Top Summer Adventure Travel Trips

You'll descend into the magma chamber of the dormant Thrihnukagigur Volcano - a chamber that is higher than the Statue of Liberty - on an open elevator, so the views are astonishing. Your guide will tell you about the immense pressure and complex processes that caused this natural marvel to form over millions of years.

This trip in only available in June and July.

It doesn't have to be freezing outside to view polar bears. Churchill Wild, a company with eco-lodges on the Hudson Bay Coast, offers the Birds, Bears, and Belugas adventure throughout July and August. These trips combine the thrill of seeing and hearing beluga whales with viewing polar bears wandering through colorful fireweed-covered tundra.

The Appalachian Mountain Club's Lodge-to-Hut guided adventures let you explore the diverse terrain of the White Mountains alongside an AMC naturalist.(If you're 50+ ask about trips just for your age group.) If you don't want a guide, collect a group of friends and book space in AMC's high alpine huts along the Appalachian Trail, then start hiking. Check the website for specials on staying in AMC huts and lodges in New Hampshire and Maine.



Visit the medieval castle that fostered the Count Dracula legend, hike past horse-drawn wagons in rural villages and mountain bike across rugged terrain during the Romania - Transylvania Traverse. BikeHike Adventures is running four trips to Romania this summer. The first one in June will be led by the company's operations director, Meghan Burton.  Tours to Romania are growing in popularity. These pictures of Romania demonstrate the country's intriguing blend of Third World and modern customs.

Exploring the Galapagos Islands, you swim with sea lions and are happy you have a digital camera because you're snapping dozens of photos of Christmas iguanas, red-footed boobies, tiny penguins and the many other animals found nowhere else. I went with Ecoventura, a family-owned Ecuadorian company that emphasizes "green" travel, but G Adventures, Adventure-Associates and other companies also offer almost weekly cruises during the summer.

You don't need a lot of training to enter the Bog Snorkeling World Championships in Wales, just be in good shape and  willing to get filthy as you swim through the bog, breathing through a snorkel. Not challenging enough? How about the Bog Triathalon. When you want to enter or just watch, it's a great excuse to viist Wales, where locals hike, bike and go canyoneering in gorgeous natural settings.

You can hike, bike, and cruise the pristine lands, glaciers and waterways in the stunning Kenai Fjords National Park. Kayaking in Resurrection Bay, you'll search for porpoises, sea lions and whales, and while cruising watch for glacier calving into an ice-studded sea.  You'll pedal past thundering waterfalls en route to the gold rush town of Hope, and take in the vastness of the Chugach National Forest as you hike a portion of the Iditarod trail.

If you're an advanced or expert skier does heading down to Portillo, Chile, for guided skiing on untracked powder and steep slopes sound more appealing?