5. Surf in Panama

The trip: Panama has the waves of Hawaii and the cultural allure of Bali—but without the lineups of the Aloha State or the long haul to Indonesia. And the Central American coast is very friendly to the wallet (think $20 massages and $1 ice-cold cervezas). Experts and novices alike can find waves to their liking during a weeklong trip to Morro Negrito, a surf camp on the far-flung island of La Ensenada. Hard-core types should book between April and October, when they'll have the best shot at 12-foot-tall waves; panga boats will take surfers out to the area's finest breaks, including the world-class Point Barrel and the long, rolling Sand Bar. Greenhorns can take hour-long semiprivate lessons for $15 and can find much gentler waves between November and March. In between sessions, cast for sailfish in the Pacific or practice your shavasana on the camp's yoga deck. Try not to strain yourself, as you're here to surf, after all.

Why go? Fierce waves and few distractions make Panama the top spot to channel your inner Kelly Slater.

What to pack: A good paperback to read while swinging on a beach hammock, and a bottle of Mount Gay Rum (the remote camp stocks only water, soda, and beer).

Difficulty: 8 out of 10. The waves can be gnarly, but guides on boats are there to coax you through them, or ferry you back to land.

Your guides: The surf bums and expats at Morro Negrito, where the bunks are basic but have ocean views; the camp operates on solar and wind power.

Morro Negrito
Five nights at the camp and two nights in Panama City, including all meals, transfers, and two daily boat trips, $650 per person

6. Ride horseback through Mongolia

The trip: You're thundering under cerulean skies across the Darhad Valley, reins loosely flapping in your hands and a Mongolian wind tugging at your hat as the small, strong horse surges beneath you. Untouched mountainsides spill down to steppes and pastures; the only signs of civilization are a few yurts in the distance. On a horse trek through Mongolia, adventurers don't even have to close their eyes to pretend they're Genghis Khan—or Alec in The Black Stallion. After exploring the capital, Ulaanbaatar, and boating the 100-mile Lake Khovsgol at the Siberian border, travelers meet their horses for ten days of riding through the Darhad, the sun-baked valley of Mongolian herdsmen, wild lakes, and jagged peaks. They'll also meet the nomadic "Reindeer people," whose ranks are disappearing as modernization encroaches, and will sleep in tents and at ger (yurt) camps. The trek coincides with the Naadam Festival, a mini-Olympics and big party for Mongolian horse racers, wrestlers, and archers. Sorry, only kids can race the horses.

Why go? When it comes to true horse country, Kentucky and Montana have nothing on Mongolia, where infants are taught to ride before they can walk.

What to pack: Advil. You'll be riding up to 20 miles per day on a traditional Russian cavalry saddle with precious little padding.

Difficulty: 5 out of 10. Riding experience is a must, as the horses are often less broken than you'd like. And be prepared to handle the cold, hunger, and discomfort that sometimes comes with camping in the wilderness with little privacy.

Your guides: Boojum Expeditions, which has been trekking in Inner Mongolia by horseback since 1984. The company is also one of the few outside entities to maintain close ties with the remote Reindeer people.

Boojum Expeditions
Tel: 406 587 0125
19-day Khovsgol Horse Trek with Nadaam Festival (including three nights in hotels and the rest camping or in a ger), plus all meals, $3,415 per person

7. Ski the Andes

The trip: Harrumph to the Hamptons, Nantucket, even the coast of Maine. The coolest way to cool off in August is by kicking off a cornice into South American powder, skis attached to feet and a Pisco Sour lined up for après. In Portillo, Chile, nearly 300 inches of snow blankets the 1,300 acres of bowls, steeps, and chutes from late June to early October. With only the distinctive yellow Hotel Portillo at the base and a handful of guests each day (including members of the U.S. Ski Team, which trains here each summer), the skiing is as pure as the surrounding Andes and Lake of the Incas. To maximize the off-piste opportunities while sharpening your extreme-skiing skills, enroll in a ten-day free-skiing course with the North American Ski Training Center (NASTC), which teaches experienced sliders how to master the toughest terrain. Full days on the slopes are followed by video review sessions, late steak-and-wine dinners, and a few turns on the dance floor.

Why go? To ensure crowd-free conditions, Portillo allows only 450 guests per week—a small fraction of the 65,000 skiers and riders that swarm Vail weekly. Plus, August snow.

What to pack: Your own Ping-Pong paddle, if you want an edge in the annual après-ski tourney that NASTC hosts here every summer.

Difficulty: 6.5 out of 10. You should at least be able to ski groomed blue and some black trails.

Your guides: Chris and Jenny Fellows of Lake Tahoe–based NASTC, who've been running Portillo ski camps since 1994.

North American Ski Training Center
Tel: 530 582 4772
Six days of instruction, an eight-day lift ticket, hotels in Portillo and Santiago, and four meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and the Chilean afternoon tea called onces) per day, $3,995 per person

8. Bike and hike in the Canadian Rockies

The trip: A whir of the chopper blades, a helicopter's shadow forming and fading as it lifts and banks away, and then—nothing. Just the remote silence of the Bugaboo Mountains, with sawtooth peaks, glacial lakes, and wildflower fields that would otherwise be next to impossible to reach. Unless, of course, you've arranged a heli-hiking trip, one of the best (and only) ways to see these particular far-flung splendors of the Canadian Rockies. It's just one part of a six-day trip arranged by the outfitter Backroads. The other half is spent biking through Banff National Park, with only the pine-scented air between you and the twisting rivers and yawning canyons. A Bell helicopter transports guests between the Bugaboos and Banff, Lake Louise, and Yoho National Park, where you'll see the peaks, lakes, and waterfalls from a bike saddle. And if the high-class helicopter service doesn't bring out the trust funder in you, the cuisine and accommodations will. Think mountain lodges with exposed beams, stone bars, and saunas, along with blueberry port-glazed buffalo tenderloin.

Why go? You want your mind to be blown away by scenery but your body to remain intact.

What to pack: The kitchen sink. Since the helicopter carries the gear you'll need up in the mountains, you can stuff your backpack with almost anything you'd like (provided you don't weigh down the chopper, of course).

Difficulty: 4 out of 10. Guests can hike up to 14 miles in one day and bike up to 42 miles the next. But those who are lagging behind can choose shorter routes or ride in the sag wagon.

Your guides: The California-based Backroads, which has been around since 1979. For this multisport-palooza, Backroads partners with heli-skiing and heli-hiking experts Canadian Mountain Holidays for dream-team service.

Backroads
Tel: 510 527 1444
Helicopter service, bike rental, five nights in hotels, and all meals, $3,898 per person

MORE FROM TRAVEL

Travel Section Front

World's sexiest islands 2008 Images: Home sweet home in America Good to go: Travel gifts for tight budgets How to — or avoid — getting bumped Miami hotel gets $1 billion makeover Chocolate lover’s paradises around the world Images: Floods in Venice The unfriendly skies: Best and worst of air travel No Who-ville in Louisville this Christmas Your turn! Travel to the Ends of the Earth Travel Section Front   Add Travel headlines to your news reader: