Attention Adventurers: Choose your continent! 102 far-flung trips guaranteed to change (or at least improve) your life.
AFRICA

A Masai Mara lion

THE TRIP:
BOTSWANA
Mastering safari skills in the Okavango Delta
THE ROUTE:
Five days boning up on bush safety—tracking and approaching big game, poling a mokoro (a dugout canoe), practicing celestial navigation and fire building, and, most importantly, assessing aggressive behavior in animals.
WHEN TO GO:
July-October
DIFFICULTY
Moderate
TRAVEL ADVISORY
The trip is part survival seminar, part luxury safari: By day, you'll maneuver boats through swamps and construct primitive shelters. By night, you'll study the sky from your cozy campsite, learning how to spot useful constellations.
HIGH/LOW POINTS
*Fanning the flames of a fire you made by rubbing sticks together.
OUTFITTERS/ACCOMMODATIONS
Borton Overseas/800-843-0602, http://www.borton.com/overseas.html
International Ventures/800-727-5475, http://www.internationalventures.com
PRICE
$1,000; $675

THE TRIP:
GABON
Exploring virgin rainforest
THE ROUTE:
A 17-day journey through the dense virgin rainforest of the Ivindo River Basin by dugout canoe and foot. You'll be the first tourists allowed into restricted wildlife study areas in the Mayibout and Léconi regions, which abound with chimpanzees, lowland gorillas, red buffalo, and more than 450 bird species.
WHEN TO GO:
July-August
DIFFICULTY
Strenous
TRAVEL ADVISORY
This is relatively untrodden territory, so you'll find the gorillas here much more elusive and nervous than their mountain counterparts. Don't expect to be able to gawk at them for hours on end.
HIGH/LOW POINTS
*Catching a glimpse of the rare bongo antelope in the D'Ippassa Reserve.
*An angry gorilla's mock charge if you get too close.
OUTFITTERS/ACCOMMODATIONS
Mountain Travel­Sobek/888-687-6235, http://www.mtsobek.com
PRICE
$4,850-$5,350

THE TRIP:
KENYA
Adventuring in the Masai Mara and on the Tana River
THE ROUTE:
A high-adrenaline 16-day tour in which you'll raft the Class III Tana River, mountain bike across volcanic rock formations in Hell's Gate, climb the lava tubes of Mount Suswa, track leopards and lions in the Masai Mara, and sea-kayak the Indian Ocean north of Mombasa.
WHEN TO GO:
July-September
DIFFICULTY
Moderate
TRAVEL ADVISORY
Pleasure is directly proportional to fitness on this trip—the fitter you are, the more fun you'll have.
HIGH/LOW POINTS
*Leaping from a 40-foot bridge into the cool spray of the Tana River.
*The perils of driving in the Masai Mara: choking on desert dust and getting the jeep stuck in chest-high mud puddles.
OUTFITTERS/ACCOMMODATIONS
Outer Edge Expeditions/800-322-5235, http://www.outer-edge.com
KE Adventure Travel/800-497-9675, http://www.keadventure.com
PRICE
$4,230; $2,765

THE TRIP:
MOROCCO
Walking from Fez to Marrakech
THE ROUTE:
A leisurely 12-day, 600-mile traverse by jeep and foot of the Moroccan countryside, starting in the medieval walled city of Fez and then following donkey paths and unmarked trails through the olive-grove and casbah-dotted desert that borders the vast Sahara.
WHEN TO GO:
April-May, October-November
DIFFICULTY
Moderate
TRAVEL ADVISORY
Pack your long underwear: Though the temperatures usually range from a pleasant 70 to a toasty 100 degrees, count on a few 30-degree evenings in the High Atlas mountains.
HIGH/LOW POINTS
*Watching the frenzied three-ring circus of snake charmers and jugglers at Marrakech's famed Djemaa el Fna, the world's biggest open-air theater.
*The gastrointestinal distress from too many servings of tajine—a spicy stewlike concoction of rice, chicken, couscous, potatoes, and vegetables.
OUTFITTERS/ACCOMMODATIONS
Country Walkers/800-464-9255, http://www.countrywalkers.com
Backroads/800-462-2848 (includes biking), http://www.backroads.com
Geographic Expeditions/800-777-8183, http://www.geoex.com
Butterfield & Robinson/800-678-1147 (includes biking), http://www.butterfield.com
PRICE
$3,795; $3,400; $3,195; $995

