Travel
Archive
I put raisins on my cereal. Should I just put sugar on my cereal and cut out the raisins? Bill Garfield Hanover, New Hampshire
It's year ten of the REVOLUTION. Venezuela's oil riches are vanishing, and el presidente's "Yankee devil" rhetoric has created the world's most hostile environment for Homo turisticus. PATRICK SYMMES goes looking for adventure, and comes back with a tale that will haunt him forever.
My sons are serious cyclists in their twenties and want to do a bike trip with Mom and Dad in Alaska this summer. Can you recommend something challenging for them that won't kill us? P S. Highlands Ranch, CO
Go to Argentina and find the best steak on earth, we told him. It was a dream assignment for our favorite swashbuckling gourmand—until he found himself staring into el ojo de la vaca.
But don't worry, we've stacked the deck in your favor. Welcome to Expedition Planning 101. Your assignment: Read the tips on gear, first aid, and food; pick one of our five ready-to-roll itineraries; and then get out the door. Just remember to be humble—Ma Nature won't be intimidated by your trash-talking buddies.
A couple of friends and I want to take a spring break trip sea kayaking. Although we own play boats, we would need to rent sea kayaks. We are college students, so we need to keep the cost at about $1,200 or so for the whole week. We would prefer the East Coast, but if costs and/or weather make this difficult, we would try some West Coast flavor, too. What do you suggest? Lucas Benton, AR
Yukon Quest champion Sebastian Schnuelle talks about eating vacuum-packed McNuggets, cooking for canines, and taking on Lance Mackey.
How do you swing a great job in the islands? Ask these five guys, all of whom have figured out how to balance a career with the relaxed lifestyle of the Bahamas.
Conveniently, 2009 marks both the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species. This has fur-and-feather nerds everywhere aflutter. But the occasion should also be cause for celebration among adventure travelers. After all, before the British naturalist's obsession with Galápagos…
Your survival plan for South by Southwest, the annual film-and-music bonanza taking place this month: (1) MAKE A PLAN. With hundreds of bands playing over five nights, picking your spots can be tough. Big names reliably play Stubb’s Bar-B-Que (stubbsaustin.com), and be sure to check out…
We are thinking of visiting a friend in Nicaragua this winter. Is Nicaragua a safe travel destination? And can you recommend some good, active side trips from Bluefields? y San Marcos, CA
We tried to stop our man from revealing the dirty secrets of travel writing. Alas, he refused to be muzzled.
The first Filson bag I ever saw was in the callused hands of a wrangler in Grand Junction, Colorado. The next million hung from the shoulders of ad designers, junior corporate lawyers, and artfully disheveled fashion writers in Manhattan’s East Village. That’s right: Bags by Filson, makers of refined hunting-and-fishing…
First I heard seals. Then coyotes. Then I opened my eyes to a full-frontal view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Such is life at Cavallo Point, a 46-building resort on a renovated army base in the Golden Gate National Parks that opened last July. The first hotel to start up…
Travel to Sin City is facing its biggest slump since 9/11: In the past year, Vegas merchants have seen a 6 percent drop in sales. What this means to you: Airfare is cheap, and there will be fewer mountain bikers than normal in Bootleg Canyon, one of the country’s least-appreciated…
Getting far, far, far away from it all is easier—and cheaper—than you think. Presenting seven adventure-packed Caribbean island escapes. The Over-Under SABA, NETHERLANDS ANTILLES Netherlands Antilles (Philip Oblentz/Digital Vision/Getty) The most challenging part of a trip to Saba, a five-square-mile volcanic island 28 miles southwest of St. Maarten, is…
As Kenya’s hoteliers have discovered, few things can derail tourism like news of violencein this case, the clashes thatfollowed the country’s disputed December 2007 presidential election. Kenya’s tourism industry is still recovering, but outfitters have been running trips since March. And according to Craig Sholley, senior director of the African…
For years, adventure-travel outfitters have used so-called exploratory trips to work out kinks in new offerings. Veteran guides suss out routes, lodging options, and, say, the local yak-butter tea, then refine the itinerary before it shows up in next fall’s catalog. But as it turns out, some high-end travelers actually…
Do you have any suggestions for a family itinerary of Glacier National Park this spring? We have a girl who is nine. Rosalind M. Oak Park, CA
Ah, Mexico. Land of hot sand, cheap beer, and a foolproof cure for seasonal affective disorder: endless adventure.
Ski tourists flock to the Haute Route of France and Switzerland. But ROB STORY and his buddies wanted more, so they skinned, pisted, off-pisted, and got pissed all the way across the westernmost Alps—with a little help from 59 lifts and Hunter S. Thompson.
My wife and I spent last New Year's Eve cross-country skiing in Yellowstone with a fantastic outfitter. This year we'd like to do something similar near Missoula or maybe Idaho. Can you recommend an outfitter and guide service that operates in these places? Mike F. Washington DC
Ah, Mexico. Land of hot sand, cheap beer, and a foolproof cure for seasonal affective disorder: endless adventure.
