Alaska: Inside a Floating Aquarium

People ask what's new: Alaska's Inside Passage—packed with mysterious fjords, dramatic glaciers, and charismatic marine life—has long captivated families. Next year, the 300-mile-long (483-mile-long) route plays host to a new Lindblad Expeditions initiative aimed at transforming its vessels into outdoor classrooms. Over the past several years, the small-ship cruise outfitter has witnessed a surge in the number of families onboard its boats. For 2007, all of the outfitter's naturalists will be trained in child education through a course designed in conjunction with the National Geographic Society, and all of its Alaska vessels will be fitted with underwater bow camera (http://www.expeditions.com/videoview.asp?Mode=&Page=2), allowing everyone to track orcas and other creatures by operating a joystick in the ship's lounge.

When not kayaking, hiking, or exploring quirky seaside communities, you and your kids can while away the hours on deck, listening to whale songs from a hydrophone and watching harbor seals and their young crowd onto glacial icebergs.

Vitals -

Length: Eight days

Price: $4,840

Difficulty: Easy

Departs: May through August


For more details - http://www.expeditions.com

Paddling Montenegro's Tara River Canyon: The Balkans

In the former Yugoslavia, Montenegro was once known as the Adriatic's St. Tropez, a beach-studded playground attracting movie-star luminaries such as Elizabeth Taylor and Sophia Loren. War ravaged the Balkans a decade ago, but Montenegro's dense pine forests, craggy granite peaks, and steeply cut river canyons survived unscathed. This May, Mountain Travel outfitter leads a rafting-and-hiking romp that takes in the sandy beaches, stalactite-crowded caves, and thunderous waterfalls of the world's youngest nation.

On the ground, you'll begin in the coastal city of Dubrovnik, in neighboring Croatia, and move inland to the wilds of Montenegro's Durmitor National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Trekking along high, rocky plateaus that lead to panoramic views of glacier-formed kettle lakes, you'll also explore tiny villages built in the Venetian style. The centerpiece of the excursion is a 20-mile (32-kilometer) white-water rafting trip down the Tara River's pulsing Class III-IV rapids through one of the deepest and longest canyons in Europe. People always think of Europe in terms of cities, but in Montenegro you’ll find true wilderness, undiscovered by most.


Vitals -

Length: Ten days

Price: $2,990

Difficulty: Moderate

Departs: May


For more details - http://www.mtsobek.com

Peru's Cordillera Azul: Become a Park Pioneer

In 2001, north-central Peru's Cordillera Azul became a protected national park after biologists in partnership with the Chicago-based Field Museum discovered 28 unknown-to-science species of plants and animals in the 5,225-square-mile (13,533-square-kilometer) preserve. Thus far, only four expeditions have been allowed to enter this diverse Andean mountainscape filled with cloud forests, marshlands, and lowland valleys; this year, Sierra Club Outings makes history by leading the first public group into the park. Want to be part of it?

On the Sierra Club's pioneering team, you'll backpack, raft, camp, canoe, and fly by Peruvian police helicopter to unexplored regions of mountain and thick forest. You'll see big cats, Andean bears, and recently discovered bird species such as the scarlet-banded barbet. How did guide John O'Donnell gain access to scout the trip? By making the rounds with his daughter, Hilary, a former Field Museum anthropologist. "It's a true wilderness that has experienced very little alteration by mankind," he says. He's not kidding: A group of what scientists call "uncontacted" indigenous people resides in the park, living essentially the same lifestyle they have for thousands of years—complete with bows and arrows and poison blow darts. I hope we don't run into them, but just knowing that these people are there speaks to the wildness of the place.

Vitals -

Length: 18 days

Price: $3,395

Difficulty: Hard

Departs: July


For more details - http://www.sierraclub.org/outings

India's Desert Royal: Rajasthan

When the British Empire rolled onto the subcontinent in 1817, the Maharajas of Rajasthan were so fierce that the crown decided to broker a deal: They could rule independently, so long as Her Majesty's envoys could play among the luxurious palaces and private nature reserves that dot Rajasthan's desert landscape. Today visitors can take the same liberties on a trip designed by Mandip Singh Soin, the founder of Ibex Expeditions, who led the first Indian camel expedition across the Thar Desert. In addition to exploring ancient palaces by jeep, on foot, and on camelback, the itinerary stops at the wall of Kumbalgarh, which snakes over 13 mountaintops and through a panther reserve. Camel racing, anyone?

