The best adventure destinations
128 places we'd send a adventure-first traveler, from household names to under-the-radar picks.
Acadia National Park, USAGranite coast and blazing maples in crisp Atlantic autumn
Alofi, NiueSnorkel with whales over coral chasms on the tiny rock island
AlUla, Saudi ArabiaNabataean tombs at Hegra, cool desert nights October to March
Andermatt, SwitzerlandUncrowded alpine skiing in winter, high-pass hiking in summer
Apostle Islands, USASea-cave kayaking off Lake Superior cliffs in warm summer
Arusha, TanzaniaSafari gateway: dry-season game drives, calving season in the south
Aspen, USAChampagne powder in winter, wildflower peaks come August
Atauro Island, Timor-LesteOne of Earth's richest reefs off a sleepy island, dry-season diving
Bandhavgarh, IndiaDense Bengal-tiger jungle, prime dry-season big-cat sightings
Banff, CanadaTurquoise glacial lakes and peak trails in short alpine summer
Banos, EcuadorWaterfall gorge and canyon swings under drier autumn skies
Bansko, BulgariaPirin peaks and cheap Balkan skiing with mehana feasts in winter
Barreal, ArgentinaAndes foothills with some of Earth's clearest stargazing skies
Bentonville, USAWorld-class art and Ozark singletrack in mild spring
Bequia, St. Vincent and the GrenadinesSailors' harbor and quiet Grenadine beaches in dry-season sun
Big Bend National Park, USAStar-filled desert canyons and Rio Grande hikes, winter-cool
Big Sur, USACliff-hugging Highway 1 and redwood coves, clear golden autumn
Bonaire, Caribbean NetherlandsShore diving on pristine reefs, below the hurricane belt
Boquete, PanamaCloud-forest coffee highlands and quetzals in the dry-season hills
Bozjyra, KazakhstanChalk spires above the Ustyurt desert, spring and autumn 4x4 country
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, UgandaMountain-gorilla treks through misted equatorial rainforest
Cairns, AustraliaDry-season reef trips with clear water and no summer stingers
Camiguin, PhilippinesVolcano isle of waterfalls and hot springs, calm dry-season dives
Chamonix, FranceMont Blanc's basecamp: glaciers, cable cars and deep winter powder
Chobe, BotswanaDry-season elephant herds massing along the Chobe riverfront
Churchill, CanadaTundra polar bears at the ice edge in crisp late-autumn
Cortina d'Ampezzo, ItalyDolomite peaks, ski culture in winter, via ferrata in summer
Cusco, PeruInca capital and Machu Picchu gateway, clearest May to September
Dades Valley, MoroccoSwitchback gorge road and rose valley, spring-green oases
Dahab, EgyptRed Sea free-diving off the Blue Hole, laid-back Bedouin coast
Damaraland, NamibiaDesert-adapted elephants and ancient rock art in stark red hills
DominicaRainforest waterfalls and boiling lakes on the nature island
El Chalten, ArgentinaArgentina's trekking capital under Fitz Roy, austral summer
El Nido, PhilippinesBacuit Bay's limestone lagoons by boat, dry and calm in high season
Ella, Sri LankaHill-country tea trails and the Nine Arches Bridge in clear season
Espiritu Santo, VanuatuBlue holes, WWII wrecks and Champagne Beach in the dry season
Exmouth, AustraliaSwim beside whale sharks off the reef in autumn's clear water
Fuvahmulah, MaldivesA one-island atoll where tiger sharks patrol the dry-season blue
Galapagos, EcuadorSnorkel with sea lions in the warm-water season, January to June
Göreme, TurkeyFairy-chimney valleys and dawn balloon flights over Cappadocia
Gros Morne National Park, CanadaFjord boat rides and tablelands geology in long summer light
Ha Giang, VietnamMotorbike loop past limestone passes, golden rice in October
