caribbean's best snorkeling and scuba. (Ask Shearwater about custom packages.) The newly renovated rooms offer flatscreens, iPod docks, and wi-fi. Doubles from $175;

WATERSPORT
Viceroy Hotel and Resort, Anguilla
With three restaurants and three pools, you might be inclined never to leave the grounds of this year-old, 35-acre resort on the shores of both Barnes and Meads bays. But do: The 3,200 feet of coastline on the two bays offers spectacular sailing, snorkeling, and swimming. Doubles from $595;

SURF
The Atlantis Hotel, Barbados
Following a complete refurbishment in 2009, this swank, eight-room lodge on Barbados's east coast offers fast access to Sand Bank, a beginner-friendly beach break, and Soup Bowl, a tenacious reef break that Kelly Slater has called one of the best in the world. Doubles from $255;

MULTISPORT
The Landings, St. Lucia
A 19-acre waterfront resort on the northern tip of lush St. Lucia, the Landings offers complimentary 78-foot sailboats, snorkel gear, and sea kayaks . Pick up one of the latter and paddle 400 yards to little Pigeon Island for a hike to an 18th-century British fort. And don't forget to look inland: St. Lucia's Piton mountains offer some of the Caribbean's best hiking and vistas (you can see neighboring St. Vincent). Six nights, $1,755 per person, double occupancy;

INDULGE
Terre di Corleone and Portella della Ginestra, Sicily
Until recently, these properties were owned by mafia bosses Bernardo Brusca and Salvatore Riina. Thanks to a 1996 Italian law that uses government-seized mafia assets for social purposes, they've been converted into inns and cooperative farms producing fresh pasta, honey, legumes, and, of course, plentiful red and white wines. Doubles from $45;

Fresh Trips

Seven island getaways with the perfect balance of adventure and indulgence.

Belize

Off Ambergris Caye, Belize

PADDLE
Palau
Boundless Journeys' Oceania Odyssey starts with infinity-pool luxury at the Palau Pacific Resort, on Koror, before going rustic: For the next week, no more than ten guests camp on two smaller islands; snorkel over sunken World War II planes; sea-kayak the saltwater Black Tip Lake, accessed by marine tunnel; and dine on fresh-caught parrotfish. January–October; from $4,695 per person;

SAIL
Isle of Skye, Scotland
On the new seven-day Sailing & Walking Around Skye trip from Wilderness Scotland, local skipper Angus MacDonald Smith will ferry eight guests around Skye on his 67-foot yacht, Elinca, seeking out the old pirate anchorages, hailing passing fishermen to buy prawns, and cruising up inlets to launch guided hikes in the steep Cuillin Hills. Go in May or June for 20-hour days and peak seabird nesting. $1,400 per person;

MULTISPORT
Madagascar
Gap ���ϳԹ���s' Madagascar Experience focuses on inland beauty. From the capital of Antananarivo, your crew will head south by minibus, stopping to hike in lush rainforests, bike around (and swim in) Lake Andraikiba, and explore the eroded sandstone Isalo Mountains. March–December; $1,449 per person;

FISH
Seychelles
On Frontiers Travel's new six-day Desroches Island Flyfishing ���ϳԹ���, guests cast for hard-fighting bluefin trevally at offshore atolls by day and crash in private villas by night. Casting arm need a break? Explore the 3.5-mile-long island with kayaks, bikes, or snorkels and fins. $7,600 per person, double occupancy;

MULTISPORT
San Juan Islands
REI ���ϳԹ���s' San Juan Islands trip is a six-day mash-up through Washington's Puget Sound, including a 50-mile road-biking spin around Orcas Island, sea kayaking with killer whales near Sentinel Island, and one night at a remote campsite. (The other four are spent at the Lakedale Resort's tent-cabins, which have real beds.) From $1,899 per person;

DIVE
Half Moon Caye, Belize
On the seven-day Lighthouse Reef trip from Island Expeditions, you'll kick back in safari-style tents and napping hammocks strung in coconut groves on 44-acre Half Moon Caye, some 50 miles off the mainland. Of course, you'll probably spend most of your time in or on the water, diving the Blue Hole—a famous, 400-foot-deep well—snorkeling in shallows, and exploring the reef by kayak. From $1,789 per person;

RIDE
Crete
Backroads' new six-day Crete cycling trip starts from Iráklion, on the northern coast, and ends, after 268 miles of pedaling, at Akrotiri Cape, in the west. In between, you'll spin past lush vineyards and olive groves and Venetian harbor towns, where fresh seafood and plush inns await. $3,598 per person, double occupancy;

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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 Galápagos 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 Galápagos 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 Galápagos 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 Galápagos 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

The post Spin the Globe appeared first on ���ϳԹ��� Online.

What do you want—a printed invitation? OK, here it is: We’ve scouted the year’s coolest travel offerings—from new classics like cruising the Arctic, exploring the wild Caribbean, and journeying across Russia’s heartland to bold new frontiers like trekking Libya and tracking wildlife (and luxury lodges) in Sri Lanka. Going somewhere? We thought so.

Best Trips of 2005

Smooth Landing: Getting started in California’s Sierra foothills

PLUS:

Mix travel with philanthropy on one of these meaningful adventures

The Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America

Belize

The other barrier reef: Snorkeling off Belize

Panama
Kayaking the San Blas Islands
Price: $3,190
Difficulty: Easy
In 2001, Olaf Malver, the founder of outfitter Explorers’ Corner, kayaked with his family to a remote part of the San Blas Islands, off Panama’s north coast, where he met with a chief of the indigenous Kuna Yala Indians and requested permission to explore. Not only did the sahila agree, but he invited Malver to return with like-minded friends. On this ten-day trip to the Cayos Holandes, accompanied by two Kuna Yala guides, you’ll paddle 60 to 80 miles, tracing the shorelines of mostly uninhabited Caribbean islands, camping on pristine beaches, visiting a Kuna Yala community known for its vivid molas, or tapestries, and tramping through orchid-filled jungles.
High Point: Reaching the uninhabited island of Esnatupile after a mellow, nine-mile paddle across two channels.
Low Point: Being outpaced by local fishermen in low-tech pangas.
Travel Advisory: Don’t touch the coconuts! Your permission to visit—seriously— is contingent upon a hands-off agreement.
Outfitter: Explorers’ Corner, 510-559-8099,
When to Go: December, January

Mexico
Mountain-Biking the Conquerors’ Route
Price: $1,395
Difficulty: Moderate
This two-week mountain-bike adventure traverses the same terrain as the route of the 16th-century Spanish army through the former Aztec empire, wheeling along 200 miles of desert, mountain, and coastal singletrack and jeep roads. You’ll ride about six hours each day, from the outskirts of Puebla to the Sierra Madre hills and valleys near the base of 18,700-foot Pico de Orizaba, overnighting in tents, 18th-century haciendas, and lodges as you make your way to a Gulf Coast beach.
Outfitter: ���ϳԹ���s SelvAzul, 011-52-222-237-48-87,
When to Go: November to July

Trinidad and Tobago
Caribbean Multisport
Price: $1,799—$2,000
Difficulty: Moderate
Trinidad’s rugged coastline is as wild as its calypso culture, and sleepy Tobago boasts some of the Caribbean’s less-trodden beaches. Explore the best of both islands on this hyperactive nine-day, inn-based tour that takes you mountain-biking through dense rainforests and farmland, hiking amid howler monkeys and macaws, river-kayaking beneath bamboo archways, snorkeling among hawksbill sea turtles and green moray eels, and caving in an intricate system swarming with bats.
Outfitter: REI ���ϳԹ���s, 800-622-2236,
When to Go: February, April, June, November

Belize
Belize ���ϳԹ��� Cruise
Price: $2,095—$2,395
Difficulty: Easy
Spend eight days aboard a sweet four-cabin luxury yacht, exploring intimate coves that full-size cruise ships can’t get anywhere near. An onboard naturalist will point out the sea turtle nesting sites and the manatees as you cruise along the Caribbean coastline from Belize City. You’ll take a nighttime walking safari up the Sittee River, past Garifuna villages, visit Maya caves and an excavation site, and paddle kayaks with see-through acrylic bottoms over the world’s second-largest barrier reef.
Outfitter: ���ϳԹ���Smith Explorations, 800-728-2875,
When to Go: Year-round

Asia

China

Dusk settles across China’s rice paddies

India
Rajasthan on Horseback
Price: $4,800
Difficulty: Strenuous
When film producer Alexander Souri’s first expedition of “Relief Riders” trotted into a remote Indian village last fall, the caravan of nine Marwari horses, four pack camels, 50 goats, and 15 people caused quite a stir. “Across India it became front-page news,” says Souri, 35, whose inaugural Rajasthan Relief Ride delivered supplies like antibiotics and eye drops by horseback to five villages in northwestern India, and had doctors on board for impromptu clinics. Hardy travelers can join the next cavalcade on a 15-day journey carrying goods deep into the Thar Desert. You’ll saddle up in Mukandgarh, about six hours from New Delhi, then ride about 20 miles per day, camping or staying in 400-year-old forts en route to Jaipur.
High Point: Seeing villagers receive knowledge—such as AIDS education—plus food and supplies that they desperately need.
Low Point: Watching people wait in line at the clinics for hours in the midday heat.
Travel Advisory: Three to five hours per day is a lot of time in the saddle. Be sure your skills (and your posterior) are up to the task.
Outfitter: Relief Riders International, 413-329-5876,
When to Go: February, October

Sri Lanka
Wildlife Expedition
Price: $1,099—$1,390
Difficulty: Easy
Sri Lanka is serious about protecting its endangered elephants—the penalty for killing one is death. On this eight-day loop around the island, starting and ending in Colombo, you’ll witness the slow recovery of the species—thousands of these mammoth mammals now roam the jungles of Yala National Park. En route to the two-day park safari, you’ll visit Kandy and Polonnaruwa, two of Sri Lanka’s oldest cities, and an elephant orphanage, and stay at an Edwardian manor house amid the tea fields of a former British hill station.
Outfitter: Big Five, 800-244-3483,
When to Go: October to March

Tibet
Photo Exploration
Price: $4,695
Difficulty: Challenging
Red limestone cliffs front the sapphire-blue surface of Lake Nam Tsho, where Tibetan pilgrims gather at a shoreline dotted with migratory cranes and geese. Any amateur could produce stunning images here, but you’ll have expert guidance from Bill Chapman, whose photographic book The Face of Tibet has a foreword by the Dalai Lama. Starting in Lhasa, the 15-day adventure takes you on a challenging trek over 16,900-foot Kong La Pass. You’ll bunk in nomad camps as you make your way to the riding competitions and colorful dance performances of the Nagchu Horse Festival.
Outfitter: Myths & Mountains, 800-670-6984,
When to Go: August

East Timor
Island Touring
Price: $1,380
Difficulty: Moderate
In the five years since East Timor won its bloody battle for independence from Indonesia, few travelers have ventured into the world’s newest nation, where the tourist-free villages, coffee plantations, and verdant rainforests rival any in Southeast Asia. On this 15-day trip, you’ll hike up the country’s tallest mountain (9,724 feet), sail to a nearby reef-ringed island, watch villagers weave their traditional tais (sarongs), and spend your nights in humble guesthouses and thatched-roof seaside bungalows.
Outfitter: Intrepid Travel, 866-847-8192,
When to Go: May to November

China
Minya Konka Trek
Price: $5,595
Difficulty: Strenuous
In the shadow of 24,790-foot Minya Konka, spend 19 days exploring Tibetan villages, Buddhist temples, and a high-alpine landscape where rhododendrons and wildflowers line paths leading to hot springs and crystalline lakes. The trip centers on a 12-day trek that tops out on a 15,150-foot mountain pass before dropping into the Yunongqi Valley, where you’ll sip butter tea in a village home, then set up camp nearby.
Outfitter: Geographic Expeditions, 800-777-8183,
When to Go: April, September

Africa

Kenya and Tanzania
Safari Through Masailand
Price: $3,750
Difficulty: Moderate
In partnership with the Masai Environmental Resource Coalition, a network of Masai organizations advocating for tribal rights and sustainable use of the great ecosystems of East Africa, this 12-day safari-with-a-conscience combines classic game drives and walks with daily visits to local schools and villages—well off the usual tourist path. The journey begins in the wide, lion-rich plains of the Masai Mara Game Reserve, then heads to the important elephant migratory ground of Amboseli National Park, at the foot of 19,340-foot Kilimanjaro. Tanzania’s rustic tented Sinya Camp, a private Masai concession in the acacia woodlands, is the final stop.
High Point: Searching for game on foot with a Masai warrior in the Sinya bushlands—littered by giant elephant dung.
Low Point: Realizing that for many years the Masai have not reaped equitable benefits from the tourism trade.
Travel Advisory: Don’t expect your guides to drive off-road to get a better look at wild animals. It damages habitat, harasses wildlife, and is strictly prohibited on this trip.
Outfitter: Wildland ���ϳԹ���s, 800-345-4453,
When to Go: February, March, June to October, December

Libya
Overland Exploration
Price: $4,750 and up
Difficulty: Moderate
On this 17-day expedition from Tripoli—one of the first outfitted trips to Libya since the travel ban for U.S. citizens was lifted last March—you’ll take in all five of Libya’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the ruins of the Roman-walled cities of Sabratah and Leptis Magna; the labyrinthine 2,000-year-old mud-brick western border town of Ghadames, a key stop on the great trans-Saharan caravan routes; and the haunting, desolate Greek temples and tombs of Apollonia and Cyrenaica, on a bluff overlooking the sea. Along the way, you’ll camp in the desert and sleep on beds carved out of rock in the below-ground troglodyte houses of Ruhaybat.
Outfitter: Geographic Expeditions, 800-777-8183,
When to Go: April, September

Botswana
Guiding ���ϳԹ���
Price: $2,700—$3,300
Difficulty: Moderate
Aspiring safari guides, take note. This nine-day educational foray into the wilds of the Okavango Delta—among antelopes, lions, giraffes, Cape buffalo, and zebras—will give participants a strong introduction to the finer points of African bushcraft and survival skills. You’ll be schooled by professional South African guiding instructors in four-wheel driving techniques, navigation, tracking, fire starting, canoe poling, food foraging, rifle handling, game spotting, and (optional) venomous-snake wrangling. Though your graduation certificate won’t qualify you as a professional guide, it will certainly look impressive on the wall of your den back home.
Outfitter: Explore Africa, 888-596-6377,
When to Go: Year-round

South Africa and Mozambique
Fishing and Diving ���ϳԹ���
Price: $4,395
Difficulty: Moderate
This two-week coastal foray starts in South Africa’s Maputaland Coastal Forest Reserve, where you’ll spend five nights in one of Rocktail Bay Lodge’s 11 stilted chalets, tucked behind forested dunes. Between surfcasting for kingfish and snorkeling amid a confetti swirl of subtropical fish, you’ll view freshwater lake hippos and crocs and hit the beach at night to track nesting leatherback and loggerhead turtles. After a quick flight to Mozambique, you’ll board a boat for Benguerra Island, just off the mainland in the Bazaruto Archipelago, and check in to the thatched bungalows of Benguerra Lodge. Here, scuba divers may encounter 50-foot whale sharks and endangered dugongs, and anglers will work some of the world’s best marlin-fishing grounds.
Outfitter: The Africa ���ϳԹ��� Company, 800-882-9453,
When to Go: Year-round

Eastern Europe and the Caucasus

Siberian Railroad

Back to Go: Start your trip along the Siberian rail at Moscow

Georgia
Trekking the Caucasus
Price: $3,390—$3,690
Difficulty: Strenuous
Rob Smurr, a seasoned expert on the former Soviet Union, is your guide on this 15-day trip, the heart of which is a nine-day trek through the south-central Caucasus, a largely untouristed area of high glaciers, waterfalls, and massive granite peaks. From your first campsite, at the base of 12,600-foot Mount Chauki, you’ll hike eight to 15 miles daily—along the Chanchakhi River and up some of the range’s highest passes, skirting 16,558-foot Mount Kazbek. Camp out or stay with locals in villages where medieval towers mirror the peaks.
High Point: Joining families for lamb and baklava, in their ninth-century villages.
Low Point: Occasional rerouting due to security issues.
Travel Advisory: Corruption can be common, so keep up your anti-scam guard.
Outfitter: Mountain Travel Sobek, 888-687-6235,
When to Go: August

Croatia
Mountain-Biking Istria
Price: $1,325
Difficulty: Challenging
Istria, the sunny Adriatic peninsula in Croatia’s northwestern corner, bordered by Slovenia, is an undiscovered mountain-biking destination. Locally harvested olives, figs, and almonds provide fuel as you pedal 30 to 50 miles a day, through Pazin, the region’s elegant old capital, to the vineyards outside of Motovun and the historic west coast, staying at four-star inns and family farmhouses.
Outfitter: Saddle Skedaddle, 011-44-191-265-1110,
When to Go: June to September

Romania
Walking Romania’s Countryside
Price: $2,895
Difficulty: Moderate
This 14-day romp through Transylvania and the Caliman Mountains is a low-key way to explore Romania’s still intact natural beauty. After gathering in Bucharest, with its belle époque architecture, hit the countryside for majestic views of giant white cliffs in Piatra Craiului National Park, Bran Castle, of Dracula legend, and the verdant Bucovina region, where valleys are dotted with painted monasteries. Bed down in small hotels, B&Bs, homestays, and, for one night—after a nip of plum brandy by the campfire—a kober, or shepherd’s hillside shelter. Trail tip: “Sa traiesti” (“Cheers”) is the common hiker’s greeting.
Outfitter: MIR Corporation, 800-424-7289,
When to Go: June to September

Russia
Siberian Rails
Price: $8,495—$12,865
Difficulty: Easy
The ultimate classic in Russian travel is the Trans-Siberian Express, a legendary 17-day luxe train journey from Moscow to Vladivostok that rumbles for nearly 6,000 miles. The onboard experts are a font of knowledge, especially during stops at the charming village of Irkutsk and mile-deep Lake Baikal.
Outfitter: American Museum of Natural History Discovery Tours, 800-462-8687,
When to Go: August

