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.

We all dream of visiting the world’s best places. But in what鈥檚 shaping up to be the most expensive year to travel since before the pandemic, it’s also good to branch out. One of the biggest travel trends of 2024 is destination 鈥渄upes鈥濃�攁ffordable alternatives that are just as dreamy and beautiful as the most popular places but aren鈥檛 as expensive or crowded.

Europe in particular is filled with historical, lively cities that can serve as stand-ins to their well-known counterparts. For example, if you long to visit Amsterdam for its river scene and caf茅s, you might try Rotterdam, just 50 miles to the southwest. If you like Munich for its beer culture and jaw-dropping Baroque buildings, check out the German cities of Nuremberg or Stuttgart. If you鈥檙e drawn to Vienna for its music and art scene, try Graz, in Austria鈥檚 eastern Alps. In the U.S., music lovers might check out Memphis, Tennessee, rather than Nashville.

Which destinations will offer the most bang for your buck this year? I looked at some popular bucket-list trips and have come up with alternative destinations and itineraries that will be just as much fun and cost you less.

Summer Hiking in Europe

Dreaming of: The Italian Dolomites
Try This Affordable Alternative:听The Slovenian Alps

The limestone peaks of the Slovenian Alps are similar to those found in northern Italy. Slovenia is half the size of Switzerland (and half the cost), and it鈥檚 incredibly easy to get around its hills, thanks to more than 6,200 marked trails. Members of Slovenia鈥檚 Alpine Association help manage a network of nearly 180 , such as Triglav Lodge at Kredarica, located near the nation鈥檚 highest peak, 9,400-foot Triglav.

This country also has some of the nicest glamping accommodations I鈥檝e ever seen. Garden Village Bled, a short walk from Lake Bled, feels straight out of a Grimm鈥檚 fairy tale, with riverfront tents starting at $120 and family-friendly treehouses starting at $260. And with nearly 60 Michelin-starred restaurants in the immediate surrounds, you can have insanely good food for a serious bargain. The nine-course tasting menu at Hisa Linhart, for example, costs $140.

国产吃瓜黑料 Intel: The 167-mile Juliana Trail made its debut four years ago and wends through both quaint towns and Triglav National Park. One 国产吃瓜黑料 writer spent nearly three weeks trekking it and enjoying the sites and local hospitality. If cycling is your thing, now’s the time to get wheeling on the Trans Dinarica Route through the Balkans; the northern terminus is Slovenia’s Soca Valley. We mention details and outfitters on the entire 1,250 miles in this year’s travel awards.

Glamping in the Southwest

Dreaming of: Camp Sakira, Utah
Try This Affordable Alternative:听BaseCamp 37, Utah

Five nights in one of the five nice safari tents at , a remote glampground 15 minutes from Grand Staircase鈥揈scalante National Monument will cost you about $1,000. That’s dramatically less than one night at Camp Sakira, where tents start at $7,547 per night for double occupancy (and includes amenities like airport transfers, all meals, and adventures like a full-day national-park tour). You won鈥檛 have a private plunge pool, but BaseCamp 37 does have a mini pool where you can cool off, plus Wi-Fi, grills, and two indoor kitchens. Another economical option is , located 15 minutes from the south entrance of Zion National Park. It has a pool and a hot tub and hosts live music and movie nights. Its covered wagons (with A/C) and canvas tents start at around $200.

国产吃瓜黑料 Intel:听Our Ultimate Guide to Zion National Park will set you up with must-have intel on everything from iconic spots like the Narrows and Subway to slickrock side options that leave the crowds behind. And if you haven’t yet read about the Aquarius Trail, it’s time you did. This nearby bike-packing hut system is open from early July to late September and is just the place to take your hardtail for the adventure of its life.

A Family Road Trip

Dreaming of: The California Coast
Try This Affordable Alternative:听British Columbia鈥檚 Vancouver Island

Given the strength of the dollar, a road trip along the western coast of Vancouver Island provides more bang for your buck, and with its old-growth forests and wild beaches, it rivals the Cali coast in terms of scenic beauty. I suggest the two-hour drive from Victoria to Port Renfrew, stopping en route to explore the hiking trails and beaches of Juan de Fuca Provincial Park and camping at China Beach ($20 per group). lodging is conveniently positioned between two coastal trailheads: the challenging West Coast Trail and the more mellow Juan de Fuca Marine Trail, and its cozy wharfside cabins feature kitchenettes and start at $190. Continue another 210 miles north to the surf town of Tofino, and consider tacking on a stay in the neighboring town of Ucluelet, at the Nami Project, a collection of oceanfront, self-catering suites and cabins right next to Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. Rates start at $343.

国产吃瓜黑料 Intel: Those old-growth trees have their own support system鈥攁ctivists blocking clearcutting and provoking 2021鈥檚 War in the Woods鈥攖he largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history. Our reporter embedded with them to get some perspective on that island movement. And if your B.C. vacation takes you into the interior, we’ve got nine choice suggestions on how to maximize your听options. Bear-watching is one of them. Try not to think about the mountain biker in coastal B.C. who survived an attack by a grizzly by using his pocketknife. (That tale’s a good one for the campfire.)

A Caribbean Beach Getaway

Dreaming of: The Bahamas
Try This Affordable Alternative: Colombia

This South American nation may not be the first place that comes to mind when you hear the words 鈥淐aribbean vacation.鈥� But the country鈥檚 turquoise waters and white-sand beaches could easily be mistaken for any stretch of gorgeous shoreline in the Bahamas. Deborah Gellis, a travel agent with Embark Beyond, says that its activities, dining, and hotels offer prices unseen in Mexico and the Caribbean in more than ten years. Many people day-trip to the Rosario Islands from Cartagena via a 45-minute boat ride. This archipelago of 27 powdery-sand islands is surrounded by incredibly clear waters and boasts pristine coral reefs. Stay at , where a sea-view room will cost less than $200. You can walk out the hotel door and be听 snorkeling and paddleboarding in minutes. Or stay closer to Cartagena on Tierra Bomba, reached via a 25-minute boat shuttle from the city鈥檚 port; on the island鈥檚 western shore lies , where a beach-club day pass costs $25 (and includes transfers) and rooms start at $159. A residency program allows musicians and artists to share their talents in exchange for free stays.

国产吃瓜黑料 Intel: A few Caribbean destinations have been grappling with crime in recent years, including the Bahamas. This spring we reported on its听level 2 advisory (reconsider travel) 听and exactly where the trouble there has been occurring. If you’re still set on a dream trip there, read this first. We also like Todos Santos, Mexico, for affordable beach getaways. Check out our guide to a good time there from a writer who chose to work remotely from the Baja town for a few months. It’s true, that water isn’t Caribbean blue. So maybe you head to Puerto Rico, where the water hue is one you dream of, you don’t need a passport, and lodging and food won’t set you back an arm and a leg. We like that idea, too鈥擯uerto Rico is another one of our choices for travel in 2024.

A Ski Weekend

Dreaming of: Big Sky, Montana
Try This Affordable Alternative:听Morzine, France

Lift ticket prices at almost any European ski resort are cheaper than in the U.S., especially if you skip big-name spots like Chamonix, France, for lesser known destinations like , just an hour north. Part of the huge Portes du Soleil ski area that straddles the Swiss border, Morzine offers everything from gentle groomers to serious off-piste action. Compared to a three-day lift ticket at Big Sky ($644 in March, not including an extra ticket to access terrain off the tram), which has 5,800 skiable acres, a three-day pass at Morzine costs less than $200 and includes access to all 12 resorts that comprise Portes du Soleil鈥攊n total, nearly 100,000 skiable acres. Because this is France, meals are a highlight, but instead of paying $20 for mediocre food-hall tacos, you might opt to spend $35 on wood-fired beef rib for two at the cozy mountain hut Chez Nannon.

