THE SCENIC DETOUR
THE SCENIC DETOUR
Where getting there is the whole point.
Travel is often framed as destinations — you go to see the Eiffel Tower, or hike to a waterfall, or lie on a beach. But sometimes the journey itself is the entire experience. These ten routes are celebrations of transportation as experience: train journeys through mountains, drives along coastlines, boat trips down rivers, and long motorbike treks where the road itself is the attraction. You'll see landscapes you couldn't access any other way, meet people you wouldn't meet sitting in a hotel, and experience the meditative quality of moving slowly through the world. The scenic detours prioritize beauty, time, and the therapeutic effect of sustained travel. The destination at the end is almost secondary.
Kandy to Ella Train, Sri Lanka
$December–March
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Rocky Mountaineer, Canada
$$$$May–October
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Nile River Cruise, Egypt
$$November–February
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Garden Route, South Africa
$$September–NovemberJanuary–April
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Alishan Mountain Railway, Taiwan
$$March–MaySeptember–November
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Ho Chi Minh Trail by Motorbike, Vietnam
$October–April
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Iceland Ring Road
$$June–September
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Southern Alps Loop, New Zealand
$$December–FebruaryMarch–April
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Dog Sledding Expedition, Alaska
$$$$December–March
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Ruta de la Pasa, Spain
$$May–JuneSeptember–OctoberAugust–September
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