THE TRIP:
NAMIBIA AND BOTSWANA
Puddle-jumping southern Africa
THE ROUTE:
Twenty-two days spent tracking elephants, hippopotamuses, and crocodiles in the Okavango Delta. You'll also explore archaeological sites littered with Stone Age tools in the Makgadikgadi Pans and learn ancient herbal remedies from Namibian San bush people.
WHEN TO GO:
August-October
DIFFICULTY
Easy
TRAVEL ADVISORY
Acrophobes take heed: This complicated itinerary requires nine puddle-jumps on a five-seater plane with flights ranging from 20 minutes to two hours.
HIGH/LOW POINTS
*Sitting in the shade of the 4,000-year-old baobab tree just outside of Jack's Camp in Botswana, a landmark resting place for virtually every expedition to the region, David Livingstone's included.
*Scraping together $9,500 to finance the trip.
OUTFITTERS/ACCOMMODATIONS
Explore/888-596-6377, http://www.exploreafrica.net
Maxim Tours/800-655-0222, http://www.maximtours.com
Outer Edge Expeditions/800-322-5235, http://www.outer-edge.com
Wilderness Travel/800-368-2794, http://www.wildernesstravel.com
PRICE
$9,500; $9,500; $2,180; $8,695

THE TRIP:
SOUTH AFRICA
Studying dolphins in Britannia Bay
THE ROUTE:
A two-week-long scientific expedition to observe the range, ecology, and behavior of the frolicsome Heaviside's, the only dolphin species endemic to southern Africa. Participants try to spot and count the dolphins from shore, and then track them through the bay by Zodiac.
WHEN TO GO:
January-March
DIFFICULTY
Easy
TRAVEL ADVISORY
Bear in mind that your volunteer work is only a small part of a years-long study and probably won't contribute any grand epiphanies.
HIGH/LOW POINTS
*Working side-by-side with Peter Best, a renowned South African cetacean researcher and the hands-down expert on the seals, whales, dolphins, and waterfowl that inhabit Britannia Bay.
*Attempting to collect, from your wave-slapping Zodiac, such delicate data as tooth-rake scarring and skin samples.
OUTFITTERS/ACCOMMODATIONS
Earthwatch/800-776-0188, http://www.earthwatch.org
PRICE
$1,795

THE TRIP:
THE GAMBIA
Discovering life along the Gambia River
THE ROUTE:
Eleven days of nature (African bush) and culture (tribal villages) along the banks of the river: Explore the Abuko nature reserve, home to lions, antelope, and civets; visit batik factories; meet a local healer; tour hospitals and villages; and see the ancestral home of Roots author Alex Haley.
WHEN TO GO:
February-March
DIFFICULTY
Easy
TRAVEL ADVISORY
A more culturally oriented safari than most, the trip is designed for those who want to immerse themselves in the Gambia's ancient traditions.
HIGH/LOW POINTS
*Adding the green-crested touraco, the little green bulbul, the yellow-chested apalis, and the milky eagle owl to your life list.
*Also adding four very deadly snakes: the python, the puff adder, the black-necked cobra, and the green mamba.
OUTFITTERS/ACCOMMODATIONS
Spector Travel of Boston Inc./Tel 617 351 0111, http://www.spectortravel.com
West African Safaris/888-454-7710, http://www.westafricansafaris.com
Adventures Abroad/800-665-3998, (includes Mali and Senegal) http://www.adventures-abroad.com
PRICE
$1,960 (includes airfare); $1,960; $3,040

THE TRIP:
UGANDA AND TANZANIA
Cycling Uganda and climbing Kilimanjaro
THE ROUTE:
You'll bike 40 miles per day for four weeks. After pedaling through Uganda's Kibale and Queen Elizabeth National Parks, you'll fly to Tanzania and explore the island of Zanzibar before heading to Kilimanjaro, where you'll stash your bike and trek to the 19,340-foot summit.
WHEN TO GO:
January-February
DIFFICULTY
Strenuous
TRAVEL ADVISORY
The outfitter, Bicycle Africa, keeps this journey in touch with the grass roots. Expect sparse but comfortable local accommodations and standard regional fare: rice, sweet potatoes, sautéed vegetables, and spaghetti.
HIGH/LOW POINTS
*Getting held up by a herd of elephants in no hurry to cross the road.
*Having to train in advance for this epic, hyperactive journey.
OUTFITTERS/ACCOMMODATIONS
Bicycle Africa/206-767-0848, http://www.ibike.org
PRICE
$990

THE TRIP:
ZIMBABWE
Canoeing the Zambezi River
THE ROUTE:
A ten-day meander down the wide flood plains, narrow channels, and precipitous gorges of the fourth-largest river in Africa. You'll camp on sandbars and islands, travel through three national parks, and watch elephants, zebras, kudus, and water bucks lazing along the shoreline.
WHEN TO GO:
March-October
DIFFICULTY
Moderate
TRAVEL ADVISORY
Bring ear plugs. You'll be sleeping among more than 250 species of birds who love to sing—loudly.
HIGH/LOW POINTS
*Watching a hippo stretch its giant maw in a massive yawn.
*Watching baboons pick through elephant dung, and then lick their fingers.
OUTFITTERS/ACCOMMODATIONS
Piragis International Expeditions/800-223-6565, http://www.piragis.com
Explore/888-596-6377, http://www.exploreafrica.net
Journeys International/800-255-8735, http://www.journeys-intl.com
Eddie Frank's Tusker Trail & Safari Company/800-231-1919, http://www.tusker.com
PRICE
$1,900; $4,510; $2,180; $3,870