From high end motorhoming in New Zealand to off-the-beaten-track Peru, Traveller's experts name some of the coolest tours available around the world.
Things will go wrong. On Intrepid Travel's new brand of "Expedition tours", you can expect there will be a few hiccups, because this is travel at its most raw and exciting: a set of four one-off departures to some of the world's more rough-and-ready destinations. From trekking through the Mayan jungles in Mexico, to island-hopping in PNG, and exploring the wilds of Georgia and Azerbaijan, these trips are a great new addition to the touring scene. See intrepidtravel.com
BEN GROUNDWATER
An all-female motorbike tour through one of South-east Asia's most enlivening cities, you say? Brilliant idea. Explore Ho Chi Minh from the back of a scooter with XO Tours; there is an emphasis on food, nightlife, shopping or cultural attractions. Or you can even request a bespoke tour to explore a specific area of interest that might be off the tourist trail. Just close your eyes at roundabouts. See xotours.vn
GUY WILKINSON
It's all about the "terroir". This tour of the Margaret River (margaretriverdiscovery.com.au) region puts visitors in touch with the land responsible for some of Australia's best wines, from canoeing the river to hiking part of the Cape Track and bush-bashing in a four-wheel-drive. It's adventure mixed with indulgence, as the day ends with lunch and wine-tasting at the exclusive Fraser Gallop Estate.
BEN GROUNDWATER
Yolngu women in Arnhem Land are preparing to invite visitors on their first tour created especially for women and girls, offering insight into the indigenous culture and traditions of Australia's remote north. Operating in July and August, these new Gay'wu Dilly Bag tours will give small groups (maximum 10) a rare opportunity to stay with Yolngu women in their traditional homelands. Guests will be welcomed to the "sisterhood", spending time in the company of Yolngu women, learning about their culture, history and country, and taking part in activities such as weaving, bush medicine, and gathering oysters and mud crabs – traditions passed down through generations. It's a chance for guests to reconnect with aspects of their own lives: environment, spirituality and philosophy. A highlight will be an opportunity to witness a Crying for Country ceremony (Nithi) performed at dawn overlooking the Gulf of Carpentaria. The seven-night tour will begin in Nhulunbuy and visit three separate homelands in north-east Arnhem Land, staying in simple lodge-style accommodation or tents, and travelling by airconditioned four-wheel-drive minibus. The tours – operated and guided by Yolngu – have been created as part of Lirrwi Tourism's long-term plan to foster a thriving indigenous tourism industry in Arnhem Land. Other tours available from Lirrwi Tourism include Crossing Country Yolngu Dhukarr expedition, an adventure trip suitable for men and women. The Gay'wu Dilly Bag Women's Tour departs July 20 and August 24, for seven nights, and costs $3000 (excluding airfares), including all meals, transport, activities, accommodation, equipment, guides and permits. See lirrwitourism.com.au
KERRY VAN DER JAGT
The exhilarating half-hour helicopter flight from Juneau up and over the Mendenhall glacier gives you an unforgettable view of rainforest, craggy mountain peaks, aquamarine crevasses and an icy landscape that seems to go on forever. And then you land on it. Guides are on hand to point out safe walking trails – you have about 25 minutes to stagger about on the glacier – and supplement the helicopter pilot's fascinating narrative about the region's geology. See temscoair.com
SALLY MACMILLAN
While the iconic Inca trail may still top most bucket lists, trekking enthusiasts should consider some of Peru's lesser-known alternatives. Arguably the best is the exhilarating, high altitude Salkantay Trek. Encompassing five different ecosystems over the same number of days, the ancient path offers a mind-blowing mix of snow-capped glacial mountains, lush tropical rainforests and vast Lord of the Rings-style plains across Mt Salkantay rising 6271 metres above sea level. .See peru.travel
GUY WILKINSON
