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Beach March 21, 2018

5 places to go sandboarding

Love the thrill of downhill sports? Lose your woolly socks and thermal fleece and get ready for sandboarding—arguably the coolest new way to have fun on a beach or desert getaway. Kids have long been sledding down sand dunes on pieces of cardboard and plastic snow sleds.  But in recent years, surfers and out-of-season snowboarders have taken it to the next level with sandboarding—riding down dunes on boards and sleds made out of a slicker material that glides on sand. Want to try sandboarding or sand sledding on your next getaway? A waxed snowboard or snow saucer will probably do. If your kids are up for serious careening, then you’ll want to rent boards and sleds made specifically for sand. While this emerging sport is a natural fit for beach destinations, some of the best places to try sandboarding and sand sledding may surprise you. (Michigan and Colorado? Who knew?) Here are five of the best dune destinations in the United States:

Atmosphere March 21, 2018

Breathtaking gondola rides around the world

Those in need of a pick-me-up could do a lot worse than to consider these incredible cable cars, which take in some of the most awesome panoramic views on the planet.

Travel Gear March 21, 2018

Best airlines for bringing sports gear

You may be headed to the best biking trails, ski runs, surf breaks or golf courses in the world, but if your trip starts off with a gauntlet of extra fees and restrictions at the airport, your vacation buzz will be killed before you even hit the fresh air. It may not sound glamorous, but picking the right airline is a key part of making your trip a good one. Not all airlines, it turns out, are created equal—especially for active and outdoors sports travelers. Sure, everyone’s bummed if their bag gets lost or a bit beat up in transit. But what about a brand new, $2,000 kayak? Or your custom skis? Or your trusty touring bike? If the very item you planned your whole trip around goes missing, it’s a heckuva lot worse than a business traveler going a day without an extra suit and tie. Mishandled baggage is probably the biggest concern for active travelers, but it’s worth taking a closer look at other airline policies, too. United Airlines may offer the cheapest fare from A to B, but by the time you pay $125 extra each way to check your bag and bike—and shell out another $15 on sustenance at the airport, since United provides no free snacks en route—it may be a smarter option to pay for the pricier ticket with, say, JetBlue. And, of course, you'll have to pay careful attention to your particular sport. Most airlines, for example, will allow you to bring a surfboard for a reasonable fee ($50-75), but Qantas allows you to bring one free, as long as it's no longer than nine feet. US Airways, on the other hand, charges $200 each way. The same variations tend to apply to—in order from least restrictive to most—skis and snowboards, fishing poles, bicycles and, finally, canoes and kayaks (several airlines prohibit them altogether). In our quest to suss out the best airlines for carrying your prized gear, we looked at baggage policies—including fees and prohibited items—mishandled baggage rates and, of course, destination offerings. It's great to have great baggage policies and no fees, but if it means you can't get where you're going, then you're out of luck. We also perused forums where disgruntled passengers report their busted gear, where we discovered horror stories of ruined $700 skis and $3,000 carbon bike frames somehow snapped like twigs, and even found people who'd gone so far as to start Facebook protest pages. Delta, United and US Airways were the most common culprits, but that's partially a product of the millions of customers they serve. Either way, we dug deep to help guide you. Here, we take a look at airline policies with outdoors sports and adventure traveler in mind. Study it. It could save you cash—and your gear—on your next big travel adventure.

Beach March 21, 2018

5 crazy-stupid things that drunken tourists have done

Face it, we've all done things on vacation we regret.  But sometimes all sense of good judgment goes out the window when people have had too much to drink.  Here’s a roundup of some of the most ridiculous, malicious –not to mention dangerous -- things tourists have done after imbibing one --or 10-- too many.  

Eco Tourism March 21, 2018

10 best trips for 2013

Got wanderlust? We’ve got your ticket. The National Geographic Traveler editors present this year's must-see places.

