As a frugal college student, I stretched my dollar in budget-friendly backpacker hot spots like India, Mexico, and Bali, where the dollar has traditionally had strong buying power. While those destinations are still affordable for many American travelers, that list has grown. This year the dollar has surged against many foreign currencies, including the South African rand and Japanese yen.

The bottom line: 2024 is the best year in quite some time to consider international travel, especially as prices in the U.S. have been on a steady rise since the pandemic waned. Although domestic airfare and hotel prices are slightly lower than last year (according to 鈥檚 June 2024 travel-inflation report), restaurant meals in this country are up nearly 30 percent compared to May 2019, and movie, theater, and concert tickets have bumped up 3.4 percent year over year. The Telegraph even recently published a story titled 鈥�.鈥�

Airfares to Asia, Canada, and Africa are higher than last year, , but you can still find deals by booking three to five months ahead or flying with low-cost carriers. Once you鈥檙e on the ground, the dollar goes far. When I visited Cape Town, South Africa, in May, I never paid more than $8 for an Uber ride across the city, and a wood-fired pizza and glass of local Pinotage cost less than $10 at the cool enoteca .

When I traveled to Japan last fall, lunch never cost more than $5. My go-to order: cheap onigiri (Japanese rice balls filled with pickled plums or spicy cod roe) and a bottle of Kirin Ichiban beer.

Here are some of my favorite countries where a weaker currency against the dollar will give you serious bang for your buck.

Argentina

Exchange rate:
One year ago: $1 = 271 Argentine pesos

Soaring inflation in the country hasn’t helped citizens, but it has made Argentina one of the best bargains for American travelers in recent years. On a recent trip to the Patagonian hiking mecca of El Chalt茅n, a friend and I split a hearty steak dinner and bottle of Malbec at for less than $25. (from $130) is a homey wooden chalet in the center of town with friendly staff, views of the iconic Fitz Roy, and a delicious complimentary breakfast buffet. runs instructional climbing and mountaineering clinics and also leads one-to-six-day treks in Los Glaciares National Park (from $300).

If climbing isn鈥檛 your thing, head northeast to the wetlands of Iber谩 National Park. A partnership between Tompkins Conservation and the NGO Rewilding Argentina have brought back several species, including the jaguar, ocelot, giant otter, tapir, and giant anteater. hotel (from $368, including all meals) is located within the park and staff can help arrange adventures such as horseback rides and kayak excursions.

Japan

Exchange rate:
One year ago: $1 = 141 Japanese yen

The 国产吃瓜黑料 Travel Trade Association chose Japan to host its 2023 World Summit, a testament to the country鈥檚 outdoor cred. After the conference, I explored Yakushima, a Unesco-listed subtropical island off the southern coast of Japan鈥檚 southernmost main island, Kyushu. Multiple daily ferry services connect from the seaside city of Kagoshima. I paid $138 for a round-trip ticket on the high-speed , which took two and a half hours.

Over a long weekend, I paddled the jade-hued Anbo River with SUP tour operator (half day from $54) and hiked the well-marked trails of the Shiratani Unsuikyo Ravine, a mystical nature park filled with moss forests, ancient cedars, and macaque monkeys. Another local outfitter, , leads guided treks to places like Kuromidake, an alpine part of the island that delivers 360-degree views (from $80). The owner also operates a (from $174) just 12 miles east of Hirauchi Kaichu Onsen, a sulfur-rich hot spring carved into the rock on the southern shore ($1, paid on an honor system). Note that the baths are only accessible during low tide, so time your visit accordingly.

Canada

Exchange rate: One year ago: $1 = 1.31 Canadian dollars

When it comes to wilderness bragging rights, Canada is hard to beat. America鈥檚 northern neighbor has it all, from temperate coastal rainforest to 14,000-foot peaks to gorgeous national parks. One word of advice: even with the stronger U.S. dollar, Canadian gas prices range from 25 to 50 percent higher than the American average, so perhaps skip the road trip and consider a trip to the , an eco-retreat in the Great Bear Rainforest of British Columbia.

Owned by the Heiltsuk Nation, this 63-acre Denny Island property can be reached by from Port Hardy ($84 round trip) or Bella Coola ($53 round trip) and offers accommodations suited to all budgets, from campsites ($15) to cozy lodge rooms with oceanfront balconies ($335). The draw: incredible salmon fishing, intimate cultural tours, extraordinary wildlife viewing鈥攏otably grizzly and black bears, as well as the rare white spirit bear and humpback whales and orcas鈥攑lus kayak and SUP activities.

In the eastern province of Quebec, Montreal is an urban playground worth your time and money. From downtown it鈥檚 an hour bus ride ($2.30) or 20-minute taxi ($22) to Boucherville Islands National Park ($7), a series of five small islands laced with more than 20 miles of trails. Rent kayaks or paddleboards (from $25 for four hours) to explore the bird-filled wetlands. The park also offers 50 riverside tent campsites (from $25).

South Africa

Exchange rate:
One year ago: $1 = 17.74 South听African rand

South Africa offers much more than safaris. Cape Town, on the southwest coast, is the ultimate urban adventure base鈥攊t reminds me of an affordable San Francisco, with a combination of gorgeous beaches, awesome hiking trails, and wine lands less than 30 minutes away.

In 2019, United Airlines launched North America鈥檚 only nonstop flight to Cape Town via Newark, New Jersey. A recent search showed round-trip flights in September for $1,320, which is less than I paid to fly to any city in Europe this summer from the U.S.

The strong dollar goes a long way here. I love staying at the ten-room , located close to the trails of unforgettable Table Mountain and the buzzy bars and restaurants of Kloof Street. Rooms go for around $165 and include a lovely breakfast. A slightly more affordable sister property, 脗m茅, will debut nearby in October. Outfitter can arrange adventures like snorkeling in a kelp forest or surfing at Muizenberg Beach.

The Garden Route, a 124-mile ocean-hugging highway on the Western Cape, boasts some of the best land-based whale-watching on the planet, a season that generally runs from June to December. Accommodations within (from $94) offer easy access to hiking and biking trails along the shore and opportunities to spot ostrich and Cape Mountain zebra from your doorstep.

Romania

Exchange rate:
One year ago: $1 = 4.43 Romanian lei

While many European countries have been battling overtourism, Romania remains largely off the radar of travelers. When I visited in June, I was warmly welcomed by locals, trekked empty trails, and easily booked reservations at popular restaurants with wildly affordable prices. At , one of the top tables in the capital city of Bucharest, a glass of great wine cost just $6, and the most expensive entr茅e on the menu was $16.

Ringed by the Carpathian Mountains, the forested region of Transylvania is a hiking and biking gem, with 64 miles of linking eight Saxon villages. Base yourself in Viscri at the seven-room (from $65). The owner was involved in building the trail network and rents bikes (from $20) and e-bikes (from $32) and also offers guided bike trips. , in the central-Romanian village of Mesendorf, is also conveniently located near the bike trail as well as fantastic hiking trails rich with birds like goshawks and hawfinches. (from $86). Take advantage now. Romania鈥檚 government is looking to adopt the euro by 2026.

Australia

Exchange rate:
One year ago: $1 = 1.47 Australian dollars

New flight routes are often promoted with deals, so look to score savings when American Airlines introduces new service听 from Dallas to Brisbane on October 27 and Delta launches a seasonal route from L.A. to Brisbane on December 4.

The capital city of Queensland, in the country’s northeast, is the perfect jumping-off point to explore the wave-blessed beaches of the Gold Coast, just 40 miles south. Or head to Byron Bay, one of my all-time favorite beach towns, located around 100 miles south. In Byron, check in at the , a revamped motel on the edge of town with 12 rooms, lo-fi vibes, and a kitschy tiki bar (from $180), or hunker down at , a regenerative farm set on 55 acres in the hinterland, with trails for horseback riding, a pool and badminton club, and a wellness area equipped with a wood-fired sauna and a cold plunge (from $370).

国产吃瓜黑料 options range from over the Cape Byron Nature Reserve (from $107 for 30 minutes) to paddling to famed surf breaks like Tallow Beach and the Pass. rents boards (from $18 for two hours) and runs half-day group lessons ($53). Head inland to explore the waterfalls and glow-worm caves within World Heritage鈥搇isted Nightcap National Park.

In town, caffeinate with a perfectly poured flat white from and carbo-load at , known for its addictive sourdough pizza, doughnuts, and creative croissant flavors, like peanut butter chocolate.

Portugal

Exchange rate:
One year ago: $1 = 0.89 Euro

True, the euro has a slight edge on the dollar, but if you鈥檙e like me and can鈥檛 resist the pull of Western Europe, consider Portugal as a less expensive option to the rest of the Continent. Surf-swept beaches, scenic trail networks like the 听(Fishermen鈥檚 Trail)鈥攃heck out the video and Gaia GPS map, below鈥� and cycling routes that meander along the dramatic coast and through wine country have put this country on the radar of active travelers who don鈥檛 want to spend a fortune.

Portugal feels like a bargain in comparison to Spain, France, or Italy. Its rail system, , conveniently connects the northern and southern regions (a round-trip ticket from Lisbon to Porto cost me $47 last fall), and when I rented a car for ten days last June, it cost half of what I paid to rent a car for a long weekend in Maine this summer.