It seems unlikely that New Zealand would want to shake off the yoke of its Lord of the Rings/Hobbit association, even if the rest of the world has grown bored with Middle Earth. But there's no better way to travel around it than in a motorhome – and if it's a bit posh, then so much the better. Based in Christchurch, Iconic Motorhomes offer fancy (and, yes, pricey) options with lovely warm power showers and cooking stoves, comfortable beds and innumerable cunning nooks and crannies used to cram in a quite unbelievable number of gadgets into the limited space. See iconicmotorhomes.com
JOHN GOLDER
It's a rare thing for Australia to get a spectacular new multi-day bushwalking trail, but hikers will soon be able to step out on Tasmania's Three Capes Track with the second stage of the trail's construction nearing completion. Intended as Tasmania's coastal walking showpiece, the track will eventually stretch for more than 80 kilometres, rounding a trilogy of Tasman Peninsula capes: Cape Raoul, Cape Pillar and Cape Hauy. The first stage of the track, the existing day walk to Cape Hauy, was upgraded in 2012, creating a manicured path to the already popular cape. Stage two will see the track extended around Cape Pillar to Denmans Cove, opposite Port Arthur. With the completion of stage two, expected in November, the track will open to overnight walkers. See parks.tas.gov.au
You've heard of Rarotonga and Aitutaki, right? But what about Atiu? Mangaia? Mitiaro? Or Mauke? All that's required is a short plane ride (around 40 minutes) from the Cook Islands' capital, Rarotonga, to islands where few tourists have ever been before; fewer than 200 tourists visit each year. Sleep in home-stays with local families and experience Polynesia completely unaffected by modern times. See cookislandstravel.com
CRAIG TANSLEY
Call it the call of the open road or the Reese Witherspoon effect, but long-distance hiking lexicon is moving into the mainstream. The movie, Wild, is based on the memoir by Cheryl Strayed, who hiked 1770 kilometres on the US' Pacific Crest Trail. Tottering between pubs has always been big in England, but rising numbers on Spain's Camino de Santiago indicate we're ready to take a step further. In Australia, check out Victoria's new Great Trails website. See greattrailsvictoria.com.au
BELINDA JACKSON
The high-speed train now travels at up to 300kph. Paris Gare de Nord to Amsterdam takes three hours 17 minutes; Brussels to Cologne just one hour 45 minutes. There's no queuing at check-in counters or waiting at baggage carousels. Onboard WiFi is free in Comfort 1 class. Fares can be extremely cheap if booked early. You arrive right in the centre of town; no taxi required. Why would anyone fly? See thalys.com
It's where Europe's elite congregate to stake millions on the only international horse race held on snow. Nowhere does glitz and glamour like St Moritz. Each Saturday in February the ante is upped as Europe's royal families, celebrities and industry power-brokers gather for the running of the White Turf horse races. Cheer on brave jockeys as they ride across a frozen lake, or just watch the fur show. See whiteturf.ch
CRAIG TANSLEY
Those wishing to steer clear of the busy Inca Trail and enjoy the nightly indulgence of a luxury lodge deep in the Andes will love this new product from Mountain Lodges of Peru . With bases in the villages of Lamay and Huacahuasi, hikers can enjoy five or seven-day itineraries exploring the Lares Trail, before finishing up with a visit to Machu Picchu.
BEN GROUNDWATER
As if the spectacular scenery wasn't reason enough to take a road trip in New Zealand, there's also the lure of "freedom camping": the right for campers to set up and spend the night on public land throughout the country. Some of the most beautiful sights in Aotearoa are absolutely free to stay on – just take all your rubbish with you, and watch out for a few restricted areas. See doc.govt.nz
BEN GROUNDWATER
Just when we've got our head around glamping (glamorous camping), along comes gliking – as in glamorous hiking and biking. Gliking appeals to outdoorsy types who don't fancy roughing it along the way. Think 12 to 14 kilometre treks, or challenging cycle rides, through native forest or bucolic wine regions, followed by soothing massages, degustation dinners with matching wines, and a king-size bed to collapse into. If this sounds like you, try Narrow Escape's luxe trekking package, or TrekTravel's indulgent cycle tour through California Wine Country. See trektravel.com; narrowsescape.com.au.
