25 Guy Trips That Will Change Your Life

Paddle the Grand Canyon, kayak with blue whales, and come out a better man 

guy trips

Travel should transform. Choose your destination wisely, and then the voyage itself, the people you meet, the foods you sample, and the experiences you have will mean you've arrived in a whole new place—physically, spiritually, philosophically. This kind of travel isn't exactly relaxing, but is mere relaxation ever really that satisfying? Our purpose here—on these pages, on this planet—is to squeeze the maximum amount of joy, hilarity, challenge, and accomplishment out of our allotted time. What better way to do that than to travel to places that won't just be a change of scene, but rather, can provoke a change in you? We accumulated 25 such transformative travel experiences. Maybe it's time to get lost, and find yourself.

And for more ways to help you live a more adventurous and fulfilling life, check out The Better Man Project, the brand-new book from the Editor in Chief of Men’s Health

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Paddle the Grand Canyon

Tackle 300 miles of some of the most powerful white water on the planet the old-school way, in a wooden boat.

Why: Spending 13 to 18 days navigating the Colorado River through the mile-deep canyon, gazing up at 2 1/2 billion years' worth of the earth's crust on a nimble dory that launches you off the lips of roiling rapids turns you into a geologist, a waterman, and a more humble human being.

Do it: 13 to 18 days from $4,270, oars.com/grandcanyon/dories. Raft trips are also available.

(You should place these other experiences on Your National Parks Bucket List.) 

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Burn Some Rubber

For the truest racetrack experience, skip the supercar challenges that cost thousands of dollars. Instead, hit the Bondurant Kart Racing School in Phoenix. You'll spend the first part of your 4-hour session studying acceleration and braking strategies; then you'll race around the track. These 200-pound rockets have six-speed transmissions and disc brakes, launch to 100 miles per hour in 6 seconds, and corner at 2.5 Gs.

Why: Apart from the thrill (and the sweet smell of burning rubber), you'll learn skills that could make you a safer driver.

Do it: $425, bondurant.com

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Master the Art of Grilling

Steven Raichlen, the of Planet Barbecue!, teaches a 3-day barbecue course twice each summer at the five-star Broadmoor resort in Colorado Springs. To Raichlen, barbecue is more than just an American obsession with fiery regional rivalries. It's a global cuisine. And his syllabus reflects that with recipes from Argentine steak houses, Thai street carts, and Korean BBQ joints.

Why: After Barbecue University, everything you cook on the grill—salmon, steak, vegetables, and desserts (like pear and raspberry crumble smoked in a cast-iron skillet)—will taste better.

Do it: $1,950,barbecuebible.com/bbqu

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Track a Tusker

The Chyulu Hills of Kenya—the inspiration for Hemingway's Green Hills of Africa—are where three national parks converge to protect lions, rhinos, elephants, buffalo, and leopards—the big five—and Masai warriors have become its conservationists and guides. Campi ya Kanzi, a Masai-owned lodge here, combines luxury and wilderness. Game runs in open-top jeeps ensure that you see as much wildlife as possible, while daily hikes let you feel the pulse of the land.

Why: A safari is a once-in-a-lifetime primal experience that connects you with an era that predates civilization.

Do it: From $600 a night,maasai.com

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Catch and Grill Trout

Stalking, hooking, cleaning, and cooking your own trout is a rite of passage. The Ranch at Rock Creek, in southwestern Montana, is A River Runs Through It country and the place to hone your fly casting. Ride into the Sapphire Mountains, spend the afternoon strategically positioning your fly in the watery path of wild rainbow, brown, bull, and cutthroat trout, and then grill your catch whole over the fire.

Why: It's the Western movie fantasy of horses, fishing, and mountains incarnate.

Do it: $800 a day for food, lodging, and guide service,theranchatrockcreek.com

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Kayak with Blue Whales

The world's largest mammal can reach lengths of 100 feet (think three school buses) and weigh in at 200 tons—more than an entire herd of elephants. Hundreds of these leviathans winter in the Sea of Cortez, at a preserve off Baja Mexico called Loreto Islands Bay Marine Park. It's the only place in the world where you're likely to be able to paddle with them. <

Why: Sidling up to a submarine-size blue in your 17-foot Sea Quest Expeditions kayak will remind you of your place in the pecking order.