Western Europe

Matterhorn

The Middle Earth of the Northern Hemisphere: Switzerland’s Matterhorn

Switzerland
Cycling Camp
Price: $6,500
Difficulty: Strenuous
This first-of-its-kind European offering is the ultimate two-wheeled fantasy: On this nine-day trip, there’ll be seven days of personalized training in Aigle, at the International Cycling Union’s new ultramodern World Cycling Center (WCC), and in surrounding alpine terrain. With your coach, seven-time world track champion and Frenchman Frederic Magne, you’ll train on the WCC’s state-of-the-art 200-meter wooden track and on daily rides ranging from 25 to 75 miles. Base camp is a Victorian-style four-star hotel on Lake Geneva’s eastern shore. From there, ride along Rhone Valley roads and into the Vaud Alps, with views of the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc providing inspiration as you grind up legendary mountain passes. Out-of-the-saddle luxuries include thermal spas, private wine tastings, a trip masseur, and regional specialties like saucisson Vaudois (local sausage).
High Point: Cranking up the famous hairpin turns of the Grimsel and Furka passes before hopping the cable car to the top of 9,603-foot Eggishorn Mountain for a view of Europe’s largest glacier, the Aletsch.
Low Point: Trying to avoid too much pinot noir at the farewell dinner, knowing there’s a timed 91-mile race in Bulle—the Pascal Richard Cyclosportif—still to come.
Travel Advisory: High-altitude climbs combined with August heat can mean easy dehydration, so keep the fluids coming.
Outfitter: Velo Classic Tours, 212-779-9599,
When to Go: August

Portugal
Kayaking the Douro River
Price: $3,590
Difficulty: Easy
On this 11-day flatwater float on the Douro River from Quinta das Aveleiras to Peso da Régua, through northern Portugal’s fertile port-wine region, you’ll paddle three to five hours daily, stretching out with afternoon hikes across golden-terraced hillsides. In the fall, glide through the grape harvest, feasting on feijoada (bean-and-meat stew) and the ruby-hued regional wines (you can pick tinta amarela grapes off the vine from the seat of your kayak), staying at manor houses and 18th-century blue-tiled quintas (wine estates).
Outfitter: Explorers’ Corner, 510-559-8099,
When to Go: June, September

Italy
Sicily and the Aeolian Islands by Sea
Price: $8,950 and up
Difficulty: Moderate
The intimate 32-passenger Callisto is your luxurious floating hideaway on this nine-day sail through Italy’s southern islands. Begin with an architectural tour of Palermo’s 11th-century splendors, then set sail for the sun-blasted Aeolian Islands, seven volcanic spurs north of Sicily. When you’re not scuba-diving, snorkeling, and swimming in tucked-away coves or hiking up a live volcano, lounge at Lipari Island’s San Calogero, the oldest-known spa in the Mediterranean, or take a siesta deckside, grappa in hand.
Outfitter: Butterfield & Robinson, 888-596-6377,
When to Go: July

Britain
Hiking Hadrian’s Wall
Price: $3,495 and up
Difficulty: Moderate
Follow the winding route of Hadrian’s Wall on Britain’s newest long-distance trail. The Roman-era engineering feat stretches for 70 miles along the Scottish border, connecting two coasts. Start in Bowness-on-Solway, where the wall meets the sea on the west coast, and hike eight to ten miles a day through a magical landscape little changed in 2,000 years: lush hills, heather-covered moors, and rolling dales pocked with deep forests. En route, explore Roman forts, archaeological sites, and the bird-rich tidal estuary of Budle Bay. Your guide, Peter Goddard, has hiked the area for more than 30 years and is a local-history buff, as you’ll learn over family-style dinners at country B&Bs.
Outfitter: Wilderness Travel, 800-368-2794,
When to Go: July

Polar Regions

Antarctica

Ice, Ice, Baby: The mammoth icebergs of Antarctica

Sweden
Skiing the King’s Trail
Price: $2,295
Difficulty: Challenging
Ditch the wimpy groomers at American nordic centers and dig into a real cross-country challenge: The Kungsladen, or King’s Trail—which links Abisko and Sarek national parks, above the Arctic Circle—is Sweden’s crème de la crème strip of snow-covered track. For seven challenging days, you’ll slide your way along a 58-mile section of trail through the Kebnekaise Range, with plenty more payoff than pain. On day three, your dogsled support team will await at a rustic hut with a hefty platter of reindeer steaks and potatoes. After huffing up 3,773-foot Tjaktja Pass on day six, glide into the Tjaktjavagge Valley, stopping to bunk at the Salka Mountain Hut. If cross-country touring isn’t your thing, you can opt to explore the Kungsladen on foot during the summer and climb to the top of Sweden’s highest peak, 6,965-foot Mount Kebnekaise, for views of distant Norway.
High Point: Bringing your core temperature up with a sauna at the Abisko, Alesjaure, and Salka huts.
Low Point: Having your circadian rhythms thrown off by 24-hour twilight.
Travel Advisory: Beware snowmobiles—they are an essential part of life in Lapland but can shatter your hard-won solitude.
Outfitter: KE ���ϳԹ��� Travel, 800-497-9675,
When to Go: February to April

Norway
Svalbard Photo Expedition
Price: $5,290
Difficulty: Easy
The Svalbard Archipelago is one of the inhabited spits of land closest to the North Pole, just over 600 miles away, but it’s anything but barren—in summer the islands are blanketed with wildflowers, seabirds swirl en masse, and walruses, whales, seals, and bears gorge themselves during the 24-hour days. This expedition is all about capturing it on film—for 11 days, naturalists will help you spot the critters, and one of the world’s top nature photographers, Art Wolfe, will teach you how to take advantage of polar light, among other skills. Each day you’ll load into Zodiacs to shoot the glaciers, icebergs, fjords, and herds of reindeer that catch your interest from the bow of the ice-class ship Endeavor.
Outfitter: Lindblad Expeditions, 800-397-3348,
When to Go: July

Antarctica
Across the Circle for Climbers and Divers
Price: $4,490
Difficulty: Challenging
Why go to Antarctica if you get to stand on solid ground for only a few hours? This cruise gets you some real time on—and under—the great white continent and takes you south across the Antarctic Circle, a feat only true polar explorers can brag about. You and 53 other adventurers will stay aboard the Polar Pioneer, your floating base camp, where you’ll have input in planning the ship’s day-to-day itinerary. Experienced drysuit divers can explore the undersides of icebergs and get a krill’s-eye view of whales; hikers can summit unclimbed mountains on the western side of Antarctica and name them after their grandmothers. Other possibilities include visits to the defunct volcanic crater of Deception Island, the glaciers of Paradise Harbor, and the narrow 2,300-foot cliffs flanking Lemaire Channel.
Outfitter: World Expeditions, 888-464-8735,
When to Go: February

Oceania

French Polynesia
Surfing the Tuamotus
Price: $2,300—$4,717
Difficulty: Moderate
This is the ultimate surf safari in one of the world’s last great undiscovered wave frontiers—the mostly uninhabited, low-lying 78-island Tuamotu Archipelago, 200 miles northeast of Tahiti. Spend seven to 11 days riding clean, hollow three- to ten-foot barrels as you shuttle from one heartbreakingly flawless break to another aboard the 64-foot Cascade, a five-cabin power cruiser equipped with surf-forecasting technology. When surf’s down, fish for abundant black marlin and reef fish, kitesurf, sea-kayak, snorkel the jewel-like lagoons, and scuba-dive the deep “shark alley” passes, where hundreds of reef sharks ride the currents at feeding time. Evenings are reserved for surf videos, surf magazines, Hinano beer, and fresh sashimi and sushi.
High Point: You and your nine surf brahs will have these waves all to yourselves.
Low Point: If you hit it right, the waves can be so consistent you may actually start to get bored. Snap out of it!
Travel Advisory: No need to bring your own surfboard; the Cascade travels with a diverse quiver of more than 60 boards.
Outfitter: Wavehunters Surf Travel, 888-899-8823,
When to Go: Year-round

Australia
Training Ride
Price: $1,310
Difficulty: Strenuous
Join a peloton of serious cyclists for this tough ten-day, 780-mile loop from Hobart that hits both the east and west coasts of the rugged, cycling-mad Australian state of Tasmania. Be prepared for staggering scenery—desolate white beaches braced by sheer cliffs, emerald rolling farmland—and punishing ascents with names like Bust-Me-Gall and Break-Me-Neck. The final day includes a grind to the summit of 4,166-foot Mount Wellington—followed by a 13-mile cruise back to Hobart. On the lone day of rest, you’ll undergo flexibility, strength, and aerobic testing, administered by the Tasmanian Institute of Sport. If this sounds hardcore, take heart: Three sag wagons and two masseurs accompany the trip.
Outfitter: Island Cycle Tours, 011-61-36234-4951,
When to Go: March

Micronesia
Snorkeling Yap, Ulithi, and Palau
Price: $3,890 (airfare from Honolulu included)
Difficulty: Moderate
Twelve days of shallow-water bliss begin on the island of Yap, where you’ll see tide-driven manta rays passing beneath you in the channels. A short flight north takes you to rarely dived Ulithi, a former U.S. military base opened to tourism within the past few years, where a huge population of giant turtles can darken the water and coral walls plunge just 400 feet from shore. The final five days are spent among the green, tuffetlike isles of Palau, famous for landlocked saltwater Jellyfish Lake, where you’ll snorkel among thick, drifting clouds of harmless, if somewhat spooky, pale-pink Mastigias jellyfish.
Outfitter: Oceanic Society, 800-326-7491,
When to Go: April, June

Solomon Islands
Sea-Kayaking Journey
Price: $3,790
Difficulty: Moderate
Spend 18 days exploring the remote string of jungly, Eden-like islands of the nation’s Western Province. You’ll paddle translucent blue lagoons and cool, dark, vine-strung rivers, hike high volcanic ridges, snorkel a shallow-water WWII plane wreck, and discover shrines built partially of skulls—remnants of the headhunters who lived on these Ring of Fire islands about a century ago. Transfers between islands are by motorized canoes piloted by native guides; most nights are spent camping on empty sand beaches.
Outfitter: Mountain Travel Sobek, 888-687-6235,
When to Go: November to December

North America

Hells Canyon

Welcome to Hell…Hell’s Canyon, that is

Texas
Lance and the Texas Hill Country
Price: $10,000
Difficulty: Moderate
What could be better than a long road ride? Try a long road ride interspersed with a yuk-it-up session with Lance Armstrong himself. You’ll be treated to a 20-mile “morning spin” with the six-time Tour de France winner, just one of the highlights of this eight-day whirl through the Texas Hill Country from San Antonio to Austin. You’ll spend 30 to 45 miles a day in the saddle, overnighting at a dude ranch and the Hangar Hotel before settling in at Austin’s superluxe Driskill Hotel. There you’ll join 8,000 volunteers and survivors in the weekend-long Ride for the Roses, a 100-mile Lance Armstrong Foundation benefit for cancer research.
High Point: Spinning wheels with Lance.
Low Point: Parting with a whopping $10K, half of which goes to the Ride for the Roses.
Travel Advisory: You’re in Texas—don’t mess with it. Outfitter: Trek Travel, 866-464-8735,
When to Go: October

Alberta
Royal Canadian Rails Fly-Fishing Odyssey
Price: $5,450
Difficulty: Moderate
Board the Royal Canadian Pacific Railway luxury train for a six-day, 650-mile loop from Calgary to some of the Canadian Rockies’ most pristine rivers. Accompanied by local guides, you’ll float in driftboats down the Elk River and chug through the most scenic rail corridors in Banff and Yoho national parks. Spend nights exaggerating your catch over Scotch and bunking in vintage 1920s Pullman cars.
Outfitter: Off the Beaten Path, 800-445-2995,
When to Go: August

Idaho
River Soul Journey Through Hells Canyon
Price: $1,130
Difficulty: Easy
This five-day, 34-mile raft trip down the Snake River is a Class IV adventure—and an inward journey. Days begin with riverfront yoga, and shore time allows for journal writing, side trips to view Nez Perce rock art, and meditation. But cleansing your mind doesn’t mean you can’t indulge in the arsenal of lasagna, Idaho trout, and double-fudge brownies.
Outfitter: ROW (River Odysseys West), 800-451-6034,
When to Go: September

Oregon
Mountain-Biking the Umpqua River Trail
Price: $925
Difficulty: Challenging
The 79-mile Umpqua River Trail, completed in 1997, is a line of undulating singletrack from southern Oregon’s Maidu Lake to Swift Water Park, perfect for a five-day blast through Douglas firs, cedars, and ferny hillsides. You’ll chase the river along sheer drop-offs and to low points where you can cool your feet—as a chase van ferries your gear to camp.
Outfitter: Western Spirit, 800-845-2453,
When to Go: July to September

Labrador
Hiking the Torngat Mountains
Price: $3,200
Difficulty: Strenuous
Northern Labrador can be as hard to reach as parts of the Arctic, but after 12 years studying caribou herds there, these outfitters have the place dialed. Following a two-day boat ride from Maine to the Torngat Mountains, you’ll carry your own pack off-trail for eight of the trip’s 18 days, camping under the northern lights, crossing river valleys, and absorbing the solitude of this remote coast.
Outfitter: Nature Trek Canada, 250-653-4265,
When to Go: July to August

South America

Rocha On! Hoofing it on a Uruguayan playa.

Peru
Rafting the Lower Apurímac
Price: $2,500
Difficulty: Strenuous
To reach some hard-won whitewater, this ten-day trekking-and-rafting expedition starts with a six-hour hike down the western slope of Peru’s lush Cordillera Vilcabamba. Follow this the next day with a 5,900-foot ascent to Choquequirau, ruins of one of the most remarkable Incan cities discovered to date. Then make history of your own, on the rarely run, Class IV–V Lower Apurímac River, home to parrots, monkeys, cormorants, and countless waterfalls.
High Point: Peering into what guides call the Acobamba Abyss and realizing you’re headed for expert-kayaker territory.
Low Point: If water levels are low, portaging a particularly narrow section of the Abyss.
Travel Advisory: This is an exploratory trip, so be prepared for changes and delays.
Outfitter: Bio Bio Expeditions, 800-246-7238,
When to Go: October

Guyana
Wildlife Watching Price: $2,835 (airfare from U.S. included)
Difficulty: Easy
Picture Costa Rica pre–tourism boom—gorgeous, wild, and practically empty—and you’ve got Guyana, a new frontier in South American travel. For ten days you’ll head from lodge to lodge (some run by local Amerindian communities), exploring savannas and jungles and possibly adding jaguar and exotic-bird sightings to your life list. You can kayak lazy rivers to watch giant otters, venture out with flashlights to see black caimans hunting at night, and stand at the rim of Kaieteur Falls, which drops more than 740 feet, almost five times the height of Niagara.
Outfitter: Journeys International, 800-255-8735,
When to Go: April, August, November

Uruguay
Galloping the Deserted Coastline of Rocha
Price: $1,850
Difficulty: Easy
It’s hard to find a beach so deserted you can take a solitary stroll, let alone a weeklong horseback ride like this one, through eastern Uruguay’s Rocha region. On this 140-mile journey, you’ll visit fishing villages atop South American criollo horses, fuel up on lamb and steak, and gaze at capybaras (the world’s largest rodents). Worthy detours include a sea lion conservation area and a botanical garden filled with dozens of orchids.
Outfitter: Boojum Expeditions, 800-287-0125,
When to Go: March to April, October to December

Argentina and Chile
Backcountry-Skiing the Andean Cordillera
Price: $2,000
Difficulty: Challenging
On this ten-day trip, combine volcano climbs with lift-served skiing and snowboarding. In Chile, you’ll ascend the back side of 9,318-foot Volcán Villarrica, where you might see lava boiling below the caldera rim. In Argentina, you’ll ascend the flanks of Volcán Lanín (12,388 feet) and Volcán Domuyo (15,446 feet), recuperating in the area’s ��Dz��ٱ��í���� and abundant hot springs.
Outfitter: ATAC (���ϳԹ��� Tours Argentina Chile), 866-270-5186,
When to Go: July to October

The Trip of the Year

Machu Picchu

Fly By: Machu Picchu, one of the many stops in the trip of the year

Chile, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador
Safari by Air
Price: $19,950
Difficulty: Moderate
Forget all that time-consuming land travel: Now you can knock off a slew of South America’s ecological hot spots—the Atacama Desert, Lake Titicaca, Colca Canyon, the Pantanal—in one 19-day extravaganza. The trick is a privately chartered airplane, a 46-passenger Fokker-50 that whisks you from flamingo-flecked salt flats to open savanna to Peru’s magnificent city of Cuzco (for a visit to the Manu Biosphere Reserve or a hike around archaeological wonder Machu Picchu). And thanks to a close partnership between the World Wildlife Fund and Zegrahm & Eco Expeditions, you’ll be introduced to some of these wild places by the people who are fighting to keep them wild—and who know them best. In Chile’s Atacama Desert, you’ll ascend to 14,800 feet in the Andes to walk among spouting geysers and fumaroles, see cool salt formations in the Valley of the Moon, and visit a pink flamingo colony on Chaxa Lagoon. In Brazil’s Pantanal, South America’s largest wetlands, you’ll stalk giant anteaters, armadillos, maned wolves, and jaguars—as well as meet with WWF field staff to learn about conservation projects in collaboration with local ranching communities. On Lake Titicaca, on the Peru-Bolivia border, keep an eye out for the rare Titicaca flightless grebe; in Peru’s Colca Valley, look for condors, Andean deer, and llama-like vicuñas. The place to watch red and green macaws feasting on clay from behind biologist-developed viewing blinds is Peru’s Manu Biosphere Reserve, where you’ll also hike to see five kinds of monkeys—emperor tamarin, black spider, capuchin, squirrel, and red howler—perform acrobatics above your head in the forest canopy, and spy 550-pound tapirs, a.k.a. “jungle cows,” foraging about a mineral lick at dusk. End up in Quito, Ecuador, for a day trip to the famous Otavalo market.
High Point: Seeing the giant, cobalt-blue hyacinth macaw, which measures three feet from tail to beak, high in palm trees on the Pantanal’s savanna.
Low Point: Realizing that at least 10,000 hyacinth macaws were taken for the parrot trade in the 1980s, and that these exotic birds now number fewer than 10,000 worldwide.
Travel Advisory: You’ll be hitting five countries in 19 days: Because this trip is highly scheduled, leave your taste for a moseying, come-what-may pace behind. This is all about getting the most out of your time down south.
Outfitter: World Wildlife Fund, 888-993-8687, ; Zegrahm & Eco Expeditions, 800-628-8747,
When to Go: April

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Of course they do—they get to trek with camels. But you can, too! We’ve got the COOLEST TRIPS, TOP TEN TRENDS, EXPERT ADVICE, AND BEST NEW PLACES TO GET LOST IN 2003. So what are you waiting for? Giddyup!




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Let the pros be your guides

BIKING THE TOUR DE FRANCE [FRANCE]
What’s better than watching this year’s 100th anniversary of the Tour de France? Riding it, just hours ahead of the peloton. You’ll pave the way for a certain Texan vying for his fifth straight victory, pedaling 10- to 80-mile sections of the race route through villages packed with expectant fans, and over some of the toughest mountain stages in the Pyrenees and Alps. At day’s end, ditch your bike for luxury digs in villages like Taillores, on Lake Annecy, and the Basque hamlet of St.-Jean-Pied-de-Port. OUTFITTER: Trek Travel, 866-464-8735, . WHEN TO GO: July. PRICE: $3,575. DIFFICULTY: moderate to strenuous.

MOUNT EVEREST ANNIVERSARY TREK [NEPAL]
This May, commemorate the 50th anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s historic climb to the summit of Everest by spending more than a month trekking and mountaineering in Nepal. Starting in Tumlingtar, you’ll hike beneath Himalayan giants like 27,824-foot Makalu, and strap on crampons to climb the 20,000-foot East and West Cols, and cross 19,008-foot Amphu Laptsa pass into the Everest region. At trek’s end in Thyangboche, Hillary’s son, Peter, will preside over a ceremonial banquet, while the man himself (now 83) will join in by sat phone from Kathmandu. OUTFITTER: World Expeditions, 888-464-8735, . WHEN TO GO: April-June. PRICE: $3,690. DIFFICULTY: strenuous. CRUISING THE SEA OF CORTEZ [MEXICO]
To celebrate 25 years in the adventure business, Wilderness Travel has called on Ÿber-mountaineer Reinhold Messner and Amazon explorer Joe Kane to headline a weeklong cruise in the Sea of Cortez. When you’re not on the shallow-draft, 70-passenger Sea Bird, you’ll snorkel with naturalists as they track sea lions off Isla Los Islotes and spot gray whales in Bah’a Magdalena. Sea-kayak around uninhabited islands and hike desert arroyos, then spend evenings swapping expedition tales with Messner and Kane. OUTFITTER: Wilderness Travel, 800-368-2794, . WHEN TO GO: March. PRICE: $4,595. DIFFICULTY: easy.

CYCLING THROUGH THE TUSCAN VINYARDS [ITALY]
Might want to add another front chainring to your bike before embarking on this hard-charging eight-day affair in Toscana, birthplace of cycle touring. Thanks to the expertise of former Giro d’Italia winner Andy Hampsten, this 400-mile route is designed for riders who are as serious about their Brunello as they are about their hills. From coastal Maremma, you’ll pedal little-trafficked backroads past farmhouses and monasteries, resting your climbing legs and dining like a Medici at wine estates and 12th-century hamlets. Four nights will be spent at a vineyard for a thorough indoctrination in winemaking (and tasting). OUTFITTER: Cinghiale Tours, 206-524-6010, . WHEN TO GO: September. PRICE: $3,000. DIFFICULTY: strenuous.

KAYAKING THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER [USA]
Drop into Craten’s Hole with freestyle-kayaking phenom Ben Selznick. Bozeman local and winner of the Gallatin Rodeo 2002, Selznick is your guide on a seven-day tour of Montana’s most famous whitewater. After warming up on the Gallatin River’s Class II-III waves, you’ll graduate to the steep creeks off the Yellowstone, ranging from Class II to V. At night, ease your sore shoulders poolside and fireside at the Chico Hot Springs and Rock Creek resorts. OUTFITTER: GowithaPro, 415-383-3907, . WHEN TO GO: July. PRICE: $4,500. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

Far Out

Get lost in the back of beyond

Big wig: a Papuan prepares for a tribal dance

SHAGGY RIDGE TREK [PAPUA NEW GUINEA]
If you were to drop off the face of the earth, you’d probably land in Papua New Guinea’s steamy Finisterre Mountains. Rising 13,000 feet out of the sweltering lowlands, the mountains’ flanks are choked in jungle thicket that few have ever fully explored—not even the locals. Be among the first. Hike and camp for seven days on tangled game trails and World War II supply routes to Shaggy Ridge, an airy fin of rock 4,900 feet above the Bismarck Sea. Be prepared to answer a barrage of questions from Papuan villagers who rarely, if ever, see outsiders. OUTFITTER: World Expeditions, 888-464-8735, . WHEN TO GO: August, September. PRICE: $2,150. DIFFICULTY: strenuous.

THE ULTIMATE FLY-FISING ADVENTURE [MONGOLIA]
You’ve got much more than a fish on when you’ve nabbed a taimen, a specimen that regularly grows to five feet long and dines on prairie dogs and ducks. If you’re not up for hunting the world’s largest salmonid for a full week on the Bator River, you can cast for lenok, the brown trout of Mongolia; ride horses or mountain bikes; or just enjoy the good life in your ger, a woodstove-heated yurt with two beds and electricity. Outfitter: Sweetwater Travel Company, 406-222-0624, . When to go: May-June, August-October. Price: $5,200. Difficulty: easy.

RAFTING THE FIRTH RIVER [CANADA]
Caribou know no boundaries. Every June, the 150,000-strong Porcupine herd leaves the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and migrates into the Yukon’s roadless Ivvavik National Park. And because the Class II-IV Firth bisects the park, you’ll be awestruck when thousands cross the river in plain view. Other big game are afoot, too—musk ox, barren land grizzlies, and wolves—and in such high concentrations that the region is often referred to as North America’s Serengeti. With long Arctic days and three- to four-hour river sessions daily, you’ll have plenty of time on this 12-day trip to hike the gently sloping 6,000-foot Brooks Range and fish for arctic char. Outfitter: Rivers, Oceans, and Mountains, 877-271-7626, . When to Go: June. Price: $3,995. Difficulty: moderate.

RIO NEGRO & AMAZON ADVENTURE [BRAZIL]
The upper Rio Negro is your portal back in time on this 11-day adventure that plumbs the deepest, darkest corners of the Amazon Basin. From the former Jesuit outpost of Santa Isabel, you’ll motorboat on the Negro’s blackened waters through virgin rainforest, camping alongside Tucanos Indian settlements stuck in a 19th-century time warp. Off the water, you’ll trek with native Brazilian guides into the rugged tepuis (3,000-foot plateaus), prowling for medicinal herbs used by local shamans. Resist the urge to swim: Football-size piranha call the Rio Negro home. OUTFITTER: Inti Travel and Tours, 403-760-3565, . WHEN TO GO: year-round. PRICE: $2,750. DIFFICULTY: easy.

RUNNING THE KATUN RIVER [RUSSIA]
If you’re looking for bragging rights to a truly remote river, consider the glacier-fed Katun. This 90-mile stretch of whitewater drains from the southern slopes of the 13,000-foot Altai Range, dropping fast through alpine tundra, 300-foot granite canyons, and continuous sets of Class III-IV pool-drop rapids. After a long river day, your evening entertainment at camp consists of traditional Russian dancing and a steamy riverfront bana (sauna). Outfitter: Bio Bio Expeditions, 800-246-7238, . When to Go: July. Price: $2,800. Difficulty: moderate.

COAST TO COAST IN BALBOA’S FOOTSTEPS [PANAMA]
Cross a continent in less than two weeks? Improbable but true when you retrace the route 16th-century conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa used to transport riches across the Isthmus of Panama. Five days of hiking, from the Caribbean village of Armila through the Darien Biosphere Reserve, take you to the Chucunaque River, where you’ll board dugout canoes and navigate a maze of flatwater channels past Ember‡ Indian settlements. Four days later, you’ll find yourself on the other side: a wide stretch of beach where Balboa “discovered” the Pacific in 1513. OUTFITTER: Destination by Design, 866-392-7865, . WHEN TO GO: May, December. PRICE: $3,290. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

Close Encounters

Say hello to the wild life

A scarlet macaw perched in the rainforests of Belize

EXPLORING REEF AND RAINFOREST [BELIZE]
Mingle with everything from crocs and tapirs to jabiru storks and hawksbill turtles on this eight-day whirl through Belize. After three days on the mainland, gawking at toucans and parrots at the Crooked Tree Bird Sanctuary and dodging howler monkeys at the Mayan ruins of Lamanai, you’ll be whisked 55 miles offshore to a tented base camp on undeveloped Lighthouse Reef. Spend your days snorkeling, kayaking, and scuba diving within more than 70 square miles of pristine reefs. OUTFITTER: Island Expeditions, 800-667-1630, . WHEN TO GO: December- May. PRICE: $1,929. DIFFICULTY: moderate. WALKING WITH BUSHMEN [BOTSWANA]
See the backcountry of Botswana and all its attendant wildlife—with a twist. On this nine-day safari, you’ll tag along with Bushmen on their daily hunting-and-gathering forays (while still bedding down in luxe lodges and camps). Following the lion-cheetah-leopard-elephant-giraffe-zebra spectacle in the Okavango Delta, you’ll head north for a night to stay in the River Bushmen’s new camp, where you’ll search for medicinal plants or hunt with bow and arrow. Farther south, in the arid Central Kalahari Game Reserve, San Bushmen will show you how they survive on roots and prickly pears. OUTFITTER: Africa ���ϳԹ��� Company, 800-882-9453, . WHEN TO GO: April-November. PRICE: $1,925-$2,595. DIFFICULTY: easy.

SWIMMING WITH HUMPBACK WHALES [TONGA]
It’s been said that life is never the same after you’ve looked into the eye of a whale. Here’s how to find out: Every year between June and October, hundreds of humpbacks congregate in and around the turquoise waters of Vava’u, a group of 40 islands in northern Tonga, in the South Pacific. For seven days, you’ll bunk down in Neiafu at night, and by day slide into the water and float quietly while mammals the size of semis check you out. OUTFITTER: Whale Swim ���ϳԹ���s, 503-699-5869, . WHEN TO GO: August- October. PRICE: $1,180. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

Immersion Therapy

The next best thing to actually living there

REMOTE HILL TRIBE TREK [VIETNAM]
Despite the boom in adventure tourism in Vietnam, few travelers venture into the far-northern hill country, some 200 miles north of Hanoi. You should. Following overgrown buffalo paths and ancient Chinese trading trails, you’ll hike steep terrain for 120 miles over 11 days, traveling north from Cao Bang and staying with Nung villagers in huts on stilts. Save some film for Ban Gioc Falls, on the border with China, and Pac Bo Cave, Ho Chi Minh’s legendary hideout. Outfitter: World Expeditions, 888-464-8735, . When to go: October-March. Price: $1,490. Difficulty: moderate.

TREKKING THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS [MOROCCO]
The M’goun Gorge is so narrow in places, you can’t see the sky—let alone the craggy summits of the nearby 12,000-foot Atlas Mountains. But they’re never out of sight for long on this ten-day trip through small Berber burgs in Morocco’s most fabled range. Over four days of hiking, you’ll climb Tizi n’ AïImi, a 9,528-foot pass, and sleep in Berber farmhouses en route to the Valley of AïBou Guemez, a rare oasis where you’re welcomed as family. OUTFITTER: Living Morocco, 212-877-1417, WHEN TO GO: May. PRICE: $2,950-$3,050. DIFFICULTY: easy.

BARACOA-GUANTÁNAMO CYCLE TOUR [CUBA]
Ride beneath the radar on this Canadian outfitter’s weeklong, 300-mile bike tour of Cuba’s northern coast, past black-sand beaches and nature reserves. The towns en route—Mayar’, a village immortalized by Cuban crooner Compay Segundo, and lush Baracoa—see few tourists and fewer cyclists, so you’ll have La Farola, a winding mountain pass known as “Cuba’s roller coaster,” all to yourself. Use caution when hydrating: Rum’s cheaper than water. OUTFITTER: MacQueen’s Island Tours, 800-969-2822, . WHEN TO GO: April, December. PRICE: $2,595, including round-trip airfare from Toronto. DIFFICULTY: moderate to strenuous.

SNOWSHOEING THE RHODOPE MOUNTAINS [BULGARIA]
Haven’t heard of the Rhodopes? No surprise. Obscurity has helped keep these 7,000-foot peaks in southern Bulgaria among the least visited in Europe. You’ll spend four to seven hours a day snowshoeing along ancient footpaths, through deep drifts and pine forests, to the slopes of Mount Cherni Vruh. Medieval monasteries and village guesthouses provide shelter on this eight-day trip, and Bulgarian perks include homemade sirine (a local feta cheese) and chance sightings of the Asiatic jackal. Outfitter: Exodus, 866-732-5885, . When to Go: February, December. Price: $775. Difficulty: moderate.

It’s Only Natural

Go the extra green mile

RAFTING THROUGH THE RÍO PLÁTANO BIOSPHERE RESERVE [HONDURAS]
Hail the monkey god on this 12-day rafting expedition through the R’o Pl‡tano Biosphere Reserve in eastern Honduras, a primordial jungle where more than 100 archaeological sites are covered with petroglyphs of the primate deity. On the R’o Pl‡tano, you’ll run Class III-IV rapids and float through serene limestone grottos, encountering en route the full Animal Planet menagerie of macaws, tapirs, spider monkeys, anteaters, and, with any luck, jaguars. At trip’s end, you’ll “hot dance” in a Garifuna Indian village. OUTFITTER: La Moskitia Ecoaventuras, 011-504-441-0839, . WHEN TO GO: December-August. PRICE: $1,430-$1,765. DIFFICULTY: moderate. DOCUMENTING RARE RAINFOREST PLANTS [CAMEROON]
Thanks to 4,000 resident species of plants, Cameroon’s 6,500-foot Backossi Mountains are a horticulturalist’s dream. Join scientists from England’s Royal Botanic Gardens and Bantu guides for 13 days to help inventory rare forest flora such as endangered orchids, edible fruits, and a new species of bird’s-nest fern. You’ll camp in a nearby village or bunk in a community hall and learn to prepare local fare, including plantains, fu-fu corn, and cassava. OUTFITTER: Earthwatch Expeditions, 800-776-0188, . WHEN TO GO: March-May, October-November. PRICE: $1,295. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

EXPLORING NAM HA [LAOS]
The Lao equivalent of a national park, the 858-square-mile Nam Ha National Biodiversity and Conservation Area in northwestern Laos offers some of Southeast Asia’s wildest rafting and trekking. Spend ten days paddling Class III whitewater on both the Nam Ha and Nam Tha rivers, sleeping in villages and bamboo-and-thatch bungalows at the Boat Landing Ecolodge, and trekking with local guides deep into the jungle, on the lookout for tailless fruit bats and Asiatic black bears. OUTFITTER: AquaTerra Ventures, 011-61-8-9494-1616, . WHEN TO GO: June-January. PRICE: $1,150. DIFFICULTY: easy to moderate.

ECO-TRAIL SAFARI IN KRUGER NATIONAL PARK [SOUTH AFRICA]
Go trekking with rangers on the newly designated Lebombo Eco-Trail, which runs for more than 300 miles along the previously off-limits eastern border of South Africa’s Kruger National Park and Mozambique. You might encounter rhinos, zebras, and even the lowly dung beetle in Africa’s most biodiverse park. You’ll also trek into nearby 200-million-year-old Blyde River Canyon and stalk lions on a walking safari. OUTFITTER: Sierra Club, 415-977-5522, . WHEN TO GO: September-October. PRICE: $3,695-$3,995. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

Variety Packs

Take the multisport approach

Skiing the extra mile: Norway’s version of the Alps

CROSSING THE PATAGONIAN ANDES [CHILE AND ARGENTINA]
The Edenic Río Manso Valley, at the southern tip of South America, is pure Patagonia—high, open country surrounded by ancient alerce forests (think redwoods) and populated by gauchos and trout. How you choose to play on this nine-day camping trip—rafting the Manso’s Class IV-V rapids, casting for rainbows, or horseback riding along the riverfront trail—is up to you as you venture west from the altiplano of Bariloche toward the chiseled fjords of coastal Chile. OUTFITTER: ���ϳԹ��� Tours Argentina Chile, 866-270-5186, . WHEN TO GO: December-March. PRICE: $2,900. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

MUSHING WITH THE GREAT WHITE BEAR [NORWAY]
You take the reins on this 12-day dogsledding sojourn across the frozen island of Spitsbergen, Norway, 600 miles from the North Pole. When the huskies are resting, keep busy by snowshoeing amid gargantuan icebergs, cross-country skiing over glaciers, and spelunking blue-green ice caves. Defrost at night in a lodge made of sealskin and driftwood, expedition-style tents (you’ll be snug beneath reindeer-fur blankets), and a Russian ship intentionally frozen into the pack ice. Your only neighbors will be the island’s 4,000 polar bears (in case of emergency, your guide’s got the gun). OUTFITTER: Outer Edge Expeditions, 800-322-5235, . WHEN TO GO: March-April. PRICE: $3,990. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

POST ECO-CHALLENGE MULTISPORT [FIJI]
The professional adventure racers have gone home, so now you can spill your own sweat on the 2002 Eco-Challenge course. This new ten-day trip gives you access to some truly wild, made-for-TV terrain: mazy jungle trails, precipitous singletrack, and idyllic beaches. After sea-kayaking two days to the island of Malake, where spearfishermen bring up walu for dinner on a single breath of air, you’ll mountain-bike 25 miles over rugged terrain from the village of Ba to Navilawa. Next up is a two-day trek through lowland rainforests to the summit of 3,585-foot Mount Batilamu, followed by Class II-III rafting on the Navua River, from the coral coast to the interior village of Wainindiro. After all this, you’ve earned two days of beachfront R&R on the little-visited island of Kadavu. OUTFITTER: Outdoor Travel ���ϳԹ���s, 877-682-5433, . WHEN TO GO: May-October. PRICE: $1,999. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

Take It to the Top

No whining allowed

The frozen zone: Argentina’s Perito Moreno Glacier

CONTINENTAL ICE CAP TRAVERSE [ARGENTINA]
Patagonia’s 8,400-square-mile slab of ice wasn’t even explored until the 1960s, when British explorer Eric Shipton crossed it first. Starting in El Calafate, on the shore of Lago Argentino, this arduous 16-day backpacking/ski-mountaineering trip cuts through Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, where you’ll cross rivers and crevasses, ascend 4,830 feet to Marconi Pass, do time on ropes, crampons, and skis, and set up glacial camps along the spine of the Fitz Roy Range. The payoff? A wilderness fix on the gnarliest mass of ice and granite this side of the South Pole. OUTFITTER: Southwind ���ϳԹ���s, 800-377-9463, . WHEN TO GO: November-March. PRICE: $3,395. DIFFICULTY: strenuous. SURFING EPIC WAVES [THE MALDIVES]
Board where few have surfed before: off the Indian Ocean’s remote Huvadhoo Atoll, site of several world-class breaks. Huvadhoo is a two-day voyage on a dhoni, a 60-foot, five-cabin, live-aboard wooden yacht, from the capital, Male; along the way, cast off the deck for tuna, marlin, and bonito. Once at the Huvadhoo, be ready for eight-foot-plus waves, especially near the atoll’s largest island, Fiyori, where there’s a fast (and dangerous) right break. OUTFITTER: Voyages Maldives, 011-960-32-3617, . WHEN TO GO: April-September. PRICE: $85 per day (typically a 7-, 10-, or 14-day tour). DIFFICULTY: strenuous.