Vitals -

Length: 16 Days

Price: $4,100


For more details - http://www.ibexexpeditions.com

British Columbia: Paddling the Great Bear Rainforest coast

Last February about three million acres (1,214,057 hectares) of British Columbia's Great Bear Rainforest became North America's newest protected area—the result of a protracted struggle to save the region's old-growth forests from excess logging. Part of the largest coastal temperate rain forest in the world, the Great Bear extends along 250 miles (402 kilometers) of rugged shoreline, making ship-based, or mother-ship, sea kayaking one of the best ways to access it all.

Local outfitter Pacific Northwest Expeditions has been leading summer paddling trips in the area since 1998. Its 2007 departures will feature keynote guests—scientists and ecologists—who can speak to the changing character of the preserve and the need for saving threatened species such as the white-furred Kermode bear, or spirit bear, a variant of the black bear. You'll cruise between kayaking sites in a retrofitted 95-foot (29-meters) World War II-era wooden ship, the MV Songhee, which has six staterooms, a hot tub on deck, and a chef to fry up your fresh catch of the day.

Vitals -

Length: Four to six days

Price: $1,700 to $2,360

Departs: July through September


For more details - http://www.seakayakbc.com

Georgia: Hiking the Caucasus Mountains

Since 1999, outfitter Explorers' Corner has collaborated with the United Nations and the Georgian government to protect the Caucasus Mountains, establishing a national park system that will open the range to the public and promote conservation. The World Wildlife Fund has called the Caucasus "one of the world's biologically richest yet most threatened areas" because it holds within its forests and alpine ecosystems more than twice the animal diversity found in neighboring regions of Europe and Asia. (Resident species include lynx, brown bears, golden eagles, and black vultures.) Apart from hiking, days are spent on horseback and nights in hotels, camps, and at village homestays, where you can expect elaborate hospitality: Georgian feasts, completed with song and dance and even toasts in your honor. So Cheers!


Vitals -

Length: 14 days

Price: $2,800

Difficulty: Moderate

Departs: August


For more details - http://www.explorerscorner.com

British Columbia: Okanagan Valley is Canada's new Napa Valley

A heady mix of snowcapped mountains, deep cobalt lakes, and fertile wine country, Canada's Okanagan Valley—five hours north of Spokane, Washington—has yet to be discovered by most Americans. But as area vineyards' crisp, fruity whites and big reds begin to rate high marks at global competitions, an influx of south-of-the-border wine buffs is sure to follow. Austin-Lehman outfitters will add a trip to the Okanagan in 2007, offering guests a chance to preview the wines of the region and sample the endless biking and hiking trails that crisscross its semiarid landscape—before the word gets out.

You'll cycle routes that trace the shore of 218-square-mile (565-square-kilometer) Okanagan Lake, ascend through high-altitude pine forests and granite tunnels, and end in vine-covered foothills dotted with wineries. Flexible schedule can be amped up to include 25-mile (40-kilometer) rides on the Trans-Canada Trail or long days of canoeing across the lake. But if you'd rather spend your hours relaxing, you can take an afternoon to taste the Pinot Noir at NK'Mip Cellars, North America's first aboriginal-owned-and-operated winery, or sip the award-winning pyramid-aged wines at Summerhill, Canada's largest certified organic vineyard. Cheers to Wine!

Vitals -

Length: Seven days

Price: $2,900

Departs: June through September



For more details - http://www.austinlehman.com

Washington - Conquering a Cascades Classic

Everyone says, what’s new - The legendary Ptarmigan Traverse begins at Cascade Pass in the shadow of North Cascades National Park's 8,065-foot (2,458-meter) Johannesburg Mountain and traces nearly 25 miles (40 kilometers) of the Cascades Crest, cutting across ridges and cirques to the north side of 10,541-foot (321-meter) Glacier Peak, in the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area. It's the kind of iconic route that experienced Cascades mountaineers have been tackling unguided ever since the area's Ptarmigan Climbing Club established it in 1938. This May, Seattle-based Mountain Madness outfitters will guide a tour that makes this North American classic accessible to beginning ski mountaineers.

The off-piste skiing and climbing along the traverse are both challenging, but the payoffs are unrivaled: bombing down 3,000-foot (914-meter) corn-choked couloirs while supreme views of frozen lakes and tumbling glaciers spread out before you. This trip is surely equivalent to the Haute Route in the Alps, but in a wilderness setting. So are you ready to take the challenge?


