The best adventure destinations
128 places we'd send a adventure-first traveler, from household names to under-the-radar picks.
-
Acadia National Park, USA Granite coast and blazing maples in crisp Atlantic autumn -
Alofi, Niue Snorkel with whales over coral chasms on the tiny rock island -
AlUla, Saudi Arabia Nabataean tombs at Hegra, cool desert nights October to March -
Andermatt, Switzerland Uncrowded alpine skiing in winter, high-pass hiking in summer -
Apostle Islands, USA Sea-cave kayaking off Lake Superior cliffs in warm summer -
Arusha, Tanzania Safari gateway: dry-season game drives, calving season in the south -
Aspen, USA Champagne powder in winter, wildflower peaks come August -
Atauro Island, Timor-Leste One of Earth's richest reefs off a sleepy island, dry-season diving -
Bandhavgarh, India Dense Bengal-tiger jungle, prime dry-season big-cat sightings -
Banff, Canada Turquoise glacial lakes and peak trails in short alpine summer -
Banos, Ecuador Waterfall gorge and canyon swings under drier autumn skies -
Bansko, Bulgaria Pirin peaks and cheap Balkan skiing with mehana feasts in winter -
Barreal, Argentina Andes foothills with some of Earth's clearest stargazing skies -
Bentonville, USA World-class art and Ozark singletrack in mild spring -
Bequia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sailors' harbor and quiet Grenadine beaches in dry-season sun -
Big Bend National Park, USA Star-filled desert canyons and Rio Grande hikes, winter-cool -
Big Sur, USA Cliff-hugging Highway 1 and redwood coves, clear golden autumn -
Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands Shore diving on pristine reefs, below the hurricane belt -
Boquete, Panama Cloud-forest coffee highlands and quetzals in the dry-season hills -
Bozjyra, Kazakhstan Chalk spires above the Ustyurt desert, spring and autumn 4x4 country -
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda Mountain-gorilla treks through misted equatorial rainforest -
Cairns, Australia Dry-season reef trips with clear water and no summer stingers -
Camiguin, Philippines Volcano isle of waterfalls and hot springs, calm dry-season dives -
Chamonix, France Mont Blanc's basecamp: glaciers, cable cars and deep winter powder -
Chobe, Botswana Dry-season elephant herds massing along the Chobe riverfront -
Churchill, Canada Tundra polar bears at the ice edge in crisp late-autumn -
Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy Dolomite peaks, ski culture in winter, via ferrata in summer -
Cusco, Peru Inca capital and Machu Picchu gateway, clearest May to September -
Dades Valley, Morocco Switchback gorge road and rose valley, spring-green oases -
Dahab, Egypt Red Sea free-diving off the Blue Hole, laid-back Bedouin coast -
Damaraland, Namibia Desert-adapted elephants and ancient rock art in stark red hills -
Dominica Rainforest waterfalls and boiling lakes on the nature island -
El Chalten, Argentina Argentina's trekking capital under Fitz Roy, austral summer -
El Nido, Philippines Bacuit Bay's limestone lagoons by boat, dry and calm in high season -
Ella, Sri Lanka Hill-country tea trails and the Nine Arches Bridge in clear season -
Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu Blue holes, WWII wrecks and Champagne Beach in the dry season -
Exmouth, Australia Swim beside whale sharks off the reef in autumn's clear water -
Fuvahmulah, Maldives A one-island atoll where tiger sharks patrol the dry-season blue -
Galapagos, Ecuador Snorkel with sea lions in the warm-water season, January to June -
Göreme, Turkey Fairy-chimney valleys and dawn balloon flights over Cappadocia -
Gros Morne National Park, Canada Fjord boat rides and tablelands geology in long summer light -
Ha Giang, Vietnam Motorbike loop past limestone passes, golden rice in October -