Haida Gwaii, CanadaTotem-pole rainforest and remote First Nations coast, summer
Hampi, IndiaBoulder-strewn Vijayanagara ruins in cool, dry winter light
High Tatras, SlovakiaAlpine lakes and granite ridges, hiking summer or skiing winter
Hood River, USAGorge windsurfing and orchard cider in bright river-valley summer
Hualien, TaiwanMarble cliffs of Taroko Gorge above a jade river, cooler autumn hikes
Ikara-Flinders Ranges, AustraliaAncient Wilpena amphitheatre and outback silence, mild-winter walks
Isle of Skye, ScotlandCuillin ridges and sea cliffs under long Hebridean summer light
Jebel Akhdar, OmanTerraced rose farms and canyon rims, damask bloom in April
Jeju Island, South KoreaVolcanic craters and lava-tube coast, green tea fields and spring hikes
Kakadu, AustraliaAncient rock art and teeming wetlands, dry-season waterfall pools
Karakol, KyrgyzstanTrekking base by Issyk-Kul under snow peaks, alpine lakes in high summer
Kauai, USANa Pali cliffs and quiet beaches in dry shoulder-season sun
Kazbegi, GeorgiaHilltop Gergeti church under a glacier peak, green in summer
Khongoryn Els, MongoliaMongolia's singing sand dunes rising from the Gobi, camel treks in summer
Khorog, TajikistanPamir Highway town below the Roof of the World, brief summer overland
Labuan Bajo, IndonesiaGateway to Komodo dragons and Padar's ridgelines, dry-season seas
Laikipia, KenyaPrivate conservancies with rhino and wild dog, low-crowd safari
Lake Khovsgol, MongoliaDeep blue alpine lake ringed by taiga and reindeer herders, brief summer
Lauterbrunnen, SwitzerlandValley of 72 waterfalls under sheer Jungfrau cliffs, greenest in June
Leh, IndiaLadakh's high passes and Pangong blue, reachable only in summer
Lofoten Islands, NorwaySea-cliff fishing villages under midnight sun and summer hiking
Lord Howe Island, AustraliaCapped-visitor island: empty beaches and lagoon snorkeling in summer
Luang Namtha, LaosJungle treks to hill-tribe villages, cool and dry in the north
Maasai Mara, KenyaWildebeest herds and big cats on golden Mara grassland
Mancora, PeruPeru's warm north-coast surf beach, sunniest December to March
Merzouga, MoroccoErg Chebbi dune camps, cool nights under Saharan stars
Milford Sound, New ZealandCliff-face waterfalls thundering after summer rain in the fjord
Moorea, French PolynesiaJagged green peaks and stingray shallows in dry-season calm
Munnar, IndiaRolling tea hills of the Western Ghats, misty post-monsoon green
Musandam, OmanDhow cruises through Arabia's fjords, dolphin-run winter waters
Nong Khiaw, LaosRiver town under karst cliffs, dry-season viewpoints at dawn
Okavango Delta, BotswanaFlood-season waterways and dry-season wildlife, safari at its peak
Olympic National Park, USARainforest, glaciers, and wild coast in dry high summer
Ometepe, NicaraguaTwin-volcano island rising from a lake, hikeable in the dry season
Osa Peninsula, Costa RicaCorcovado rainforest and empty beaches, wildlife-rich dry season
Paro, BhutanTiger's Nest clings to a cliff, best in clear spring and autumn
Pokhara, NepalAnnapurna reflected in Phewa Lake, clearest after the monsoon
Potosí, BoliviaSilver-mine city at 4000m, cool clear Andean winter skies
Providenciales, Turks and CaicosPowder-white Grace Bay and reef dives in dry winter calm
Queenstown, New ZealandSouthern Alps powder and lakeside apres in deep winter
Quetzaltenango, GuatemalaHighland markets and volcano trailheads, clear dry-season mornings
Raja Ampat, IndonesiaEarth's richest reefs and karst lagoons, calmest October to April
RéunionVolcano hikes and forested cirques, clear cool dry-season trails
