The 5 Best Trips of 2015

Don't plan any vacations before reading this year's Best of Travel winners.

warning: unless you’re an annoyingly carefree bon vivant with a hefty trust fund, reading our annual Best of Travel awards may trigger a deep sense of dissatisfaction with the pathetic state of your mundane life. There are so many cool places to go, you’ll think as you scroll through our 30 epic selections. And not enough time! Why am I stuck at this desk! Do not panic—this is a totally natural reaction. And that’s the beauty of our annual awards.

Outside has been covering the adventure-travel beat for nearly four decades, and our two veteran Best of Travel writers, Tim Neville and Stephanie Pearson, have spent months poring over the latest trip offerings and scouring the globe to uncover surprising new ideas. We know this beat, and now we’ve narrowed your choices of hotels, destinations, and outfitters from approximately 10.6 million to 30. The final choice is still on you, but the task is at least manageable. Or maybe you’ll get that trust fund.

1. Best Island: Bermuda

Wide-open Bermuda beach.   Photo: Courtesy of the Bermuda Tourism Authority

A subtropical archipelago of 181 volcanic islands, Bermuda won the bid to host the 2017 America’s Cup, thanks to near perfect North Atlantic sailing conditions. Beyond wind, the British Overseas Territory, just a two-hour flight from New York City, has 75 miles of pink-sand beaches interspersed with jagged limestone cliffs, many of which are perfect for deep-water soloing and hucking into the Atlantic from the top. Stay at Elbow Beach, a 50-acre hideaway with a private stretch of sand on the southern shore (from $455).

2. Best Dive: Cuba

A fisherman on Cayo Coco in Cuba.   Photo: Didier Baertschiger/Flickr

Already sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department as an educational tour, this 11-day live-aboard yacht excursion helps fund research 
and conservation work by trip leader David Guggenheim, a marine scientist, underwater explorer, and founder of the Washington, D.C., nonprofit Ocean Doctor. The location: Gardens of the Queen National Park, an archipelago of 250 coral and mangrove islands, located 60 miles off Cuba’s southern coast, that Fidel Castro established as a marine protected area and a no-take fishing zone. Only 1,000 divers are allowed each year, so you’ll be one of the few to see whale sharks, sperm whales, sea turtles, goliath groupers, and some of the most pristine coral reefs anywhere on the planet. The package includes a chartered flight from Miami and a night at the five-star Hotel Parque Central in Havana. From $7,474.

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3. Best Street Food: Austin, Texas

Beer-battered Monte Cristo, Austin.   Photo: Matthew Johnson

The scene here is so fast-paced that today’s sweet chile chicken lollipops at Tommy Want Wingy or kimchi fries at the Korean-Mexican fusion truck Chi’Lantro may be gone tomorrow. (Though we sure hope not.) Hit eight trucks in one location at the Barton Springs Picnic Park, and find more worth seeking out at AustinFoodCarts.com and FoodTrailersAustin.com.

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4. Best River Trip: Fiji

Fiji's Upper Navua River Gorge.   Photo: Tom Till/Courtesy of OARS

Lined with vertical cliffs and cascading waterfalls, the 18-mile-long Upper Navua River Gorge on Viti Levu is like a tropical Grand Canyon, which is why OARS formed Rivers Fiji and worked with local landowners, villagers, a timber company, and the Native Land Trust Board to establish the 10.5-mile Upper Navua Conservation Area in 2000. Bask in the fruits of their labor by paddling this pristine Class II–III warm-water river lined with swaying palms. As long as you’re here, add a couple of days kayaking the Middle Navua, sea-kayaking and snorkeling among the coral gardens of Beqa Lagoon, and sprawling out on white-sand beaches. $2,899 for eight days.

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5. Best of the Wild West: Montana

Bison on Montana's plains.   Photo: Randy Beacham

Since 2001, the nonprofit American Prairie Reserve has been working to restore the northern great plains to the pristine condition Lewis and Clark found them in more than 200 years ago. The resulting reserve, in northeast Montana, is now 305,000 acres. The aim is to reach 3.5 million by 2030, creating a U.S. Serengeti and the largest wildlife park in the lower 48, where herds of elk, mule deer, and bison thrive. But don’t wait to go. You can sleep under the stars now at the 11-site Buffalo Camp ($10), four miles north of the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, and take a DIY mountain-biking safari on old ranch roads, passing grazing bison and scanning the skies for American kestrels, Sprague’s pipits, and Swainson’s hawks. Or paddle the Missouri River past pioneer homesteads and historic tepees to Kestrel Camp, a set of five luxurious yurts, each with AC, a hot shower, and a veranda for sundowners (from $4,800 for six days).