My recent trip was a surf mission on Portugal鈥檚 Silver Coast, and was a dream stay. Perched above the beach in the sleepy town of Santa Cruz, the family-friendly, sustainable hotel has an in-house surf school, a skate park, trampolines, a gym, sea-to-table food, and a variety of accommodations ranging from sea-view bungalows (from $200) to eight-person bunkhouses (from $60 per person).

After a long morning of surfing, I鈥檇 retreat to , just below the hotel, where the catch of the day, paired with potatoes and fresh vegetables, cost around $15 and was enough to share with a friend. The surf picks up in autumn, right when the price of flights to Europe typically start to fall, so go for it.

Jen Murphy makes her friends ski across the border from Switzerland to Italy to score a more affordable (and equally delicious) lunch on her annual European ski trip.听

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After My Octopus Teacher won the Oscar for Best Documentary, the producers realized they had left an important voice out of their movie鈥攊ndigenous South Africans who had been silenced and separated from the ocean by apartheid. In the new podcast 鈥淏ack to the Water,鈥� Pippa Ehrlich and Zolani Mahola explore the relationship between South Africans, their history, and the sea. Listen to the

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I鈥檝e always thought that planning my own trips was the most cost-effective way, but I’ve been hearing more about travel agents making a comeback and saving their clients a lot of money. What kinds of outdoor trips should I turn to a travel agent for, and are there any who specialize in working with adventurers like me?

Technically, I鈥檓 a professional traveler. As a journalist, it鈥檚 my job to research and connect with locals to get beneath the surface of a destination. So I have never really used travel agents. What could they plan better than I could?

A lot, it turns out. Over the years, I鈥檝e gotten to know many travel specialists, and I consider them magicians. My big aha moment happened two winters ago on a trip to Iceland. A massive storm shut down internal flights for a day, causing me to miss my return flight to the U.S. Normally, I would have spent frustrating hours on hold with the airline. But because I鈥檇 paid $65 to have Ana Gloria Garcia, an air-support specialist at the travel agency EmbarkBeyond, find and book the most affordable and convenient flight option for me, she handled the rebookings while I soaked in the Blue Lagoon.

During the pandemic, agents became advocates helping travelers get refunds on canceled flights and trips. As travel has come roaring back, an agent’s superpower is now their access to the best hotel rooms, most in-the-know guides, free amenities, and more, says Cory Hagopian, senior vice president of sales and partnerships for , a global network of travel agencies.

And they鈥檙e attracting a young clientele. According to a recent , 38 percent of millennials and Gen Zers are opting to use travel agents as opposed to booking on their own trips. That number is far greater than Gen Xers and baby boomers, of whom only 12 and 2 percent respectively use agents.

What Do I Gain from Using a Travel Agent?

I recently had a friend tell me she spent close to 40 hours researching a family trip online. She probably could have gleaned the same intel from an hourlong conversation with a travel adviser. Knowledge is priceless, and advisers act as your insiders. They know what you don鈥檛 and fill in the blanks for things you might not have considered, says Erika Richter, a spokesperson for the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA). Their firsthand knowledge, vast network, and on-the-ground connections all combine to provide a unique perspective for crafting the perfect itinerary for you.

Most travel advisers specialize in certain regions and countries and travel to them frequently, so they have up-to-date intel on not only the best safari camps but the perfect tent to book for the most incredible views and the best local restaurants you won鈥檛 find on Tripadvisor. They want their client鈥檚 trips to go well to keep them coming back, so it鈥檚 in their interest to have sussed out hotels and itineraries before they send you out into the world.

Nicole Forster, 29, considers herself a savvy traveler. She鈥檚 been to 20-plus countries and enjoys destination research. But when it came to planning her honeymoon in Africa, she felt overwhelmed, so she reached out to Danielle Meyer at , which specializes in bespoke itineraries. 鈥淥riginally, I wanted to go to South Africa, Victoria Falls, and Madagascar,鈥� Forster recalls. 鈥淒anielle convinced me that if we wanted to relax, we should stay in South Africa and save the other countries for separate trips.鈥�

Over five phone conversations and multiple emails, they crafted a 15-night itinerary that included Cape Town, the winelands, the Cape Peninsula, and a safari at the Thornybush Game Reserve. Forster established her budget early in the process, and Meyer sent her a variety of lodge options to choose from.

鈥淚 initially wanted to start with the safari, but she pointed out that we鈥檇 be jet-lagged and would need to wake at sunrise for game drives,鈥� says Forster. 鈥淭he safari was our highlight, so it was a perfect way to end the trip.鈥�

Not only did Meyer book all of the flights, hotels, and transfers, but she created a detailed, day-by-day trip app for the couple that included useful information like check-in times at hotels and how much to tip guides.

Agents also act as advocates. If something goes wrong during your travels, they鈥檙e on call 24/7 to handle it. When Forster left the battery and charger for her camera at a hotel, Meyer arranged for an on-the-ground contact to go to a camera store and buy new ones that would be delivered to her hotel the next day.

The cost for the honeymoon planning: $150 per person. 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 use a planner for a trip to Hawaii,鈥� Forster says, 鈥渂ut if I ever took a big trip like this again, I鈥檇 100 percent work with an expert.鈥�听

When to Consider Using a Travel Agent

For savvy trip planners, the best time to use a travel agent is for complicated international travel. It can save you hours of planning and peace of mind that if anything goes wrong in your chosen far-flung destination, there鈥檚 someone a What鈥檚App message away to handle it.

Domestically, I鈥檇 consider using a travel agent when planning a multi-week national park trip or multi-island trip in Hawaii. They will save you time, guarantee you get the best guides, and help you land reservations at always-booked lodges and hotels.

Dream Trips Delivered

Jessica Cook and her husband both work in the travel industry. Decision fatigued, they handed their honeymoon logistics over to the team at , an agency that specializes in South Africa. Their original plan was also an African safari, but just as they were about to put a deposit down, the Omicron variant of the coronavirus made headlines. Worried about getting stuck abroad, they reached out to Askari鈥檚 founder, Muriel Truter, who is from Zimbabwe, and upon her advice, changed their focus to South America.

Truter suggested they stick to Colombia rather than country-hop. Cook supplied a budget and a wish list: 12 days, no more than three destinations, a barefoot-luxe feel, and adventures like horseback riding and mountain biking. The rest was a surprise that Askari pretty much nailed, with the exception of one hotel.

鈥淓verything felt so authentic, but this one hotel on Bar煤 island felt really fabricated and was full of American tourists,鈥� recalls Cook. She immediately messaged the Askari team, saying, 鈥淗ey, this place really isn鈥檛 our vibe,鈥� and within an hour they were on a water taxi headed to Blue Apple, a B Corp hotel鈥攁nd an 国产吃瓜黑料 pick for tropical adventures鈥攐n Tierra Bomba island. 鈥淚t was honestly the best trip we鈥檝e ever taken,鈥� she says.

Are Travel Agents Expensive?

It depends. Cost varies. Some travel agencies won鈥檛 charge any fee, as they receive a commission from the bookings, while some high-end agencies will charge pricey annual membership fees for their services. Still others charge nominal 鈥減rofessional鈥� fees starting at $150. Fees often fluctuate based on the length and intricacy of a trip and how far out you do the planning (6 to 12 months is recommended). You may occasionally come across agents who charge a percentage of the total trip price or hourly rates.

Basic travel enquiries are generally free. In 2016, Leah Smith, founder of , opened an old-school brick-and-mortar location in Denver鈥檚 Cherry Creek neighborhood so her services would feel less intimidating to first-time users. 鈥淲ith our retail-office location, we鈥檝e become part of the community, and both clients and non-clients are welcome to pop in and ask whatever questions they may have, no charge,鈥� she says.

Matt Lindsay, founder of the surf-guiding and travel company ,听builds relationships with resorts and property owners to get discounted rates that he can then pass on to guests.

Dominic Allan, the founder of , specializes in travel to Belize and Nicaragua and caters to independent travelers who are happy to book their own flights and hotels but are seeking his local intel. Allan鈥檚 three-tier pricing structure starts at $300 for up to three hours of phone calls, during which he might weigh in on where to eat (or not to), the best room to request in a certain lodge, or whether you really need a guide to hike.

Value Versus Savings

If you鈥檙e just looking for deals and steals, you might not be ready to work with a travel adviser, says Richter of the ASTA. 鈥淎nything you invest in with a travel adviser comes back to you in the form of amenities, customer service, peace of mind, better access to unique experiences, and handcrafted itineraries,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou could save money by cutting your own hair, too, but most people go to someone who knows what they鈥檙e doing.鈥�

Agents work with preferred partners who can guarantee perks for clients, such as free upgrades, early check-in or late check-out, and resort credits. Those add-ons often translate into savings, says Justin Huxter, cofounder of the UK-based . 鈥淲e had a client go to Maui for a week, and because of our partnership with the resort, breakfast was included,鈥� he says. When breakfast costs $120 for two, that鈥檚 a savings of $840.鈥�

Some of the Best Travel Agents in the 国产吃瓜黑料 World

Some of my go-to resources for finding a person to work with include travel expert Wendy Perrin鈥檚 annual of tried and trusted agents, the 国产吃瓜黑料 Travel Trade Association鈥檚 , and the ASTA鈥檚 .