Do it: $1,000 for 6 days, sea-quest-kayak.com

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Make Pinot Noir

Think you know wine? Wait till you're standing among the vines at a Russian River Valley winery with a harvesting knife in your hand. Every September, the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission and Sonoma County Vintners join up with Relish Culinary Adventures to sponsor the 3-day Sonoma County Grape Camp. You'll learn the entire winemaking process, from picking to crushing to blending, and go on tastings throughout the region.

Why: Anyone can make beer. You'll gain a deeper insight into the art and science of what makes a great wine.

Do it: $1,750 per person per couple, sonomagrapecamp.com

Related: The 10 Best Wines for under $15 

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Climb a Redwood

The 1,500-year-old, 300-foot-tall redwoods of California's Humboldt County scrape the sky. But for conservation reasons, climbing them is illegal except by organized canopy tour. With North Coast Adventure Centers, you'll shimmy up seven stories before spending the next 2 to 3 hours taking in an eagle's-eye view of Redwood Park by zipline.

Why: It's fun, and you'll contemplate your own humble existence in the shadows of these giants that witnessed Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo's arrival in 1542.

Do it: $65,northcoastadventurecenters.com

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Camp on a Volcano

The mountain might rumble, hiss, and spew fiery boulders at any time, your shoes will probably melt, and you can roast a marshmallow at the 8,373-foot summit of Guatemala's Volcán Pacaya. Most hikers do this trip in a day, but if you camp overnight on the volcano, you'll hear the lava roll through the forest crunching vegetation, and see it light up the night sky without another traveler in sight.

Why: Where else can you walk up to globs of 2,000? F–plus liquid and see inside the earth's core?

Do it: $70 for 2 days,oxexpeditions.com

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Kayak the Galápagos

Going face-to-face with penguins, iguanas, blue-footed boobies, and sea lions trumps peering through binoculars from the deck of a cruise ship, which is how most travelers experience the Galápagos.

Why: It's a time warp: Limits on development mean the islands look much as they have for eons, and the animals are every bit as innocent, inquisitive, and bizarre as they were when Darwin encountered them on his Beagle voyage 175 years ago. It's impossible not to morph into an amateur naturalist and ponder your own ancestry.

Do it: Explorers Corner has exclusive kayaking permits, from $4,490 for 11 days,explorerscorner.com

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Survive Alone in the Wild

You'll be stripped of your watch and cellphone. You'll carry no pack, sleeping bag, headlamp, or tent. And, after instructors at Boulder Outdoor Survival School teach you which plants are edible, how to find drinkable water, and other survival skills, you'll be guided into the red canyons of southern Utah. Toward the end of your course, you'll go on a solo expedition.

Why: You'll live in the moment. In fact, you'll never feel more alive or empowered than when you conquer nature using nothing but your wits, a poncho, and a big knife.

Do it: From $1,400 for 7 days,boss-inc.com

(Just don’t forget to bring this Must-Have Survival Gear with you on your adventure.) 

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Save the Amazon, in Person

There's a better way to protect the Amazon rain forest than sending a check to some green charity: Go there yourself. Hook up with a scientific expedition for a week to assist research efforts in the world's most biodiverse jungle. Earthwatch Institute organizes trips aboard a century-old, 100-foot riverboat in northern Peru that biologists use to survey populations of pink river dolphins, spider monkeys, marmosets, macaws, Froot Loops–worthy toucans, and other exotic fauna. You'll spend your days working with staff on the water and in local villages, and unwind in the evenings on the boat's top-deck bar.

Why: You'll see things you never imagined, and make a hands-on difference in protecting the planet.

Do it: $2,550 for 8 days,earthwatch.org

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Canoe the Maine Woods

A weeklong canoe trip on the Allagash River has been a classic wilderness expedition since Thoreau did it in 1846, 1853, and 1857 for his bookThe Maine Woods. A roughly 100-mile stretch in the state's northern tip is still untamed and now protected. It starts at Chamberlain Lake, meanders through thick pine forests skirting desolate ponds, rushes down a 9-mile stretch of Class II rapids, and emerges at Allagash Village.