Vitals -

Length: Five days

Price: $775

Difficulty: Hard

Departs: May


For more details - http://www.mountainmadness.com/

Northwest Territories: Untamed Tundra

A broad, 10,000-square-mile (25,900-square-kilometer) swath of rolling tundra and deep river canyons, Tuktut Nogait National Park lies inside Canada's rugged Northwest Territories, 105 miles (169 kilometers) north of the Arctic Circle. The ten-year-old park's three main valleys are valuable nesting areas for raptors and migratory birds. One of its rivers, the Hornaday, flows northwest into the Beaufort Sea and will be the site of an exploratory trip by Ontario-based Black Feather outfitter this summer. In the summer the river is clear and easy to paddle, but its major canyon is impassable. Along with two guides, you'll start by paddling the upper Hornaday to the mouth of the river's canyon. From there you'll swap paddles for hiking boots to trek the barren tundra. The going is moderate, with some challenging river crossings—there are no bridges in this isolated region. But the isolation makes for tremendous, unspoiled scenery: A herd of 80,000 caribou moves through the park each summer, including calving females that can be seen from the Hornaday.

Vitals -


Length: 14 days

Price: $5,000

Difficulty: Moderate

Departs: July


For more details - http://www.blackfeather.com

Brazil: Sail Away in Tocorimé, near Rio de Janeiro

The Tocorimé, a 120-foot (37-meter) traditional colonial vessel, hand-built by local craftsmen along Brazil's Tapajós River is one of a kind. Sixteen travelers cruise up the coast of Brazil on a colonial-style tall ship and learn to sail her in the process. GAP's (outfitter) first ever excursion aboard the Tocorimé launched in January 2007 from Paraty, a historic merchant town on the southeast coast famous for seafood, and potent cachaça liquor. From there, the ship ventures out into the surrounding tropical bay, which has more than 65 islands and dozens of isolated beaches to explore, and heads north up the coast toward the bright lights of Rio de Janeiro.

On the ground, you'll stop at remote Mamanguá Ecological Reserve, a fjord on the Brazilian coastline with a magnificent five-mile (eight-kilometer) sea entrance and a protected mangrove forest; Ilha Grande, a 17-square-mile (44-square-mile) state park that is home to Brazilian thrushes, endangered bugio monkeys, and scarlet ibis (once thought to be locally extinct). Off-ship excursions include rain-forest hikes, waterfall hunting, snorkeling, and kayaking. Along the way, you'll clamber up the masts and learn to navigate the blue-green waters—enough of a taste of the sailing life to make you want to jump ship from your day job.

Vitals -


Length: Seven days

Price: $895

Departs: January through April

For more Details – http://www.gapadventures.com/

Argentina and Chile: Trekking in Patagonia

Fewer and fewer travelers are taking scheduled group departures—the baby boomers and twentysomethings want individualized trips. So Geographic Expeditions are taking private trips into places like Patagonia, where there are incredible national parks in the making in Argentina and Chile. Your options are based on group interest and physical ability and can include exploring Torres del Paine National Park and the Fitz Roy massif, trekking up peaks that have rarely been climbed, or fly-fishing for Patagonia's behemoth 13-pound (6-kilogram) trout. GeoEx will eventually develop fixed itineraries to some of these locales; going now means that you can choose your own path through the untrammeled wilderness.

Vitals -

Length: 14 to 21 days

Price: $4650

Departs: January through March

For more Details – http://www.geoex.com/geoex_traveller/index.asp

Mexico: Track Baja’s Gray Whales

For at least as long as scientists have studied them, a massive population of Pacific gray whales has spent summers feeding in the Bering Sea and winters mating off Baja California Sur. But recent observations suggest that this annual migration pattern has been upset, and the whales now seek sources of food outside of the Bering Sea. Some of the whales are looking for feeding grounds near British Columbia and down in Mexico. Outfitter’s (Earthwatch Institute) are examining whether or not there is any room for them in these new habitats—as a hungry whale can do a lot of damage to an ecosystem.

You'll spend most days in small skiffs, spotting and photo-identifying whales, recording population stats, and assisting with navigation. You'll also help the local community build wind-powered generators. Downtime is spent relaxing on the edge of a blue tropical lagoon. You'll have 250 whales outside your tent and meaningful connections with the local communities, says outfitter. That's what really gets people excited about being down here.

Vitals -

Length: Six days
Price: $2,395

Departs: January through March

For more Details – http://www.earthwatch.org/site/pp.asp?c=dsJSK6PFJnH&b=2246951

Wyoming: Climbing the Grand Teton

Scaling Wyoming's 13,770-foot (4,197-meter) Grand Teton has long been a rite of passage for beginning multipitch climbers seeking to take their skills to the next level. Combined with nearby 12,325-foot (3,757-meter) Teewinot and 12,928-foot (3,940-meter) Mount Owen, the Grand becomes some of the best continuous climbing and scrambling in the lower 48. After shooting up Teewinot's east face on day one, you'll track across a granite ridgeline—with panoramas of the north face of Grand Teton towering above—before summiting Mount Owen and bivouacking for the night. Day two takes on the six-pitch climb to the top of the Grand itself. Don't despair if you haven't yet tackled a big mountain: This traverse is accessible to average, fit climbers with 5.8-level multipitch experience.