In addition to the agents mentioned throughout this story, others I highly recommend for adventurous travelers include:

• Dan Achber of Trufflepig, for Africa and the Middle East
• Miguel Cunant of Sri Lanka in Style
• Javier Echecopar of Journey Costa Rica
• Daniel Fraser of Smiling Albino, for Southeast Asia
• Elizabeth Gordon of Extraordinary Journeys, for Africa
• Kleon Howe of the Art of Travel, for French Polynesia
• Jay Johnson of Coastline Travel, for Hawaii and California
• Antonello Losito of Southern Visions Travel, for Puglia, Italy
• Rabia Malik of Fora Travel, for general worldwide travel
• Robyn Mark of Mayamaya Travel, for Africa, the Alps, Patagonia, and Japan
• Marisol Mosquera of Aracari, for Peru and Bolivia
• Zach Rabinor of Journey Mexico
• Raluca Spiac of Beyond Dracula, for Romania

Travel-advice columnist Jen Murphy is now a believer in using a travel agent. Thanks to their expertise and connections, she鈥檚 avoided dozens of trip catastrophes.听

The post Should I Use a Travel Agent? Our Travel Expert Says It Makes All the Difference. appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

I love a good road trip, especially in the mountains of Colorado, where I live. It鈥檚 when I do some of the best creative thinking, and it feels like the possibilities for exploration are endless. Should I hike a fourteener tomorrow? Cross the border into Utah to go mountain biking?

I scoured the globe to put together this list of the most stunning drives you could imagine, from the snowcapped peaks of Chilean Patagonia to the windswept west coast of Ireland. I鈥檝e completed a handful, driven parts of many of them, and the rest are on my bucket list. I also chose these road trips for their proximity to adventure, and include essential details like the best hikes, beaches, and accommodations along the way. Buckle up.

The Dempster Highway to the Arctic Ocean, Canada

Miles: 550
Road terrain: Mostly gravel
Best time to go: The Dempster Highway is open year-round, but traditional summer festivals in the Arctic towns and the aurora borealis viewing in winter are seasonal highlights.

Truly rugged and remote, this overland expedition traverses dramatic tundra landscapes, boreal forests, and mountain ranges en route to the Arctic Sea. Begin in the gold-rush outpost of Dawson City, Yukon, and load up on supplies鈥攖he unpaved gravel road is a known tire eater, so be sure you have a spare and a four-wheel drive car. From there the heads north through the historic Klondike region, crosses the Arctic Circle, and enters the Northwest Territories, where you鈥檒l have panoramas of what鈥檚 known as the polar Serengeti, a wide-open wilderness teeming with caribou, moose, and grizzlies.

Along the way, you鈥檒l pass through Indigenous communities such as Tsiigehtchic, reached by ferry in summer after the snow melts. If you’re traveling during August, you can watch canoe races and listen to traditional music during Tsiigehtchic鈥檚 Canoe Days celebration. By the time you arrive in Inuvik, Canada鈥檚 largest community north of the Arctic Circle, you鈥檒l have logged 457 miles. Pitch your tent or park your teardrop at (from $28), perched on a bluff overlooking the Richardson Mountains and the nation鈥檚 largest river, the Mackenzie.

Pick up the final stretch of the trip in town, the Inuvik鈥揟uktoyaktuk Highway, an 86-mile gravel road that winds past the Pingo Canadian Landmark, a collection of pingo (mounds of earth-covered ice) more than 100 feet high, and ends in the Inuit shorefront hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk.

Scenic Byway 12, Utah

Miles: 122
Road terrain: Paved
Best time to go: Early spring and early fall

This expanse of highway connects Bryce Canyon to , traveling through Dixie National Forest and the northern part of Grand Staircase鈥揈scalante National Monument. The whole thing could be completed in three hours, but given its proximity to so many perfect playgrounds for hiking, paddling, biking, and fishing, I suggest a four-day road trip. Bookended by Panguitch to the west and Torrey to the east, this designated bisects multiple ecosystems,听 from sage flats to slickrock deserts, and sleepy rural communities like Boulder, where you should stop for a meal at . The photo opps are endless, but Powell Point Vista, between the towns of Henrieville and Escalante, affords some of the best views of the area鈥檚 distinct Wasatch Limestone formations. If I could overnight in one place along the way it鈥檇 be , which has a drive-in theater, a pool, and a food truck (from $99).

The Romantic Road, Germany

Miles: 220
Road terrain: Paved
Best time to go: Spring or fall

Germany鈥檚 Romantische Strasse, or Romantic Road, could be the backdrop of a Grimm鈥檚 fairy tale, with its turreted and crenelated castles, red-roofed villages, and lake-dotted countryside in the Alpine foothills. This scenic byway across Bavaria connects the baroque town of W眉rzburg with the pastel-hued town of F眉ssen. The former is home to the Unesco-designated W眉rzburg Residence, one of the nation鈥檚 most opulent palaces, while F眉ssen is five minutes from what many consider the route鈥檚 highlight, King Ludwig鈥檚 , which was the inspiration for the palace in Disney鈥檚 Sleeping Beauty. If you want to stretch your legs, you can tackle the hike to Mount Tegel, located behind the castle, or take the cable car up and explore the trail network at the top.

Along the way you鈥檒l pass plenty of beer gardens鈥攖he riverfront in the hamlet of Landsberg am Lech is a must-stop鈥攖he vineyards of the Franconia wine region (pick up a bottle of dry, white Silvaner), and spend a few hours rejuvenating in the historic spa town of Bad Mergentheim; at the ($150), you can take advantage of the indoor pool, spa, and gardens.

The Explorers Way, Australia

Miles: 1,864
Road terrain: Paved (and remember, Aussies drive on the left-hand side)
Best time to go: Australia鈥檚 fall, March through May

The ultimate outback odyssey, the is a road trip through Australia鈥檚 Red Centre. Much of the drive follows the Stuart Highway, named after 19th-century explorer John McDouall Stuart, the first European to successfully traverse the continent from south to north. Stuart鈥檚 expedition took nearly a year, but two weeks is ample time to complete the journey from Adelaide in South Australia to Darwin in the Northern Territory.

I highly recommend detours to to stand in awe of the 2,831-foot-high monolith sacred to Aboriginals and to Litchfield National Park, teeming with waterfalls and wildlife like dingo and wallaby. Dedicate at least a day to explore the Aboriginal art galleries of Alice Springs, the Northern Territory鈥檚 second largest city and the approximate midway point of the route. When you reach the Top End, toast your trip with a bush negroni at Willing Distillery in Darwin or celebrate with a bush safari at (from $2,425, all-inclusive), just northwest of Kakadu National Park, home to more than .

Atlantic Road, Norway

Miles: 22
Road terrain: Narrow, paved
Best time to go: The coast is most dramatic in September and October

Norway has 18 designated national scenic routes, but the fact that the Atlantic Road was selected as the stage for the James Bond film No Time to Die is a testament to its wow-factor beauty. Officially known as , this drive links the village of K氓rv氓g on Aver酶y Island with the fishing village of Bud on the mainland via an archipelago connected by eight low-lying bridges. Few roads bring you so close to the ocean: roll down your window and you鈥檒l likely be kissed by sea mist.

Essential detours include the coastal path at Vevang to see Jan Freuchen鈥檚 鈥�,鈥� a sculpture scattered across the rocks and heath-covered hills, and the glass-walled viewing platform at Askev氓gen, which affords spectacular mountain and ocean vistas. Str酶msholmen Seasport, located between the towns of Kristiansun and Molde, offers scuba diving, fishing excursions, and wildlife safaris on the water. It also has four waterfront cabins that sleep up to ten people (from $55).

The Ring Road, Iceland

Miles: 820
Road terrain: Mostly paved, with some stretches of gravel
Best time to go: Late spring or early fall

Stretch after stretch of otherworldly landscapes unfold along this , also known as Route 1. It shows off vast lava fields, tumbling waterfalls, spouting glaciers, and bubbling geysers. You鈥檒l want at least seven days to enjoy all the attractions and adventures along the way, and if you do the drive in May, June, or July, you can take advantage of nearly 24 hours of sun.

Most road-trippers start in the capital, Reykjav铆k, the city closest to Keflav铆k International Airport. You can tackle it counterclockwise or clockwise, but if you do the latter first, the scenery crescendos from pretty to jaw-droppingly gorgeous. If there鈥檚 one thing you shouldn鈥檛 miss, it’s a detour to the northern Troll Peninsula, which loops around the headlands past the end of the Skagafj枚r冒ur fjord.

On the southeastern coast of Iceland, take time to explore J枚kuls谩rl贸n, a glacial lagoon studded with icebergs, and nearby Diamond Beach, named for the brilliant chunks of ice that sparkle like gems against its black sands. The geothermal waters of the Blue Lagoon, just 20 minutes from the airport, are the perfect final stop. Or tack on an adventure鈥攎aybe kayak in a glacial lagoon or ride an ATV along the beach鈥攚ith outfitter .

Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland

Miles: 1,600
Road terrain: Narrow, winding, and paved (you鈥檒l also driving on the left-hand side here)
Best time to go: summer to take advantage of longer day-light hours

One of the longest coastal routes in the world, the Wild Atlantic Way hugs the Emerald Isle鈥檚 rugged and spectacular west coast for miles, from its northern terminus on the Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal to its southern terminus in the town of Kinsale in County Cork. The route is broken into 14 stages, and you鈥檒l want to budget a minimum of five days to complete it.