SHERIDEN RHODES
Following in the airy footsteps of the Grand Canyon's Skywalk and the CN Tower in Toronto, vertiginous glass walkways have arrived in European landmarks. Last October, a $43 millionrenovation transformed the first floor of the Eiffel Tower placing a section of glass floor at its centre. From here, visitors can now peer past their feet to the crowds on the Champ de Mars, 57 metres below. The renovation marked the 125th anniversary of the tower's construction, and was the first major facelift on the Eiffel Tower in about three decades. It was designed to lure visitors to linger; no longer would they simply head to the pointy bit because suddenly the best views might not be those from the top. Little more than one month after the Eiffel Tower opened its glass floor, rival London followed suit. Built into the high-level walkways of the city's signature bridge, the Tower Bridge glass floor is an 11-metre-long window on to London activity. More than 40 metres below, the Thames River cuts its sluggish course towards the ocean. Thames clippers and other river vessels flow past at one angle, while a classic London street scene of red double-decker buses and black cabs motor by at another. For a new angle on a classic Tower Bridge experience, it'd be worth timing your visit to coincide with the opening of the bridge bascules, when the road lifts to allow boats to pass beneath. See toureiffel.paris; towerbridge.org.uk.
ANDREW BAIN
Trust the Dutch to pioneer another cycling innovation. From the country with about 35,000 kilometres of bike paths comes the world's first glow-in-the-dark cycle path: a single kilometre of solar-powered track with an artistic twist. In the city of Eindhoven, the Van Gogh-Roosegaarde cycle path uses solar-powered lights to illuminate thousands of stones into a reproduction of Van Gogh's famous Starry Night painting. The path was built to honour this year's 125th anniversary of the artist's death, and is one small section of a larger (335-kilometre) Van Gogh Cycle Route through the area of his birth. See thisiseindhoven.nl
ANDREW BAIN
Every morning in Vienna's exquisite 18th-century Winter Riding School white Lippizaner stallions are taken through their paces by highly trained riders, accompanied by classical Viennese music. A commentary is played through headphones for the audience, so the horses and riders aren't disturbed; photography is forbidden for the same reason. Why Spanish? The magnificent horses you see today are direct descendants of a breed that originated in the Iberian peninsula in the 16th century. See srs.at.
SALLY MACMILLAN
So you've already heli-skied New Zealand's Southern Alps, or the Rocky Mountains in Canada…but have you ridden down the tallest peaks of the Andes? There's no better place to heli-ski in the world. You can ski from as high as 5000 metres above sea level, down gigantic, treeless alpine bowls and huge mountain faces in the shade of South America's tallest mountain, the 6962 metre-high Mount Aconcagua. A helicopter flies out of Chile's oldest ski resort, Portillo, two hours north-east of Santiago. All heli-ski operators in Chile work on a small-group format, with a guest-to-guide ratio of four to one. And it doesn't have to cost much: Portillo offers the cheapest heli experience you'll find; it's one of the few places offering single heli runs (for $380, additional runs are then available at $255). Take off north above the inky-blue waters of Portillo's Lake Inca, tracking towards Mount Aconcagua (the tallest mountain outside the Himalayas) into sprawling valleys surrounded by towering peaks more than 6000 metres high. The continental snowpack is more stable here, allowing skiers to ski steeper terrain than many other heli-operators can manage. Each run averages a vertical descent of about 1300 metres, with some runs dropping more than two kilometres in altitude; your thighs will burn by the end of each run. After skiing, guests are dropped for lunch at Portillo's iconic on-mountain restaurant, Tio Bob's, where condors circle above as you look down on Lake Inca. Heli-skiing is available from July to September. See skiportillo.com
CRAIG TANSLEY
Be alert but not alarmed - after years in ruins, the "world's scariest hike" is back in business. Hanging off the edge of cliffs through the Gaitanes Gorge in Andalucía, the Caminito del Rey was built early last century as an access trail for dam workers, but hikers quickly gravitated to its fearful appeals. Closed in 2001 after falling into disrepair, the trail reopened early this year with safety lines, bolts and new pathways. So paradoxically appealing is the fear factor of the world's scariest hike, more than 30,000 people are said to have already booked to walk it. See caminitodelrey.org.
ANDREW BAIN
HomeCamp brings together campers with people who own an outdoor space that can accommodate tents, caravans or motorhomes. Started in January this year by keen surfer David Abitbol, HomeCamp already has more than 140 listings across Australia and New Zealand, with 1000-plus users. "Since camping is such a huge part of the Australian culture it made sense to start HomeCamp here, but we've already started taking listings in France, South Africa, US, Canada and Sweden," says Abitbol. See home-camp.com
KERRY VAN DER JAGT
See also: The 14 coolest things about air travel