RAFTING THE BRAHMAPUTRA RIVER [INDIA]
With 112 miles of Class III-V+ Himalayan runoff, the Brahmaputra, the lower portion of the legendary Tsangpo in Tibet, is one of the planet’s ultimate whitewater challenges. And a relatively new one at that—the first commercial rafting expedition was launched late last year. You’ll spend nine days blasting down emerald-green hydraulics (the Class V Breakfast Rapid is famous for flipping rafts), camping on sandy beaches, and passing through Namdapha National Park, home to one of Asia’s most varied tropical forests. OUTFITTER: Mercury Himalayan Explorations, 011-91-112-334-0033, . WHEN TO GO: November-February. PRICE: $3,300, including internal airfare. DIFFICULTY: strenuous.

Get Wheel

Blazing new trails by mountain bike

Sandstone heaven: on the rocks in Cappadocia

RIDING THE RUGGED NORTHEAST [PORTUGAL]
A good set of knobbies and generous helpings of local beef and nightly port will help you tackle this eight-day inn-to-inn tour through Portugal’s wild northeast corner. Dodge cows on Roman pathways, follow craggy singletrack alongside the Douro River, and spin along trails once used by smugglers trafficking coffee beans to Spain. The grand finale is the wide-open wilderness of the remote Serra da Malcata—land of pine-topped peaks, wild boar, and little else. OUTFITTER: Saddle Skedaddle Tours, 011-44191-2651110, . WHEN TO GO: May-July. PRICE: $1,120. DIFFICULTY: strenuous. MOUNTAIN-BIKING CAPPADOCIA [TURKEY]
In our opinion, any trip that starts off with two nights in a traditional cave hotel has promise. See for yourself on this six-day, 180-mile ride through Cappadocia in central Turkey. Thank three-million-year-old volcanic eruptions for the otherworldly terrain: impossibly narrow sandstone spires (called fairy chimneys) and towns that plunge 20 floors underground. Happily, the riding is as varied as the views. You’ll pedal along dry riverbeds, slickrock, and narrow jeep tracks en route to each day’s destination—luxe campsites or charming village inns. OUTFITTER: KE ���ϳԹ��� Travel, 800-497-9675, . WHEN TO GO: May. PRICE: $1,695. Difficulty: strenuous.

SECRET SINGLETRACK [BOLIVIA]
It was only a matter of time before Bolivia’s ancient network of farm trails, winding from village to village high in the Andes, found a modern purpose: mountain biking. On this new 14-day singletrack tour through the Cordillera Real near La Paz, intermediate riders can rocket down 17,000-foot passes, contour around extinct volcanoes, and rack up an epic grand-total descent of 54,000 feet. Nights are spent camping at Lake Titicaca and in local pensions like the Hotel Gloria Urmiri, where natural hot springs await. OUTFITTER: Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking, 011-591-2-2313-849, . WHEN TO GO: May-September. PRICE: $1,750. DIFFICULTY: strenuous.

COPPER CANYON EXPEDITION [MEXICO]
There’s lots to love about the 6,000-foot descent into Mexico’s Copper Canyon by bike—and gravity is only part of it. Get down in one piece and you’ll have a week’s worth of technical riding ahead of you in a canyon four times the size of Arizona’s Grand. Cool your toes on fast, fun river crossings near the village of Cerro Colorado, visit the indigenous Tarahumara, and bunk down in a restored hacienda built into the canyon walls. OUTFITTER: Worldtrek Expeditions, 800-795-1142, . WHEN TO GO: September-April. PRICE: $1,599. DIFFICULTY: strenuous.

The Deep End

Water is the best element

SAILING ON THE ECLIPSE [PALAU]
Captain John McCready’s 48-foot Eclipse—outfitted with a compressor, dive tanks, sea kayaks, and rigs for trolling—is your one-stop adventure vessel for exploring this South Pacific archipelago. After picking up the sloop near the capital, Koror, give yourself at least six days to explore Palau’s protected lagoon in the Philippine Sea, dive along miles of coral walls, and kayak and hike some of the more than 200 limestone Rock Islands. By the time you reboard each evening, chef Charlie Wang will have your pan-seared wahoo waiting. OUTFITTER: Palau Sea Ventures, 011-680-488-1062, . WHEN TO GO: November-June. PRICE: $4,200 for the entire boat (which sleeps four passengers) for six days, including captain, dive master, and cook. DIFFICULTY: easy.

SEA-KAYAKING THE MASOALA PENINSULA [MADAGASCAR]
Once a refuge for pirates, Madagascar’s rugged northeast coast has been reborn as Parque Masoala, the country’s newest and largest national park. For nine days, you’ll explore the calm coastal waters by sea kayak, watching for humpback whales, snorkeling the coral reefs, spearfishing for barracuda, combing the shorelines of deserted islands, and sleeping in one of two rustic tented camps. Onshore, scout for lemurs in the rainforest with Malagasy guides. OUTFITTER: Kayak Africa, 011-27-21-783-1955, . WHEN TO GO: September-December. PRICE: $1,080. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

SNORKELING AND SEA-KAYAKING NINGALOO REEF [AUSTRALIA]
A virtually untouched alternative to the Great Barrier Reef, Western Australia’s Ningaloo Reef is a 162-mile close-to-shore coral barrier protecting the white-sand beaches and high-plateau shrublands of Cape Range National Park from the Indian Ocean. Mellow two- to four-hour paddling days on this five-day romp up the coast are punctuated by snorkeling in 70- to 80-degree turquoise waters (never deeper than 13 feet), swimming with whale sharks just outside the reef, and hanging at the plush moving camp. OUTFITTER: Capricorn Kayak Tours, 011-618-9-433-3802, . WHEN TO GO: April-mid-October. PRICE: $450. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

KITESURFING SAFARI [BAHAMAS]
Steady winds, warm waters, and world-class instructors—essential ingredients for a perfect kitesurfing vacation—exist in plenitude among the numerous tiny islands off Abaco in the Bahamas. During this weeklong clinic, you’ll master board-off tricks and 360 jump turns, learn to sail upwind more proficiently, and critique videos of your kite moves over coconut-rum drinks at the seven-cottage Dolphin Beach Resort on Great Guana Cay. OUTFITTER: Kite Surf the Earth, 888-819-5483, . WHEN TO GO: mid-January-May. PRICE: $990, including airfare from Fort Lauderdale and all gear. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

Future Classics

Our next thrilling episodes

Everest’s seldom-scene cousin: Tibet’s Kawa Karpo

CLIMBING MUZTAGH ATA, “FATHER OF ICE MOUNTAINS” [CHINA]
Already been to Everest Base Camp? Next time, head to Muztagh Ata, a raggedy 24,754-foot summit in the Karakoram Range in China’s Xinjiang province. The five-day trek (instead of yaks, you’ve got camels!) starts at 12,369 feet, climbing through grasslands and river valleys to Camp One at 17,388 feet—where not one but ten glaciers converge in a vast expanse of ice and snow. Outfitter: Wild China, 011-86-10-6403-9737, . When to go: September- October. Price: $2,710. Difficulty: strenuous. PILGRIMAGE TO KAWA KARPO [TIBET]
Mount Kailash gets all the press—and all the Western trekkers. But this May, another sacred Buddhist route, the annual pilgrimage to Kawa Karpo, a 22,245-foot fang of snow and ice, will open to Western visitors. The 18-day camping trek climbs out of semitropical rainforest and Tibetan villages before circling the peak’s base. Snow leopards live here, too, but if you don’t catch a glimpse, at least you’ll leave with a lifetime’s supply of good karma. OUTFITTER: High Asia Exploratory Mountain Travel Company, 203-248-3003, . WHEN TO GO: May, July, October. PRICE: $3,800-$5,000. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

TREK THE VILCABAMBA [PERU]
Now that they’ve limited tourist permits on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, we’re left wondering, What else is there? How about a 17-day camping trek to Peru’s lost city of Victoria, a 600-year-old ruins discovered in 1999 and encircled by 19,000-foot peaks of the Cordillera Vilcabamba. You’ll log some 40 miles over ancient Incan walkways along the Tincochaca River, and then climb 15,000-foot Choquetecarpo Pass. Once at Victoria, you’ll have the excavated homes and ceremonial sites all to yourself. OUTFITTER: Wilderness Travel, 800-368-2794, . WHEN TO GO: May-June. PRICE: $3,895. DIFFICULTY: strenuous.

All-American

Remote trips right here at home

THE ALASKAN CLIMBER [ALASKA]
Many peaks in the Chugach Mountains of southeast Alaska remain unnamed and unclimbed. Your objectives are the 12,000-foot summits of Mount Valhalla and Mount Witherspoon, but even with a ski-plane flight into the range, you’ll still spend 20 days hauling, trekking, and climbing on this self-supported trip. Outfitter: KE ���ϳԹ��� Travel, 800-497-9675, . When to Go: April. Price: $2,895, including flights within Alaska. Difficulty: strenuous. DOGSLEDDING AND WINTER CAMPING [NORTHERN MINNESOTA]
Forget your leisurely visions of being whisked from campsite to campsite: Dogsledding is serious work. During four days in the wilderness bordering the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, you’ll learn how to handle your team of malamutes and brush up on winter camping techniques. Outfitter: The Northwest Passage, 800-732-7328, . When to Go: January-February. Price: $895. Difficulty: moderate.

RAFTING THE OWYHEE RIVER [NEVADA, IDAHO, AND OREGON]
This 17-day, 220-mile trip on the rarely rafted, Class II-IV Owyhee takes you down one of the longest and most remote stretches of runnable river in the Lower 48, through rugged canyon country. Need something shorter? Several sections can be run in four to seven days. Outfitter: River Odysseys West, 800-451-6034, . When to Go: May. Price: $3,735. Difficulty: moderate.

HALEAKALA CRATER SEA-TO-SUMMIT HIKING EXPEDITION [MAUI]
Go from sea level to 9,886 feet on this three-day trek from Maui’s sandy shores, through Hawaiian rainforests, to the moonlike floor of Haleakala Crater. You’ll climb 11 miles and 6,380 feet on the first day alone—good thing horses are hauling your gear. Outfitter: Summit Maui, 866-885-6064, . When to Go: year-round. Price: $1,190-$1,390. Difficulty: moderate.

GRAND GULCH TRAVERSE [UTAH]
What’s better than backpacking the 52-mile length of the Grand Gulch Primitive Area in southeastern Utah? Llama-trekking for much of the same seven-day route, past ancient Anasazi ruins and more recent historic landmarks—including Polly’s Island, where Butch Cassidy, some say, crossed the Gulch. Outfitter: Mountain Travel Sobek, 888-687-6235, . When to Go: April. Price: $2,590. Difficulty: moderate.

Elevator, Going Up

Three helicopter epics

MOUNTAIN-BIKING THE CELESTIAL MOUNTAINS [KAZAKHSTAN]
Just as your quads begin rebelling during this two-week, 300-mile traverse of the Tien Shan—the fabled 21,000-foot mountain range that separates Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan from China—a midtrip bonanza brings relief: A Communist-era cargo helicopter will whisk you to the top of the 12,000-foot “hills” for two days of screaming singletrack and goat-trail descents. Outfitter: KE ���ϳԹ��� Travel, 800-497-9675, . When to Go: July-August. Price: $2,395. Difficulty: strenuous.

RAFTING IN THE HOOKER RANGE [NEW ZEALAND]
Rarely boated, the upper reaches of southwestern New Zealand’s Landsborough River and the nearby Waiatoto are so remote that the only way to the put-ins is by helicopter. You’ll spend seven days roaring down Class III and IV rapids on both rivers, fishing for brown trout, searching for keas (the world’s only alpine parrot), and camping under the gazes of 10,000-foot peaks Mount Deacon and Mount Aspiring. Outfitter: Mountain Travel Sobek, 888-687-6235, . When to Go: March, December. Price: $3,190. Difficulty: moderate.

SHOOTING THE COLUMBIA MOUNTAINS [BRITISH COLUMBIA]
Spend four days coptering from Adamant Lodge in the Selkirks to remote 10,000-foot hiking trails in the Columbia Mountains for a photography workshop with widely published outdoor lensmen Chris Pinchbeck and Paul Lazarski. After pointers on lens selection and composition, shoot sunrise-lit alpine meadows till your film runs out. Outfitter: Canadian Mountain Holidays, 800-661-0252, . When to Go: July. Price: $2,360. Difficulty: easy.

Most Likely to Succeed

Six new additions to the adventure travel map

SURFING THE WILD EAST [EL SALVADOR]
Though the civil war ended 11 years ago, it’s been difficult to access El Salvador’s remote eastern point breaks on your own. Now you can hook up for eight days with Punta Mango’s local guides to surf Los Flores, La Ventana, and other perfecto Pacific peelers. OUTFITTER: Punta Mango Surf Trips, 011-503-270-8915, . WHEN TO GO: year-round. PRICE: $394-$818. DIFFICULTY: moderate. EXPLORING ISLANDS AND VOLCANOES [NICARAGUA]
Once a war-torn dictatorship, Nicaragua is now drawing scads of expatriates to its safer shores. Hike and mountain-bike around belching 5,000-foot volcanoes on the Pacific side, and kayak, fish, and loll in natural hot springs on islands in Lake Nicaragua. OUTFITTER: Nicaragua ���ϳԹ���s, 011-505-883-7161, . WHEN TO GO: November-September. PRICE: weeklong trips start at $600. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

RAFTING THE SOCA RIVER [SLOVENIA]
Spilling from the Julian Alps, the roiling Soca has long been a backyard destination for Europe’s whitewater intelligentsia. With improved infrastructure and an exchange rate favorable to Americans, now’s the time to hit this Class II-IV river. OUTFITTER: Exodus Travel, 800-692-5495, . WHEN TO GO: June-September. PRICE: eight-day trips, $715. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

BIKING AND BOATING THE DALMATIAN COAST [CROATIA]
Sail from island to island in the Adriatic Sea, stopping to cycle the nature reserves and medieval villages, safe again after a decade of political strife. OUTFITTER: Eurocycle, 011-43-1-405-3873-0, . WHEN TO GO: April-October. PRICE: eight-day cruise, $690-$740. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

MOUNTAIN-BIKING IN THE JUNGLE [SRI LANKA]
While the northeast is still volatile, don’t discount a southerly traverse of the island by mountain bike, through lush jungles and over cool mountain passes. OUTFITTER: ���ϳԹ���s Lanka Sports, 011-94-179-1584, . WHEN TO GO: year-round. PRICE: 15-day trip, $985. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

TRACKING GORILLAS [GABON]
Onetime host to warring guerrillas but permanent home to the peaceful lowland gorillas, Lopé-Okanda Wildlife Reserve is the jewel of Gabon, nearly 80 percent of which is unspoiled forest woodlands. OUTFITTER: Mountain Travel Sobek, 800-282-8747, . WHEN TO GO: February-March, August. PRICE: $6,490 (19 nights). DIFFICULTY: easy.

Cautionary Trails

What’s up in the danger zone

When it comes to foreign travel, how risky is too risky? It’s hard to know. But the best place to start researching is the U.S. State Department (). At press time,* these 25 countries were tagged with a Travel Warning advising against nonessential travel. Here’s the lowdown on what you’re missing—and just how dicey things really are.