Greg Mortenson's school-building program in Central Asia dates back to 1993, when the banged-up K2 survivor made a pledge to the Himalayan villagers who took him in. Fifteen years and Three Cups of Tea later, it's both a powerful example of a great idea and a chaotic, ongoing adventure. KEVIN FEDARKO hits the rough road with Mortenson in Afghanis
It held off for more than 9,000 years, but when southern Chile’s Chaitén Volcano erupted in May, it showered ash clear to the Atlantic Ocean. If you followed the news, you know that the town of Chaitén, five miles away, was virtually leveled by ash-swollen rivers. You might have heard…
Out on the far edge of the Alaska frontier, a man can hide his sins. Robert Allen Hale—a.k.a. Papa Pilgrim—bought a homestead outside the remote town of McCarthy where he imprisoned his family and conned the world with tales of a simpler life. But for the 15 children living the nightmare, the only choice was escape.
Where in the United States can I stay overnight in a tree? Alice Massillon, OH
Still, traversing the rugged and remote Olympic Peninsula is doable, thanks to inflatable boats called packrafts—and a bit of ingenuity
Expat conservationist John Cain Carter, a former elite Army soldier who did a tour in Iraq, is anything but typical. Same goes for his plan, which calls on ranchers to preserve Brazil's wild west. Can he have it both ways and still save—and survive—the Amazon?
The goal: To rank the continent's top ski destinations. The deciding factors: Snow quality and terrain. The judge: Marc Peruzzi, intrepid Colorado-based ski reporter, former Outside staffer, and editor of Skiing magazine, 2003-2008.
November's Down Under epic, Australia, is the classic story of an aristocratic woman (Nicole Kidman) who falls for a rough-edged cowboy (Hugh Jackman), but making the film wasn't so predictable. Australian director Baz Luhrmann, 46, whose previous film (2001's Moulin Rouge!) also starred Kidman, had his entire crew of 300 trucked hundreds of mil
My wife and I have finally decided to take the trip of a lifetime and splurge on an African safari. What options should we explore if budget isn't an issue? Eric M. Omaha, NE
Gone Missing: Vanished in Papua NAT: A view of Agats, population roughly 2,000, the main trading hub of the Asmat region. The village is one of the region’s largest and most technically advanced, though it’s hard to tell that from the photo. TIM: Agats became our respite, an…
For my first TV project, I traveled to New Guinea for the Travel Channel to investigate a deadly mystery and swim with sharks, crocodiles, and snakes. Which was a lot less scary than getting in front of the camera.
Ever fantasized about building a restful escape, with your bare hands, in some untrammeled back of beyond—and it all coming together just as you'd planned? Moron.
They may not have solved the mystery of his disappearance. They may not have been there when the wreckage was finally found. But goshdarnit, these Canadian adventure racers might just have invented a new sport in the process: extreme jogging for good.
Text The Brazilian Amazon The River of the Dead runs near the Carters’ fishing camp of Rancho Jacobá.The Brazilian Amazon John Carter with a dead jararacucu do brejo snake in the front yard of Fazenda Santo Antonio.The Brazilian Amazon The Kamayurá village consists of a series of traditional thatch-roof huts.The…
Everest is shrinking—in status, at least. In the past few years, companies like Nepal Helicopter have been ferrying passengers to Base Camp, allowing well-heeled "climbers" to skip the slog up to 17,600 feet. Cheating? Perhaps. But there are times when a shortcut is worth a little shame. Consider these La-Z-Boy adventures.
I don’t like guided fishing trips much. They feel canned. But for fish like the ones found in northwestern Colorado’s Yampa Valley, exceptions must be made. The area is best known for the Steamboat Ski Resort, but in recent years it’s also become a fly-fishing destination, especially in…
In early August, after 11 climbers died on the world’s second-highest peak, people wanted to know: Has the Everest circus migrated to K2? MICHAEL KODAS pieced together the events from eight of the survivors and has a straight answer: Sort of.
What's the best spring break itinerary for an adventurous family (with boys ages nine and 11) in the Grand Canyon area, with hiking and/or whitewater included? Debbie B. bler, PA
Has there ever been a better time to get away? Presenting the definitive guide to our nation's greatest 21st-century adventure hideouts—50 places between the lines where you can still ditch the crowds, get lost, and recharge.
The DNC horde has left and Denver is its old relaxed self again. Use it as your launchpad for a weekend in Grand County.
I planning a trip out west this summer and would like to go to Redwood National Park and do some camping. I trying to get there as cheaply as possible. Do you have any suggestions for how I should get there? Heather Old Town, ME
Meet José, emblem of New York City's wildlife renaissance—and the Big Apple's newest Casanova
A nation of 1,190 island specks spread over 116 square miles of the Indian Ocean, the Maldives looks like something out of a myth. And parts of the country could well become just that if sea levels rise: The highest elevation is a mere eight feet above. Only about 200…
A peek under the living roof of San Francisco's newly rebuilt, half–billion–dollar monument to nature
Was a famous American scholar and self–styled curator up to no good in Nepal, or is he just a scapegoat for all wealthy expats?
Almost fifteen years after the genocide, tiny Rwanda is suddenly a hot adventure destination, the new darling of multinational investors, and, says mountain-bike legend Tom Ritchey, one extra-long bicycle short of a comeback