国产吃瓜黑料 Intel: You’re not far from Switzerland in Morzine, and we wouldn’t blame you for crossing the border just to eat听盲濒辫濒别谤尘补驳谤辞苍别苍, or herdsman macaroni. You can read about that gooey goodness here. Want to look like a local while you’re swooshing the slopes? The key piece of gear might be these glacier glasses from Julbo; the Chamonix company invented that particular kind of eyewear protection. Warning: unlike the places we’re pitching in this article, they鈥檙e not cheap. But they are cool.

Jen Murphy is 翱耻迟蝉颈诲别鈥�s travel-advice columnist. She鈥檚 explored the famous mountains of France, Switzerland, and Italy, but believes the lesser known Julian Alps in Slovenia are equally awesome and the country鈥檚 food and wine just as delicious.

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Envision a well-known band and the slosh-fest that typically ensues on tour. The traveling circus would include flowing booze, folding tables lined with greasy grub, and a revolving door of trippy characters getting lit backstage all night.

Well, that鈥檚 not how rolls. Formed in Sydney in 2010 and composed of the singer-guitarist Tyrone Lindqvist, keyboardist Jon George, and drummer James Hunt, the alternative electronic music trio has a touring regimen that is about as disciplined and health-centric as it gets. It wasn鈥檛 always that way, but things changed three years ago.

Today the group is at a career peak. In 2021, R眉f眉s du Sol鈥檚 latest album, Surrender, topped charts globally, and in 2022, its anthemic jam 鈥淎live鈥� took home the Grammy Award for best dance recording. As of late April, the guys have again, playing in Colombia and sites including Monterrey and Mexico City, Mexico; then major festivals in Europe; and, starting August 1, seven stops in the United States at locations ranging from Boston to Charlotte, North Carolina.

The heart of the tour, the group鈥檚 curated festival , scheduled to run May 4-7 and 11-14 outside San Jos茅 del Cabo, Mexico, will bring artists like DJ Tennis, Carlita, WhoMadeWho, and Dixon for two weekends of jams and health-minded options like yoga, meditation, and breath work.

R眉f眉s Du Sol has a vibe that can span two worlds. Its indie-electro beats with deep house undertones are a soundtrack for a head-bobbing, feel-good night at a dark club鈥攂ut also, as I recently experienced during a multi-day trek in the Great Smoky Mountains, a cloudless hike in a pine-clad national park. The music is that adaptable and infectious.

In April just before the tour commenced, I sat down with the three band members, who Zoomed in from Austin, Texas, to talk travel and wellness, including their favorite spots, highlights from the road, and Frisbee golf.

国产吃瓜黑料: You鈥檝e been touring for more than a decade. How has your regimen evolved?

James: We’ve made some really good changes, just to make things more healthy, more sustainable, and we want to come out of a tour feeling fitter than when we go into it. It used to be the other way around. We’ve brought in a lot of structure, wellness practices, and breath work. We do ice baths when we can after each show, we take ginger shots before we go onstage, we’re working out, and we have a trainer touring with us. So we have a really good sense of routine built into touring now.

What sparked it?

Tyrone: We’d been touring pretty hard. We鈥檝e been a band for 13 years now, and we made a bit of a switch three or four years ago. Things got busier the more successful we got. We had success in Australia, then the U.S. Things were getting more exciting and the tour schedule more intensive, and we were writing at the same time. The balance of health and wellness with working was definitely not where we wanted it to be.

COVID, in some ways, was kind of a big gift for our mindset. It forced us to stop touring and gave us the opportunity to reconnect. We were actually in Joshua Tree [in Southern California], starting the writing process for Surrender, and we got to process a bunch of stuff that we hadn’t really talked about. We were trying out different things like meditating, exercising as a unit, doing saunas and little cold plunges. And we were building a structured work environment, where we would work for eight hours instead of working till an idea was done. We shifted and gave ourselves a clock-in and clock-out. It brought up a lot of fear and anxiety, like, Are we going to be able to make music like before without working around the clock? But we鈥檝e made it.

Surely there have been some crazy workouts and wellness experiences over the years. Do any stick out in your mind?

James: Well, we just did one about two hours ago here in Austin. Our trainer put us through a pretty brutal leg session. There’s a sense of camaraderie of getting through that intensity together. It breeds a good sort of bonding. You鈥檙e lifting each other up.

Jon: One of those memories for me was the last Sundream Baja festival. We weren鈥檛 staying in a fancy hotel, but on-site [the venue is between the beaches and desert], which was really cool, with all the energy going on. We had a trainer there again, and we were in the back of one of the villas and just all trained really hard together, sweating it out in such a beautiful setting.

How do you recover after a long tour?

James: There’s always an adjustment period after so much overstimulation. You’re going between different environments, traveling, playing shows with tens of thousands of people, and having a pretty strict exercise routine. That adjustment always takes a few days, but it definitely helps to do some of the same wellness activities that we do on the road. And I always find that doing cold therapy, like the ice plunge, is a really good way to regulate.

For this tour, is there a particular place you鈥檙e really looking forward to exploring?

Tyrone: I’m pretty excited to go to Monterrey, in Mexico. We’ve never been there, and my wife’s father’s family is from there.

Jon: Yeah, I鈥檇 say Monterrey and Guadalajara [also in Mexico] are up there, along with Medell铆n [Colombia].

Let鈥檚 touch on tours past. What is your favorite place to play and why?

Tyrone: Recently, we went home to Australia and played a bunch of shows. I definitely have a newfound respect and appreciation for Australian crowds and being in Australia, especially having lived over in the U.S. for many years [with a home base in L.A.]. I missed the food for sure. Red Rocks [amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado] is up there. We’ve played there a lot and it has so much history. It鈥檚 just so stunning.

Jon: Red Rocks is an amazing experience from the stage. You’re looking up at the crowd rather than down, and they seem so close. It has a very special energy.

Is there a particular activity you鈥檝e really enjoyed while on the road?

James: In 2016, just after we put Bloom out, we had tour dates through the summer, and we discovered Frisbee golf鈥攖his game we鈥檇 never heard of. We鈥檇 be playing [where we had] shows in places like Michigan and Colorado in the beautiful summer weather. We became obsessed鈥攊t is a pretty sick way to see different parts of the country.听

Any specific place in the U.S. you enjoy?

Jon: Austin is pretty great. It was one of the first places we played in the U.S. Every time we come here, everyone is so nice. We鈥檝e spent some time rehearsing here at the start of a tour, did South by Southwest, and spent about a week. Everything is just so fresh here.

James: During the pandemic, me and Jon and a bunch of our friends went to Big Sky Country鈥擬ontana鈥攂ecause we couldn’t go back to Australia. We had a sort of Friends鈥� Christmas, and that was sick. The mountain ranges in the U.S. are just unparalleled.

Looking ahead, what is it you want out of a travel experience?

Tyrone: I’m really looking for family-experience travel. I’ve really gotten the experience of seeing new places, having new memories, and eating new cuisines with the guys, and I’ve cherished that. I鈥檓 looking forward to a version of that with my wife and son in the future, too.

James: I definitely love meeting people in different parts of the world, connecting with people who live there or someone who’s been there for a little while, the people who know the places to eat and the local hole-in-the-wall spots.