RISK LEVEL:
1    GENERALLY SAFE
2    SIGNIFICANTLY RISKY
3    EXTREMELY RISKY

AFGHANISTAN
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE
Despite the U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom, now in its 18th month, Taliban holdouts still lurk in a country once known for great hospitality (and hashish).
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING
Trekking in the Hindu Kush’s remote, red-cliffed Bamiyan Valley, where the Taliban destroyed two monumental fifth-century Buddhas carved into mountain rock
RISK: 3

ALGERIA
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE
Terrorism in this oil-rich country has dropped off slightly in recent years, but there is still risk of sporadic attacks in rural areas and on roadways, especially at night.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING
Hiking in the El Kautara Gorges and the jagged Ahaggar Mountains, near the town of Tamanrasset
RISK: 2

ANGOLA
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE
An April 2002 cease-fire put a stop to the 25-year civil war, though millions of undetonated mines are still believed to litter the countryside.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING
Checking out Operation Noah’s Ark, an effort to relocate elephants and giraffes from Namibia and Botswana to the savannas of Quicama National Park in the northwest
RISK: 2

BOSNIA-HEREGOVINA
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE
The 1995 Dayton Accords ended the war between Muslim Bosnians, Serbs, and Croats, but UN troops remain to control localized outbursts of political violence, which are sometimes directed toward the international community.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING
Some of the best—and cheapest—alpine skiing in all of Europe at the Dinari Range’s 6,313-foot Mount Jahorina, site of the 1984 Winter Games
RISK: 1

BURUNDI
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE
Decades of ethnic strife between Hutus and Tutsis have killed hundreds of thousands. The resulting poverty and crime can make tourist travel dangerous in this small, mountainous nation.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING
Scuba diving in Lake Tanganyika, at 4,710 feet the world’s second-deepest lake (after Russia’s Baikal) and home to some 600 species of vertebrates and invertebrates
RISK: 2

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE
After independence from France in 1960 and three decades under a military government, C.A.R. was turned over to civilian rule in 1993. Still, it remains beset with instability and unrest.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING
Bushwhacking and hiking with Pygmy guides through the rainforests of Dzanga-Ndoki, arguably the most pristine national park in Africa
RISK: 2

COLOMBIA
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE
Dubbed “Locombia” (the mad country) by the South American press, Colombia is rife with cocaine cartels, guerrilla warfare, and more kidnappings than any other nation in the world.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING
Encounters with the pre-Columbian Kogi people while trekking through dense jungle and the isolated 19,000-foot Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Mountains
RISK: 3

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE
Though rich in diamonds, gold, and timber, this equatorial country is still in tatters—famine, millions of displaced refugees (since Mobutu’s despotic 32-year rule ended in 1997).
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING
Mountaineering in the Ruwenzori Mountains on 16,763-foot Mount Stanley, Africa’s third-highest peak
RISK: 3

INDONESIA
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE
Anti-Western terrorist attacks in Bali and separatist violence in West Timor, the province of Aceh, central and west Kalimantan, and Sulawesi have destabilized the world’s largest archipelago.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING
Surfing Sumatra’s legendary breaks off the island of Nias and jungle trekking in Gunung Leuser National Park
RISK: 2

IRAN
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE
Despite inclusion in Bush’s “axis of evil” and the U.S.’s suspension of diplomatic relations, Iran is generally safe—though travel to the Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq borders is best avoided.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING
Skiing in the 12,000-foot-plus Elburz Mountains, where the resort in Dizin receives more than 23 feet of snow annually and lift tickets cost $4 a day
RISK: 1

IRAQ
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE
Even if you wanted to go to Iraq, no U.S. commercial flights enter the country that’s ruled by the world’s most infamous dictator.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING
Canoeing the Marshes, the historic ecosystem at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers—birthplace over 10,000 years ago of the Mesopotamian civilization
RISK: 3

ISRAEL
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE
Israel has been a hotly contested geopolitical and religious crucible since 1948, but the two-and-a-half-year Palestinian intifada has produced more suicide bombings than any other period.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING
Scuba diving to the underwater ruins of Herod’s City at Caesarea, along the palm-fringed Mediterranean coast
RISK: 2

IVORY COAST
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE
Once the most stable West African country, this coffee-producing nation suffers from falling cocoa prices and clashes between Christians and Muslims.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING
Trekking through the virgin rainforests of Taï National Park, home to the threatened pygmy hippopotamus
RISK: 2

Be aware that the State Department also posts advisories about unstable regions in many other countries, like Kyrgyzstan and Nepal. Carefully check the Web site’s postings and consult with well-informed tour operators before finalizing any travel plans.
*This information is current as of January 14, 2003

Compiled by Misty Blakesley, Amy Marr, Dimity McDowell, Sam Moulton, Tim Neville, Katie Showalter, and Ted Stedman

Cautionary Trails, PT II

RISK LEVEL:
1 GENERALLY SAFE
2 SIGNIFICANTLY RISKY
3 EXTREMELY RISKY


JORDAN
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE

Jordan is considered the least dangerous Middle Eastern country; still, threats of random violence (witness the October 2002 killing of an American Embassy employee) remain high.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

World-renowned sport and trad climbing on the 1,500-foot sandstone walls in Wadi Rum, and camel-trekking with the Bedouin in the country’s southern desertscape
RISK: 1



LEBANON
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE

Home to the terrorist group Hezbollah, Lebanon has a history of anti-U.S. violence, and there have been recent protests, sometimes violent, in major cities.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

Skiing the 8,000-foot-plus peaks and six resorts in the Anti-Lebanon mountain range, then heading to the coast to swim in the Mediterranean
RISK: 2



LIBERIA
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE

Though a democratic government took power in 1997, ending an eight-year civil war, this developing West African nation is plagued by clashes between government forces and dissidents.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

Safaris to Sapo National Park, Liberia’s only national park and one of the last rainforest refuges for bongo antelopes and forest elephants
RISK: 2



LIBYA
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE

Seventeen years under U.S. sanctions, convictions in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, and rising crime make travel to Libya a tricky proposition.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

Safaris to the Ubari Sand Sea, land of shifting, 300-foot dunes and salt lakes
RISK: 2



MACEDONIA
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE

A geopolitical hot spot, this mountainous Balkan country is still smoldering with ethnic tension, most recently between Albanian rebels and Macedonian forces.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

Spelunking among the dripstone formations and stalagmites in the caves around 3,000-foot-plus Matka Canyon
RISK: 1



NIGERIA
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE

Though nearly 16 years of military rule ended in 1999, this oil-rich West African country suffers from rampant street crime, ongoing religious and ethnic conflicts, and kidnappings.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

Trekking through rolling grasslands and exploring the volcanic 3,500-foot Mandara Mountains along the border with Cameroon
RISK: 2



PAKISTAN
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE

In 2002, members of the Taliban, who had crossed the vertiginous Hindu Kush from Afghanistan, are believed to have instigated a rash of anti-Western terrorism in Islamabad and Karachi.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

Completing the classic three-week trek to the base camp of pyramidal K2 in northern Pakistan, leaving from Askole and crossing the Baltoro Glacier
RISK: 2



TAJIKISTAN
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE

A mountainous and unstable “stan” in the heart of Central Asia, Tajikistan is thought to be home to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) terrorist group.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

Climbing untouched glaciers and rock faces in the Pamir Mountains, where first ascents of 17,000-foot-plus summits abound
RISK: 2



SOMALIA
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE

Ever since dictator Siad Barre was ousted in 1991, anarchy has ruled this drought-prone East African nation. Warring factions are still fighting for control of the the capital, Mogadishu.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

Deep-sea tuna fishing in the waters off Somalia’s 1,876-mile coastline, the longest in Africa
RISK: 3



SUDAN
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE

Nearly 40 years of civil war, coupled with famine, have made Sudan extremely unstable, especially in the oil-producing Upper Nile region. Americans have been assaulted and taken hostage.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

Scuba diving in the Red Sea to famous shipwrecks and coral atolls, first explored by Jacques Cousteau in the sixties
RISK: 3



VENEZUELA
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE

Opposition to President Hugo Chávez and a nationwide strike have destabilized this tropical country, causing acute oil shortages and triggering violent protests in Caracas.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

Trekking through humid jungles and the vast savannas of the Guiana Highlands to 3,212-foot Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world
RISK: 2



YEMEN
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE

This country on the tip of the Arabian Peninsula has been plagued by anti-American sentiment since long before the 2000 attack on the USS Cole.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

Exploring the coral beaches of Socotra, the largest Arabian island, which abounds with flora, including frankincense, myrrh, and the dragon’s blood tree
RISK: 3



Be aware that the State Department also posts advisories about unstable regions in many other countries, like Kyrgyzstan and Nepal. Carefully check the Web site’s postings and consult with well-informed tour operators before finalizing any travel plans.

*This information is current as of January 14, 2003



Compiled by Misty Blakesley, Amy Marr, Dimity McDowell, Sam Moulton, Tim Neville, Katie Showalter, and Ted Stedman

The post Nomads Have More Fun appeared first on ���ϳԹ��� Online.

REEF MADNESS Mix your altruistic nature with your hedonistic urges. Help gather data assessing coral bleaching, growth, and reproductive cycles while scuba diving the soft corals at Rainbow Reef, off the Fijian island of Taveuni—all for only $1,795 for a seven-night package. Work with the nonprofit group Reef Check and stay at the oceanfront Garden Island Resort. The rooms are a bit motel-like, but the rate includes airfare from Los Angeles, two dives a day for five days, lodging—plus the front desk can organize horseback rides when you’re not “working.” Contact: Aqua-Trek, 800-541-4334, .

DEALS TO DIVE FOR Bilikiki Cruises Ltd. (800-663-5363, www.bilikiki.com) is offering a 16 percent discount on its all-inclusive, seven-day April scuba diving cruise in the Solomon Islands. For only $1,757 (normally about $2,100), live aboard a 20-passenger, 120-foot ship, which cruises Florida Island, the Russell Islands, and the Marovo Lagoon, stopping for dives at precipitous walls, WWII wrecks, and clusters of hard and soft corals.

Castaway Adentures

Explore

Kayaking for Calories

On Explorers’ Corner’s 13-day sea-kayaking trip through the Rangiroa atoll (200 miles north of Tahiti), you’ll live like a castaway and eat like a king. (Sample fare: poisson cru, fresh reef fish mixed with lime, onion, and coconut milk.) Feast away. You’ll need the calories as you sea- kayak among the Tuamotus’ 78 isolated atolls, camp on untouched sand, prowl the reefs like a shark, and bushwhack across uninhabited islands. Cost: $3,950. Contact: Explorers’ Corner, 510-559-8099, www.explorerscorner.com. Dates: April 12-25, July 19-August 2, October 18-31.


Savasana and Then Some

Indian ascetics may have invented yoga, but you won’t have to renounce a thing on this yoga-centric multisport trip to the Fijian island of Beqa. For ten days, stay steps from the beach in one of Lalati Resort’s five hutlike bures, with wraparound lanais, and wake up to “power” yoga classes with Rusty Wells, a popular San FranciscoÐbased teacher. Spend the rest of the day diving, snorkeling, river rafting, surfing, hiking, or kayaking; spend the evenings enjoying local traditions, such as watching skin sizzle at a Fijian fire-walking ceremony. Cost: $1,985. Contact: Zolo Trips, 800-657-2694, www.zolotrips.com. Dates: January 16-25.


Take Me Out to the Boneyard

Be the first to stalk little-plundered populations of bonefish in the remote Tuamotu Archipelago, which sprawls over 1,000 square miles of Pacific Ocean. The volcanic atolls off the Tuamotus are mostly uninhabited, so you’ll live on a 58-foot sailing catamaran for seven days and walk onto the flats with expert guides. The bonefishing may be catch-and-release, but the gourmet chef and his staff will serve up fresh-caught mahi mahi. Cost: $4,400. Contact: Orvis Travel, 800-547-4322, www.orvis.com/travel. Dates: January 25-February 1, February 22-March 1, March 1-8, March 15-22.

Castaway Adentures

Relax

Relax
HOME NOW When you’re swinging from a hammock and grilling shrimp on a private deck tucked into a forest of banyan trees and kentia palms, it’s hard to imagine life beyond Lord Howe Island. In 2002, the Arajilla Retreat renovated 12 rooms, turning them into sophisticated Asian-influenced suites, each with complimentary use of snorkeling gear, fishing tackle, and backpacks. Cost: Suites start at $145 per night. Contact: Arajilla Retreat, 011-61-2-6563-2002, .

THE NEW LAGOON One look at the island of Aitutaki’s lagoon—30 miles in circumference, 15 feet deep, and ringed by islets—and you’ll see why the designers of Pacific Resort Aitutaki placed this retreat on 17 beachside acres. Some 145 miles north of the Cook Islands, this cluster of 28 palm-roofed villas and bungalows, set in hibiscus gardens, just opened in October 2002. Cost: $350 per night. Contact: Pacific Resort Aitutaki, 011-68-2-20427, .

News
Free Flipper Help researchers observe 11 Pacific bottle-nosed dolphins at one-year-old Dolphins Pacific—the world’s largest natural habitat for dolphin research—on Ngeruktabel Island in Palau. These ocean mammals are free to roam a 200-million-gallon roped-off lagoon, while visitors swim and scuba dive to learn more about dolphin behavior and ways to protect them in the wild. Reach the lagoon via a five-minute boat journey from the town of Koror. Cost: $80 per swim, $120 per scuba dive. Contact: Dolphins Pacific, 011-680-488-8582, . Dates: year-round.

The Shipping News

Oceania personified: Micronesia’s Truck Lagoon

Cargo ships crisscross Oceania like 18-wheelers do American interstates, offering cheap access to the South Pacific’s island oases. Keep in mind, however, that these ships stay true to the spirit of adventure: Prices, boats, and itineraries often change.


The Marquesas: Twice a month, the 250-foot Taporo 4 makes a 15-day voyage to these craggy islands 800 miles northeast of Tahiti, stopping at seven atolls en route. Private cabins aren’t available, but there’s decent cafeteria food. Cost: round-trip fare, $450 for deck passage. Contact: 011-689-42-63-93.


The Tuamotus: To travel to these 80 small specks 200 miles north of Tahiti, track down the Mareva Nui in Papeete’s harbor. More primitive than the Taporo 4, this 180-foot freighter makes four-day round-trip excursions to Rangiroa and its immense lagoon. Cost: $139. Contact: 011-689-42-2553.


The Tokelaus: Every two months, a ship chartered by the Office for Tokelau Affairs makes the 800-mile, seven-to-eight-day round-trip voyage from Western Samoa north to this lonely atoll. The ship stops at each of the Tokelaus’ three reef-bound islands: Fakaofo, Nukunonu, and Atafu. Cost: Cabin fare runs about $200, deck fare about half that. Contact: To make reservations, write to the Office for Tokelau Affairs, Apia, Western Samoa. They’ll answer. Really.


Micronesia: The 300-foot Micro Glory, operated out of Pohnpei by the Federated States of Micronesia, travels southwest on an 11-day, 900-mile round-trip voyage to some of the most remote islands in the world—Mokil, Pingelap, Sapwuahfik, Nukuoro, and Kapingamarangi. Cost: about $250 for a cabin and all meals. Contact: Call 011-691-320-2235 or write to the Public Affairs Office, Pohnpei State Government, Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia.


The Solomon Islands: Try the four-day trip to Gizo, in the Western Provinces, about 200 miles northwest of Honiara, aboard the 200-foot Luminao. She makes 11 stops at tiny island villages and provides first-class cabins, a small refrigerator, a cold shower, and a toilet. No food is served, so stock up before you depart. Cost: $90 round-trip. Contact: Wings Shipping Co., P.O. Box 9, Honiara, Solomon Islands.

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La Digue

Seychelles, Indian Ocean Say you were alone on an isle packed with Euro honeymooners. You too might fall for a dark-hulled, double-ended Digwaz beauty.

Another lonely beach in the Seychelles

Access & Resources
LA DIGUE IS FOR LOVERS. Or so it seemed as I boarded a salty-looking schooner for the four-mile crossing from the neighboring island of Praslin. The benches around me were full of young, affluent, mostly European couples who, if they weren’t snuggling, nuzzling, or fully making out, were videotaping each other for later delectation. And once we’d arrived on this smallest of the Seychelles’ “major” islands, I had to agree: It’s a pretty romantic place, with its turquoise lagoon, its two dozen white-sand beaches, and most of all its towering granite rock formations. I, alas, was solo, not en couple, something the locals could never quite accept. “Madame is not coming down this morning?” the woman who served breakfast at my hotel kept asking. No, Madame wasn’t.



The Freudian term for my behavior during my first few days on the island is, I believe, sublimation. Each morning I set off on little bike rides—they can hardly be otherwise on La Digue, where there’s only one five-mile-long road—that somehow morphed into epic, Conradian quests. One day I rode down the windward side of the island and then, at road’s end, found myself scrambling off-trail to find a coastal route from Anse Caiman to Anse Cocos, two of the island’s most remote and unspoiled beaches. The distance was negligible—perhaps half a mile—but the terrain was fantastically rough, a jumble of pink granite monoliths the size of houses, and it took me several hours of tropical bouldering (flip-flops only) and full-contact bushwhacking to claw my way through the jungle.

Another day, after a heart-pounding dip in the breakers at Grand Anse, a favorite boogie-boarding and surf spot, I off-trailed it to the Nid d’Aigles, or Eagle’s Nest, the spectacular lookout at the top of the island. Fleets of low, moist clouds, a result of the southeast monsoon, were streaming in off the Indian Ocean at a dizzying clip. At dusk, the flying foxes came out—not flitting like bats but gliding between the fruit trees—and then the moon to light my ride home.

By day four, though, I was getting lonely. My hands were raw (from bouldering, you understand), and my legs looked like I’d been through some medieval rite of self-mortification. And then, just in time, I found her.

Access & Resources: La Digue

Private motor vehicles aren’t allowed on three-mile-long La Digue. By special dispen-sation, the island priest bops around on a Vespa, but everyone else rides mountain bikes. Be prepared for sticker shock: from $5 cigarettes to $35 paperbacks, the Seychelles are pricey.

GETTING THERE: Air Seychelles (800-677-4277; ) flies to the main island of Mahé from major cities in Europe (round-trip from Paris costs about $800). There’s no airport on La Digue, so unless you spring for Helicopter Seychelles’ chopper from Mahé (about $120, 011-248-37-39-00; ), you’ll need to take a ferry or an Air Seychelles Twin Otter to the neighboring island of Praslin, then head to La Digue via ferry (Inter-Island Ferry Service; 248-23-23-29). Mountain bikes are available for about $7 a day in La Passe, at Chez Michelin (248-23-43-04) and other places.

WHERE TO STAY: At La Digue Island Lodge (248-23-42-32; ), aging bungalows go for $265­$380 a night. Better deals are Chateau St. Cloud ($180; 248-23-43-46; or e-mail stcloud@seychelles.net), centered on a restored plantation house; and L’Ocean ($250; 248-23-41-80; or e-mail hocean@seychelles.net) at Anse Patates; and Choppy’s Beach Bungalows on Anse La Réunion ($150; 248-23-42-24; or e-mail choppys@seychelles.net).

WILD LA DIGUE: The $2 entry fee to L’Union Estate includes passage to Anse Source d’Argent, the magnificent boulder-strewn beach featured in all those Bacardi ads. La Digue ranks high on the list of the Seychelles’ top dive spots; check out the island’s only dive center, at La Digue Island Lodge. Gerard Payet (look for him on the dock in La Passe) will set you up with snorkeling trips to Îe Coco, Grande Soeur, Petite Soeur, and Félicité(about $40, including lunch). For deep-sea fishing and multiday yacht cruises, call Mason’s Travel (248- 23-42-27; ) or Travel Service Seychelles (248- 23-44-11; ).

ISLAND EATS: Most restaurants are attached to hotels. The two exceptions, Zerof and Loutier Coco, serve French-Creole dishes such as curry spiced with piment.

Back to the top

Rarotonga

Cook Islands, South Pacific Hoist a frosty fruity, sniff the hibiscus, imbibe the swaying palms. The South Seas are still the spot for Everyman’s tropical fantasy.

Access & Resources

I was floating about eight feet above a sandy-bottomed reef, staring into the Day-Glo face of a sunset wrasse, when the notion struck me. Fish are not generally known for their prodigious brains, yet when you come face-to-face with poisson of the non-man-eating variety in their natural element, a strange exchange can take place. This one, for instance, seemed intrigued. Unlike the octopus that had shot under a rock, fast and bulbous, when I’d surprised it only moments earlier—shedding light on that obscure adage “Never trust a mollusk”—the wrasse seemed to want to dialogue. Most of his neighbors were too busy munching on coral to care, but he was trying to make a connection. When I blinked, he blinked back. When I raised my eyebrows, he emitted a stream of bubbles. Something was happening here. One small step for me, perhaps, but one giant leap for piscine-hominid brotherhood.