There are loads of opportunities to stretch your legs on untouched swaths of beach near soaring sea cliffs. Those at Slieve League jut up 1,972 feet at their highest point; follow the Pilgrim鈥檚 Path from Teelin village 1.5 miles to the tops, and after pop into town for lunch. You鈥檒l have plenty of options, but I highly recommend the award-winning pub (rooms are also available from $54). The iconic Cliffs of Moher, in the lunar-like Burren region, are one of the natural treasures of Ireland, with a five-mile (one-way) coastal walk that connects the charming villages of Liscannor and Doolin.

On Achill Island, explore Keel Beach, a nearly two-mile stretch of golden sand. When I visited, the waves were pumping and I rented a board and a thick wetsuit from . If the water鈥檚 calm, you can rent a stand-up-paddleboard. If your final destination is County Cork, celebrate with a pint at , a pub in Ballydehob that鈥檚 been run by the same family for a century.

Pacific Coast Scenic Byway, Oregon

Miles: 363
Road terrain: Paved
Best time to go: Late spring, early fall, or winter

Most people associate the Pacific Coast Highway, or PCH, with California, but the storied road spans from Canada to Mexico. Some of the best lengths, in my opinion, are in Oregon, where the road skirts virgin beaches, craggy mountains, and rocky coves, through a series of quirky seaside resorts and sleepy fishing villages. You could zip along all of it in 10 to 12 hours, but five days is the better plan, stopping at the many parks and public lands along the route. Ecola State Park (sea stacks, tidepooling, wildlife-watching) and Oregon Dunes Recreation Area (whose sweeping sandy expanses are said to have been the inspiration for 顿耻苍别鈥�s planet Arrakis) are both top of my list.

About 30 miles northwest of the city of Bandon is Cape Arago; this short detour off the byway takes you through the South Slough National Estuarine Reserve, home to more than 150 kinds of birds and . In the town of Coos Bay, I like to overnight at the modern cabins at Bay Point Landing ($235). The next day, you can drive 24 miles east to the remote Golden and Silver Falls State Natural Area and hike 1.4 miles to the top of Golden Falls for an eagle鈥檚-eye view of the cascading waterfall and old-growth firs. Schedule your journey for spring and winter and bring your binocs鈥攜ou can often spot the blows from migrating gray whales as they surface off the coast.

The Garden Route, South Africa

Miles: 124
Road terrain: Paved
Best time to go: June to December, when you can spot whales from shore

This ocean-hugging highway showcases the Western Cape鈥檚 outrageously beautiful beaches, lush forests, national forests, and abundant marine life. Just under two hours鈥� drive from Cape Town, the former fishing village of Hermanus Bay is the gateway for the Garden Route. I always stop here to take advantage of the excellent land-based whale-watching between June and December. Continue three and a half hours east on the N2 highway to the harbor town of Mossel Bay, the route鈥檚 official starting point. Spend some time trekking around before heading out on your drive; my favorite is the 2.5-mile out-and-back trail from Pinnacle Point to Oyster Bay.

, approximately midroute, is a great spot for birdwatching and kayaking and has accommodations that include campsites (from $20), cabins (from $50), and a bed-and-breakfast (from $90). A half-hour farther east is Plettenberg Bay, nicknamed the Saint Tropez of South Africa for its palatial beach homes. Just south is , a nice picnic spot where you can observe seal colonies. Spend a day exploring , which boasts a 50-mile-long shoreline and an interior with 500-year-old trees. Looking to burn off some energy after hours in the car? I suggest the Otter Trail. South Africa鈥檚 oldest hiking trail takes five days to complete and begins near the Garden Route鈥檚 eastern terminus at Storms River rest camp.

Queenstown to Milford Sound, New Zealand

Miles: 180
Road terrain: Paved, two-lane highway
Best time to go: New Zealand鈥檚 fall, March through May, is perfect for hiking

Described by Rudyard Kipling as the 鈥渆ighth wonder of the world,鈥� Milford Sound is big nature on steroids. The drive on the South Island from Queenstown along State Highway 6 (a.k.a. the Southern Scenic Highway) and then State Highway 94 (Milford Sound Highway) will get you there听 in just over four hours, but slow down to marvel at the waterfalls and alpine lakes framed by mountains. Te Anau is the halfway point of the drive and an ideal place to overnight, refuel, and stock up on food as there are no services farther en route to the sound. The lakeside town is also the gateway to the glacier-carved wilderness of and the jumping-off point for the Milford Track, arguably one of New Zealand鈥檚 most famous , so consider tacking on a few extra days.

The Carretera Austral, Chile

Miles: 770
Road terrain: Rugged, pock-marked dirt, requiring four-wheel drive
Best time to go: Austral spring and summer, November to March听

Waterfalls tumbling from hanging glaciers. Forests of lengua trees and turquoise lagoons. Ancient marble caves and flamingo-filled lakes. The wild backdrop of Chile鈥檚 Southern Highway (Route 7) is an adventurer鈥檚 fantasy. Also known as the , this road cuts through remote, mountainous wilderness in northern Patagonia. Set aside at least two weeks so you can take time to visit Queulat National Park and Pumal铆n National Park, both located along the route.

Puerto Montt, a bustling town in the Chilean Lake District, is your starting point. It鈥檚 considered Chile鈥檚 seafood capital, so attempt to score a table at Pa Mar Adentro Restaurant and try the caldo curanto, a traditional seafood stew, before starting your journey south.

Coyhaique, the capital of Chile鈥檚 Ays茅n region, marks the route鈥檚 midway point. Take a day here to trek the trails of Reserva Nacional Coyhaique, home to two beautiful lakes, Los Sapos and Venus. Campsites are available in the Casa Bruja section of the reserve ($5), or continue a couple hours south to听General Carrera Lake and hole up at the family-run听 ($170). The owners serve terrific farm-to-table meals and partner with local guides who lead kayak trips to the Marble Caves and treks across Exploradores Glacier.

Rumbo Sur Hotel ($190), in the isolated terminus town of Villa O鈥橦iggins, is a comfy final base surrounded by hiking trails and glaciers. A 4×4 is recommended, as most of the road is unpaved.

国产吃瓜黑料 travel columnist Jen Murphy hates driving but will happily sit shotgun on any road trip. Last fall she navigated on a weeklong mother-daughter road trip through southwest Colorado.

The post The 11 Best Road Trips in the World appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

For a half-second, I thought the naked man crutching toward me on the trail was a hallucination. But the 44 kilometer mark was way too early in the race for me to have been hallucinating. As I moved to the right side of the double track to give him some room, I noticed a crucifix hanging from a silver chain around his neck, so, correction: not completely naked.

I kept running, out of the woods and back onto the sand of the beach, following the race flags. A dozen or so beachgoers were spread out across the football field-length of sand, mostly in groups of two, no one covering themselves with much fabric, if any at all, and none of them paying attention to a sweaty man in a running vest shuffling across the sand with a pair of trekking poles.

Here is an illustration of several eggplants at an ocean beach.

The nude beach, while notable, was not the biggest surprise of the Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100K. The biggest surprise, by sheer volume, was how much I underestimated the race course.

Mike and I had been drinking coffee at a bakery on October 5th, 2023 when I asked him, 鈥淲hat do you have going on the rest of the year?鈥� and he said he was considering a race in South Africa around Thanksgiving, but was probably not going to go. But maybe if I wanted to go he would go, but probably not. I said I would ask Hilary what she thought, and when I did, she all but told me I had to go. So 36 days before the race, I signed up for the 100K, which promised over 16,300 feet of elevation gain in just over 62 miles of technical trails on and around Table Mountain, which sounds fun when you gloss over the numbers and adjectives.

We flew from Montana to Cape Town, a 30-hour travel day, and Mike woke up with a cold the next morning. I still had four nights of sleep before my race, plenty of time to adjust to jet lag but also plenty of time to catch a cold from your friend sleeping in the adjacent hotel bed. Mike ran the 55K the day before my 100K race and was in bad shape the entire race. I somehow managed to not catch his cold, but slept poorly three nights in a row and finally took a Unisom the night before the 100K and logged almost nine consecutive hours of sleep only interrupted by the power going out and coming back on, which happens every night during , which has been adopted by the South African government due to an ongoing energy crisis.

At 5:55 A.M., I squeezed into the humming mass of 266 runners in the starting corral, carrying my collapsed poles in my left hand and starting my watch as we crossed over the timing mat under the arch. We ran on streets for three kilometers and then hit doubletrack and singletrack, climbing up toward the peak of Lion鈥檚 Head.

Around eight kilometers, the trail started to wind around the west side of Lion鈥檚 Head, and I started to see why Mike had described the course as 鈥淗alf New Hampshire, half Moab,鈥� after his race the previous day: It wasn鈥檛 totally made up of loose, fist-sized rocks, but there were enough of them that I had to pay attention to every step, or I would OUCH! roll an ankle or slam the inside of my foot onto a rock. It was very heads-up running, certainly not what my American feet might call 鈥渂uff singletrack.鈥�

I smashed my feet awkwardly a couple times as we wound around Lions Head, but thought, 鈥淢aybe this is just a particularly technical section and the rest of the route is more chill?鈥� Spoiler: It was not more chill. It was not chill at all.

Like a fool, I rolled into the first aid station at Kloof Nek at 20.1 kilometers and didn鈥檛 immediately chug a liter of water in preparation for a nearly 3,300-foot climb up the northeast face of Table Mountain via Platteklip Gorge. I also, like a fool, picked up a peanut butter sandwich that turned out to be not peanut butter at all, but Marmite. I am not going to shit on Marmite, but it鈥檚 definitely a surprise when your mouth is expecting the smooth taste of Skippy or Jif. I walked back to the aid station table and grabbed a peanut butter sandwich for a palate cleanser. It was also Marmite.