Jon: We鈥檝e developed a lot of friends all over the world while touring, so it’s really cool to be able to have that inside knowledge and a more local experience in different places. But I also love that there is still so much more to see.

Jesse Scott resides in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and covers the intersection of travel, food, and music. He鈥檚 interviewed Metallica, The Killers, and Steve Aoki, and written about outdoor adventures ranging from hiking in the Grand Canyon to exploring coffee farms in Colombia.

The post R眉f眉s Du Sol: How the Grammy-Winning Band Stays Healthy On the Road appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

When Jordan Salama was an undergraduate at Princeton University in 2018, he set out to travel the length of Colombia鈥檚 Magdalena River as part of his college thesis. The project turned into , a book about the four-week trip. It鈥檚 an interlocking series of stories about the people he encountered鈥攆rom Indigenous groups at its headwaters to a man spreading literacy with a donkey-based mobile听library鈥攁nd a longitudinal look at how the history and geography of the country are intertwined.

Every Day the River Changes was the December-January pick for the newly relaunched 国产吃瓜黑料 Book Club, and we鈥檝e been discussing it for the past two months in (which we encourage you to join). Recently, we talked to Salama about his debut release, specifically how he explored听the Magdalena from source to sea, the most interesting people he met on the river, and why he didn鈥檛 want to tell the same old story about Pablo Escobar鈥檚 hippos.

国产吃瓜黑料: Where did the idea for a book about Colombia, and particularly the Magdalena, come from?
Salama: This project began when I was still in school. After my first year of college, I got to travel to Colombia in 2016听as an intern for the Wildlife Conservation Society. When I told people I wanted to go, they were terrified. Colombia has this reputation and stigma in the U.S. It鈥檚 known one-dimensionally as a culture of violence, and in 2016, people were not excited about 19-year-old me going there.

But I had one family friend, Sandra Marlem-Mu帽oz, 听my old piano teacher, who said I could stay with her grandma while I was an intern. Turns out her grandma was a 96-year-old who couldn鈥檛 get out of bed and wouldn鈥檛 let me leave the house after 7 P.M. But I became fascinated by this country of cultural and natural diversity, so at night when I was locked in, I kept journals of the people I met and the experiences I had. A few years later, when I was deciding on a subject for my college undergrad thesis, I looked back at journals and realized that if I wanted to understand Colombia, I had to travel the length of the river.

This is really a story about migration and immigration and the way people travel and move. Did you know it was going to be about that from the beginning?
I come from this family of wanderers and migrants. My family is the product of lots of different migrations鈥攎ost of them involuntary. My mother was a Jew who had to leave Baghdad in the seventies, and my father鈥檚 family were Syrian Jews in Argentina. I saw in Colombia, and especially in communities of the Magdalena, many identities in one, many nations in one, and saw so many places where people had similar stories to my family, so it felt important to address that.

You mentioned the country鈥檚 reputation of violence, and that occasionally comes up in the book. How did you deal with that on the ground?
It took a lot of logistics to be safe for my 2018 trip.听It started with Sandra鈥檚 network of friends and family, which led to introductions along the Magdalena. When I set off, I had people willing to receive me almost everywhere I went. I was traveling by myself but was never really alone. Meeting all these people along the way, whether it was a friend of a friend or a friend of a professor, was how I created a line of trust along the river.

How did those connections translate into your reporting?
I didn鈥檛 go into the trip knowing what kind of stories I would find. It was kind of a moving surprise. I improvised, and a lot can happen on the fly. In almost every river town, someone would say, 鈥淵ou have to talk to this person or check out this story.鈥� For instance, in Mompox, someone mentioned this 89-year-old silver filigree jeweler. I wasn鈥檛 planning to have that be a part of the story, but he ended up being the heart of the section there.

Did you ever feel like the trip wasn鈥檛 going to happen the way you wanted, or that the whole thing would fall apart? Four weeks isn鈥檛 a very long time to try to see an entire river.
Oh yeah, plenty. I will never forget my time in Estaci贸n Cocorn谩, which was one of the hottest places I鈥檝e ever been in my life. I was in this room I was renting in the town, and I was laying there at 3 P.M., in the height of the heat of the day, just sweating with no idea of how I was going to traverse the next stretch of the river.听I wanted to go with someone who could explain what I was seeing, but I didn鈥檛 have anyone, and I was thinking I was going to have to stay in Estaci贸n Cocorn谩听because I had no one to do it with. Then I got a message from Alejandra Mayorca, a friend of a friend, who has become a lot of people鈥檚 favorite character in the book because she lives the way a lot of people want to live their lives. She took a 20-hour bus to the river to meet me there, to take a seven-hour boat ride, to take another eight-hour bus ride. People stepped up like that in a lot of places.

What was your favorite place along the river?
.听I can鈥檛 stop thinking about it. It feels like it鈥檚 out of a novel. He was there for a while, and a lot of people there said that his fiction felt like journalism that documented their lives. And in that town, I found traces of my own family, indirectly.

Mompox happens to be one of the main places Syrians and Lebanese and Palestinian people settled when they came to South America, like my family did, so that was really cool to see.

M谩rquez comes up frequently in the book. Who else were you reading, or influenced by, when you were working on this?
We could talk a lot about M谩rquez鈥攁nytime you鈥檙e talking about Colombia or the Magdalena, he comes up. I鈥檝e also been lucky to have some really good mentors, especially during my time at Princeton. was the teacher who convinced me that this was something I could do as a career. He writes about canoes and people and nature, so our interests really clicked. I didn鈥檛 know what creative nonfiction could be, but he helped me see it. The other person at Princeton is . It鈥檚 interesting, the two of them write very differently. He writes a lot about himself and his identity and what he鈥檚 feeling, and I think my writing is somewhere in the middle of those two.

How did you think about telling stories about Colombia when you were writing the book?
I didn鈥檛 want to lean into the stereotypes about Colombia, and so many of the stories aren鈥檛 as nuanced as they should be. Look at drug lord听Pablo Escobar鈥檚 . Escobar dominates so much of what鈥檚 written about Colombia in the U.S., so I didn鈥檛 just want to talk about him, but the hippos are really impacting the river. It felt important to go see how they鈥檙e terrorizing the fishermen, and to speak to the people who are impacted by the situation. Very few people have actually gone and seen those kinds of impacts. The locals said they鈥檇 been treated by the public as kind of, like, cartoons.

What do you want people who haven鈥檛 read听the book to know about it?
The biggest challenge with this book is getting it into the hands of people who don鈥檛 realize they鈥檙e interested in Latin America or Colombia. I think it might seem far off and hard to grasp, but it鈥檚 filled with people who are bringing their communities out of decades of conflict,听inspired by the river. And there鈥檚 a traveling-donkey library.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The post Jordan Salama on His Travelogue 鈥楨very Day the River Changes鈥� appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Colombian cyclist , winner of the 2019 Tour de France, on Monday afternoon to address multiple serious injuries outside Bogot谩.

Bernal, 25, collided with a bus while cycling with his Ineos Grenadiers teammates.

According to a media release from the team, Bernal fractured a vertebrae, his right femur, multiple ribs, and his right patella. He also suffered chest trauma and a punctured lung.

鈥淗e is now in an intensive care unit where other potential secondary injuries are being managed, as well as his body鈥檚 response to the trauma,鈥� read a team release distributed Tuesday morning.