You could call it a eureka moment, I suppose, but it was really nothing more than the product of many hours of painstakingly indolent and hedonistic study. I had come in search of the True Essence of Nowhere, and had adhered to a strict regimen of snorkeling, lollygagging, and consuming exotic fruits, big blue drinks, and much fresh fish (sorry, bro). My wilderness study area, in this case, was the island of Rarotonga, a lush, craggy mountain of green that erupts out of the otherwise wide blue expanse of the South Pacific. At a humble 40 square miles, Rarotonga is the largest of 15 atolls, volcanic outcroppings, and sandy mounds that make up the Cook Islands, a far-flung group of landmasses that hover between French Polynesia to the east and New Zealand to the southwest. Which is a diplomatic way of saying the middle of nowhere. So I’d come to the right place.

Nowhere, I found, has its advantages. Being in the middle of it means that McDonald’s, Sheraton, Starbucks, Wal-Mart, Chanel, and the like have yet to establish beachheads, and that walking around in a loud floral shirt is construed as a fashion-do.

It also means that dogs and roosters pretty much run the joint. Roosters let you know this by crowing at 5:30 a.m. and at precise 20-minute intervals thereafter for the next 13 hours. Dogs let you know this by taking their own sweet time crossing the road—usually at the exact moment you’ve had the first of many lazy island epiphanies like “Hey, I’m driving 30 miles an hour on an island in the middle of nowhere. What do I have to worry about?” Roosters and dogs have their own worries, though. Due to their annoying punctuality, roosters get a lot of stuff thrown at them, so they’re a little skittish around humans. When it comes to dogs, well, as one guidebook flatly states, “Dogs are sometimes eaten by young men on drinking sprees”—in some parts of the world a fashion-don’t.

My search for the True Essence of Nowhere was arduous and thorough. The art of doing nothing is very hard work. You have to unhinge the shackles of time and space and bob on the slipstream of whatever slipstreams bob on. Rarotongans make it look easy. When not tending the papaya and taro crops that dot most patches of cleared land, or managing a host of businesses in the bustling, postage-stamp-size capital of Avarua, or cruising Muri Lagoon in an outrigger to inspect the traditional nets and traps they’ve been using for centuries, they can usually be found plinking ukuleles and singing old Maori folk songs to the wind. They’re not slacking, they’re just…passing time. It’s no wonder the standard greeting on the island is Kia orana—”May you live on.”

My wife, who threw herself into the search with vigor, became obsessed with finding the perfect abandoned shell—no easy task. Rarotonga is the tip of an ancient dormant volcano girdled by 20 miles of submerged coral and rock. The nubbly white-sand beaches are therefore spangled with a fresh crop of seaborne detritus with each new tide. You’ll never see more shells, and you’ll never drive yourself more crazy.

It was a benign lunacy. Myself, I became transfixed by the waves. On the west coast of the island, near the village of Arorangi, the reef is only about 200 yards offshore. You can sit for hours and muse on fish brains while watching meaty turquoise rollers pound the barrier with metronomic precision, only to flatten out like backwash on their final dash to the beach. I took about 30 snapshots of this phenomenon (known in common parlance as, uh, breaking waves). Hear me, fellow pilgrims: I was trying to capture that sublime moment when a wave flips up to a perfect pre-curl, like a jaw about to slam shut. I never got it right on film, but I could have watched them break for the rest of my days.

Our days, however, were numbered, and we caught only occasional glimpses of pure Nowheresville. Like the morning I opened the door of our bungalow in time to see a coconut fall and hit the sand with a tremendous thud. Or the afternoon we snorkeled the calm, cerulean lagoon at Aitutaki, an “almost atoll” about 140 miles north of Rarotonga, and communed with a school of bigeye bream. They just hung there, suspended in tight pods, beckoning me with their big freaky eyes, as if to say, “One of us, one of us…” (Oh yeah, they can think.)

Then one evening, while strolling on the beach as dusk succumbed to nightfall, we looked up and beheld the True Essence. Above us, the Milky Way had cracked open the heavens, spilling stars like snowflakes on black velvet. “Can you believe where we are?” I asked my wife. “No, I can’t,” she said. Pause. “But where are we?”

We were Nowhere and Everywhere at the same time. And we were doing nothing. And it felt great.

Access & Resources: Rarotonga

You know that Gilligan’s Island cliché of South Seas islanders as lei-wearing, ukulele-playing, hula-dancing happy people? Well, it’s not just a cliché; here it’s a refreshing reality.

GETTING THERE: Fly Air New Zealand (800-369-6867; ), the only major carrier that lands in Rarotonga. Direct from Los Angeles takes just under ten splendid hours (prices start at about $1,200).

WHERE TO STAY: Crown Beach Resort in Arorangi (011-682-23-953; ) has 22 one- and two-bedroom wood-paneled and thatch-roofed villas with eat-in kitchens ($214­$281 a night) perched directly on or just off the strand. Bungalows at the Muri Beachcomber ($93­$138; 682-21-022; ) and Palm Grove ($69­$108; 682-20-002; ) are only slightly less posh—think linoleum rather than stained wood. Most units come with kitchens, and many sit right by the beach. For those hitchhiking their way across the Pacific, the ack-packers International Hostel ($6.50­$11; 682-21-847; or e-mail annabill@backpackers.co.ck) is surprisingly homey, with a big communal kitchen and a rooftop sundeck.

WILD RAROTONGA: Car, scooter, and bike rental shops (in Avarua try Budget/Polynesian Bike Hire, 682-20-895 or Avis, 682-22-833; car rental is about $22 per day) pop up all over the island, making transportation easy. You can snorkel almost anywhere, but the best site is on the south side off Titikaveka. Expect to see sunset wrasses, Moorish idols, yellow boxfish, and the occasional octopus. Barry Hill at Dive Rarotonga ($22­$26; 682-21-873; ) knows every cave, drop-off, and wreck around the island, and has swum with humpback whales (“That’ll give you dreams for a week,” he says). If you’re keen to hook fish rather than swim with them, Trevor Yorke at Manatee Fishing Charters can take you out beyond the reef to troll for barracuda and dogtooth tuna ($27; 682-22-560).

ISLAND EATS: You can’t take a step without tripping over pawpaws (papayas), star fruits, bananas, or guavas. And then there are the fish: oysters, lobsters, wahoos, eels, yellowfins, scallops, green mussels, parrot fish—all just-off-the-hook fresh. Check out the Windjammer, Tumunu, and Flame Tree restaurants for steaks and seafood, fine New Zealand and Australian wines, and utensils. Other roadside attractions: the Ambala Garden & Café in Muri for organic breakfasts and lunches in a private botanical garden; in Avarua, Raro Fried Chicken, where the chicken-and-chips combo will easily satisfy your daily grease-‘n’-salt quota.

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Cat Island

Bahamas On this low-key string bean of land in the Out Islands, sip-sip and dominoes are about as rough as it gets

Access & Resources

MAYBE THERE’S SOMETHING on Cat Island that didn’t arrive by mail boat—some bag of cement, some chicken coop, some case of Gilbey’s gin, some straw-hatted old lady in a pretty calico dress. Anything is possible. But I came to Cat on the Sea Hauler, and so did a Chevy S-10 and a Ford F250 and an off-brand minivan, rolled aboard with much fanfare over two dry planks. And so did the gospel choir from the Dumfries Church of God and a side-by-side refrigerator marked “Frank” and a white sash window for “Mr. Butler Sr.” and somewhere on board a live squid, whose owner, a well-groomed businessman, described his missing charge as “a member of the octopus family.”


The Sea Hauler is a lovely old tug, diesel-soaked and coated in grime thick as bacon. We pulled out of Nassau on a hot, still afternoon, the conch sellers waving from Potter’s Cay pier on one side, a booze cruise­load of sun-pickled tourists on the other. Captain Allen Russell steered us southeast, the Church of God congregation crowded into the wheelhouse with him, belting out “Uncloudy Day.” We left the first of the Exuma Cays to starboard at sunset as men sprawled on coils of rope sat sipping Kaliks and two little Nassau girls—Lakeisha and Yeronnicker—taught me schoolyard games on the upper deck. We all slept where we lay, the girls and I spooned with our heads on my pack, safe under the stars and the satellites overhead.

At 4 a.m. on Cat Island, the bonefish were still sleeping, the clear waters of Smith Bay still opaque. A crowd had gathered, waiting for packages and family and news and sun. In the growing light Cat Island looked rough and beautiful, unapologetically unscrubbed, an older, more blessedly real Bahamas than the one we’d left behind.

Like everything else on Cat, the dock at Smith Bay clings to the lee side of the island, its gossip-linked small settlements strung 48 miles up and down Exuma Sound. I was picked up like a parcel and taken the mile south to Fernandez Bay Village resort, a collection of limestone cottages where, beware, days blur from beachside coffee to beachside cocktails with, if you’re determined to rally, bonefishing or snorkeling in between. On the second morning (or was it the third?), a little 19-foot Abaco motored in, piloted by marine biologist Stevie Connett, dropping in to see resort owners Tony and Pam Armbrister and to check on Cat Island’s sea turtles. The only way to count a turtle is to catch him, and so at high tide Stevie and I ran the Abaco south ten miles into Joe’s Sound, me standing lookout, the skiff’s deck blinding against the turquoise creek. The water moved and the clouds moved over it, tortoiseshelling the pocked sand bottom in shadows that resolved themselves into grass and algae and back into shadows again. Suddenly Stevie shouted and I cannonballed in, chasing a green sea turtle through the sun-filtered water. He was small, and I managed to grab a flipper, and then his shell; on deck we turned him over and he lay there panting, his turtle breast heaving. We tagged him with a leather punch, #BP9815, took his mug shot, released him. Track me, he said, see if I care.

In some elemental way, Cat Island is like that turtle. It just goes on doing its thing with or without you. Tourism is of the low-key, thatch-roofed variety— diving, a little bonefishing, catch a marlin, sure. ���ϳԹ���s, when they happen, happen on island time. The typical tourist is a naked German lady stuck in a cave at high tide, waiting for the police. The typical expat washed up on a sailboat and never left. Cat is the kind of place where on Sunday mornings in the village of Old Bight, the regulars at the Pass Me Not Bar lock the front door out of respect for the Baptist church across the street and play dominoes under the tamarind tree out back as the Baptist ladies holler scripture through megaphones. Where children roam under the midnight moon, catching hubcap-size palm crabs, and where you best not ask about obeah, or black magic, but where anyone will tell you that 21-Gun Salute, a bush-medicine Viagra, is “guaranteed to raise the dead.” Cat is the kind of place that doesn’t need you, but it likes you just fine.

There are unseen powers on Cat Island, demons that throw dishes, hands that reach down in the night. Cat has 2,000 caves and plenty of blue holes, but you won’t catch a Cat Islander in any of them: “Take us to one of the blue holes,” says island historian Eris Moncur, “and there’s something that happens to our skin.” Moncur is a sober man: white shirt, shiny shoes. As we sat under the thatched roof at Fernandez Bay, he told me about the island’s namesake, the pirate Arthur Catt, its past life as San Salvador, Columbus’s first landfall, and its first son, Sidney Poitier. Then he told me about spirits, and about the legendary nyankoo, a three-foot-tall gremlin with a human face. “You’re laughing,” Moncur rebuked me. “What we can’t control,” he intoned, “is safest for our sanity to deny.”

Late one afternoon, as the sun slanted into Exuma Sound, I threw a mask and fins into a kayak and headed up Fernandez Bay’s Bonefish Creek toward the Boiling Hole, a bluewater cavern that, through some alchemy of ocean, current, and creek, churns like a pot at high tide. I paddled for an hour, keeping the markers, tied to the mangrove branches, on my left. I passed the last one; no hole. I kept going. I got a feeling in my stomach that the water was sliding downhill, that I was being sucked into a drain. Spooked, I started to follow my wake back out, but the water had begun to percolate. Beneath the kayak the silt bottom opened into a limestone cavern, its recesses reaching farther than I could see. The idea had been to hop out and go snorkeling. You’d see great fish down there—snapper, grouper, barracuda.

But floating above the darkness, I suddenly understood. Cat Islanders have got it right; there are things you don’t fool with, powers bigger than tourism, or recreation, or paradise. God only knew what monsters swam in that hole. “Maybe live, surely die,” one islander had shrugged brightly to me at a midnight wake for his brother, who’d sat down on his front porch and never stood back up. You got to enjoy the time you got, drink your bush medicine, take the bright gifts the ocean offers. But don’t mess with the invisible. Ain’t no way, I thought, as I hung above that black water—ain’t no way I’m going in that hole.

Access & Resources: Cat Island

Don’t come down here thinking you’re going to “do” Cat Island. Oh, it’s all here to do—paddling, fishing, snorkeling, scuba diving—but you’ll be too deep into your blissed-out island reverie for anything too ambitious. And rightly so.

GETTING THERE: Visit during the Rake ‘n’ Scrape Festival, a feast of traditional music the first weekend in June, or for the Cat Island Regatta, a rowdy homecoming the first Saturday in August. Forty dollars will buy you 12 hours of chop on the Sea Hauler— or dish out $70 for the 45-minute plane hop from Nassau on Bahamasair (800-222-4262; ). In New Bight, you’ll pay dearly to rent a rusted-out Chevy Caprice at Gilbert’s Car Rentals ($65 a day; 242-342-3011).

WHERE TO STAY: Fernandez Bay Village is all outdoor showers, crisp linens, and a thatch-roofed bar (cottages, $160­$305; 800-940-1905; ). The beachfront Hotel Greenwood, with its 20 motel-style rooms, is a mix of hippie Berliners and dolphin therapists from Miami ($79­$105; 800-343-0373). Sport fishermen stick to Hawk’s Nest Resort and Marina ($124; 800-688-4752; ).

WILD CAT: Hotel Green-wood runs the only dive operation (two-tank dives, $75; 877-228-7475). Both scuba divers and fishermen will appreciate Cat’s Tartar Bank, an abrupt plunge from 60 to 6,000 feet. Hawk’s Nest’s fishing charters cost $400 half-day, $675 full-day; Mark Keasler is the island’s wiliest bonefish stalker ($195 half-day, $280 full-day; 242-342-3043). On your own, snorkel wherever the spirit moves you—any road off the Queen’s Highway leads to another deserted Atlantic beach. Just don’t leave Cat without a sunset picnic at the hermitage on 206-foot Mount Alvernia, the highest point in the Bahamas.

ISLAND EATS: Tear yourself away from that tenth plate of pigeon peas and rice at the Blue Bird Restaurant in New Bight and head for Hazel’s Seaside Bar in Smith Bay, where sassy octogenarian Hazel Brown offers up Kaliks, sip-sip (gossip), and dominoes. Soon you’ll be ready to lose your shirt down at the Pass Me Not in Old Bight, where the pros play. Dominoes under the tamarind tree and Percy Sledge on the jukebox—the perfect Cat Island combination.

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Grenada

Caribbean Islands Catch the fever dream, and let Boney take you on a wild ride past rocky cliffs, soursop trees, and the molasses devil that cavorts through town

In the drink: an offshore view of Grenada

Access & Resources

ON GRENADA, YOU DRIVE in the left lane and shift with your left hand, but it’s trickier than just that. Grenadan roads contain no straight lines. The narrow pavement follows the island’s volcanic contours with blind curves linking together for miles and sudden fearful inclines that match any in San Francisco. Roads are occasionally flanked by hundred-foot drop-offs with no guardrails. And around most every turn, something darts into your path: a bush dog, a Rastafarian, a coconut, a hobbling old-timer with a cane, an armadillo. Maps are of little use; street signs rarely exist. Taxis aim at oncoming traffic as if engaged in a good-natured game of chicken.

In time, my wife and I came to love driving on Grenada, but on the last afternoon of Carnival, we were sternly warned against it. There would be roadblocks, people said, and mobs of revelers. You’ll never make it around the island on your own. Hire a driver. Give Boney a call. And so we did.

He grew up near La Sagesse, a lovely bay on Grenada’s southern shore. His mother named him Stephen Morain, but 33 years ago, when he was 19, an Englishwoman rechristened the skinny kid Boney, and it stuck. A father of seven, he’s been a Rasta man, a policeman, a driver for the prime minister. He was taught by his grandmother, who lived to be 105 and passed on wisdom about plants that few remember anymore.

On a steep hill overlooking St. George’s, the capital, and the Carenage, the city’s artfully distressed harbor of anchored sloops and pastel warehouses, our education begins. Grenada’s roadsides are both pantry and pharmacy for those who can decipher the tangle of greenery. “This is dasheen,” Boney tells us, easing his maroon van to the shoulder and pointing to a spinachlike plant that’s the key ingredient in callaloo, the island’s signature soup. Next to it is a soursop tree, with huge, bumpy green fruits. There are breadfruits, mangoes, pawpaws, sugar apples. He fingers a weedy-looking vine—coriley, he calls it. “I take it once a month. Very bitter. For my kidneys. It help you a lot. A lot, my friend. Two or t’ree mout’ful a dis once or twice a month.”

He threads past a hilltop graveyard and down a twisting, plummeting backstreet, narrating all the while. There’s Fort George, on a brow of hill over the Carenage, where in 1983 a rival faction executed Prime Minister Maurice Bishop days before U.S. troops landed. Over there was an ice factory in the days before refrigeration, when the delivery man would announce his arrival in towns by blowing into a conch shell. On Grenada, most exchanges still begin with “Good morning” or “Good afternoon,” and even Boney’s irritation with other drivers seems tempered. To a passing minibus driver, as calmly as a schoolteacher: “Drive betta dan dot.”

We work our way clockwise along the western coast, past yawning valleys of coconut palms, enormous drooping banana plants, stately nutmeg trees. Here’s Molinière Reef, a few snorkelers undulating with the swells among the parrot fish and sergeant majors. We pass small vintage billboards for Ovaltine and Vita Malt, and an ominous sign: “Caution—Drive Slowly—Broken Road Ahead.”

At four o’clock, we enter Gouyave, a fishing village, just in time to witness a fever dream. Grenada’s Carnival takes place in August in part because it has roots in a harvest festival that started in the 1800s as Cannes Brulées (“burnt cane”), which gradually merged with the celebration of the 1834 emancipation of Grenada’s West African slaves, from whom most islanders are descended. There’s great commotion ahead on the main thoroughfare, so Boney diverts his van a block or so, darting down alleys, the houses close enough to touch. It works: We pull into a gas station at the town’s center, and the hallucination begins.