It was fall turning into early winter when I left Montana, and in the southern hemisphere, where South Africa is located, it was spring turning to summer. Plus, Cape Town is next to the ocean, and can be quite humid. The humidity was legitimate, which I knew from hanging out around the race course the day before, and I would need to work hard to stay hydrated.

Of course I didn鈥檛 work hard at it, and by 25 kilometers I ran out of water. I was about two-thirds of the way up Platteklip Gorge, a switchbacking path of approximately 1.5 million 12- to 18-inch high rock steps in full sun, with no breeze, but plenty of Saturday hikers, a very gregarious man singing “My Bonny Lies Over the Ocean” near the top. The reward for the climb is a) a view from the top of Table Mountain b) a nice breeze and c) you get to stop climbing and just run across the top of Table Mountain for a while.

I tried to hustle, wanting to make up for the very time-intensive miles I鈥檇 just clocked on my way up the mountain, but the twists and turns and technicality of the trail kept my pace in check. As I ran down a set of rock steps, I noticed someone had broken off the bottom eight inches or so of a trekking pole in a fissure in a rock. That鈥檚 a bummer, I thought, wondering if it was someone in the race today.

The trail continued to wind and roll over the top of Table Mountain to the 31.1 kilometer aid station, where I chugged a liter of water and a cup of Coca-Cola before filling all three of my bottles and moving on. I ran, I hiked, I hucked myself forward on my poles, I full-on hands-and-feet scrambled, I squeezed through chimneys in fluted sandstone, and then found myself descending a short fixed rope on a vertical bit of rock. A fixed rope!

This was not the first time during this race that I said to myself, 鈥淭rail running, LOL,鈥� and also not the last time during this race.

It was around 38 kilometers that I started to realize that this course was probably not going to let up, and I might as well settle into the reality that I was going to have a slow day. After the fixed line, I carefully picked my way down steep and exposed switchbacks, lowered myself down a couple short rock faces on via ferrata-style staples, and jogged short bits between. As I descended, the temperature rose, the breeze was stifled, and by the time I got onto the surfers鈥� path between the fancy houses in the suburb of Llandudno, I was pouring sweat again. It was getting close to 1:30 P.M., inching toward the hottest part of the day. At the aid station, I slugged down two 17-ounce bottles of water, one with a packet of LMNT, and then refilled my bottles before heading out to run across the beach, then the nude beach, then a boulder field, then another beach, before another steep climb in full sun.

On the climb up to Rocket Road, I caught up to a couple guys, one of whom was stopping to sit down on the rock steps every couple minutes. We were in full sun in the humid air just above the ocean, and I felt maybe 10 percent better than that guy did, but kept hucking myself upward on my poles.

I was aware that elite runners had shown up in Cape Town a week or more in advance of the race, which I assume is something elite runners do so they can ensure they鈥檙e as prepared as possible to compete at their best. We had shown up a few days early, but only made time for one short run, during which we saw about 100 meters of trail that was on the actual race course. The rest of the days before my race, I spent trying to iron out jet lag so I could sleep at night and having anxiety about catching Mike鈥檚 cold. In retrospect, a little reconnoitering of some trails would have helped establish some expectations.

Instead, I just kept telling myself things like, 鈥淪urely the second half won鈥檛 be as tough,鈥� and 鈥淚 bet this is the last tough climb.鈥� This was the closest I could get to positive self-talk. Because every time the course flattened out for a few minutes, around the next corner was a big middle finger of a trail or a climb. Which can be demoralizing, but then again, I would remind myself, did you sign up for a challenge, or a day of lying in a hammock and eating pineapple?

At about 48 kilometers, the route took a hard right up the northeast ridge of Suther Peak, which was allegedly nicknamed 鈥淪uffer Peak.鈥� Thankfully, we had a nice breeze. Here鈥檚 a photo of the course鈥檚 elevation profile, which is nice if you want a *general idea* of statistics:

Okay sure, it鈥檚 steep, right. What is not visible on the elevation profile are the actual details of the steep parts, which, on Suther Peak, look like this:

The day before, I had ridden around with Lance Wynne, owner of , and he had said that people get in trouble on the UTCT course when they started worrying about how slow they might be going relative to their expected pace for a 100K race. I thought of this piece of advice every time I looked down at my watch and noticed I had just clocked another 29-minute mile and started to feel the big sad coming on.

Thankfully, the descent of Suther Peak had maybe the longest stretch of runnable trail on the race course: sandy singletrack and a jeep track that was fairly free of loose rock. I coasted down and into Hout Bay, running down the street in front of the wharf, where I saw a couple with ice cream cones and thought about buying one, and then a little girl carrying one of the flags used to mark the race route. Then I was on the beach again, pounding sand, thinking about joining kids playing soccer and football, then scanning for the Hout Bay aid station, then plunging my feet into a stream on the beach, soaking both feet and filling my shoes with beach sand. I looked up to see Mike waiting for me on the beach a few meters before at the aid station, and said I guess I鈥檇 need those spare shoes in my drop bag after all.

We jogged into the aid station, where I switched out my socks and shoes over the course of what felt like 20 minutes as Mike tried to look away from a gentleman using both hands to lube his entire undercarriage just behind me. Looking for a spot to set my water bottles, I turned to the table behind my chair and glanced at a pair of trekking poles, one of which was missing its bottom eight or so inches鈥攖he match for the broken-off pole tip I鈥檇 seen while crossing Table Mountain 30 kilometers ago, which felt like two years ago at this point.

While I was in the aid station with 41 kilometers left in my race, refilling water bottles and replenishing my running food, the winner, Dmitry Mityaev, crossed the finish line in a superhuman 10 hours and 43 minutes. This had almost zero relevance to my personal race, except that we were following the same route. American Anthony Costales, who finished 41 minutes after Mityaev and took third place, later wrote on Instagram: 鈥淩ace day, I was in for a surprise as I learned a new meaning of what technical trails look like. I went into this race prepared and excited, but surprised by how few sections of 鈥渇low鈥� existed. At 40 kilometers I knew I was going to be in for a long day that probably wouldn鈥檛 be my best performance but maybe showcased some versatility.鈥� OK, so it wasn鈥檛 just me.

I finally dragged myself out of the aid station, saying goodbye to Mike and smashing peanut butter sandwiches and cookies into my face as I walked up the road. When I鈥檇 finally swallowed all the food I鈥檇 taken from the aid station, I started to jog, slowly, telling myself that even though it was uphill, the flat sidewalk was 鈥渆asy money鈥� compared to whatever probably lay ahead. The route climbed nearly 1500 feet in the next five kilometers, but eventually emerged on a stunning trail contouring across the southwest face of a peak. I passed a couple runners and did my best to run the runnable sections, watching the sun inch closer to the horizon over the bay. There are certainly worse places to get your ass kicked.

I contoured around the northern slopes of the mountain, not sure where the trail went, and I couldn鈥檛 see any other runners anywhere I scanned. Race flags kept popping up every few hundred meters, so I was okay. We were just spread out at this point. Mike had told me at the Hout Bay aid station that I had been gradually moving up in the race throughout the day. I didn鈥檛 know it at the time, but 77 runners had dropped from the race by Hout Bay, which was at 56.5 kilometers, with 41 kilometers to go. A total of 103 runners (out of 266) would drop before the end of the race, which I think is a good indicator that it was harder than a lot of people anticipated.

As the sun set, and then the last light faded, I entered the vineyards near Constantia Nek. I finally dug out a headlamp and clicked it on after running between rows of grapes, thinking it would be really dumb to get this far and miss a race marker because I didn鈥檛 have a headlamp on (despite carrying two headlamps in my vest all day, as required). I ran into the Alphen Trail aid station, just over 20 kilometers from the finish, to what felt like a ridiculous amount of cheering and applause for the 106th place runner in a race, but you know what, that鈥檚 what makes ultramarathons great. What made this one even better is the reception the guy behind me got from the 20-plus friends of his who went absolutely apeshit when he came into the tent, an outpouring of support so joyous that I think some of it spilled over on me as I clicked my headlamp back on and shuffled back onto the trail.

From here on, the final 20 kilometers had two 1300-foot climbs. If you were, say, a visitor looking at a map of Cape Town area trails, trying to figure out the flattest route from where I was to the finish line, you would choose a different route. But who wants that? I mean, the little crybaby man inside me did at the time. I slogged onward, running as much as I could, using my poles to huck myself forth every two steps or so.

At some point, as I shuffled heroically through the darkness, the trail was blocked by a giant fucking tree that had fallen and gotten stuck exactly parallel to the ground and perpendicular to the trail. Someone had sawed out a chunk of the bottom of the tree, just high enough for a very creaky runner to perform a sort of prostration in the dirt or momentary prayer to the gods of ultramarathon race course design or whoever, Please Allow Me To Get Back Up From This Without My Entire Body Cramping All At Once, I Beseech You.

I slowly lowered myself onto my hands and knees, slid sideways, brushing my vest on the underside of the tree, inhaled cautiously, and unfolded myself into a standing position, expecting to crumple onto the ground in pain and lie there until sunrise. But nothing happened. I started running again, no doubt looking like Eliud Kipchoge, if Kipchoge were 90 years old and running a 15-minute mile using trekking poles.