Haida Gwaii, Canada Totem-pole rainforest and remote First Nations coast, summer -
Hampi, India Boulder-strewn Vijayanagara ruins in cool, dry winter light -
High Tatras, Slovakia Alpine lakes and granite ridges, hiking summer or skiing winter -
Hood River, USA Gorge windsurfing and orchard cider in bright river-valley summer -
Hualien, Taiwan Marble cliffs of Taroko Gorge above a jade river, cooler autumn hikes -
Ikara-Flinders Ranges, Australia Ancient Wilpena amphitheatre and outback silence, mild-winter walks -
Isle of Skye, Scotland Cuillin ridges and sea cliffs under long Hebridean summer light -
Jebel Akhdar, Oman Terraced rose farms and canyon rims, damask bloom in April -
Jeju Island, South Korea Volcanic craters and lava-tube coast, green tea fields and spring hikes -
Kakadu, Australia Ancient rock art and teeming wetlands, dry-season waterfall pools -
Karakol, Kyrgyzstan Trekking base by Issyk-Kul under snow peaks, alpine lakes in high summer -
Kauai, USA Na Pali cliffs and quiet beaches in dry shoulder-season sun -
Kazbegi, Georgia Hilltop Gergeti church under a glacier peak, green in summer -
Khongoryn Els, Mongolia Mongolia's singing sand dunes rising from the Gobi, camel treks in summer -
Khorog, Tajikistan Pamir Highway town below the Roof of the World, brief summer overland -
Labuan Bajo, Indonesia Gateway to Komodo dragons and Padar's ridgelines, dry-season seas -
Laikipia, Kenya Private conservancies with rhino and wild dog, low-crowd safari -
Lake Khovsgol, Mongolia Deep blue alpine lake ringed by taiga and reindeer herders, brief summer -
Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland Valley of 72 waterfalls under sheer Jungfrau cliffs, greenest in June -
Leh, India Ladakh's high passes and Pangong blue, reachable only in summer -
Lofoten Islands, Norway Sea-cliff fishing villages under midnight sun and summer hiking -
Lord Howe Island, Australia Capped-visitor island: empty beaches and lagoon snorkeling in summer -
Luang Namtha, Laos Jungle treks to hill-tribe villages, cool and dry in the north -
Maasai Mara, Kenya Wildebeest herds and big cats on golden Mara grassland -
Mancora, Peru Peru's warm north-coast surf beach, sunniest December to March -
Merzouga, Morocco Erg Chebbi dune camps, cool nights under Saharan stars -
Milford Sound, New Zealand Cliff-face waterfalls thundering after summer rain in the fjord -
Moorea, French Polynesia Jagged green peaks and stingray shallows in dry-season calm -
Munnar, India Rolling tea hills of the Western Ghats, misty post-monsoon green -
Musandam, Oman Dhow cruises through Arabia's fjords, dolphin-run winter waters -
Nong Khiaw, Laos River town under karst cliffs, dry-season viewpoints at dawn -
Okavango Delta, Botswana Flood-season waterways and dry-season wildlife, safari at its peak -
Olympic National Park, USA Rainforest, glaciers, and wild coast in dry high summer -
Ometepe, Nicaragua Twin-volcano island rising from a lake, hikeable in the dry season -
Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica Corcovado rainforest and empty beaches, wildlife-rich dry season -
Paro, Bhutan Tiger's Nest clings to a cliff, best in clear spring and autumn -
Pokhara, Nepal Annapurna reflected in Phewa Lake, clearest after the monsoon -
Potosí, Bolivia Silver-mine city at 4000m, cool clear Andean winter skies -
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Powder-white Grace Bay and reef dives in dry winter calm -
Queenstown, New Zealand Southern Alps powder and lakeside apres in deep winter -
Quetzaltenango, Guatemala Highland markets and volcano trailheads, clear dry-season mornings -
Raja Ampat, Indonesia Earth's richest reefs and karst lagoons, calmest October to April -
Réunion Volcano hikes and forested cirques, clear cool dry-season trails -