Bernal had been taking part in an organized training camp with teammates when the collision occurred. According to multiple reports, the bus had stopped to unload passengers, and Bernal slammed into it. Emergency crews rushed him to Cl铆nica Universidad La Sabana, in the town of Chia, where doctors operated on him.

Earlier this month, Bernal and his teammates on Colombian roads.

The crash marks a major setback for the nation鈥檚 biggest international cycling star. In 2019, Bernal shattered decades of Colombian disappointment at the Tour de France by becoming the first cyclist from his country to win the race. The victory thrust Bernal into a leadership role within Britain鈥檚 Ineos Grenadiers cycling team, which won six of the previous seven editions of the Tour.

In 2021, Bernal won the prestigious Giro d鈥橧talia and appeared on track to join the elite circle of cycling鈥檚 greatest historic champions.

He was slated to lead Ineos Grenadiers at the Tour de France in July and was set to begin his 2022 cycling campaign at France鈥檚 Tour de La Provence in February. Now his projected recovery timeline is unclear, and neither the team nor doctors know how the injuries will impact his future in the sport.

There has been an outpouring of support from the cycling world following news of Bernal鈥檚 accident, with former teammate Chris Froome, Slovakian star Peter Sagan, and countryman Nairo Quintana among those wishing him a quick recovery.

I'm sending my warmest wishes for a speedy recovery. Egan, I look forward to seeing you bounce back stronger than ever and sharing the road with you wherever we race!

— Peter Sagan (@petosagan)

My thoughts are with Egan and his family today

— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome)

Env铆o a mi colega un abrazo de fortaleza, soy consciente de lo que conlleva este tipo de situaciones, as铆 mismo s茅 que siempre es posible levantarse y continuar con m谩s fuerza. 隆Pronta recuperaci贸n!

— NairoQuinCo (@NairoQuinCo)

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Every Day the River Changes is the December/January pick for the 国产吃瓜黑料 Book Club. You can learn more about the book club听here,听or join us on听听to discuss the book.

starts, as many good travel books do, with an ambitious idea. Author Jordan Salama, while studying as an undergraduate at Princeton, wants to travel the entire 950 miles of the Magdalena River, Colombia鈥檚 main waterway, in about four weeks. But Salama isn鈥檛 just being whimsical; he brings to this project a reporter鈥檚 eye, an environmentalist鈥檚 ethic, and a long family history of migration that enriches his approach to the narrative. The result is a thoughtful book that impresses with its sweeping history, evocative descriptions, and fascinating stories of people living along the river.

鈥淭o understand the river is to understand the country,鈥� a woman in the beach town of Ladrilleros tells Salama on his first trip to Colombia, before his journey on the Magdalena, when he鈥檚 working in a Wildlife Conservation Society office for a summer. The river flows from the Andes to the Caribbean Sea, touching a diversity of environments and towns on its way. Salama points out its wide-reaching cultural importance, as a setting for Gabriel Garc铆a M谩rquez鈥檚 novels, the inspiration for many myths and legends, and the birthplace of musical genres like vallenato and musical legends like Shakira. And of course, it鈥檚 changed dramatically alongside the economic, sociopolitical, and environmental shifts of the last century. Salama returns two years after his first trip to spend four weeks traveling the river鈥檚 length, sometimes by boat but usually by land, in order to spend time in the towns and villages along its shores. Along the way, he provides context around Colombia鈥檚 history stretching back to pre-colonial times, observations about current events like the increasing arrival of Venezuelan refugees and efforts to make the Magdalena fully navigable again, and enthusiastic descriptions of all the flora and fauna he sees.

But the book is not meant to be an authoritative take on Colombia鈥檚 history or geography. Instead, Salama brings readers along on not only his adventure but his evolving understanding of a country he still has much to learn about. In each place he stops, Salama seeks out the oldest people living there, who often tell him stories of witnessing a 鈥済olden age鈥� of steamboat tourism and cargo transport in the early 20th century, which eventually ended due to environmental degradation and economic instability. Most everyone along the river鈥檚 banks has been affected by the armed conflict among the government, drug traffickers, paramilitaries, and various guerrilla groups that began in 1964. Salama says at the outset that his goal is to push back against the stereotype that the country is defined by such conflict: 鈥淐olombia is perhaps the most misunderstood country on earth,鈥� he writes early in the book. Instead, Every Day the River Changes focuses on the ordinary people settled along a legendary river and the complexities of their everyday lives.

Tying all of this together seems like an impossible sell, no less for someone who had only been to Colombia once before and hadn鈥檛 done any professional travel journalism prior to writing the book (Every Day the River Changes started as Salama鈥檚 college thesis). Salama seems deeply aware of his limitations, writing, 鈥淭raveling in this way, and trading in stories, is inevitably a journey of selection鈥攊t was not lost on me that for each voice I heard, many others would be left out.鈥� He frequently styles himself as a wide-eyed visitor who just feels lucky for the hospitality of the locals who show him around. These people propel the book. We meet a group of activists and biologists dealing with the invasive hippopotamuses introduced to the area by Pablo Escobar, a teacher who delivers books to children by donkey, a master jeweler, and a man who runs a floating restaurant in a town once bustling with river travel. Salama listens to locals speak about the changes they鈥檝e seen over the years without much editorializing, but he often senses what鈥檚 been left unsaid. Watching men shovel sand to sell to cement factories at the mouth of the Magdalena, a man named Luis tells Salama it鈥檚 a 鈥済enerational thing鈥� for people to work on the river. Salama elaborates for the reader: 鈥淭heir forefathers indeed worked on the river, but as fishermen and as boat captains. Now, the sons and grandsons were condemned to this far-less-glorious life of digging the very sand and sediment that both powered and destroyed their ancestors鈥� livelihoods just a century earlier.鈥�

Salama, who is of Argentine, Syrian, and Iraqi Jewish descent, also weaves in his own family history to explain his own inclination to travel; some of his ancestors traded along the Silk Road, while his great-grandfather moved from Syria to Argentina and worked as a salesman on horseback. These asides elucidate Salama鈥檚 appreciation for the many paths of migration and mix of cultures that make Colombia what it is today. Recalling that many of his ancestors fled to Central and South America due to religious persecution, he writes, 鈥淚t was not difficult for me鈥� to picture my great-grandfather working as a traveling salesman by boat along the R铆o Magdalena instead of on horseback along the spine of the southern Andes.鈥� It鈥檚 obvious how deeply his multifaceted family history and personal identity inform how Salama makes sense of his time in Colombia: he never leans on tidy narratives or confident diagnoses.

Every Day the River Changes also stands out as a travel book that pays homage to the joys of travelogues past. At one point, Salama references Ernesto Che Guevara鈥檚 memoir, , and it鈥檚 not hard to draw parallels to Salama鈥檚 own trajectory: 鈥渢he young man in his twenties who set off wide-eyed on an anxious journey that would give him a new lens with which to view the world.鈥� It seems that Salama understands his role as a burgeoning writer within a lineage that includes the likes of Guevara, Pico Iyer, and John McPhee (the latter two endorsed the book in promotional blurbs). Like McPhee, Salama is an insightful, fly-on-the-wall observer of the locals who make a place what it is; like Iyer, he鈥檚 interested in how his own multicultural background feeds his experiences abroad. He acknowledges his naivet茅 as a visitor, but never abandons his quest for a deeper understanding of the place. The resulting book is an engaging travelogue for the 21st century and a reminder that the best travel isn鈥檛 necessarily an epic adventure but a chance to hang out, getting to know new people鈥攁nd yourself in the process. Echoing the sentiment of a well-known essay, Salama writes, 鈥淚鈥檝e found that the more I travel to communities themselves out of the way and misunderstood, the more I鈥檓 forced to explain myself, over and over again, to different kinds of people I meet鈥攁nd the better sense I鈥檓 able to make of my own identity once I鈥檓 back home.鈥�

The post 鈥楨very Day the River Changes鈥� Is a Fascinating Journey Down Colombia鈥檚 Most Important Waterway appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

As the year winds down and we start to daydream about the trips we鈥檒l take in 2022 and beyond, it鈥檚 the perfect time to curl up by the fire with an absorbing travel book. With that in mind, 国产吃瓜黑料 editors have selected a December/January book club pick that鈥檚 sure to satisfy your vicarious wanderlust: we鈥檒l be reading , an account of the four weeks writer Jordan Salama spent traveling Colombia鈥檚 legendary Magdalena River.