The trail climbed, flattened out, climbed again, and wound in and out of gullies, parts of it runnable, parts of it less runnable by someone like myself in my current state, and I just kept chugging along, stopping once to urinate, a proud moment after an entire day of sweating literal liters of fluid and hours of being on the verge of catastrophic muscle cramps. I patted myself on the back, and made a mental note to create a Certificate of Achievement of Absolute Minimum Self-Care During A Race for my office wall when I got home.

Suddenly there were three headlamps behind me, approaching fast. They caught me, and I let them pass, only to have them let me pass a couple minutes later. We leapfrogged a couple times before I realized it was the guy who had gotten the ovation at the last aid station, and two friends who were pacing him. They were running in spurts, taking a break every few minutes, then charging again. We arrived at the campus of the University of Cape Town at about the same time, and I jogged into the aid station a minute or two ahead of them. And again, the guy got a huge ovation. I filled my water bottles, grabbed some snacks, and headed out for the last climb, to the King鈥檚 Blockhouse, which I had heard was steep and unrelenting. It was, and I was glad I had poles for it, because it suuuuucked, but it would have sucked twice as much if I had to do it without poles.

I had joked to Mike back at 56.5 kilometers that my goal was to 鈥渇inish in the top 300,鈥� but I had no idea where I was or how many people had dropped. For the final 10 kilometers after the Blockhouse, I just wanted to hang on and not get passed by 20 people. Looking ahead on the trail for headlamps, I scanned the north face of Table Mountain high above the city lights. To my dismay, the three or four headlamps in front of me kept going higher, and higher, meaning I still had to keep going up.

Finally, they started going downhill, which might have been a relief, but my legs and general morale were so hammered that it took everything I had to motivate to run 15-minute miles on the way down the loose rock on the singletrack and jeep roads. I brainstormed tag lines for the UTCT in my head:

Finally, I popped out on a quiet city street, empty except for two race staffers making sure we didn鈥檛 get lost with a half kilometer to go. I turned left, then another left at some signs saying WELCOME HOME, and then into the rugby club, past the race expo tents, and through the finish arch, where maybe 20 people were still hanging out, including Mike. It was a few minutes before 2:00 A.M., 19 hours and 48 minutes after I鈥檇 started. I had definitely gotten my money鈥檚 worth.

The post The Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100K Is Not for the Faint of Heart appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Any number of concerns are on our radar as we plan our next trip, from serious issues like how destinations are working to mitigate tourists鈥� environmental impact to inconveniences like months-long passport wait times. In this column, our travel expert addresses your questions about how to navigate the world.听

My partner always wants to be super active on vacation鈥攅very day is filled with major hikes, surfing lessons, guided explorations of nearby archeological sites, zip lining. While that鈥檚 fun, it鈥檚 also exhausting, and I really want vacation to be a break from work to chill out. What kinds of trips can we take, and where could we go together, that would make both of us happy? 鈥擱&R Deprived

This is so relatable. My idea of a relaxing vacation involves waking up at dawn to surf, cycling to off-the-beaten-path taco shacks, and earning my sunset margarita with an epic hike. So when a recent boyfriend who described himself as adventurous surprised me with a long weekend in Mexico鈥檚 Riviera Maya鈥攐ur first ever-trip together鈥擨 envisioned action-packed days spent swimming in cenotes and exploring ancient ruins.

Our all-inclusive resort was my first clue that our ideas of the perfect getaway might be different. Also, he didn鈥檛 book a rental car and only packed flip-flops. For three days, he blissfully worked on his tan poolside while pounding Coronas. I tried my best to chill in the lounger beside him, gently suggesting we paddle or snorkel. 鈥淲e鈥檙e on vacation, babe,鈥� he鈥檇 say. Venture out to dinner perhaps? 鈥淲hy leave the resort when meals are free?鈥� he鈥檇 argue. In short: his idea of paradise was my idea of prison.

Vacation compatibility can make or break a relationship, be it romantic or platonic. Clear communication about each other鈥檚 expectations is key to avoiding frustrations and making sure both people have a great time. 鈥淥ften one partner will end up acquiescing to appease the other and neglect their own needs or desires, which is unfortunate and unnecessary,鈥� says Sandra Possing, a San Francisco Bay Area life coach.

Possing suggests having a brainstorming session where each person throws out ideas for destinations and experiences. Exploring various options can help determine a trip that satisfies each person鈥檚 needs. 鈥淩ather than prioritizing getting your own way, try to prioritize communication and connection,鈥� she says. 鈥淢aybe the outcome ends up favoring one person this time, but acknowledge that and agree that the next time it can lean the other way.鈥�

For years Katherine Cusack, who lives in Brooklyn, would try to keep up with her husband on vacation, only to end up stressed and exhausted. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a former Division III basketball player and needs to be constantly moving and seeking adventure,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 need time to switch gears, smell the flowers, breathe the fresh air, listen to tropical birds and waves crash. This doesn鈥檛 mean I don鈥檛 seek adventure. I just also long for the art of doing nothing鈥攖o be present, thankful, and reconnect with nature and myself.鈥�

After lots of trial and error, the couple discovered that Hawaii offered enough of what they both love: beaches where she could go shelling while he bodysurfed, boat trips where he could snorkel while she sipped a mai tai. They always return to Maui first, where they feel they can relax into a routine, and then spend a few days exploring another island.

Setting up a trip you鈥檒l both love is not as hard as you think, but it will benefit from some forethought. The following tips will help put you on the path to vacation success.

Choose an Appropriate Destination

If your partner hates the cold, Antarctica or Greenland probably aren鈥檛 the best picks. If you don’t do well at altitude, the Rockies or the Alps might be problematic. But you鈥檝e got to meet in the middle. How do you start narrowing things down?

Owen Gaddis, a former travel agent who now plans vacations to meet his adrenaline-fueled nature and his wife鈥檚 more laid-back sensibilities, recommends seeking out a country or region that offers something for both parties.

鈥淚f you are a super active traveler, you might be bored to death in an overwater villa in Bora Bora,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f you are super laid-back, you might be wasting an incredible opportunity to explore Patagonia.鈥�

Gaddis suggests looking for locales that offer enough activities to entice the laid-back traveler to get out of their comfort zone鈥攂ecause it鈥檚 more fun to share an adventure鈥攂ut also amenities and surroundings conducive to unplugging and recharging, so the active traveler is persuaded to slow down. It鈥檚 also easier to relax if you鈥檙e headed to a destination that one or both of you have been to before, he adds, as one of you will know what to expect.

Cari Gray, founder of the Toronto-based active-travel company Gray and Co., regularly works with clients who have an assortment of interests, a factor that comes into play when planning multigenerational trips with people of mixed ages and fitness levels. She says it鈥檚 important to consider seasonality as well. The Mediterranean might sound relaxing in summer, but that鈥檚 also the high period, which can mean vying for restaurant reservations and even a spot on the beach. Will you and your partner argue about that, the crowds, or possibly higher prices for visiting at that time? It鈥檚 worth discussing.

Places That Cater to Active and Laid-Back Agendas

Travel experts Elizabeth Gordon of Extraordinary Journeys in Santa Fe, Brook Lavery of Local Foreigner, and Robyn Mark of Mayamaya Travel, both based in New York City, have weighed in with a few destinations that tend to check all the boxes.

California鈥檚 Central Coast

Amenity-rich hotels with great spas entice travelers to kick back after a day of cycling, hiking through the redwoods, surfing, or wine tasting. Base yourself at in San Luis Obispo; it puts travelers within easy reach of urban pleasures like great restaurants and shops, the waves of Pismo Beach, all levels of mountain-bike trails, and dozens of wineries.

Utah听

Nature lovers enjoy options aplenty in the Big Five national parks鈥擝ryce Canyon, Zion, Arches, Capitol Reef, and Canyonlands. There鈥檚 hiking and mountain biking for high-adrenaline agendas and photography and stargazing for those who want something mellow. , set within Grand Staircase鈥揈scalante National Monument, offers all kinds of accommodation options, from fancy cabins and Airstreams to RV sites. Its clubhouse area is a great place for one person to chill and meet new friends while their partner heads out on the local trails.

Cape Town, South Africa

A culture-rich city full of art galleries and restaurants, and proximate to the nation鈥檚 famed wine country, it has beaches for relaxing and thrilling adventures such as shark-cage diving and trail running or hiking Lion鈥檚 Head. Beach lovers should head to the seaside town of Hout Bay and stay at the wellness-focused Future Found Sanctuary or the oceanfront Tinswalo Atlantic.听Known as the Malibu of Cape Town, Hout Bay is less than 30 minutes from the city center, its protected harbor is perfect for kayaking and paddleboarding, and it鈥檚 within easy reach of the trails of Table Mountain and the Constantia wine route.听

Costa Rica

This country鈥檚 natural abundance has long attracted adrenaline junkies and beach-goers alike. Post up on the beach with a michelada and then send your partner to kayak the coast, take surf lessons, or explore the jungle on an all-terrain vehicle. surf hotel in Nosara is an ideal property, with all kinds amenities on-site and plenty of activities in the surrounding area.