Vitals -

Length: Two days

Price: $1,000

Difficulty: Hard

Departs: May through September


For more details – http://www.exumguides.com/

Bhutan: The East Opens Up

In April 2007, Bhutan plans to officially open its eastern valleys of Merak and Sakten to the world; Wilderness Travel will lead a three-week trip there, crossing the entire nation from Paro, in the west. Until now, these remote valleys—home to the seminomadic Brokpa people, who migrated from the Tibetan plateau centuries ago—have been visited by few Westerners. This is a trek to some very distinct cultural areas, far from the standard routes. The Bhutanese government has talked about opening the region for years, and it's finally happened. After touring monasteries and cities in western Bhutan, you'll set out on a five-day trek into Merak and Sakten themselves—climbing to cross 13,500-foot (4,115-meter) mountain passes, stopping to explore traditional weaving villages. Along the way, you'll get firsthand experience of eastern Bhutan's distinctive knife-edged ridgelines and its semitropical climate; you'll also meet the Brokpa and observe their pastoral way of life.

Vitals -

Length: 22 days

Price: $6,995

Departs: April

For more details - http://www.raonline.ch/pages/bt/peop/btpeop_sakten01b.html

Russia: Venturing out onto Lake Baikal

The world's deepest lake, Russia's Baikal is a 7.8-million-acre (3.1-million-hectare) giant deep in the heart of Siberia—getting there requires two overnight flights and a five-hour drive. Ever ponder how you might set out to explore it? This year, in partnership with Russian trip specialist Mir Corporation, Maine-based H20utfitters aims to show you through their novel program, the Coastlines of Adventure. The intent is to make visiting far-off locales such as Baikal more affordable.

After a day exploring Moscow, you'll fly overnight to Irkutsk and drive to the shores of Lake Baikal. The next week is spent kayaking the lake's islands, scouting hidden bays, camping among sand dunes, and staying at a mix of guest houses, residential homes, and a barge hotel. When you're not paddling, the cultural experiences are decidedly local: You'll soak in hot springs on the Holy Nose Peninsula, visit a Buryat village, and meet the chief lama at Ivolginsky Buddhist monastery.

Vitals -

Length: 14 days

Price: $5,495

Difficulty: Hard

Departs: August

For more details - http://www.h2outfitters.com

Tanzania: A Coastal exchange of sustainable island and game safari

For 15 years Berkeley-based nonprofit Seacology has worked to preserve the environments and cultures of undeveloped islands around the world. It does so by collaborating with local communities in places such as Fiji and Tonga to provide critical social services—medical clinics, schools—in exchange for locally backed conservation initiatives. This year, for the first time, the organization has opened its expeditions to the public, and in February, Seacology leads its debut trip to Tanzania's Chumbe Island, Lake Manyara, and the Ngorongoro Crater.

With staff ecologists as guides, you'll check out Zanzibar's spice markets, snorkel and hike Chumbe Island (the first official marine park in Tanzania). The trip wraps with six days of safari game drives through Lake Manyara National Park, also called "the loveliest park in Africa," and in the Ngorongoro Crater, where your arrival coincides with the greatest annual wildebeest migration. So get ready to explore!

Vitals -

Length: 11 days

Price: $5,600

Departs: February

For more details - http://www.seacology.org/travel/index.html

China: Cycling terraced hillsides in Guangxi Zhuangzu

Aussie duo Naomi Skinner and Scott Spencer have guided biking tours everywhere from Mongolia to Vietnam, but their favorite routes lie inside southern China's lush rural hinterlands. The itinerary passes through dramatic and varied landscapes—lush rice fields, bamboo-lined rivers, jutting limestone peaks—that have inspired some of the nation's most famous poets. One of them said, "It's like cycling through a traditional Chinese painting". Starting from Guilin, in Guangxi Zhuangzu, you'll combine long biking days—at altitudes ranging from sea level to about 2,000 feet (610 meters), on a mix of paved and unpaved surfaces—with visits to remote villages such as Zhaoxing, known for distinctive Dong architecture, including palatial drum towers and bamboo waterwheels. The trip provides unparallel access to rural China, as you travel through one of the nation's most diverse and scenic regions.