Salama is a first-time author who started writing Every Day the River Changes as his senior thesis at Princeton, but you鈥檇 hardly know it from this intelligent, closely observed book, which reads like the work of a seasoned travel writer. At the book鈥檚 outset, Salama recounts becoming fascinated with Colombia鈥檚 most important river as a college student: 鈥淭o understand the river鈥s to understand the country,鈥� locals tell him. He comes to appreciate the truth of this statement as he journeys from the Magdalena鈥檚 source, near the village of Quinchana in the Andes, to its mouth in the coastal city of Barranquilla (a former home of Gabriel Garc铆a M谩rquez, a clear influence of Salama鈥檚). Throughout his trip, he learns about the river鈥檚 storied past as a commercial hub, its decline during Colombia鈥檚 50-year armed conflict, and the environmental threats it faces today. But mostly Salama spends his time getting to know the ordinary people who populate the Magdalena鈥檚 banks, from a turtle conservationist to a canoe maker to the manager of a historic hotel. At a time when many of us have experienced nearly two years of relative social isolation, Salama offers a valuable reminder of the power of travel to foster human connection.

Today, we鈥檙e publishing a review of Every Day the River Changes by culture columnist Erin Berger, who describes it as 鈥渁 thoughtful book that impresses with its sweeping history, evocative descriptions, and fascinating stories of people living along the river.鈥� Throughout the next two months, we鈥檒l be discussing the book in our , where we鈥檒l also be soliciting questions for an upcoming interview with Salama. (The interview will be available exclusively for members of 国产吃瓜黑料+, but our Facebook group is free for anyone to join.) If you鈥檙e not on Facebook, you can always send us a note at letters@outsideim.com鈥攚e鈥檙e looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

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Aside from booking future trips,听one way you can inspire the adventure traveler on your list听and help the industry this year is to spend your holiday dollars on gifts that support听small travel businesses and听properties, as well as regions听and industry employees. Most lodges sell merchandise, so check their websites听and start ordering, or buy a gift certificate toward a trip from an outfitter you love. We鈥檝e rounded up some of our favorite gift听ideas that benefit the places we can鈥檛 wait to visit again soon. At a time when travel has been at a standstill, these thoughtful presents听bring the world to you.

Gift Certificates

For the person on your list听who prizes experiences over material items, a gift certificate from their preferred听guiding outfitter, lodge, or travel service is a guaranteed hit. Established听mountaineering and climbing groups听like ,听, and听听are offering vouchers for 2021 trips, but any of your go-to guiding services will likely be happy to tailor a gift certificate for you. And with camping and road trips predicted to be just as popular next summer, RV rental company is offering that cover any kind of a trip, from an overnighter to a weeklong escape.

Food and听Drink听

It鈥檚 likely that everyone you鈥檙e shopping for has gotten into cooking since the start of the pandemic鈥攚hether that鈥檚 meant perfecting a home brew or discovering new spices. For the friend who wants to take their talents to the next level, 鈥渁dopt鈥� an olive tree for them through (from $79), an Italian company that works with small-scale grove farmers in the provinces of Liguria, Sicily, and Marche. The company will ship cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil directly to your door, along with information about the grove and farmer. Or opt for a customizable three-spice set from ($36), a woman-led, direct-trade business听that supports local farms in India that have invested in sustainable agricultural practices.

There are plenty of coffee subscriptions out there, so add a personalized touch by picking a company听in a destination that your giftee has always wanted to explore. Some of our favorites include coffee from Papua New Guinea鈥揵ased , a tour operator that鈥檚 recently established a coffee mill to benefit听the local Native community (from $9, not including shipping), and Colombia-based , which sources from 600 producers across the country, roasts its beans in Medell铆n, and immediately ships听bags to the U.S. so that they鈥檙e fresh upon arrival听(from $10, not including shipping). For a gift that鈥檚 closer to home, many U.S. breweries, distilleries, and wineries are making delivery听easier, with some states that prohibit liquor shipments .

Virtual Experiences

Yep, we get it鈥攚e鈥檝e all spent a lot of time online this year. But there have been some upsides to that, like access to fitness training, classes, and events we might never get to enjoy听otherwise. Some of our favorite virtual experiences include 鈥檚 (from $10 for group seminars; private sessions are available, too). The Costa Rica resort is usually booked a year out, but this online opportunity gives you or your budding surfer friend a front seat to excellent instruction.

We鈥檝e dreamed of visiting the , a spa, yoga, and meditation resort in northern India. Now at least we can sign ourselves and others up for its听 (from $70 for a monthlong subscription; get a 10 percent discount during the holidays by using the code ANYEAREND听at checkout).

We鈥檝e been watching a ton of cooking videos during quarantine. Give someone you love a 听($25) with a European chef through , and they鈥檒l learn how to make you tapas that taste just like you鈥檙e in Spain.

For your strung-out friend who needs a way to relax, how about听gifting a virtual birding tour in Colombia?听The country is known for its enormous variety of avian听species, and now you can see them, too, through from , which connects you with experts for guided tours ($125 for one person; group experiences are available as well). Email anna@tripsite.com听to set it up.听We hope to spot a rare blue-billed curassow.

Philanthropy

Giving back听to conservation organizations feels especially important this year, as the tourism dollars funding many of these efforts have dramatically declined. There are too many amazing organizations to list here, but these recently caught our eye. Sponsoring an animal is fun and fulfilling for kids and adults alike, and you can adopt听an elephant through the in Cambodia, a sanctuary for the formerly captive giants. The听ecotourism outfitter听., based in Fairbanks, Alaska,听is offering , like Sluggo, above, to help support the dogs听and the company until its听dogsledding-trip bookings rebound. Meet its听team of awesome pooches听.

If you really want to splurge for someone, let them name a newborn rhino through the program for鈥攇ulp鈥�$25,000 to protect the future of species, which has been devastated by poaching. (The organization is happy to receive smaller donations, too.) With fewer tourists in Africa, poaching is on the rise, and rangers don鈥檛 have the resources to keep working. In another great offering from the Great Plains Foundation, Project Ranger allows you to 听to keep them employed and the wildlife protected. Or give a donation in someone鈥檚 name to 听 to provide direct economic impact听to local guides who鈥檝e been unemployed听this year in destinations around the world.

The grew out of the to contribute to听projects that conserve resources in adventure travel locales. The fund is currently focusing听on the acute needs of those in many destinations听right now suffering from听a lack of tourism income. in someone鈥檚 name to fund听projects, such as听protecting Namibia鈥檚 desert lions. Your gift will be matched by other companies in the travel industry.