Why: The rhythm of the river and the sounds of the forest will reboot your priorities.

Do it: Unguided: Reserve canoes ($25/day) and shuttle service (about $35/day), and bring gear and provisions for camping. Guided: $1,250. For either option, go tomaineoutfitter.com

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Fly Across the Waves

Reliable 15 to 25 mph winds riffle the shallows of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, which stretches for more than 70 miles on North Carolina's narrow Outer Banks, making it the ideal beach to learn to kitesurf. The sport, which is a hybrid of surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and kiting, has a steep learning curve, but beginners typically start skimming across the water in 3 days. And on the off chance of a windless day, you can always learn to paddleboard.

Why: This is the closest feeling to soaring like an eagle.

Do it: Real Watersports offers courses and rents kites, boards, and harnesses for $150 a day.realwatersports.com

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Find Nemo (and His Supporting Cast)

The world's second-largest barrier reef, off the coast of Belize, brims with so much marine life that scientists have identified only a fraction of the species living there. It's home to the world's largest West Indian manatee population, 500-plus species of fish, 65 kinds of coral, and a jamboree of sharks, turtles, and birds. It's such a diverse ecosystem that it was named a World Heritage Site—and you don't even need scuba gear to appreciate its splendor. Just bring a mask and snorkel.

Why: The 185-mile-long reef, considered one of the world's seven underwater wonders, could soon go the way of Hanging Gardens of Babylon because it's under threat from warming temperatures and ocean acidification, among other factors.

Do it: From $1,050 for 5 days, Slick Rock Adventures, Long Caye at Glover's Reef Atoll,slickrock.com

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Graduate from Fitness Boot Camp

Imagine a week on a tropical beach that leaves you trimmer and fitter yet still feels like a vacation. Southern California–based West Point graduate and international fitness champion Sonki Hong takes his fitness boot camp methods—which combine everything from plyometrics and beach running to body-weight drills and martial arts—to Waikiki Beach in the spring and Maui in the fall for 7 days each. You'll also be kayaking, swimming, surfing, snorkeling, and scarfing ultrafresh sashimi.

Why: Training fads wash in and out, but the discipline and fitness techniques you pick up in Hawaii will help you stay lean your whole life.

Do it: $2,250, sonkifitness.com

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Trek the Himalayas

Hike the 150-mile trail around the 26,545-foot shark tooth that is Annapurna, and do it the way a local would, by eating and staying at teahouses in Nepalese villages. Going without a guide lets you set your own schedule, so you can spend an extra day or two in favorite spots.

Why: Two reasons. First, large segments of the circuit are expected to be turned into roads in the next couple of years, adding unwanted company to the climbs up 17,000-foot passes and polluting the pristine Himalayan views. Second, every time you look in the mirror afterward, you'll see the guy who trekked Annapurna without a guide.

Do it: For details on trip and route planning, pick up the bible of Nepal hiking guidebooks,Trekking in the Annapurna Region, by Bryn Thomas ($18, 4th edition).

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Thunder Across the Great Plains

Galloping across the grasslands of South Dakota, Montana, and Idaho with a Lakota Sioux horse expert gives you a window into modern and ancient Native American life. You'll ride among herds of bison, see a wolf-recovery refuge, and visit the site of Custer's Last Stand and the Crazy Horse memorial.

Why: It's the history lesson you never really had, and a way to connect with our indigenous culture and people.

Do it: $4,800 for 14 days, spirit-trails.com

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Dance the Samba at Rio's Carnival

Most travelers simply watch at Carnival, which is actually a giant samba contest, but you can participate and groove your way through the streets surrounded by half-naked glamazons in feather headdresses. First, choose a samba school—Salgueiro is in a safe neighborhood and won in 2009. Then plan to arrive several days before the event to practice your moves, laze on Ipanema beach, and sip caipirinhas.

Why: Every time you hit the dance floor in the future, it will be with a surer step.