Evolution March 21, 2018

Amazing places to swim with sharks

Nothing sends ocean swimmers fleeing for shore faster than a fin sighting. The word shark alone is enough to scare most people, immediately calling to mind the menacing theme song for the movie "Jaws"—and, of course, all the gruesome attack scenes therein. But some people look past the sensationalism and all those razor-sharp teeth (up to 15 rows of them) to see sharks for what they really are—streamlined, beautiful animals that are fantastically adapted to their environment. (There’s a reason they’ve been around for 64 million years.) For those brave souls, the thrill of floating alongside these big fish far outweighs the fright. And in truth, many sharks pose a bigger threat to plankton than to surfers or other fish—though swimming alongside them still lends plenty of bragging rights. In order to do it, you’ll need a boat (in most cases, anyway) and local knowledge to find the fish. The surest bet is to hire a local guide service or naturalist who can take you out, outfit you with snorkels or dive gear, and—perhaps most important—let you know how close is too close. We scoured the globe to come up with some great guide services that offer you a glimpse inside the watery world of the oceans’ most-feared fish. They’ll take you on daylong dive and snorkeling charters, set you up on a live-aboard yacht for extended, all-inclusive trips, and even load you into a deep-sea submersible to get a Cousteau-style look at some seriously creepy (and rare) creatures.  That underscores another fascinating fact about sharks—more than the much-maligned Great White, there are 470 species of sharks prowling the world's oceans. There are bus-sized, plankton-eating whale sharks that you can snorkel up to and touch; little lemon sharks that you can lift out of the water (literally, but we don't recommend it…their "nibbles" can cause serious injury); streamlined makos that blast through the water at upwards of 25 mph; bottom-dwelling nurse sharks who are sort of like catfish of the sea; and, yes, 5,000-pound apex predators called Great Whites. It’s up to you what shark you want to see, and how close you want to get. Some you can reach out and touch, others are best kept on the other side of a thick steel cage. With that in mind, here are the best places in the world to get nose-to-snout with sharks.

Extreme Travel March 21, 2018

7 record-breaking tunnels from around the world

Tunnels provide travelers with a quick and easy way to access hard-to-reach destinations, so it’s no surprise that every year cities map out new tunnel designs. But high-tech building materials and advances in design are allowing for engineering feats never seen before.  At higher altitudes, over longer distances, here are seven record-breaking tunnels that are stand alone tourist destinations.  

Africa March 21, 2018

South Africa's epic wildlife

Who hasn’t dreamed of going on safari in Africa? Thinking about it evokes images of the warm setting sun, shedding the perfect light on a pride of lions, a herd of elephants crossing an all but dry creek bed, heading to the tall grass, or a giraffe reaching high into the treetops for a bite to eat.  In Southern Africa, these exotic dreams are a reality.  South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia make up this region and are home to the most impressive (and diverse) display of wildlife on the planet.  In this wild region, a noisy traffic jam consists of a herd of wildebeest bottlenecked at a river crossing, set to the sound track of a hyena laughing.  In Southern Africa, this is just a day in the life.

Extreme Travel March 21, 2018

8 mind-blowing volcanoes that you can visit

Volcanoes are fierce, natural beauties that are even more striking up close. Should you wish to walk across an ash desert, watch a live lava river, or even climb into a magma chamber, here are eight volcanoes open for public exploration.  

Extreme Travel March 21, 2018

5 buildings you can legally throw yourself off of

There are two reasons why you can’t just BASE jump off any old city building: firstly, it's illegal for, like, a thousand reasons, and secondly, even if illegality and self-preservation aren’t concerns for you, you'd struggle to know how to go about it. That’s because BASE jumping is a somewhat secretive world - if someone knew how or when to get around security and jump off a certain building, they'd never tell you, as they'd be both turning themselves in and handing over all their hard-earned secrets. So now that we've crushed your adrenalin junky dreams, here are five buildings you can still launch yourself off (albeit shackled to a freedom-reining cord).

Extreme Travel March 21, 2018

5 US towns with bizarre sounding names

These towns have names that may sound bizarre, silly, or perhaps even a little made up. But they're all actual places.  In fact, America is filled with small town with bold names--and many are worth a look.  Here are some of the craziest sounding towns to visit -- and don't forget to send a postcard to startled friends back home.