After a devastating fire season in the West, many communities that rely on tourism dollars are still being rebuilt. Gift a donation in someone鈥檚 name to an organization supporting these communities through foundations in , , , and ; the ; or by calling a business you love in one of the hard-hit areas and making an online purchase or buying a gift certificate for future use.

Books

For history buffs and trail lovers, ($55)听is a must-give item. Written by , who has authored 13 books on hiking and has completed the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide Trails, and with stunning photography by , who walked every historic trail mentioned, this coffee-table-worthy book takes you from the Pony Express to the paths of civil right marches and along 17 other trails designated as nationally historic by the National Park Service. The trails range in length from 54 miles to 5,000听and are perfect for socially distant adventures鈥攚hether you decide to hike, bike, or armchair-dream about them.

Nothing brings you the taste of a place like food. So gift a cookbook this season, especially one that benefits听some fantastic听lodges, like the , primely located in Utah near the state鈥檚 best national parks and Grand Staircase鈥揈scalante National Monument, and its James Beard鈥搑ecognized restaurant and . The Italian guides who work for the bike-touring company created a ($15) full of their secret family recipes to bestow听your friends. (It鈥檚 in a PDF format, so you can gift听it right away.) The proceeds support the guides during the travel downturn. The in Nelson, British Columbia, is famed for its Fresh Tracks Caf茅. Try out its chef鈥檚 fare in one of . The ($45) gathered up 100 recipes from various local chefs to give back to听the Colorado town鈥檚 struggling restaurants. And if you鈥檙e missing the taste of the wild frontier, these two Alaskan offerings from chef Kirsten Dixon bring you the cabin feels and fresh-seafood vibes from two awesome places: (from $19) and ($35).

While app travel guides are great, don鈥檛 forget good ol鈥櫶�guidebooks that help travel writers and local tourism efforts. Guidebooks still offer the most comprehensive intel about a place, like former New York Times reporter and Denver-based author 鈥檚 recently updated ($18). If you鈥檙e seeking warmth this winter, check out .

Home Goods听

What better travel gift than a souvenir that might not fit into a suitcase? The online marketplace carries everything from ceramics and lampshades to artwork, all created by artisans across Chile. There鈥檚 an equally varied selection at , which offers alpaca-wool items handmade by Peruvian craftsmen. The company is currently employing out-of-work guides from the outfitter to help choose the items you import, by having the guides show shoppers around stores through video calls. Based in Ahmedabad, India, works with up to 2,300 women artisans across the country to produce modern pieces inspired by traditional handicrafts, including (from $8) and (from $10). And for the friend who was looking forward to a beach getaway this year, you can鈥檛 go wrong with a traditional Mexican hammock from (from $70), a Yucat谩n-based certified B Corp company.

Apparel and听Accessories听

Everyone appreciates a gift that has a story and a positive impact. Seattle-based partners with 30 Masai women in Kenya to produce beaded earrings, necklaces, and rings and pays them wages rather than a commission. Safari company recently launched an that showcases items from regional craft makers. Among its luxury home and accessory items are cotton-silk scarves (from $125) from sub-Saharan brand , which feature designs from students enrolled in a program for at-risk youth. For your loved one who dreams of hiking the Himalayas someday, support local outfitter by gifting (from $20); proceeds benefit its guiding staff. And for the friend who鈥檚 counting down to the Olympics next summer, the is filled with goodies, including this (from $200) and this (from $72).

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Whether due to expensive flights, high exchange rates, or steep on-the-ground expenses, there are some places in the world that always seem unattainable to penny-pinching travelers. But with enough planning, the willingness to jump on bargain flights as soon as you see them,听and the flexibility to听fly听to or from airports that are less convenient, even pricey destinations are doable on the smallest of budgets. Not only that, but 2020 is seeing more affordable international fares than ever before听as airlines add new routes in a battle for dominance.听We tapped a network of adventure travelers, as well as听Scott Keyes, founder of the travel-deals newsletter , for the听20 adventure locales to keep both your days and wallet full this year.

Go Because the Flights Are Cheap

China

This will be a big year听for adventure travel to China, as the country plans to open a handful of new and overhauled national parks modeled after the United States鈥� own system. (.)听One of the most anticipated is Giant Panda National Park, which will connect dozens of reserves in the central Qinling Mountains听to provide a unified, protected area for the animals. China has also been investing in high-speed bullet trains (a cheaper alternative to regional flights) from major cities to popular provinces; two听such options听are听the Shanghai-to-Chengdu line (from $39.50), which passes through Qinling, and the Hangzhou-to-Huangshan line听in the east (from $17.23), a region听famed for its misted peaks. According to flight-search site , the lowest-priced round-trip tickets from Los Angeles to Beijing in March currently cost about $300 round-trip, so keep your eyes peeled for deals like this throughout the year.

Japan

No matter what your priorities听are in an active vacation, Japan can accommodate them. There are epic thru-hikes that trace ancient pilgrimage routes, like the 559-mile Michinoku Coastal Trail in the northeast; stunning rock formations along the north-central听coast that can be explored by kayak, such as those found in San鈥檌n Kaigan听National Geopark;听and an abundance of public hot springs you can access for less than $15 (including ). An increase in international routes from Asian carriers听has听driven down ticket prices: Scott鈥檚 Cheap Flights and find fares as low as $300 to $400 round-trip from the West Coast and even cities such as New York鈥攚hich is $1,000 below average. Once you鈥檙e there, stay in pod hostels, where beds are tucked away into cubbies to offer more privacy than a standard bunk room, or camp at one of 3,000 sites in more than 30 national parks. Fill up for cheap by sticking to $5 bowls of ramen and udon, conveyor-belt sushi, or street foods. If you plan to travel between cities, invest in a听 pass, which starts at $271 for seven days of unlimited travel.听

Kenya

Thanks to more flight connections from European hubs like Paris and Amsterdam, it鈥檚 becoming increasingly听affordable to travel to this East African nation. In 2019, Scott鈥檚 Cheap Flights found fares as low as $557 between Nairobi and cities like New York, San Francisco, and Chicago. Safaris typically top the list of highlights here, but for something different, head for the coast. You鈥檒l find spectacular beaches like those at Watamu Marine National Park and Reserve, 90 miles north of Mombasa, known for its thriving turtle population听and Gedi Ruins, an abandoned city believed to have formed during the 13th century. Stay in a shorefront听hut or sleep out听at 听(from $29), a nonprofit that supports the surrounding community.听Diani Beach, three hours south by car and听also a short hop from Mombasa, puts you in a great position to access both stunning coral reefs for diving and snorkeling and nearby land-based adventure hubs for hiking and safaris. Its affordable and plentiful boutique resorts will make you think you鈥檙e in Tulum, Mexico鈥攂ut the beach scene here is far more low-key.听

Malaysia

Ocean lovers should search for flight deals to Kuala Lumpur, where you can access incredible islands听for world-class scuba diving and snorkeling. , for example, has a huge concentration of sea turtles and uncrowded reefs鈥攋ust 120 are issued per day, spread out among resorts on nearby islands and dive outfitters licensed to guide tourists. Bunks cost less than $20, and dive packages start from $175 at backpacker-focused hostels like and . With round-trip flights from New York in February currently starting around $500, and eight international airports across the country, it鈥檚 possible to hit the city听and island-hop from there with ease. It鈥檚听worth spending a long layover in the capital, though, thanks to an incredible food scene and cultural attractions such as the Batu Caves, which house a temple and several Hindu shrines. Kuala Lumpur also makes a great starting point on a larger Southeast Asia itinerary: according to听Scott鈥檚 Cheap Flights, you can regularly find sub-$100 round-trip tickets to Singapore;听Phuket, Thailand; and Bali, Indonesia.