Rock Islands, Palau Kayak jade islets and jellyfish lakes in dry-season clarity -
Rote Island, Indonesia Hidden dry-season surf and empty palm-lined shores -
Saba, Caribbean Netherlands Cloud-forest volcano and world-class wall dives, winter-dry -
Sabi Sands, South Africa Leopard-dense private reserve by Kruger, dry-season game drives -
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia Rainy-season floods turn the salt flat into a vast sky mirror -
Salento, Colombia Wax-palm cloud forest and coffee fincas, greenest in dry January -
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile Driest desert on earth, geysers and clear stargazing skies -
São Miguel, Azores Mid-Atlantic volcano island: crater lakes, hot springs and whales -
Sedona, USA Red-rock canyon hikes and vortex trails in spring-cool air -
Serengeti, Tanzania Great-migration river crossings across the northern plains -
Siargao, Philippines Cloud 9 barrels and palm-lagoon hops, best before typhoon season -
Siem Reap, Cambodia Sunrise over Angkor Wat's towers, clear cool dry-season mornings -
Snowdonia, Wales Wales's rugged peaks: rack railway to the summit, valleys of slate -
Soča Valley, Slovenia Electric-blue river rafting and alpine trails in high summer -
Sokcho, South Korea Granite peaks of Seoraksan ablaze with foliage, seafood port below -
Song-Kol, Kyrgyzstan High nomad pastures and yurt stays around a silent alpine lake, July only -
Sossusvlei, Namibia Rust-red dunes and cracked white pans, cool clear-sky mornings -
South Luangwa, Zambia Walking safaris and leopard sightings in the dry-season bush -
Spiti Valley, India High-desert Himalaya and cliff monasteries, open only in summer -
Swakopmund, Namibia German-colonial coast where dunes meet cold Atlantic fog -
Taos, USA Pueblo adobe and powder skiing under snowcapped Sangre peaks -
Telluride, USA Box-canyon powder in winter, alpine wildflowers come July -
Theodore Roosevelt National Park, USA Painted badlands and wild bison, cool golden autumn drives -
Tofino, Canada Surf breaks and old-growth rainforest on the wild Pacific edge -
Torres del Paine, Chile Granite towers and glaciers on the classic W trek, austral summer -
Træna, Norway Arctic-circle fishing isles and sea caves, midnight-sun summer -
Uluru, Australia Red-centre sunrises and cool desert hikes in winter dry season -
Ushuaia, Argentina The end of the world, Beagle Channel cruises in austral summer -
Val Gardena, Italy Dolomite valley of jagged peaks, meadows in summer, powder in winter -
Vava'u, Tonga Swim alongside humpback whales in the July-to-October season -
Victoria Falls, Zambia Full-thunder falls after the rains, spray visible for miles -
Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda Gorilla families on green Virunga slopes, drier trekking months -
Wadi Rum, Jordan Mars-red desert camps, canyon hikes in shoulder-season cool -
Wanaka, New Zealand That lone lake tree and Roys Peak trails in long summer light -
White Desert, Egypt Wind-carved chalk formations glowing under desert stars -
Yakushima, Japan Moss-draped rainforest and thousand-year cedars, misty spring hikes -
Yangshuo, China Karst peaks along the Li River, misty bamboo rafts in spring and autumn -
Yellowstone National Park, USA Geysers and bison herds across wide-open summer highlands -
Yosemite National Park, USA Thundering spring waterfalls under granite domes, before crowds -
Zagori, Greece Stone-arch bridges and Vikos Gorge hikes in wildflower autumn -
Zakopane, Poland Tatra ski slopes and highlander cheese huts, snow-sure in winter -
Zermatt, Switzerland Car-free village under the Matterhorn, ski slopes open into spring -
Zhangjiajie, China Sandstone spires wreathed in cloud, glass walkways above misty gorges