* As Featured in 2023 Bucket List Edition: Adventures To Take
TOUR THE FAMOUS ROUTE 66
Take the ultimate American road trip when you drive the “Mother Road” from the heart of Chicago to Santa Monica, California. Crossing eight states and spanning 2,400miles, you’ll ride through farmland, deserts, abandoned towns, and a slew of interesting pit stops: like an 1858 penitentiary in Illinois, a barbed wire museum in Texas and a diner that serves $0.20 slices of pie in Oklahoma
DRIVE THE PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY
To properly do this historic drive, you’ll need three things: a convertible, a good playlist, and a sense of adventure. Known locally as California 1, this 656-mile road will take you from just south of Los Angeles all the way north to the state’s redwood and sequoia forests. You’ll ride parallel to the Pacific Ocean (talk about those views!) and pass through iconic destinations like BigSur, Pebble Beach, Monterey, San Francisco, and Muir Woods National Monument along the way.
RIDE DOWN OVERSEAS HIGHWAY
In a word, the 100-mile drive from the tip of mainland Florida to Key West is“surreal.” Let the relaxation of the FloridaKeys set in as you admire endless blue skies and turquoise waters all around you.“The Highway that Goes to Sea” crosses42 bridges, including the famous SevenMile Bridge, and is lined by the Atlantic ocean on one side and the Gulf of Mexicoon the other.
DRIVE THE ROAD TO HANA
With its lush valleys, stunning Pacific Ocean views, and hidden waterfalls, this 64-mile drive on the island of Maui is almost mystical. As you wind through its narrow roads and 600 hairpin turns, you’ll find bamboo forests, rare flowering plants, the colorful Garden of Eden, towering cliffs, and white-, black- and red-sand beaches. The full journey can take up to 12 hours, so plan accordingly
ADVENTURE THROUGH THE SOUTHWESTERN UNITED STATES
The five states of the Southwestern U.S. are brimming with breathtaking natural landscapes you couldn’t make up if you tried. Drive 3,000 miles to pass through national parks like the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Zion, and Joshua Tree. See the world’s largest chili pepper in New Mexico, admire the sunset-hued canyons of Sedona, and take a photo between the otherworldly rock formations in Antelope Canyon. (The latter is a classic Instagram moment.)
TAKE A LUXURY TRAIN FROM PARIS TO ISTANBUL
The legendary Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is starting a new route in 2023, and you’ll want to be one of the first to experience it. Beginning in Paris, you’ll spend five days exploring Budapest, Romania, Bulgaria, and more—staying at luxury hotels along the way—before ending in mystical Istanbul. The Orient Express has long been associated with the utmost in luxury, where passengers dress the part (no jeans allowed!) and stay in extravagant sleeping cars, indulge in elegant dinners at multiple onboard restaurants, and more
TAKE A HELICOPTER RIDE THROUGH THE ALPS
Let Helifly take you on a breathtaking flight through one of Mother Nature’s wonders: the Alps. With a trained captain as your tour guide, you can fly over Mont Blanc(the range’s tallest peak), Dent du Géant(“Giant’s Tooth”) mountain, the AiguilleNoire de Peuterey, and the blue and gray glaciers of Brenva, Freney, and Brouillard.
EXPLORE THE WORLD ON A CRUISE
After you cruise to the North and South Poles, hop on the Viking Neptune and see the rest of the world. Starting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and disembarking in London, this trip of a lifetime visits 28 countries in 138 days. Some stops you can get excited about include Hawaii, French Polynesia, New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, India, the Middle East, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Have you booked your ticket yet?
BLAST OFF INTO SPACE
You’ve seen Richard Branson do it, and you can, too! Take a 90-minute flight into outer space with Virgin Galactic, traveling at 2,600 mph and zero gravity. It’s sure to be a life-changing experience that lets you feel the freedom of weightlessness, get unbelievable views of planet Earth from afar, and do something that few civilians have ever done before.