If you can鈥檛 decide on a single destination, Mark suggests pairing a city with a nearby beach or mountain town. She often recommends combining London with the British countryside, Barcelona with the Pyrenees, or Mexico City with M茅rida. Lavery directs clients to Italy鈥檚 Dolomites, a region known for its stunning limestone karst peaks and excellent hiking and biking, followed by a few days of R&R by the water in Lake Como.

Pick Accommodations with Activities Nearby

Travel is expensive, and your time is precious. Couples, families, or friends traveling together should do what they want when they want it: that may mean splitting up during the day, opting for activities of various durations, and then reconvening for meals or afternoons to share stories and experiences.

Nothing facilitates this better than the right hotel, hostel, or even campground.

Mark directs clients to properties that provide a wide range of activities and services, so you can spend a full week there without getting bored. This encourages travelers to avoid multiple plane rides, transfers, or a lot of moving around. 鈥淭o me, the idea of relaxation is in not having to think,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e are all so decision fatigued that sometimes just the thought of picking a restaurant feels exhausting.鈥�

Couples might opt for accommodations where nothing has to be preplanned, where staff help plan everything on arrival. Tried-and-true stays that please partners with adventure and relaxation include:

in Breckenridge, Colorado

hotel and riverside retreat in North Adams, Massachusetts

resort in the Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee

on Vancouver Island, Canada

in the Atacama Desert, Chile

in Fiji

in Panama

in Torres Vedras, Portugal

in the Azores

Book with a Flexible Tour Operator

国产吃瓜黑料-travel companies have started to roll out itineraries that cater to different fitness levels and interests. In 2020, Backroads launched. Couples can hit the day鈥檚 adventure at their own pace (made possible thanks to van support), with time to enjoy sightseeing and amazing hotels. Plus, e-bikes are the equalizer for partners who prefer a slower pace than their mate.

DuVine Cycling and 国产吃瓜黑料 Co. offers to destinations like Greece and Turkey. A traditional Turkish sailing vessel called a gullet serves as a home base. Travelers can spend a morning cycling together, and while one heads off to tackle challenging climbs in the afternoon, the other can explore coastal villages on foot or return to the ship to snorkel or sunbathe.

hosted by Farm to Fork Fitness 国产吃瓜黑料s include four ride distances, ranging from 10 to 70 miles, so everyone can have a rewarding day on the bike. 鈥淲e regularly see couples ride different distances from one another, enjoying the opening miles together before splitting off,鈥� says Andrew Herwig, the company鈥檚 director of operations. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 better than seeing your favorite person waving you in at the finish line with a cold beer?鈥� The company also recently introduced that break up each ride with fun stops to engage with local farmers and allow the group to come back together.

Mountain Lodges of Peru designed its with travelers of different fitness levels in mind. Each day there are multiple options for activities, such as hikes, cultural excursions like visiting a weaving cooperative, or cooking classes. 鈥淵ou get to spend quality time with your partner, family, or friends for at least half a day, and every night at the lodges share stories over a pisco sour at dinner,鈥� says cofounder Enrique Umbert. 鈥淭he cool thing about the storytelling dynamic is that, many times, the less active members get inspired to participate in something active during the trip, and active members may discover new experiences, like a ceramics workshop.鈥�

It鈥檚 All About Compromise

I鈥檝e yet to find my vacation soulmate, but I have figured out successful planning strategies to ensure I have a great trip with my partner or friends or my mom. I might still tack on a day or two pre or post trip to get my fix of adventure, and I鈥檒l probably get up early to run or surf while my travel buddy sleeps in. But talking through options and expectations has helped pave the way for any time spent together鈥攁nd compromise helps overachievers like me realize that sometimes the art of doing nothing is exactly what I need to embrace on vacation.

Have a question of your own? Drop us a line at Traveladvice@outsideinc.com.听听

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It鈥檚 been , but there鈥檚 been no shortage of monosyllabically titled thrillers set in the outdoors. started streaming on Hulu last month, hit theaters on August 12, and premiered last Friday. All three films are human vs. nature (or alien?) stories designed to prickle the sweat glands underneath your arms and make you grip the edge of your seat as you watch the heroes fight to survive something scary or horrible far away from cell service. But not all monosyllabically titled thrillers set in the outdoors are created equal. Here鈥檚 our take on which ones are worth the heightened heart rate, and which ones to skip.

Beast

In this animal revenge tale, widower Dr. Nate Daniels (Idris Elba) takes his two daughters (Meredith and Nora Samuels) to their mother鈥檚 home country of South Africa to visit a white Afrikaner family friend named Martin (Sharlto Copley). Martin turns out to be a low-rent Crocodile Dundee working with lions on a game reserve. I was lucky enough to see this movie in a theater with lots of other Black people, so I could laugh and comment loudly along with the rest of the audience at the worst parts of this movie, like when a suddenly CGI version of Lion Dundee hugs a lion.

Jokes aside, I found the movie鈥檚 premise quite disturbing. The beast in question is just a lion. Not that lions can鈥檛 be scary, but it feels far-fetched to portray a lion mysteriously gaining the ability to overtake teams of men with guns. The explanation is that he鈥檚 鈥済one rogue鈥� and is out to kill every human in his territory because a group of poachers killed his pride. When Lion Dundee sees the beast鈥檚 carnage, he keeps shaking his head and going, 鈥淟ions don鈥檛 do that.鈥� Which, like鈥� exactly.

Beast credits the ability of the Daniels family to survive the lion to the predator鈥檚 鈥渒nowing who his real enemies are鈥濃�攊.e. the poachers. So why did the lion kill every single man, woman, and child in a South African village? These people weren鈥檛 poachers and yet the movie shows their bodies mutilated and surrounded by flies in a familiar orientalist gaze. This imagery seems to fault them for their own destruction and imply that the Americans and the white adventurer are purer than the cruel Africans who poach lions and therefore deserve to die. (There are a couple white poachers too.) In other words, the movie suggests the poachers should be killed in order to protect wildlife, a moral question that has been in the news lately鈥攔emember when we found out in Zambia? Human rights organizations have been speaking out for years against the torture, rape, and murder of poachers鈥攎ost of whom are indigenous to Asian and African countries.

Beast is a bad movie that jumps into topical issues and fumbles the landing. But if you鈥檙e an Idris Elba fan, enjoy hate-watches, and don鈥檛 mind a little justification of human rights crimes, why not?

Prey听

If you haven鈥檛 seen Prey yet, I highly recommend you go watch it immediately. I skipped the English version and instead watched the Comanche language dub, which adds a layer of cultural specificity and language preservation that makes this movie a particular gem. This Predator prequel depicts the first intergalactic hunter to arrive on earth, in the middle of Comanche territory, where it meets its match in young warrior Naru (Amber Midthunder). Naru and Predator are mirrors of each other in a fascinating way: both of them are stalking the other, and both are looking to hunt something worth catching. The thesis of the movie鈥斺�淗ow can you hunt that which is hunting you?鈥濃�攚hich is asked by Naru鈥檚 brother Taabe (Dakota Beavers), has the potential to be corny. But as a driving idea, it pulls the plot into several twists and turns that kept me engaged.

Midthunder gives a stunning performance as Naru, a young woman determined to prove herself as a hunter despite her brother and other male warriors’ insistence that she鈥檚 not good enough. But it鈥檚 her agility and power of observation that leads to her chilling revenge against brutal French fur trappers who are also hunting Predator, and her final showdown with the alien. The movie is a real thriller, and it hits every emotional note from tender scenes between Naru and her mother (Michelle Thrush) to one showing a heartbreaking sacrifice.

Fall

https://youtu.be/aa5MXOMN1lM

This is the dumbest movie I鈥檝e seen in a very long time. My general rule is to never see movies in which the main character is named Becky, and Fall proved me right. It stars two 20-something climbers, Becky (Grace Caroline Currey) and Hunter (Virginia Gardner). On a climbing trip, they watch in horror as Becky鈥檚 husband, Dan, falls hundreds of feet to his death.

Becky understandably stops climbing and has a hard time coping after the accident. Hunter, meanwhile, becomes a climbing influencer on Instagram. To help Becky 鈥渇ind closure鈥� and 鈥済et back to being herself,鈥� Hunter invites her to climb a rusty, abandoned 2,000-foot TV tower in the middle of the desert and then spread Dan鈥檚 ashes from the top. The expedition takes a turn when the ladder falls apart and they end up stuck up there with no water, no cell service, and only incredibly dangerous and stupid options to get down.

The movie irretrievably lost my attention when Hunter suggests the nonsensical mission. Her proposal is so insane it immediately causes the movie to lose credibility. Why didn鈥檛 the duo climb a mountain instead? Why did they keep climbing a rickety TV tower that kept groaning and moaning and shaking? The stunning stupidity of the protagonists made me lose any sense of sympathy for their predicament. Aside from being just plain badly written, the height stunts are very unsettling. I鈥檓 not particularly afraid of heights鈥擨鈥檝e frolicked along the rim of the Grand Canyon with no issues鈥攂ut this movie made me want to vomit. I needed to take a big dose of Klonopin halfway through. This movie isn鈥檛 worth your time. What the movie lacked in depth and quality it attempted to make up for in trying to make viewers shit their pants from vertigo鈥攈ard pass.

