Away From It All in Your Own Backyard: 7 Close-to-Home Travel Destinations
Close your eyes and picture your next vacation. Whether you’re envisioning craggy peaks or a bone-white crescent of sand, that escape comes with a litany of benefits—a boost in well-being, cognitive function and creativity; less stress; and even closer relationships. But that mountain or beach doesn’t have to be in another hemisphere.
According to a recent study in the journal Tourism Analysis, people who travel regularly are happier than those who don’t, and you can get that boost in well-being from a trip as short as 75 miles from home. Exploring closer to home may mean fewer travel-related stressors and none of the frantic back-to-work catchup—both factors that can dampen the restorative benefits of a getaway, reports another recent study from the University of Queensland. Since the average American has a mere 10 days of paid vacation, staying close to home ensures you won’t waste an extra minute in transit.
Ahead, seven destinations visited by National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions that feel worlds away—despite being close to home.
Atlantic Canada
Just north of the border, the Maritimes and Newfoundland are a bastion of rich Acadian-influenced culture and endless seascapes. Rugged coastlines, storybook fishing villages and centuries of layered history make this corner of Canada feel far removed from the everyday.
On Sailing the St. Lawrence Seaway and Canadian Maritimes, travelers discover the natural beauty and diverse cultures of Eastern Canada along the storied St. Lawrence River. Stroll through 400 years of history in Old Québec, venture into the rugged wilderness of the Saguenay River Fjord in search of belugas and minke whales, and explore the windswept Îles de la Madeleine, where dunes and red sandstone cliffs stretch to the horizon. Along the way, French, British and Indigenous roots shape everything from the region’s music to its cuisine.
Or embark on The Canadian Maritimes and Newfoundland, a voyage that circumnavigates Newfoundland and sails deep into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Visit the fishing community of St-Pierre, a sliver of French territory on the Canadian coast, and hike through Gros Morne National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site where ancient portions of the Earth’s mantle are exposed. Another UNESCO site awaits at L’Anse aux Meadows, where remnants of an 11th-century Viking settlement offer a rare glimpse into the earliest European presence in North America.
Explore the Canadian Maritimes >
Alaska
Photo: David Spiegel
With its hulking glaciers, hemlock-blanketed hills and bays where orcas hunt and eagles glide overhead, Alaska feels worlds away. But getting there is surprisingly easy, particularly for West Coasters—it’s just a two-and-a-half-hour flight from Seattle to Juneau.
On voyages that combine Alaska with British Columbia, travelers can explore a wide breadth of wilderness aboard a small expedition ship. Opt for Voyage to Alaska, British Columbia and Haida Gwaii, a rare opportunity to visit the remote archipelago of Haida Gwaii—the ancestral territory of the Haida Nation—while also sailing the Inside Passage in search of whales, dolphins, bears and more. Highlights include a full day among the glaciers of Glacier Bay National Park and up-close exploration of Tracy Arm’s cascading waterfalls and calving ice.
Or choose Treasures of the Inside Passage, an active journey amid dramatic fjords, mountains and old-growth forests. Along the way, you’ll hike the San Juan Islands, learn about the region’s living Indigenous cultures and cruise waters where orcas gather to hunt in Johnstone Strait. In Misty Fjords National Monument, sheer cliffs and mist-shrouded backwaters create a landscape that feels truly cinematic.
Iceland
Photo: David Vargas
Just a five-hour flight from Boston you’ll find yourself in the otherworldly “land of fire and ice”—a moniker that isn’t the slightest bit hyperbolic given Iceland’s density of spitting volcanoes and riverine glacial floes. And on select voyages, Icelandic immersion comes paired with an even wilder Arctic frontier: the glacier-carved fjords of East Greenland.
On Arctic Edges: Iceland Westfjords to East Greenland, the journey begins in Iceland’s remote Westfjords, with hikes across stark coastal terrain and the chance to spot humpback and minke whales. Along Greenland’s rugged shoreline, travelers Zodiac cruise into glacier-carved fjords, where quiet stretches of ice reveal seals along the waterline—and, with luck, the elusive arctic fox on shore.
