trip
Published January 30, 2024
Updated January 30, 2024, 4:13 PM ET
Travel around the world in 80 ways.
Feeling like you’ve run out of water bottles for travel ideas? No need to worry. In honor of Tuesday’s National Vacation Plan, National Geographic is highlighting the 20 “coolest” travel adventures of 2024, from horseback safaris in Kenya to antiques in the Hudson Valley.
“We’re really excited about this,” National Geographic Editor-in-Chief Nathan Lampe said at an exclusive screening in New York last week. “We’ve expanded it even further than ever before.”
As in recent years, NatGeo has relied on experts such as photographers, editors, and explorers to help compile our annual overview of off-the-beaten-path places.
But for 2024, we’ve switched things up by asking veteran world travelers to also suggest unique activities in each destination.
In honor of Tuesday’s National Vacation Plan, National Geographic is highlighting the 20 “coolest” travel adventures of 2024, from horseback safaris in Kenya to antiques in the Hudson Valley. NurPhoto via Getty Images Stars shine above Menorca’s most famous funerary monument, Naveta des Tudons.Sebastian Iturralde
“We’re not just talking about locations,” NatGeo senior editor Amy Alipio, who has led the roundup since its inception 12 years ago, told USA Today. “We’ve talked about where we’re going, but [also] What will you do when you get there? I think we’ve pinpointed a way for people to connect and immerse themselves in a destination. ”
There’s no point in going to Tanzania if you’re going to spend the entire trip in a hotel swim-up bar, right?
As an additional service, our experts ranked the experiences in the order they seemed most likely to be liked by travelers.
Ultimately, NatGeo hopes this list will inspire people to step out of their comfort zones and, in the words of the late, great Anthony Bourdain, “go as far as you can, as much as you can.”
America
A Kodiak bear confronts Katmai National Park, Alaska.Acacia Johnson/National Geographic
This year’s list includes a number of US-based adventures. Perhaps most notable is the sighting of the giant Kodiak bear in Alaska’s Katmai National Park, which has the highest concentration of the species in the world.
“For me, seeing a single brown bear in the wild is meaningful because the landscape is healthy enough to support it,” said Alaskan photographer Acacia Johnson, a frequent contributor to National Geographic. Because it shows that we are,” he says.
Other highlights include a road trip through New Mexico on Route 66, poring over antiques in the Hudson Valley, and watching the total solar eclipse on April 8 at Niagara Falls State Park.
The latter doesn’t seem to be as “overrated” as Redditors think.
Africa
Horse safari in Kenya.Nicole Sobecki/National Geographic
Exploring Kenya in a safari jeep seems like a commonplace at this point. Luckily, the NatGeo Braintrust has devised another, more traditional way to see Africa’s pride: on horseback.
“Horse safaris originated in Kenya in the 1970s, but are perfect for today’s growing number of travelers seeking more engaging and sustainable wildlife encounters,” NatGeo writes. “The 32,000-acre Borana Preserve includes two stables where thoroughbreds and ex-polo ponies are bred for riders of all skill levels.”
Is your saddle not comfortable? According to NatGeo, travelers can visit Algeria’s Tassili-Nager National Park, the largest in Africa, and enjoy the region on foot or by car. It is a “geological wonderland of sandstone towers, arches, and carved outcrops.”
Europe
Runners pass the Eiffel Tower during the 45th Paris Marathon on April 3, 2022. AFP, Getty Images
In one of the most traveled regions on earth, avoiding tourist traps can be tricky. Luckily, NatGeo has devised a way for Eurotrippers to get off the beaten path. It was to run the Olympic marathon in Paris.
That’s right, for the first time, the public will be invited to run their own 46.2-mile race during the 2024 Summer Olympics in the City of Lights. The move appears to be part of an ongoing campaign to make the game more inclusive for Hoi Polloi.
They seem to have taken seriously Bill Murray’s comment during the 2016 Summer Games that “every Olympic event should include one average person competing as a reference.”
Asia
The new nearly 200-mile Pekoe Trail winds its way through Sri Lanka’s central highlands, passing through remote villages and tea estates.Tom Sigler, weekend hiker
Asia is too vast and diverse to summarize in an online list, but NatGeo has managed to select some of the continent’s hidden gems, including the Great Wall of China Color Flag Tour there is no).
Experiences such as listening to live music in Kyoto, Japan, eating across Thailand, and trekking the Tea Trail in Sri Lanka are favored.
“Starting just outside Kandy, this trail follows 19th-century railroad tracks where workers and horse-drawn wagons carried freshly picked leaves,” NatGeo writes. “Hikers can pass through hill towns and tea plantations, stopping to take a cooking class or sample fragrant Ceylon tea.”
south america
Magdalena River in Colombia.Florence Goupil/National Geographic
NatGeo’s South American Rec is essentially an assortment of outdoor adventures that would make British explorer Percy Fawcett blush.
This includes everything from hiking a volcano in Panama to cruising Colombia’s mighty Magdalena River, which “flows nearly a thousand miles from the Andes to the Caribbean.”
Complete list of recommended experiences:
Horseback riding safari in Kenya Running the Olympic Marathon in Paris Skiing through a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Georgia Bear watching in Alaska’s Katmai National Park Experience live music in Kyoto, Japan Cruise the Magdalena River in Colombia Driving Route 66 in New Mexico Explore ancient rock art in Algeria Dive with whale sharks off the coast of Australia Hike a volcano in Panama Watch a total solar eclipse in Niagara Falls Trek through glaciers in Chile Explore ruins in Menorca Ride classic rails in Scotland See the real deal in Isan, Thailand Find a Taste Explore the tea trails in Sri Lanka Jump in São Paulo, Gallery Brazil Raft down the rapids in West Virginia Antique shopping in the Hudson Valley Sleep on the water on Tofino Island, British Columbia
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