A flatbed truck leads the parade procession loaded with coffin-size speakers thumping out calypso at a deafening throb. Men on the truck bed are covered with glitter, some with red and blue body paint, some with huge blue horns flaring out from their skulls. Several dozen follow on foot, carrying a banner: “Splendid Pirates,” old and young alike wearing wigs and garish balloon pants of brown, red, green, yellow, white, and purple, stepping in unison to the beat as if in a trance. Then comes a marching pirate ship, a mock funeral, a brigade of men in identical Arab costumes. A fight erupts among four snarling dogs; a painted man beats them with his floppy straw hat. Here comes Death in his skeleton garb, and Jab-Jab, the molasses devil. Men and women walk in formation clutching tall cans of Heineken with straws poking out. Now comes a round-rumped gentleman wearing nothing but a lacy transparent curtain. Boney roars with laughter, though we can barely hear him above the din.

On to St. Patrick parish, on the island’s north side. Loaded vans and minibuses whiz past, slogans on their windshields: Humble Thy Self, Thug Life, Jah Rules. We enter Sauteurs, where Boney weaves through another mob, fragrant of ganja, and then throttles up a tightrope back alley lined by concrete troughs deep enough to swallow a jeep. He does this fast, uphill—and backward. He turns off the engine atop a cliff overlooking a rocky shoreline. From this spot in 1654, a small band of Carib Indians, trapped by French soldiers and fearing a life of enslavement, leaped to their deaths.

The sun sinks, and we arrive at an old airstrip, defunct since the new airport opened in the 1980s. Here sits an old Cuban turboprop, forlorn and abandoned in the grass. Boney has a dream about this plane: He wants to tow it closer to the sea and convert it into a restaurant. He’s talked to government ministers, but so far his plan has gone nowhere.

The notion still enthralls him, though. “If I had that airplane…,” he muses. He’s grinning broadly, gazing slightly heavenward. “I’d have some sparkling ladies there; old people in the kitchen; grilled foods, not fried; some guava ice cream, mango ice cream, soursop ice cream, chocolate, coconut…”

We vanish into the black night. Boney slaloms his van through unlit switchbacks, narrowly missing dreadlocked ramblers, dreaming aloud about empty fuselages and mango ice cream and a sweet-smelling entourage he’s sure will soon arrive. It’s a dazzling vision, on a day when no vision seems impossible.

Access & Resources: Grenada

Rumors of Grenada’s Club Med­ification have been exaggerated. Yup, there’s a new shopping mall near Grande Anse, the two-mile crescent of white sand where the island’s plushest resorts sit. But there’s also this sign just down the street: No Tethering of Animals Allowed.

GETTING THERE: Fly American (800-433-7300), British West Indies Airlines (800-538-2942), or Air Jamaica (800-523-5585). Rent a car from Avis in St. George’s (about $50 per day; 473-440-3936). Boney, aka Stephen Morain, charges $20 an hour to be your driver and guide (473-441-8967).

WHERE TO STAY: The 66-room Spice Island Beach Resort on Grande Anse is inches from the Caribbean ($214-$173; $359; 473-444-4423; ). A more economical choice is the nearby Blue Horizons Cottage Hotel, with a cool veranda restaurant called La Belle Creole ($170-$173;$190; 473-444-4316; ). La Sagesse Nature Center is a nine-room onetime English manor house on a gorgeous, palm-shaded cove ($70-$173; $125; 473-444-6458; ).

WILD GRENADA: Summit the 2,300-foot, delightfully named Mount Qua Qua in Grand Étang Forest Reserve or hike to the Seven Sisters, a misnamed series of five waterfalls. It’s worth it to hire a guide, and probably the island’s best is Telfor Bedeau, a 62-year-old Grenadan who’s hiked the island’s highest peak, Mount St. Catherine, more than 100 times ($25-$173; $30 for one person, $15-$173; $25 per person for groups; 473-442-6200). To see the island from the water, sign on with First Impressions for a jaunt up the west coast aboard the Starwind III, a 42-foot catamaran ($45 half-day, $60 full day; 473-440-3678). Divers mingle with barracuda around the wreck of the Bianca C, an Italian luxury liner that sank off St. George’s in 1961. Reputable dive operators include Dive Grenada (473-444-1092; ) and Sanvics Scuba (473-444-4753; ).

ISLAND EATS: Cuisine centers around fresh-plucked fruit and the daily catch, with a local twist: More nutmeg grows on this 21-by-12-mile island than anywhere else except Indonesia. A fine perch from which to sample local grub is The Nutmeg, on St. George’s harbor. Above Grand Anse is Calypso’s Terrace, which serves up nighttime views of St. George’s and a fine rum-and-coconut-cream blend called a Painkiller.

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Best Islands for Sea Kayaking

Round up: paddlers prepare to shove-off in Belize

Exuma Cays, Bahamas
This 90-mile-long mosaic of more than 365 sandy cays is blessed with calm seas and dozens of flourishing reefs. The Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, a 130-square-mile marine wilderness, has a strict “no take” rule (that means you, cockleshell klepto) that has allowed hundreds of species to thrive. For information on guided trips, contact Ecosummer Expeditions (800-465-8884; ).

Rock Islands, Palau
Paddling the air-clear water of the Rock Islands, a group of deeply undercut, plush green knobs, feels more like flying than floating. Swoop over barrel sponges and giant clams and buzz the open maws of dark sea caves before you touch down on an exquisite, deserted slice of sand—your camp for the night. Sam’s Planet Blue Sea Kayak Tours (011-680-488-1062; ) can help with gear and guides.


Isla Espiritu Santo, Mexico
Leave the cockfights and tequila worms behind and head for this desert island in the Gulf of California, where turquoise coves slice into volcanic cliffs, sea lions raise their pups, and black jackrabbits look for shade in the sun-baked canyons. For a guided trip, call Baja Expeditions (800-843-6967; ).

Glover’s Reef, Belize
Sapphire-blue seas, the world’s second-longest barrier reef, and six palm-studded cays crying out for the creak of a hammock…all in an 82-square-mile lagoon. Contact Slickrock ���ϳԹ���s (800-390-5715; ).

Best Islands for Communing with Nature

Dominica
Peaks shooting 4,000 feet from the surf, rare Sisserou parrots, 100-foot waterfalls, an undersea hot springs called Champagne—welcome to the Caribbean’s most primeval isle. Play “Me Tarzan, you Jane” at the orchid-filled Papillote Wilderness Retreat ($90; 767-448-2287; .

Kangaroo Island, Australia
Eucalyptus-stoned koala bears roam this 1,737-square-mile island off Adelaide. Hundreds of miles of hiking trails take you through 21 parks, where you’ll spot sea lions, kangaroos, and nocturnal penguins returning to their colony at Penneshaw (Alkirna Nocturnal Tours, ).

Madagascar
Nearly all 30 species of lemurs live on this 995-mile-long island off Africa—broad-nosed gentle, ring-tailed, red-bellied, fat-tailed, hairy-eared dwarf—and despite a host of other exotic animals, they steal the wildlife show. Contact Lemur Tours (800-735-3687; ).

Fernandina Island, Ecuador
Flightless cormorants, pelicans, marine iguanas, and sea lions congregate on Punta Espinosa in the Galápagos Islands. Contact Galapagos ���ϳԹ���s (561-393-4752; ).

San Miguel Island, California
San Miguel is unique for its seal and sea lion colonies; Point Bennet is the only place in the world where six types of pinnipeds congregate. Click on .

Best Islands for Scuba Diving

Cocos Island, Costa Rica
To witness what lurks in the current just off this jungly island 300 miles west of Costa Rica, you’ll need to go long and deep. Live-aboard dive boats make the rough, 36-hour crossing; then it’s a 60- to 135-foot dive down to see hammerheads, white-tipped sharks, and manta rays. Book a trip on the Okeanos Aggressor (800-348-2628; ).

Little Cayman Island
Still home to some of the deepest walls and clearest water, and still scarcely inhabited, this Frisbee-flat isle 80 miles northeast of Grand Cayman belongs on every diver’s life list. Kick through tunnels, chimneys, and canyons; sail over 1,000-foot drop-offs; and come face-to-face with sea turtles. Book a diving package at quirky Pirates Point Resort (345-948-1010).


Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia
Waka-who-bi? Largely unexplored, the Wakatobi National Marine Park in the Sea of Banda teems with everything from pilot whales to pygmy sea horses. Stay at the Wakatobi Dive Resort on Tomia Island (011-62-361-284-227; ), which has lodging for 22 guests.

Roatán, Honduras
Visit 33-mile-long Roatán and you’ll be faced with tough decisions: Reef-, wall-, or wreck-diving? Full-service dive resort or primitive beachfront cabana? Elephant-ear sponges and black coral or black groupers and whale sharks? Roatán Charter (800-282-8932; ) offers tank dives or weeklong packages.

Gizo, Solomon Islands
Diving near Gizo, in the western Solomons, means exploring coral-encrusted World War II wrecks and 100-foot walls surrounded by slow-cruising manta rays, tuna, barracuda, and a parade of confetti-colored reef fish. Topside, Gizo is a lush fantasy island smothered in orchids and mangroves. Call Dive Gizo (011-677-60253; ).

Best Islands for Fishing

Cast away: afloat off the Florida Keys

Madeira, Portugal
Obsessive record-stalking anglers descend on this mountainous, vineyard-covered isle 320 miles north of the Canaries hoping to haul in a “grander”—a thousand-pound-plus blue marlin, one of two things Madeira is famous for. The other is a sweet wine that’s sure to ease your pain over the one that got away. Charter a boat and guide from Nautisantos (011-351-291-222667; ).

Midway Atoll
Once a World War II battle zone, this U.S. National Wildlife Refuge 1,500 miles northwest of Hawaii began allowing visitors five years ago. Since then, more than 20 world-record catches have been hauled in, including a 78-pound giant trevally. Stay in Midway’s only accommodations, the spruced-up (and surprisingly pleasant) former Army officers’ quarters.Contact Destination: Pacific (888-244-8582; ) to plan your trip.

Mauritius
This volcanic melting pot 450 miles east of Madagascar, with its Creole-speaking Franco-Anglo-African-Indian-Chinese population, offers superb fishing for black and blue marlin, sailfish, and sharks. Captains generally keep your catch and sell it; if you insist on catch-and-release, expect to pay about $75 for each fish you land in this not-so-green economy. Call Sportfisher (011-230-263-8358; ).

Marquesas Keys, Florida
Monster tarpon, permit, and bonefish loll in the turquoise shallows of this handful of uninhabited islands in the Key West National Wildlife Refuge. Work the Marquesas on daylong charters out of Key West.Call Key West Fishing Guides (800-497-5998; ).

Best Islands for a Multisport Vacation

Corsica, France
Scraggly peaks and 620 miles of rugged coast draw Euro-masochists for canyoneering, sea kayaking, diving, climbing, mountain biking, and sailing, plus paragliding off 8,877-foot Monte Cintu and rafting the Class IV Golo River. But the sportif notch to carve on your belt is trekking the grueling Fra I Monti, or GR20 Trail, a 104-mile grind along the island’s spine. Call France-based Corse Aventure (011-33-495-259119; ).

St. John, USVI
Virgin Islands National Park, which claims about three-fifths of this emerald isle, is crisscrossed with 20 miles of jungle trails for hiking and biking and blessed with pristine coral reefs for some of the best snorkeling and diving in the Caribbean. Arawak Expeditions gets you out in the park on weeklong trips (800-238-8687; ). But schedule a few extra days to enjoy lounging like a Rockefeller.


Kauai, Hawaii
Mount Waialeale, near the island’s center, which gets more than 480 inches of rain a year, is a verdant backdrop for horseback riders, mountain bikers, hikers, and windsurfers. Kauai’s trophy trek, the 11-mile Kalalau Trail, leads you from the cliffs of the Na Pali Coast, past 300-foot Hanakapiai Falls, deep into the spectacular Kalalau Valley. For camping permits, contact the Hawaii Division of State Parks, 808-274-3444.

Dominican Republic
Hike 10,417-foot Pico Duarte, raft Class III­V Yaque del Norte, mountain bike in the Dominican Alps, windsurf off Cabarete, and surf the ten-foot waves near Sousa. Go green and stay at Rancho Baiguate, an eco-resort in the highlands (809-574-4940; ).

Best Islands for Boardsailing

El Yaque, Margarita Island, Venezuela
Fifteen- to 30-knot sideshore winds blow over water so shallow here that you can bail 400 yards out and still walk back to land. High-quality rental rigs, cheap Cuba libres, and pulsing merengue compensate for crowds. Call Club Margarita Windsurfing for details (011-44-1920-484121; ).

Flag Beach, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands
Wide beaches and sartorially challenged German sunbathers dominate this arid Spanish island 70 miles west of Morocco. At Flag Beach, low pressure from the Sahara pumps in sideshore winds and Atlantic storms kick up jumpable swells. Call Flag Beach Windsurf Centre in Correlejo (011-34928-866389; ).


Taranaki, North Island, New Zealand
Mast-dwarfing walls sculpted by 20-knot winds along the mountainous West Coast are ridden most days by only a handful of wild-eyed, whooping Kiwis. Get local wisdom and a bunk at Wave Haven lodge in Oakura (011-646-752-7800; or e-mail wave.haven@taranaki.ac.nz).

Fisherman’s Hut Beach, Aruba
Bankable trade winds and planeable flatwater lure windsurfers to this cactus-spiked isle. Goofy diversions—casinos, jet skis, rum-‘n’-strum cruises—keep fidgety nonsailors happy, too. Call Sailboard Vacations (800-252-1070; ) for rentals and lodging.

Hookipa, Maui, Hawaii
Kneel at the feet of the airborne masters of Hookipa’s North Shore and perfect your carve-jibe in the sideshore trades off Kanaha Beach Park. Call Hawaiian Island Surf & Sport (800-231-6958; ).

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Unlike its neighbor, Fiji, the pacific nation of Vanuatu, made up of 83 ruggedly forested, volcanically active islands, is a place hardly anyone in America knows. Which is odd, when you think about it. True, Vanuatu is so undeveloped that on the dozen or so larger islands where most of its people live you can still discuss the latest stock report (somebody’s cows wandering through a neighbor’s garden patch again) with a man whose entire wardrobe consists of a woven grass namba, or penis sheath. And when they bungee-jump in Vanuatu, where the pastime was invented centuries ago, they don’t use sissy stuff like bungee cords. Instead, land divers, as they are called, tie jungle vines around their ankles and plunge from towers, up to 100 feet high, that look as if they were constructed from sticks and branches by a nest-building bird who got into the fermented berries.

Yet Vanuatu, known as New Hebrides until it gained independence from England and France in 1980, has had a distinct effect on American culture, or at least on how we imagine paradise. It was among these coconut-palm-and-beach-fringed islands that Lieutenant James A. Michener was inspired to create the mystical heaven on earth known as Bali Hai.
Now, half a century later, other American travelers are discovering the archipelago too. Of Vanuatu’s 100,000 or so annual visitors, more than half come ashore via cruise ship or yacht. The rest fly in, either extending a visit to Fiji—which boasts more than a decade’s head start on development and three times the tourists—or skipping Fiji altogether.


While flying into Vanuatu is easy enough, getting around its mountainous interior—in much-abused four-wheel-drive vehicles or on foot—can be a challenge. And because tourism is new to the outer islands, lodgings at times consist of dirt-floored leaf houses where, as the tourism office so eloquently puts it, “running water is not common and the bath is to be taken on the beach or in the river.” But for uncrowded diving, sea kayaking, and trekking, and for an adventurous look at a corner of the South Pacific that has changed little since Allied forces passed through, Vanuatu is among the most fascinating spots I’ve encountered in three decades of bumping around. It’s the kind of place where, if you harbor, as I do, the fantasy of getting temporarily marooned on a tropical island, you’ll likely begin plotting your return soon after your arrival.

Right, Time, Right Place, Right Now

Efate

“Machetes, aisle three,” said the hardware store clerk in Port Vila, on Efate, the third-largest of Vanuatu’s islands and home to two-thirds of its mostly Melanesian population of 180,000. Port Vila, the capital, though faded and scruffy in a pleasant, Somerset Maughamish kind of way, is surprisingly cosmopolitan. At Le Meridien, I could order Melanesian dishes, such as minced pork wrapped in manioc and taro leaves, in English, at Paris-steep prices. As I picked at my coconut crab at the Waterfront Bar & Grill, I eavesdropped on yachties whose timetable dictated cruising to New Zealand before December’s cyclone season began. I could have shopped for French cologne or Australian shiraz. But instead I walked to the hardware store, because I’ve always wanted a machete and could find no souvenir in the duty-free shop that pleased me half as much, even though it turned out to be made in Brazil.


The best of Vanuatu lies beyond Efate. But stay a day or two to sea kayak to tiny offshore islands, snorkel among 300 species of coral, and visit the Ekasup Cultural Village. Located a few miles from Port Vila, the village is a scattering of traditional thatch houses, their pointed roofs extending almost to the ground to make them more secure during high winds. Traditional too is the location, near a banyan tree with a huge, above-ground root system that provides sanctuary during cyclones. The show Ekasup puts on is a bit commercial, but it can provide some insight into the old survival skills, which could prove useful if you find yourself in the outer islands without lunch in hand and need to know how to trap a fish or spear a pig.

Espiritu Santo

Santo, as it is usually called, is where Michener was based. No other place in all the vast Pacific, he later wrote, made as profound an impression on him. The largest of Vanuatu’s islands, it has a craggy interior that makes for rugged hiking through massive kauri trees, orchids, and moss-hung cloud forest. And Champagne Beach, with its sweep of white sand, is arguably the best in the country. But like most visitors, I’d come here for the President Coolidge, a 654-foot luxury liner-turned-American troop carrier that is considered one of the world’s finest wreck dives.


The Coolidge went down so fast after striking a “friendly” mine in October 1942 that its decks are still strewn with the rifles and personal effects of the more than 5,000 men who were aboard. (Most walked ashore, and only one life was lost.) Now sitting in 60 to 200 feet of water, the ship lies on its side but is almost fully intact. The dive, along the promenade deck, down long corridors, and into the staterooms themselves if you are experienced enough, is eerily similar to the underwater scenes in Titanic. (A few miles inland, both snorkelers and divers will also want to check out several spring-fed blue holes, where visibility is so great that as you look up, fish appear to be swimming across the sky.)
I dove with Santo Dive Tours, whose owner, Alan Power, has been exploring the Coolidge for 29 years. A round-bellied Aussie locally known as Mr. President, Power is a classic Santo character—at least that’s what I decided after spotting a hand-lettered memorial in his backyard eulogizing a cow who was the only victim of Japan’s one wartime attack on the island’s airfield.