Vitals -

Length: 15 days

Price: $1,650

Departs: March through November

For more details - http://www.bikeasia.com/cycle-tours/china/bcg.html

Zambia: Africa's Untouched Game Preserve

This past summer, southern Africa specialist Wilderness Safaris opened a series of camps in Zambia's Kafue National Park, on and around the expansive Busanga floodplains. One of the largest national parks on the continent, Kafue is relatively untouristed—far from the masses that descend on other preserves, its animals are still shy of humans. Over 150 mammal species roam the park, including Lichtenstein's hartebeest, defassa waterbuck, leopards, cheetahs, and tree-climbing lions. In 2007 the outfitter offers a Zambia trip that will visit this area and include stays at the renovated Lunga River Lodge and Busanga Bush Camp.

On the ground, the first two days are spent on game drives, hikes, and canoe trips from Lunga's thatch-roof bungalows set in the Miombo woodland; the next three are based at Busanga in the heart of 290 square miles (751 square kilometers) of wildlife-filled wetlands reserve. Busanga's three posh tents give you front-row seats for spotting herds of puku and antelope crossing the plains in front of the camp. In the evening you'll head out on nocturnal safari drives in search of big predators that stalk the darkness.

Vitals -

Length: Seven days

Price: $5,180

Opens: January

For more details - http://www.wilderness-safaris.com/safaris/detail.jsp?safari_id=299322&method=searchresult

Rwanda: Tracking Gorillas

Face-to-face with mountain gorillas—beloved for their humanlike mannerisms and massive grace—it's easy to see a reflection of yourself in one of the world's most endangered species. Less than 700 of the primates remain, most of them in the volcanic forests of northwestern Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park, where tracking parties limited to eight visitors can spend an hour with the giant apes. As Rwanda's domestic strife has settled in recent years, these rare creatures have become a major tourist attraction. But until now there has been little infrastructure near their protected stomping grounds. That changes early next year when Kenya's Governors' Camp safari company opens an eight-room luxury lodge on the park border.

After gorilla-watching, you can dry your boots and sip cocktails as the sun sets behind the peaks of the Ruwenzori Range. "We’re not shy saying - Rwanda will be expensive, but visiting the gorillas will be one of the wonders of the world."


Vitals -

Length: Three days

Price: $450 a night

Departs: August

For more details - http://www.governorscamp.com

Thailand's Ko Phi Phi Leh, near Phuket

Early next year, the regal 170-passenger Star Flyer sets sail on the Andaman Sea, touring a series of beguiling tropical islands that have rebounded rapidly from 2004's devastating tsunami. The vessel is the only cruise boat allowed by the Thai government to stop at many of these islands; this privileged access means that passengers aboard the ship, which is stocked with sea kayaks and small sailboats, can explore shallow reefs and uninhabited beaches that other seafarers miss. National Geographic underwater zoologist Clyde Roper—whose research was featured in the film Sea Monsters: Search for the Giant Squid—will lead the expedition. Isn't that Exciting ?

Launching from Phuket, the ship first travels to the little-visited Batong Group, where you'll pause to snorkel, kayak, and windsurf along the secluded beaches and coves of KoAdang. You'll then sail to Pinang, Malaysia, where a local expert will lead a tour of the shrines and lush gardens of Kek Lok Si, one of the largest Buddhist temple complexes in Southeast Asia. Other tropical gems include the Similan chain, famous for its vibrant indigenous bird species and unusual mammals such as the flying lemur. As the trip loops back to Phuket by way of mangrove-lined Phang-nga Bay, you can see spinner dolphins as they frolic nearby and also underwater oddities, including fire coral and blue-ringed octopuses. So are you ready for the fun?

Vitals -

Length : 14 Days
Price : $5,375
Departs : February

For more details - http://www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com/~Destinations~Asia/Pacific.html

Antarctica : Discover a Penguin Colony

WHAT'S NEW: Two years ago a new emperor penguin colony was discovered on the south side of Snow Hill Island. You can be among the first to witness this 4,000-breeding-pair rookery of majestic birds in October journey, aboard the icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov. Setting sail from Ushuaia, Argentina, the icebreaker will cruise the 500-mile (805-kilometer) Drake Passage—where guests on deck can photograph whales and swooping albatross—and crash through frozen waters to reach the Antarctic Peninsula and Weddell Sea. There, giant tabular icebergs dot the horizon and crabeater seals drift by on ice floes. "Emperor penguin colonies are usually much harder to reach," says Zegrahm. Once on the island, if weather permits, helicopters will carry you to the rookery to watch newborn penguin chicks cluster and brood at their parents' feet. So, That's what makes Snow Hill so special.

Vitals -

Length : 15 Days
Price : $16,980
Departs : October

For more details - http://www.zeco.com/destinations/Antarctica-cruise-penguins.asp