Do it: Rio Carnival arranges flights, school entry, and lodging in funky hotels in the southern part of Rio. rio-carnival.net

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Pedal into Copper Canyon

Moab meets the Grand Canyon 200 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border, in the state of Chihuahua. The Copper Canyon is 20 red-rock canyons plunging nearly 10,000 feet to a web of rivers. The network of singletrack trails are courtesy of the Tarahumara Indians, long-distance runners who have been pounding the dirt here for centuries.

Why: Riding to the bottom of the canyon and all the way back up tests your mettle and your quads, and instills a sense of awe for geological phenomena.

Do it: $2,700 for 8 days,westernspirit.com

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Minute Man National Historical Park
Walk in the Footsteps of Patriots

While tension had been building for months, the first true clash of the American Revolution took place at Lexington and Concord in April of 1775. Today, the location of those fateful battles is marked by the Minute Man National Historical Park—a place both beautiful and haunted. 

Why: Walking where men first fought and died to secure America’s freedom is an experience that will touch anyone with even a modicum of interest in his nation’s history. (Henry David Thoreau’s Walden Pond is also in the vicinity.)

Do it: Located just 20 miles from Boston, a flight into Logan International Airport and a rental car will get you to Minute Man without much hassle. 

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Motorcycle Appalachia
Motorcycle Appalachia

West Virginia’s Route 50—also known as the George Washington Highway—winds east along the Monongahela National Forest for 50 stunning, sweeping miles. From Route 50’s end point, you can reach Virginia’s Skyline Drive —another of America’s premier biking roads—in a matter of hours. Go during the fall color change, and you’ll feel reborn.

Why: A fondness for the open road is built into a guy’s DNA. And once you’ve hit that road on a motorcycle, you’ll finally understand adages like, “Life’s about the journey, not the destination.”

Do it: Start in Grafton, W.V. and head east on Route 50 until you hit Bismarck. From there, it’s only 100 miles to Skyline Drive, which runs south through Shenandoah and the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

Related: 7 Essential Trips Every Man Should Take before He Dies

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Wrangell-St. Elias
Wander in America's Largest National Park

The size of six Yellowstones, Alaska’s Wrangell-St. Elias is a wonderland of jagged mountain peaks, glaciers, and intimidating natural spectacle. From September through spring, you can also catch site of the aurora borealis. 

Why: The sheer size and scope of this national park and preserve are enough to humble a man—and instill in him a new sense of purpose and connectedness to his planet.

Do it: Fly to Anchorage and pick up a rental car at the airport. The Wrangell-St. Elias visitors’ center is 200 breathtaking miles away.

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Black Hills
Drive One of America’s Grand Empty Spaces

If you’re packed in among the masses in a city or suburb, it’s easy to forget how much of the country is still feral and wide open. South Dakota and Wyoming are places that will disabuse you of your urban misconceptions. Deadwood. The Black Hills. Badlands. Bighorn. You’ve heard the names, and a couple days of driving will introduce you to all of them.

Why: There’s something cathartic and centering about stepping away from humanity. You can get a taste of that in any national park or forest. But the beautiful desolation of these states and places is something that changes you. 

Do it: Fly into Cody, Wyoming, the self-proclaimed rodeo capital of the world and home to the Buffalo Bill Museum. From there, head east through the Bighorn National Forest and down into South Dakota’s Black Hills—home to Deadwood and Mount Rushmore. From there, Badlands is a short drive east. 

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Hike the Chilkoot Trail
Hike the Chilkoot Trail

This challenging 33-mile trail was once a route used by prospectors moving from Alaska’s coasts to the famed Yukon gold fields. When you ascend the “Golden Stairs”—a steep incline composed of massive boulders that must be skirted or scaled—the snowy pass and surrounding vistas are a fair reward for the ass kicking you just took. 

Why: Apart from a great hike that takes you from almost tropically lush forests through snowy mountain overpasses, the Chilkoot connects you with the rigors and realities of American history in ways few national landmarks can match. 

Do it: Fly to Prince Rupert, B.C. and take a ferry to Skagway, Alaska, which is located just a few miles from the trailhead. 

(Check out more of America’s Most Amazing Hikes.) 

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