Pentecost Island

Eel-shaped Pentecost Island, so undeveloped that there are few places to stay other than traditional leaf houses in small villages, is proof that there were crazy people in the world long before 1988, when a New Zealand company opened the first commercial bungee-jumping operation. Land diving is so rooted in local culture, in fact, that the Vanuatu government is allegedly trying to obtain compensation from international operators for “theft of the custom of Pentecost.” Though now strictly a male undertaking, done to ensure a successful yam crop, legend has it that the first jumper was a woman escaping an abusive husband who chased her up a banyan tree.


The jumps take place on Saturdays in April and May. Nowadays, many are put on just for tourists. But the most authentic—ritual jumps in which 30 divers a day leap from the highest towers—are held only once each month, in the village of Bunlap. Presumably the divers here have donned Western-style pants only once&3151;for the 1974 visit of Queen Elizabeth II.

Tanna

One of the southernmost populated islands, Tanna is best known for its mysterious “cargo cult” religion, as well as its uniquely accessible, reliably active volcano, Mount Yasur.


Yasur’s personality is more simmering than violent, but it has been erupting, sometimes with fatal results, almost continuously since Captain James Cook first observed it in 1774. With a licensed guide, which is the only way to go, you drive across an ash plain, past a lifeless lake, to a parking lot scattered with boulders that—though best not to ponder it until you are a safe distance away—were flung from the caldera during past eruptions.
From there, scramble 400 feet up the side of the cone until you come, abruptly, to the realization that there is no guardrail between you and a very big barbecue pit. It’s possible to visit Yasur on a day trip from Port Vila, but far better to stay on Tanna at least one night, which will allow you to make the climb just before sunset, when the sparkler-like display is at its best. Activity is greater, and more spectacular, during the wet season, from December through March.


The day I visited, I was standing at the crater’s edge, snickering about a nearby Frenchman sporting a hard hat and ski goggles, when the ground shook with a sound as if whatever God was driving desperately needed a new muffler. A fiery array of molten rocks the size of big-screen TVs shot into the air, followed by a belch of black smoke that devoured the entire crater but, thank goodness, was pushed away from us by a gust of wind. “Good thing I brought a clean pair of knickers,” said an Australian woman standing next to me, whose initial shriek had fortunately covered my own. Our guide shrugged. “Not to worry,” he said. “The activity is only Level Two.”


I didn’t find his reassurance all that comforting, since Level One means no activity, and Level Three that the island is in imminent danger of being vaporized. The grading scale needed refinement. Still, I stayed and watched the Roman-candle-like vents spew for another hour, and would have stayed longer if I’d had a hard hat and ski goggles.


Not far from the volcano is Sulphur Bay, or Ipeukel, the main village of the cargo cult known as John Frum. Another World War II legacy that has nearly disappeared, cargo cults once flourished all over the Southwest Pacific, with locals convinced that if they pleased the gods—by clearing jungle airstrips and building bamboo models of such unimaginable wealth as radios, refrigerators, and jeeps—they would once again be showered with the real things. Who John Frum was is something of a mystery, but he may have been an American medical corpsman, “John from America,” whose red-cross insignia has become the cult’s symbol.


Every Friday at their church in Sulphur Bay, the worshipers—whose ceremonial garb includes cast-off U.S. military uniforms—hold services that consist mostly of singing, dancing, and for the men, drinking an intoxicating kava-root brew. Visitors are welcome year-round, but the big blowout is on February 15, John Frum Day, when 100 barefoot “soldiers” carrying bamboo rifles drill solemnly before a tattered 48-star American flag in expectation of their messiah’s return. It’s likely the most flattering, if surreal, reception an American could receive so far from home. Perhaps, if I’m ever marooned on this particular tropical island, these troops would consider defending me against misguided would-be rescuers.

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The islands of the South Pacific may be mere specks of land in a vast expanse of open sea, but their attendant myths are larger than life—the Saran Wrap-clear lagoons, atolls ringed by teeming reefs, impenetrable jungle edging crescents of white sand. Set apart in their own tropical time warp, these isles are one of those rare cases where the reality actually matches the fantasy: In the Solomons you’ll find dive sites so plentiful and so rarely (if ever) explored that no one has bothered to name them; in Palau, the first kayak trips have barely begun along the nation’s island-clogged waterways; in Fiji, new sports-oriented resorts cater to divers, sailors, surfers, and assorted utopia-seekers. Pick your dot on the map, then follow our lead to the ultimate in island escapes.

Palau

Palau, in Micronesia, claims fame as one of the world’s finest dive spots—and as the world’s newest nation. The former U.N. Trust Territory marked its first year of independence in 1995. Roughly translated, this means more hotels will be paving Palauan shores and tropical forests in the very near future, so the time to visit is now. Most people go to Palau to dive their brains out; they don’t come away disappointed. The 300-plus-island nation sits 800 miles southwest of Guam and about 700 miles east of the Philippines, at the meeting point of three major ocean currents that nurture a feeding frenzy of marine life. Dive on Palau’s extensive barrier reef, and you might see 1,000-pound clams, anemones the size of basketballs, and fish of all kinds, from manta rays and whale sharks to surfboard-size wrasses. The largest island is 153-square-mile Babeldaob, the only place big enough for the international airport’s runways. But the minute island-capital of Koror, two miles southwest, supports more than two-thirds of Palau’s 15,000 population with its well-planned road system and central location. Koror links up to Babeldaob, Arakabesan, Ngercheu, Malakal, and several other islands via causeways and bridges that have all but replaced interisland commuting on outboards or canoes.


Palau’s fabled dive sites, like Blue Corner and the Ngemelis Wall (with visibility up to 150 feet), are at the southern end of the barrier reef, about an hour’s boat ride south of Koror. Hefty hawksbills lumber among the sea fans and tree corals of Ngemelis Wall, named “the world’s best wall dive” by Jacques Cousteau. The even more popular Blue Corner teems with reef sharks and schooling barracuda. As a new nation, Palau is starting to establish conservation programs for the dive industry, but dive boats still line up to anchor at these sites like planes landing at LAX. Some locals claim that Peliliu’s wrecks, about 45 minutes southwest by boat from Koror, are the best dives; others prefer the geologic formations of Siaes Tunnel, Blue Holes, and Chandelier Cave, all within an hour of Koror. You’re best off simply asking your divemaster to take you to sites offering optimum conditions and the fewest people.
If you want to learn the names of all the marine life, book your dives and snorkeling trips through Fish ‘N Fins (two-tank dives, $100, including lunch; 011-680-488-2637) at Palau Marina Hotel on Koror. Owner Francis Toribiong, the godfather of Palau diving, knows every olaumeyas and kesebekuu (sea anemone and moray eel). Or dive with Dexter Temengil at Palau Diving Center on Koror (two dives, $110; 680-488-2978), who’ll also take you to Jellyfish Lake ($40 per person), a short boat-ride away on Eil Malk Island. The marine lake is off-limits to divers (there are noxious bacterial gases at depths below 50 feet), but you’ll never get near the stuff snorkeling. Getting there is half the fun: you trek up a rocky cliff, dodging poisonous trees oozing black sap, then slip into ten inches of bug-covered silt and snake your way through a stand of slimy mangrove roots. Somewhere between the mangroves and the lake’s opposite shore, you’ll encounter the nonstinging Mastigias—first one, then ten, until, by the thousands, they’re rubbing up against you like purring kittens.
To log some quality topside time, spend at least an afternoon sea kayaking. The oft-photographed Rock Islands—those little green knobs scattered south of Koror—are minor players in the diving scene, but they’re prime waters for paddlers: you skim along beneath limestone ledges while Palauan bush warblers serenade you from the pandanus above, and plate corals and sponges whiz past below. ���ϳԹ��� Kayaking of Palau on Koror (rentals, $50-$70; one-day tours, $80; 680-488-1694) outfits day trips and guide-optional camping excursions geared for snorkeling, caving, birding, hiking, and diving. Hikers and fly-fishers should contact Lazarrenna Yosinao at Palau Island ���ϳԹ���s (day trips, $80; 680-488-1843) for a no-holds-barred trek to Babeldaob’s Ngatpang Waterfall, a mix of four-wheel-drive off-roading, jungle hiking, birding, and freshwater minicasting.
Favored divers’ digs include the laid-back bungalows at Carp Island Resort on Ngercheu, (doubles, $70-$100; 680-488-2978) and the 50-room Hotel Nikko Palau (doubles, $130-$170; 800-645-5687). On a gentle slope overlooking the Rock Islands next to ���ϳԹ��� Kayaking, it makes for a handy paddlers’ retreat. Arakabesan’s Sunrise Villa (doubles, $125; 680-488-4590) has 23 spacious rooms with refrigerators and outstanding views of the Rock Islands. Nearby, the full-service Palau Pacific Resort on Koror’s only beach (doubles, $225-$270; 800-327-8585) appeals to those who seek five-star frills like Jacuzzis and princely all-you-can-eat buffets. If you prefer a live-aboard dive boat, there are several. Book the Palau Aggressor II, a 16-passenger catamaran, through Live/Dive Pacific (seven-day package, $2,225; 800-344-5662). The Sun Dancer (one-week package, $2,000-$2,200; call Peter Hughes Diving, 800-932-6237), with eight posh double cabins, cruises the length of Palau’s reef. The smaller Ocean Hunter (one-week package, $2,000-$2,225; call See & Sea Travel, 800-348-9778) is a 60-foot yacht with three double cabins.
Getting There and Around:

Continental Micronesia (800-231-0856) flies from Los Angeles and San Francisco for around $1,750, with stopovers in Honolulu and Guam. In Koror, rent a car from Toyota Rent-A-Car ($75 per day; 011-680-488-2133).

The Solomon Islands

A dive briefing goes something like this: “We know this is a wall. The current will take you to a reef. We’re not sure what’s there. Have fun!” Whoopie! You drop down into warm blue water with 100-foot visibility, drift along, see a bunch of reef sharks and giant sea fans, whole families of parrotfish, crinoids in every color combo, a hammerhead, a weird ray, and a Spanish dancer. You surface with a fat grin on your face, look around, and then it hits you—except for the divers you’re with and a kid paddling by in a dugout canoe, there’s nobody around—not another boat for as far as you can see (the dive site doesn’t even have a name).
In decades past, only diehard wreck divers made the long haul to the Solomon Islands, 1,300 miles northeast of Australia. Iron Bottom Sound off the main island of Guadalcanal got its name from the sheer numbers of World War II warships, submarines, and fighter planes that haunt its depths. There was no dive operation on Guadalcanal until 1982, no live-aboard until 1988. Even today, sport diving remains in its infancy, despite numerous fringing reefs alive with uncounted coral and fish species (and at least five species of toothy sharks). Of the 922 islands in the archipelago, groups like the Russells and the Floridas opened their reefs to divers only within the past ten years, and the vast majority have yet to be explored.


A trip to the Solomons usually begins at Henderson Field Airport in Honiara on Guadalcanal, the most developed and the largest island at 2,965 square miles. Honiara, the nation’s capital, is a Quonset-hutted town (populated by about a tenth of the Solomons’ 300,000 citizens) surrounded by humid jungle and thatch-roofed villages. While not the most picturesque choice, a stay in Honiara makes good sense if climbing into the cockpit of a sunken B-17 bomber sounds like your idea of fun.
The Kitano Mendana (doubles, $75-$125; 011-677-20071) heads the list of Honiara’s hotels, not so much because of its Sheraton-style amenities, but because of its dearth of in-room mosquitoes. You can snorkel on Mendana Reef right in front of the resort (about a 20-minute swim in shallow water), and on-site Island Dive Services (one dive, $45; 677-22103) will take you to wrecks like the B-17 bomber with intact controls and machine guns. Or do the bushwalk-wade-swim to nearby Mataniko, a waterfall next to a stalagmite-filled cave swarming with bats and swallows.
But to really get away, head straight to Uepi, a tiny single-resort island and prime scuba spot off New Georgia in Western Province. Reached from Honiara via a 70-minute flight on Solomon Airlines (round-trip, $125; 677-20031), Uepi Island Resort (doubles, $100-$135, meals included; 011-61-77-75-1323) specializes in diving, boardsailing, and scenic beaches. The bungalow-style hotel overlooks coral-lined Marovo Lagoon, the world’s longest at 68 miles. Notable dives include the coral extravaganza at Landoro Gardens (more than 500 species, including gorgonian fans and comb coral) and the drift dive (about $40 per dive) among Maori wrasses at Uepi Point. Canoes are available at the resort for the trip up the Kolo River to several small villages, where you can watch weavers and wood carvers at work.
For birders, there’s Rennell Island, 130 miles south of Guadalcanal in Central Province. Its 427 square miles shelter shrikebills, fantails, pygmy ibises, and cormorants that feed on tilapia and giant eels. The birds congregate in Te’Nggano, the largest freshwater lake in the Pacific outside of New Zealand. Now under consideration as a World Heritage nature reserve (as is Marovo Lagoon), the area has no lodging facilities. To camp, you’ll need a village chief’s permission, best secured by a guide found through the Solomon Islands Tourist Authority on Honiara (677-22442).
For a closer encounter with the Solomons, consider a live-aboard dive boat. Bilikiki Cruises in Honiara operates the only two live-aboards in the Solomons (all-inclusive weekly rates, $1,750-$2,225; 800-663-5363). Both make seven- to 14-day runs to Marovo Lagoon, the Russells, and the Floridas. The 125-foot Spirit of Solomons takes up to 26 divers; the 125-foot Bilikiki, an old ferry turned luxury cruiser, holds up to 20 divers. With advance request, either boat can stow away boardsailing, canoeing, and fishing gear.
Getting There and Around:

For connecting flights from Fiji to Honiara (via Vanuatu) in the Solomons (there’s no direct service from the U.S.), book the $485 round-trip Discover Pacific Pass on Solomon Airlines (call Air Promotions Systems, 800-677-4277). The Discover Solomons Pass gets you four domestic flights for $250. Avis rents cars in Honiara ($307-$450 per week); Budget charges $253.

Fiji

In Fiji, choose your island according to your sport, then expect to empty your wallet. The ultimate Fijian idyll won’t come cheap, but the good news is that Fijian hotels tend to treat all travelers like royalty, no matter how wild-eyed or grungy.
The 330-island archipelago (population 785,000) lies 1,148 miles north of New Zealand. Of the three largest islands, 4,010-square-mile Viti Levu has the capital of Suva, the Nadi International Airport, and the bulk of the population. Legendary surfing awaits at tiny Tavarua off its western coast, while Vanua Levu (3,000 square miles), Taveuni (166 square miles), and smaller islands in the north have the least-traveled beaches and the best snorkeling and diving.


Of course, the only rationale surfers need to part with a year’s savings is a 25-second ride in a 15-foot tube—which is why Tavarua attracts even the most penurious of the breed. Reached from Nadi via a 45-minute drive plus half an hour in an outboard, the 30-acre island sits amid razor-sharp reefs, outside of which loom screaming left breaks accessible only by boat. Tavarua Island Resort (doubles, $150 per person, including lodging, meals, and transportation; 805-686-4551) caters to a maximum of 24 surfers with rustic bures (thatch-roofed huts), communal toilets, a family-style restaurant, and those all-important first-aid stations. Bring booties, boards, and your strongest leash, and prepare to meet a sea snake in its natural habitat. Glassiest conditions occur November to February.
You can also scuba dive off Tavarua, but if diving’s your main passion, book yourself into Cousteau Fiji Island Resort (doubles, $375-$475, including breakfast and all activities except diving; 800-268-7832) on Vanua Levu, Jean-Michel and partners’ new playground on Savusavu Bay where it meets the Koro Sea. The PADI dive and water-sports operation offers a full-on photo lab, along with crafts from sailboats to kayaks. On occasion, the reefmeister himself leads dives or even rainforest hikes to misting waterfalls.
If the resort’s 20 plush bures, each with floor-to-ceiling windows and well-stocked minibars, sound a tad decadent, do it in the name of science: Project Ocean Search, Jean-Michel’s biannual resort program on reef ecology, includes lectures, field trips, and underwater shooting with a Nikonos V ($6,200, all-inclusive with round-trip airfare from Los Angeles; 805-899-8899).
Divers who want to try their luck at saltwater fly-fishing should check out Matagi Island, a horseshoe-shaped sliver six miles from Taveuni’s northeast coast. Its eponymous 240-acre resort (doubles, $200-$340; 800-362-8244) houses guests in ten bures, or in a treehouse 30 feet off the ground. Mornings, two dive boats (two-tank dive, $85 per person) run to coral-covered drop-offs like Purple Wall and Golden Dream. Afternoons, you can fool around with Hobie Cats and sailboards or test the resort’s handmade flies on king mackerel and dogtooth tuna.
If you’d rather dive day and night, bunk on the resort’s Matagi Princess II, with air-conditioned staterooms and hot showers (seven nights, all-inclusive with round-trip airfare from Los Angeles, $3,500; 800-362-8244). The 12-passenger, 85-foot live-aboard cruises from Matagi to sites in the Somosomo Strait and the Ringgolds brimming with soft corals and tiger cowries.
Sailors can charter a bareboat through The Moorings (50-foot Beneteau, $590-$690 per day; 800-535-7289); a typical ten-day sail from its base on Malololailai Island ten miles west of Nadi includes a stop on Sawa-i-Lau to swim in the caves, a visit with Naviti Island’s female chief to trade for shells and carvings made by villagers, and an exploration of the freshwater pools and beachside waterfalls on Waya Island.
Finally, there’s the hell-you-only-live-once choice—a sojourn on 800-acre Kaimbu in north Fiji’s Lau group, where you can either ensconce yourself in a palace of a bure with 25-foot ceilings and 220-degree views or drop a slightly larger fortune and have the run of the island. Kaimbu Island Resort (all-inclusive doubles, $1,200 per night; entire island, $3,500; 800-473-0332) takes up to six guests and fronts the proverbial blue lagoon.
Getting There and Around:

Three airlines make the 11-hour trip from Los Angeles to Nadi International Airport: Qantas (800-227-4500), with nonstops on Tuesdays and Thursdays; Air Pacific (800-227-4446), with a Saturday nonstop; and Air New Zealand (800-262-1234), with four weekly departures via Honolulu. Round-trip airfares range from $1,100 to $1,500; the minimum stay is usually a week. Sunflower Airlines (011-679-723-016-408) flies from Nadi to most of Fiji’s smaller islands ($40-$110 one way). For car rental, call Avis ($309-$412 weekly; 800-331-1212) or Budget ($312; 800-527-0700)

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