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Photographer Kari Medig knows snow. His hometown of Nelson, British Columbia, gets more than 450 inches of the white stuff every year. So Lesotho, a small highland country nestled entirely within the borders of South Africa (average annual snowfall: about four inches), seemed an unlikely destination for a ski trip. With climate change making for drier winters in the region, the only flurries Medig expected to see were those coming from the snowmaking equipment at , a six-run resort in the Maluti Mountains. Initially intending to capture the contrast of a single strip of white in an otherwise arid landscape, Medig was forced to recalibrate when he woke up the day after arriving in August of last year to the biggest powder dump the area had seen since 2016. 鈥淚 had to push open my door,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t had snowed a foot and a half.鈥�

Instead, Medig turned his lens on the local ski culture鈥攕uch as it is. Many people on the mountain with him that day had never seen snow before, let alone squeezed into a pair of ski boots. Throughout its 21-year history, Afriski鈥檚 single T-bar lift has served mostly South Africans and international tourists seeking out the novelty of skiing so far south on the continent. But in recent winters, especially after the resort began offering discount passes during the pandemic, that has been changing. Previously, the locals 鈥渨ere barely buying into the snow idea,鈥� says tour operator Stephan Morake, who lives in the capital city of Maseru. Morake notes that heavy snowfall was usually considered a disaster by the pastoral mountain population and the government, since it can kill livestock and trap people. Now, he says, area residents are beginning to embrace ski and snowboard culture, though it may take a while to catch on. As one 23-year-old first-timer put it to Medig that day, 鈥淭his is unlike anything I have done before.鈥�

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Three years ago, I sailed across the Atlantic Ocean听from Cape Town, South Africa, to Martinique, in the Caribbean. I was aboard Saltbreaker, a 32-foot 1979 Valiant sailboat, along with my husband, Alex, my brother-in-law, Nick, and his girlfriend, Alex. All told, the trip听took about four months, and听our longest passage without sighting land鈥攆rom Ascension Island in the South Atlantic to Martinique鈥攍asted 31 days. It was an experience that was simultaneously epic and monotonous, profound and incredibly dull. It was also, for better or worse, good preparation for quarantine.

Of course, there are crucial differences. An ocean crossing is a choice, though it may not feel like it around day 22. Our current COVID-19 isolation comes from听frightening, unpredictable听times听and is听a requirement听to keep ourselves and our communities safe and healthy. But I鈥檝e found that the feelings of isolation, uncertainty, and cabin fever translate.

It鈥檚听a refrain I鈥檝e heard echoed among my sailing friends. 鈥淲e鈥檙e basically doing a crossing. But we can go to the store!鈥� said one who crossed the Pacific a few years back. This is not听meant to downplay the seriousness of our current circumstances. But for many of us sailors, the creature comforts of this figurative crossing听are a welcome flash of levity worth appreciating: Hot showers! More space! A non-rocking kitchen! The ability to carefully听go outside听to walk,听run, or bike! Grocery stores going the extra mile to allow us to stock up and feed ourselves! It doesn鈥檛听make up for this climate of fear and听the real-life hardships that continue to impact so many, but I鈥檒l take all the scraps of silver lining I can get.

A crossing can feel interminable. So can this state of anxiety in which many of us find ourselves. As we take it a day at a time, I鈥檝e found myself turning to lessons learned from my first transoceanic journey听to find ways to cope with our current confinement. I鈥檓 writing this from San Francisco, one of the first U.S. cities to institute shelter-in-place rules, and other places are quickly following suit.听Here are six tips that helped me stay relatively sane while crossing the Atlantic.

Create Privacy for Yourself

On Saltbreaker, there was little to no physical privacy, save in听the head, where听no one wants听to hang out听longer than necessary. Quarters were extra close, with four of us aboard and no cabins. It became essential to carve out spaces where we could each sit and read, draw, write, tinker, or stare off into space without fielding questions or comments. I would tuck myself into a corner on deck, facing the water, and was left largely undisturbed for hours at a time. That mental privacy, largely maintained by听an unspoken rule between us, gave me the space to lose myself in a book, check in with feelings, and not have to react or respond to others.听

Small living spaces, even shared ones, might offer听a bit more flexibility: a bedroom to take refuge in, with a door to shut. But the importance of respecting each other鈥檚 space holds. Just because you鈥檙e in the same place with others doesn鈥檛 mean you need to hang out or chat听constantly. Be communicative with one another about your needs, and be听honest about when you want to be left alone.

Spend Time Together Intentionally

When you do spend time together, make it feel intentional, even special. On the boat, we tended to stick to our own agendas for most of the day, from checking the compass heading to adjusting the sails, but would eat dinner and watch a movie together almost every night. We鈥檇 think of听thematic听marathons鈥攚e watched all of the Harry Potter movies, Taika Waititi鈥檚 filmography, and, in anticipation of our arrival in Martinique, the听Pirates of the Caribbean series.

We鈥檇 find excuses to celebrate, too. When sailing, crossing the equator is a big deal;听we threw a party, complete with King Neptune鈥搒haped pancakes, a sabered bottle of sparkling wine, and a ritualistic plunge into the water (holding onto a rope). We celebrated hitting our rhumb line, a more or less direct bearing on听Martinique, with rum balls and dark and stormies on the bow. I cooked carbonara, using some of our precious store of bacon, to mark two weeks at sea. No excuse is too small听or too insignificant.听

While nightly group dinners with housemates听may be too much right now, think about a ritual听that feels good for your living situation. Finding ways to spend time together听that feel听joyful and out of the ordinary makes close company seem like an asset versus a frustration.

Make Meals Count

Whether you鈥檙e cooking for yourself, a partner, or a whole family, it can be incredibly gratifying to prepare听something delicious. That doesn鈥檛 have to mean complicated.听It can be as simple as working big, bold flavors into your meals听to help听break up the monotony of your provisions. Curry pastes, premade simmer sauces, and a well-stocked spice cabinet were essential听as our fresh supplies dwindled. (Pro tip: cabbage, potatoes, onions, and garlic last a very long time unrefrigerated. Eggs keep for a while, too, in whatever state you purchased them.)听

It鈥檚 also helpful to identify simple foods that bring you joy. For me, it was a sunny-side-up egg with plenty of salt, chili, and turmeric; for my husband,听Alex, peanut butter straight out of the jar; for all of us, tins of sardines with crackers.听

Set Achievable Goals

When faced with long periods of isolation, it鈥檚 tempting to make a lot of plans. 鈥淚鈥檒l relearn French! I鈥檒l finally write that novel! I鈥檓 going to do so many crunches, I鈥檒l come out of this with a six-pack!鈥� If that鈥檚 your speed, power to you. But I found it helpful to set more achievable goals so that, even on my tougher days on the boat, accomplishing something small felt like a major win.

On the crossing, I had two goals for myself every day: write and do something active. Writing ranged from reflections on the changing hues of the ocean and brainstorming on my upcoming meal shifts to outlining a cookbook project, plus incoherent ramblings and more than a few weird haiku ( and maybe I鈥檒l share them). Exercise was a ten-minute Pilates mat routine that was (mostly) doable when the boat was in motion. The others would do crunches, push-ups, yoga poses, and Bimini 鈥渞uns,鈥� jogging in place while hanging on tight to the boat鈥檚听shade covering.听

Give yourself a break if you skip a day鈥擨 certainly did. Having goals in place, and the motivation to try, is sometimes enough of an accomplishment.

Keep in Touch with Your People

Our limited communication capabilities on Saltbreaker included a satellite connection that allowed us to send and receive email听(which we usually checked once a day) and a ham听radio that we鈥檇 use to tune in to a daily net, in which other cruisers crossing the Atlantic (many of whom we knew) would share their position, conditions, and other updates. This was not, generally, riveting stuff. But we鈥檇 all eagerly gather around the radio, excited to hear other voices. The break in isolation was powerful, even if the most exciting topic tended to be what people had cooked for dinner. Email听from friends back home made me feel connected, despite the distance.

Considering the wave of virtual drink dates and dinner parties after mere days of sheltering in place, people are aware of how important communication with your friends and family can be in times like these, especially when there鈥檚 little to no indication of how long this lockdown might last. Use it as an excuse to reach out to friends you may not speak to regularly鈥攁 little extra effort can go a long way in isolating times.

Hold onto Beauty When You Find It

On the crossing, I struggled with periods of intense frustration. Where did the wind go? How much longer? Why is everyone else handling this so much better than I am? What鈥檚 wrong with me?听Maybe it鈥檚 inevitable. But giving myself space to process those feelings, and showing myself kindness when听feeling them, was important.听

What helped the most, though, was holding close the moments of real beauty: an epic sunset, a sky full of stars on night watch, the meditative quality of staring out at a never-ending, always changing ocean. While perhaps less obvious at home, those moments can and do exist. There is something powerful about having no choice but to slow down, live simply, and really exist with yourself for a period of time. Simple things like listening to the sound of birds or seeing spring flowers pop up on a neighborhood walk are all things to treasure right now.听

This forced slowdown has a backdrop far different than an ocean crossing鈥攄isease, fear, anxiety, and so much that is unknown.听Trying to find peace in the uncertainty, and moments of joy in our present circumstances, will hopefully help us as we try to reach the other side.

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When听Discovery听emailed Blair Braverman听urging听her to apply for its series听Naked and Afraid, she thought it was听spam. But it听turned out to be the start of the most exhilarating听adventure听of her life. What was it really like? Was she given food and water when the cameras turned off? We met up with Braverman at her northern Wisconsin home to ask. Read her full story: 鈥�Everything on Naked and Afraid听Is Real鈥攁nd I Lived It.鈥�

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