Or venture further with Wild Arctic Shores: Circumnavigating Iceland and Exploring Greenland, a 10-day voyage that traces Iceland’s geological extremes, from volcanic islands and saga-steeped fishing towns like Siglufjörður to the puffin colonies of Borgarfjörður. Cruise past Surtsey, one of the world’s youngest islands, which rose from the sea after a volcanic eruption in 1963, and sail across the Denmark Strait into East Greenland’s remote network of ice-filled fjords and towering tidewater glaciers.
The Caribbean
Photo: Andrew Peacock
Get your fix of the tropics without the long-haul flight on an expedition through the Caribbean’s most fascinating isles. Aboard the elegant Sea Cloud II, National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions guests go beyond chaise-studded beaches into the region’s hidden natural and historical treasures—sailing under trade winds from one turquoise harbor to the next.
On Antigua to the British Virgin Islands: Hidden Cays and Azure Seas Aboard Sea Cloud II, days unfold at an unhurried island pace, with opportunities to snorkel among coral reefs in Anguilla, explore the tucked-away coves of the British Virgin Islands, and step ashore at UNESCO World Heritage sites like Nelson’s Dockyard and Saint Kitts’ formidable Brimstone Hill Fortress. Between ports, the ship’s crew climbs high into the rigging to hand-set the sails, reviving the almost-lost art of voyaging under canvas.
Or opt for Sailing St. Lucia, Dominica and Beyond Aboard Sea Cloud II, an eight-day journey through some of the Caribbean’s most enchanting landscapes, from the volcanic peaks of Saint Lucia to the lush rainforest shores of Dominica. Swim from remote beaches, stroll through charming colonial towns and soak up the region’s rhythms both on shore and from the deck of this romantic tall ship.
The Pacific Northwest
Photo: Michael S. Nolan
Scattered through the waters that abut Seattle, the San Juan Islands are home to remote wilderness that feels like the ends of the Earth—and they’re the first stop on the eight-day Exploring British Columbia and the San Juan Islands adventure. Paddle along where pine forest meets the sea, or hike inland for views of the inky blue ocean beyond.
Across the border, the stately provincial capital of Victoria has lush English-style gardens, baroque architecture and sailboats bobbing in the harbor. After crossing the Johnstone Strait, it’s on to Alert Bay to learn about the cultural heritage of the Kwakwaka’wakw people. The trip winds down in Vancouver, but not before a final dose of wilderness: hikes and kayak excursions in Desolation Sound, a wide expanse of deep water framed by lush temperate rainforest and the snow-capped Coast Mountains.
Explore the Pacific Northwest >
Costa Rica & Panama
Photo: David Vargas
Costa Rica’s lush landscape is one of the easiest to reach for American travelers at just under three hours from Miami. In no time flat you can find yourself within reach of toucans, monkeys and tropical rainforests.
On Costa Rica and the Panama Canal, travelers can spend just over a week getting to know some of the greatest natural and man-made marvels on the globe. Start your journey in Puerto Caldera, then venture to Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula, one of the most biodiverse parks on the planet, where you can plunge into waterfall basins and listen to the calls of capuchin monkeys and scarlet macaws overhead. Take Zodiacs into the blue-green waters of Golfo Dulce and watch for rare birds flitting amid the canopy, snorkel in the UNESCO-listed bays surrounding Isla Coiba, and transit the many locks of the Panama Canal, a wonder of engineering, which comes aglow after sunset.
Baja California
Photo: Ralph Lee Hopkins
The southernmost tip of the Baja Peninsula is too often pigeonholed as a beach-resort hotspot, but those intrepid enough to look beyond the swim-up bars and breakfast buffets of Los Cabos will find themselves rewarded with one of the globe’s great marine paradises.
Board the National Geographic Venture on Baja California Discovery: Exploring Mexico’s Gulf of California, an 11-day expedition that journeys deep into this UNESCO-protected sea, where striking desert islands meet crystalline marine reserves. Regular marine safaris offer the chance to spot dolphins, sea lions and multiple species of whales, while stops at remote outposts like the Midriff Islands reveal half a million nesting seabirds packed onto postage-stamp-sized shores.
Or celebrate the season on Baja California Holiday: A Living Sea and Desert Isles, an eight-day voyage through one of the most biodiverse marine regions on Earth. Kayak along sculpted coastlines, snorkel among acrobatic sea lions and watch for leaping mobula rays and massive pods of dolphins—all set against the fiery sunsets and otherworldly desert landscapes that make the Gulf of California feel far removed from the everyday.