South Africa

Now is a good time to visit South Africa if high flight costs have been your barrier to going on a safari. Dollar Flight Club predicts that you鈥檒l be able to find round-trip flights from major U.S. cities to Johannesburg as low as $550 in 2020, especially between February and April, the ideal shoulder season for good weather, lower prices, and smaller crowds. A more affordable alternative to flying into Cape Town, Johannesburg is also a cheaper place to spend the night while you鈥檙e waiting for that bush plane听to a nearby game reserve: the 46-room Hallmark House, one of the city鈥檚 trendier hotels, starts at $59. At听nearby Kruger National Park, you鈥檒l find animals such as lions, leopards, and zebras,听along with听safari outfitters that range in price and trip duration. From Johannesburg, hop on a $40-to-$60 flight to Cape Town to snorkel with seals, peep at penguins, and scale Table Mountain.

South Korea

For an even more affordable alternative to Japan, head to South Korea, which has just as many natural wonders and sites within easy reach of its urban centers. , just 45 minutes south of Seoul by subway, offers听challenging hikes and . The island of Jeju, with its massive surf breaks and Hallasan Mountain, the country鈥檚 highest peak, is听four hours from the capital by ferry.听With Seoul as your base camp, check in to one of the hostels in听Hongdae, a vibrant neighborhood that caters to students from the nearby arts college. Scott鈥檚 Cheap Flights found deals from Los Angeles to Seoul under $500 round-trip in 2019 and expects to see even more bargains in 2020, thanks to Delta moving its Asian hub from Tokyo to Seoul.

Go for the听Favorable Exchange Rate

Canada

Canada has always been easy to get to from the U.S., since it鈥檚 a doable road trip from many major cities in the northern states. Plus, a current exchange rate of about one U.S. dollar听to 1.3 Canadian听dollars makes it a solid budget destination. British Columbia and the Banff and Lake Louise area of Alberta typically get all the fame, but the far east is also full of adventure. Quebec has the 65-mile听, which you can paddle in the summer and cross-country ski when it鈥檚 frozen in winter. Right off mainland Newfoundland, kayakers and canoers can island-hop for several days of camping in Fortune Harbor. The favorable exchange rate also means you can splurge on a luxury adventure, like heli-skiing in Whistler, British Columbia鈥攁 day with starts around $575 per person for a group of four. Compare that to $1,190 per person for heli drops with in southwestern Colorado.

Chile and Argentina

It鈥檚 never a bad time to hit Patagonia, but Dollar Flight Club predicts that tickets from major U.S. cities to Santiago and Buenos Aires could bottom out around $600 round-trip in 2020. On top of that,听the Argentine peso has听plummeted against the dollar in the past couple of years鈥攐ur buying power there, currently at about one dollar听to 60 pesos,听is now three times what it was two years ago听and nearly six times what it was at the end of 2014. For the second year in a row, the path of totality for the will pass through both countries on December 14. But this year comes with an extra bonus: the eclipse will occur in the middle of the Geminid meteor shower. Consider watching from a campsite at听 in Chile鈥檚 Lake District; main attractions include听the active 9,340-foot Villarrica and 12,388-foot Lan铆n volcanoes, the latter of which straddles the Argentinean border. Staunch eclipse chasers are known to book out hotels years in advance, so find lodging as soon as possible if you plan to join the totality craze.

Colombia

Yes, it鈥檚 safe to visit Colombia, and 2020 is the perfect time to go. It鈥檚 not yet overflowing with tourists; large swaths of backcountry, previously unwise to visit due to threats of听violence, are now accessible for hiking;听and听money听goes far there, even in the big cities of Bogot谩, Medell铆n, and Cartagena.听One dollar yields about 3,300 Colombian pesos, around the cost of a beer. Medell铆n makes a great base camp for exploring the colorful rural towns around the mountains of Antioquia, like Jard铆n, where hiking and locally grown coffee abound. For backpacking treks, aim for one of the country鈥檚 many 辫谩谤补尘辞蝉, otherworldly ecosystems high in the Andes where frailejones, low-growing trees that look a bit like giant pineapples, sprout out of the marshy ground like a scene from The Lorax. Bus travel around Colombia is often under $10 each way, and domestic flights can cost less than $50 round-trip, so it鈥檚 easy to explore several cities over a week or two. Flights to Bogot谩听from major Florida airports start around $188 round-trip, according to Skyscanner.

Cuba

Even though the Trump administration has limited travel to Cuba, it鈥檚 still , and this year will be especially great for folks traveling on a budget. In anticipation of a , many Cubans are currently buying American dollars on the black market in hopes of protecting their assets against potential devaluing. Because of that, the dollar now . From Havana, head west to Las Terrazas, a relatively little-known Unesco听Biosphere Reserve on the same bus route as the touristy and mountainous town of Vi帽ales. The reserve鈥檚 lush forests are home to the cascading Ba帽os del San Juan, a picturesque set of swimming holes you can hike to. If beaches are more your speed, try Matanzas, an alternative to the nearby resort hot spot of Varadero, where you can snorkel among coral reefs from relatively empty strands. Rooms on Airbnb run under $30 a night throughout the country, but just ask around for a casa particular once you arrive;听marked with official signs, they鈥檙e essentially an analog, government-regulated Airbnb where Cuban families make extra money by renting out rooms in their homes.

Mexico

The bustling urban center of Mexico City, home to nearly nine听million people, is extremely cosmopolitan, with stunning architecture, leafy听parks, and truly world-class restaurants. Come for the tacos鈥� will take you on a spectacular walking tour of the best taquerias and mezcal bars in the hip听neighborhoods of Roma and Condesa (from $100)鈥攂ut stay for the surrounding mountains, forests, and ruins. Just an hour northeast of the capital听are the giant pyramids of Teotihuac谩n, whose architects are still a mystery. About two hours southwest from the urban sprawl, you鈥檒l find Nevado de Toluca National Park, home to Mexico鈥檚 fourth-tallest peak, a 15,400-foot extinct volcano of the same name. And in Valle de Bravo, two hours west of Mexico City, Lake Av谩ndaro and its surrounding jungle are听adventure playgrounds filled with singletrack for bikers, wind for kitesurfers, and thermals for paragliders. Travel between cities is also easy and affordable, with long-distance bus tickets still under 560 pesos ($30). Not to mention, buses typically have seats that resemble easy chairs, which feel simply luxurious compared to American Greyhounds.

Go for the Free and Low-Cost Outdoor 国产吃瓜黑料s

Alaska

If finding more peace and quiet is on your list of New Year鈥檚 resolutions, a trip to Alaska might be just what you鈥檙e after. Alaska has some of our largest and least-visited national parks, where you鈥檙e unlikely to run into other people. Gates of the Arctic National Park, for example, saw less than 10,000 visitors across its 8.4 million mountainous acres in 2018. Part of that is because the park has no roads鈥攖he easiest way in is by air taxi鈥攂ut if you鈥檝e got time and a small budget, you can听 or the Dalton Highway. While the barrier to exploring the 49th state has traditionally been the high cost of traveling there, that鈥檚 changing quickly. Alaska and Delta Airlines are currently duking it out to be the top carrier to cities in the last frontier. In 2019, Scott鈥檚 Cheap Flights saw fares as low as $154 from Seattle to Anchorage听and round-trip tickets from Minneapolis, Detroit, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, for under $350. If you don鈥檛 live near one of those cities, you may still be able to save on flights by booking a separate ticket from your hometown to an Alaska or Delta Airlines hub such as Los Angeles or Seattle.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica is the ultimate destination for budget travelers. There鈥檚 an abundance of round-trip flights from major U.S. cities as low as $200, the exchange rate is favorable, and a huge variety of outdoor adventures there are free or low-cost. Many national parks have fees of less than $15 per day, including Monteverde Cloud Forest, a three-hour drive northwest of听San Jos茅, home to 2.5 percent of the world鈥檚 biodiversity. Another three hours north is La Fortuna, a well-known adventure hub whose crown jewel is Arenal Volcano. The area is full of zip lining, natural hot springs, and hiking trails that incorporate suspended pedestrian bridges, like those at . Costa Rica also has pristine beaches and coral reefs for snorkeling and scuba diving, not to mention lots of opportunities to see wildlife in its many different ecosystems. Head to for a chance to spot breaching whales and dolphins, then take a water taxi to , where sea turtles nest on protected shores.

England to Italy听

You鈥檝e almost certainly heard of Spain鈥檚 Camino de Santiago, a roughly 500-mile journey from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France, to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. But the 1,240-mile , which passes through idyllic British, French, Swiss, and Italian towns, is far less crowded. In 2015, 25,000 people hiked this ancient trade route that extends from Canterbury, England, to Rome, which is a quarter of the number of hikers on the Camino every year. If you only want to do a few days, choose the Tuscan part. You鈥檒l walk听or bike along rolling hills and past听small towns with restaurants that serve unbeatable local wine, cheese, and charcuterie. The trail itself is free and does not require a guide, and the Via Francigena European Association offers an of hostels and hotels along the trail that offer听discounts for walkers. If you prefer to have someone else handle the logistics, however, runs self-guided tours, ranging from $164 for two nights听and up to $5,826 for 50 nights, that cover the entire 400-plus mile听Italian stretch of the route, with breakfast and luggage transfers between each hotel.

Jordan

If you think of Jordan as a barren desert, you鈥檝e got it all wrong. The 400-mile Jordan Trail extends the length of the country from the northern town of Umm Qais, dotted with hot springs and oak forests, to the southern tip of Aqaba, on the shores of the Red Sea. Some of the more iconic sections pass through Wadi Rum鈥攁 classic desert landscape, complete with camels鈥攁nd the ancient city of Petra, which is all the more stunning when you鈥檝e arrived there on foot. It鈥檚 easy and safe to do the trek without a guide, with providing detailed information about each leg. If you prefer to go with a crew, the organization holds an 鈥攖his year鈥檚 runs from March 6 to April 18. You can join for one or up to eight regional sections听or do the whole thing. The trek includes听all meals and accommodations at homestays and serviced campsites (starting at $3,150). If you go on your own, plan a trip for winter, early spring, or fall, as summer temperatures can be unbearable starting in May.

Kyrgyzstan

This mountainous nation is largely under the radar for U.S. tourists, but its national park system is worth exploring. According to , flights to Bishkek start around $650 from New York, and once you get there, you can all but put away your wallet. Bus travel within the country is quite cheap, and you don鈥檛 need a guide to hike in the country鈥檚 national parks. Journal of Nomads, a blog that also , offers an听 to trekking there, including detailed information on the costs of public and private transportation. One highlight backpackers should consider is a听 in the country鈥檚 northeast, with powder-blue waters at 11,600 feet. Along the way, you鈥檒l find hot springs, dramatic mountain views, and virtually no tourists. Alpine weather is unpredictable year-round, but the summer months are best for hiking to avoid blizzard conditions at high altitude.

New Mexico

Of course we鈥檙e partial to 国产吃瓜黑料鈥檚 home state, but it鈥檚 an objective fact that New Mexico is underrated. Its northern neighbor Colorado might receive all the glory鈥攁nd more than twice as many tourists鈥攚ith its 14,000-foot peaks and international ski destinations, but New Mexico is full of landscapes that you wouldn鈥檛 expect to find in the Southwest. Road trips here can incorporate the pristine gypsum dunes of the nation鈥檚 newest national park听at White Sands, near the state鈥檚 southeastern border, the lava fields of Valley of Fires Recreation Area, the formations of Carlsbad Caverns, and the sunken pools of Bottomless Lakes State Park. Ghost towns and natural hot springs are dotted throughout the state, as are ancient ruins like those the Ancestral Pueblo people left behind at Bandelier National Monument. There鈥檚 also great skiing, with affordable lift tickets beneath 13,000 foot summits at resorts such as Ski Santa Fe and Taos Ski Valley. Thanks to its varied terrain and dry climate, the weather is palatable year-round, but spring and fall are the best times to go to avoid hot temperatures. Inexpensive hostels, National Park Service campgrounds, and an abundance of national-forest and Bureau of Land Management areas make it a cheap place to road-trip for a few days or a few weeks.

Puerto Rico

As a U.S. territory, Puerto Rico is an easy trip for U.S. citizens who want to feel like they鈥檙e going abroad without really leaving home. While some areas are still recovering from the 2017 hurricane and recent , there are plenty of adventure-filled destinations surrounding San Juan that are up and running. In December, Spirit Airlines announced it will expand its daily nonstop flights to the capital, with new routes from Boston starting in February and additional daily flights from Philadelphia;听Baltimore;听Newark, New Jersey; and Orlando, Florida. Once you鈥檙e there, rent a car听for under $15 a day and tour听the island鈥檚 many natural wonders, such as , the only tropical rainforest in the national forest system. From there听drive听the 45 minutes to Ceiba and take a to smaller islands like Vieques and Culebra for scuba diving. Or听head to La Parguera, a two-hour trip southwest from San Juan, to experience听one of the country鈥檚 famous bioluminescent bays, which glow blue at night when you paddle or swim through them.听

Go for These Bargain-Basement Tour Deals

Antarctica

OK, we know: Antarctica is not budget friendly, no matter how you slice it. But relative to what it can typically cost to visit this听end of the earth, you can find steals if you can drop everything and book a trip right now. and , for example, are both offering last-minute sales for some of their February cruises at up to 50 percent off if you book by January 15. The most economical option still available from Quark Expeditions is its听11-day departing from Buenos Aires, which starts around $7,300 per person (compared to usual prices of $9,500 to $10,500)听for a twin bunk. Peregrine鈥檚 ten-day听 departing from Ushuaia, Argentina, has triple bunk rooms starting at $6,900 per person, 50 percent below the typical cost.听Both Scott鈥檚 Cheap Flights and Dollar Flight Club have identified Buenos Aires as a hub for bargain flights next year. Need some time to save up? Keep an eye on end-of-year promotions for Antarctica travel in late 2020 and early 2021.

The Azores

This听set of nine volcanic islands off Portugal is听easier than ever to get to thanks to an听increase in flights from the United States (think: fares like $340 round-trip听from Boston without lifting a finger to hunt for deals). It鈥檚 inexpensive once you get there, too, especially since the island鈥檚 main draws are hiking trails and natural hot springs like Caldeira Velha, where iron-rich water tumbles into the kinds of scenic pools you鈥檇 expect to find in Hawaii. For a real bargain, check out听, where you can regularly find travel packages under $600 per person, including round-trip flights from the U.S. and five nights of lodging. Or, if you鈥檇 rather go on your own, stretch your budget further by booking with , which allows you a free stopover of up to five days in Lisbon or Porto.

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