Huatulco Travel

The ultimate adrenalin rush? The book suggests the Big Shot Ride in Las Vegas. Compressed air rockets people to the top of a tower about 150 feet high. Because the ride starts 110 stories in the air atop the Stratosphere observation tower, the view is astounding. Other options: run with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain or swim with sharks in South Africa.

If you're looking for something a bit calmer, check out the section, "Best Beaches to Swing Hammocks." The destinations are Egypt, Lithuania, Tanzania, India and Malaysia.

Skiing the Haute Route between France and Switzerland is the ultimate in the adventure category. Expect to take a week to cover the 140-kilometers that cross 20 glaciers and offer views of some of the Alps' tallest peaks. If hiking is your thing, simply wait until summer. Other ultimate adventures include: mountain bike riding on the 230-kilometer Icefields Parkway between Jasper and Lake Louise in Canada; mountain biking at Moab in Utah; kayaking in Glacier Bay, Alaska; and swimming with killer whales in Norway.

Tough times don't mean you can't have a shot at happiness. There's a town called Happy, Texas, or visit Bhutan in the Himalayas where the gross national happiness is an official measure. Lonely Planet says Denmark is the world's most contented country because of its high standard of living and 11 national cycling paths that connect cities with the surrounding countryside.

Snorkeling at the Galapagos Islands made the list of Ultimate Places to Enjoy Water Sports.

"Nowhere else can an underwater dip involve a dance with a sea lion, a glimpse of a penguin and a close encounter with a prehistoric-looking marine iguana," the book says.

Water also is the prime attraction when you white-water raft the Zambezi River in Zambia, surf in Indonesia, canoe in Boundary Waters, Minn., or take a leisurely ride in a "punt" on the River Cam in Cambridge, England.

Central Illinois' own Route 66 made the list of the Best United States Road Trips. Others include the road through Yosemite National Park and the Alcan Highway that runs from Alaska through the Yukon to Dawson's Creek British Columbia. The Strip at Las Vegas also made the list.

Taking a vacation away from home in hard times requires some planning. Among Countries That Can Still Be Traveled on the Cheap, check out India, Iran, Indonesia, Nepal, Poland, Laos, Jordan and Morocco. Iceland leads the list of Best Value Destinations, followed by Japan, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Ethiopia and the Dominican Republic, among others.

Don't write off tourist traps. Some are worth the crowds, according to Lonely Planet's group of experts. They single out the Grand Canyon among them. Others include: the Eiffel Tower in Paris; Florence, Italy; the Pyramids in Egypt; and the Taj Mahal in India.

Want to hang out with some interesting people? Try one of the World's Strangest Festivals. The Rosewell UFO Festival in New Mexico is America's entry in the category. Consider the Baby-Jumping Festival in Spain, or the Boryeong Mud Festival in South Korea, where you get down and dirty or get arrested if you try to make a clean get away. Mexico has the Night of the Radishes, where local carvers use the small vegetable to recreate everything from Nativity scenes to key moments in history.

Other categories include: Ultimate Train Trips; Ultimate City Breaks (New York made the list, Chicago didn't), and places to get kissed, married and to break up. Most Awesome Treks include the Overland Track of Australia, the Inca Trail of Peru, GR20 of France and the Narrows in Zion National Park. Take only the bare essentials to visit one of the Top 10 Places to Go Skinny-Dipping. The onsen, or hot springs, in Japan are mentioned along with Formentera, Spain, a geothermal lake in Iceland, and sauna/ice swimming outings in Finland