Rock Islands, PalauKayak jade islets and jellyfish lakes in dry-season clarity
Rote Island, IndonesiaHidden dry-season surf and empty palm-lined shores
Saba, Caribbean NetherlandsCloud-forest volcano and world-class wall dives, winter-dry
Sabi Sands, South AfricaLeopard-dense private reserve by Kruger, dry-season game drives
Salar de Uyuni, BoliviaRainy-season floods turn the salt flat into a vast sky mirror
Salento, ColombiaWax-palm cloud forest and coffee fincas, greenest in dry January
San Pedro de Atacama, ChileDriest desert on earth, geysers and clear stargazing skies
São Miguel, AzoresMid-Atlantic volcano island: crater lakes, hot springs and whales
Sedona, USARed-rock canyon hikes and vortex trails in spring-cool air
Serengeti, TanzaniaGreat-migration river crossings across the northern plains
Siargao, PhilippinesCloud 9 barrels and palm-lagoon hops, best before typhoon season
Siem Reap, CambodiaSunrise over Angkor Wat's towers, clear cool dry-season mornings
Snowdonia, WalesWales's rugged peaks: rack railway to the summit, valleys of slate
Soča Valley, SloveniaElectric-blue river rafting and alpine trails in high summer
Sokcho, South KoreaGranite peaks of Seoraksan ablaze with foliage, seafood port below
Song-Kol, KyrgyzstanHigh nomad pastures and yurt stays around a silent alpine lake, July only
Sossusvlei, NamibiaRust-red dunes and cracked white pans, cool clear-sky mornings
South Luangwa, ZambiaWalking safaris and leopard sightings in the dry-season bush
Spiti Valley, IndiaHigh-desert Himalaya and cliff monasteries, open only in summer
Swakopmund, NamibiaGerman-colonial coast where dunes meet cold Atlantic fog
Taos, USAPueblo adobe and powder skiing under snowcapped Sangre peaks
Telluride, USABox-canyon powder in winter, alpine wildflowers come July
Theodore Roosevelt National Park, USAPainted badlands and wild bison, cool golden autumn drives
Tofino, CanadaSurf breaks and old-growth rainforest on the wild Pacific edge
Torres del Paine, ChileGranite towers and glaciers on the classic W trek, austral summer
Træna, NorwayArctic-circle fishing isles and sea caves, midnight-sun summer
Uluru, AustraliaRed-centre sunrises and cool desert hikes in winter dry season
Ushuaia, ArgentinaThe end of the world, Beagle Channel cruises in austral summer
Val Gardena, ItalyDolomite valley of jagged peaks, meadows in summer, powder in winter
Vava'u, TongaSwim alongside humpback whales in the July-to-October season
Victoria Falls, ZambiaFull-thunder falls after the rains, spray visible for miles
Volcanoes National Park, RwandaGorilla families on green Virunga slopes, drier trekking months
Wadi Rum, JordanMars-red desert camps, canyon hikes in shoulder-season cool
Wanaka, New ZealandThat lone lake tree and Roys Peak trails in long summer light
White Desert, EgyptWind-carved chalk formations glowing under desert stars
Yakushima, JapanMoss-draped rainforest and thousand-year cedars, misty spring hikes
Yangshuo, ChinaKarst peaks along the Li River, misty bamboo rafts in spring and autumn
Yellowstone National Park, USAGeysers and bison herds across wide-open summer highlands
Yosemite National Park, USAThundering spring waterfalls under granite domes, before crowds
Zagori, GreeceStone-arch bridges and Vikos Gorge hikes in wildflower autumn
Zakopane, PolandTatra ski slopes and highlander cheese huts, snow-sure in winter
Zermatt, SwitzerlandCar-free village under the Matterhorn, ski slopes open into spring
Zhangjiajie, ChinaSandstone spires wreathed in cloud, glass walkways above misty gorges