Atlas Obscura is excited to unveil our lineup of new 2017 international trips! These carefully curated expeditions will be filled with the unique and the obscure, the curious and the wondrous, as well as bountiful opportunities for in-depth discussion with artists, academics, non-profit workers, students, musicians, and more. From architectural oddities to natural phenomena, mystifying history to seductive rituals, Atlas Obscura promises no shortage of surprises.

We have already sold out our expeditions to Bulgaria, Iceland, and Cuba taking place in January through February, and in the coming months, we will be adding several other trips in addition to those you see here. For some of these, we are only providing dates and destinations, but stay tuned—tantalizing itineraries are coming soon.

March 9–12: Journey Into Darkness: Iceland
March 31–April 7: Expedition Amazon
April 27–30: Hidden Havana
May 25–29: Berlin’s Wunderkammer Unlocked
June 23–30: Music and Medinas of Morocco
July 11–16: Pazza Venezia
July 27–31: Summer Days in Iceland: Family Trip
October (dates TBD): Bhutan and the Kingdom of Happiness
September 21–25: Paris Underground 
November 2–5: Celebration of Souls in Mexico City

For our latest announcements, check our Trips page and sign up for our Trips Newsletter.

Journey Into Darkness

March 9–12, 2017 (optional extension to March 13)

Trip Cost: $2,699 (Flight not included)

 

An abandoned plane wreck, cliffs brimming with seabirds, and the world’s premier phallological museum—these are just a handful of the things you’ll see on our March expedition to Iceland. The days will be short and the nights long as we learn about Icelandic culture, explore Viking history, and hunt for the breathtaking Northern Lights. (See full itinerary and book here.) 

Expedition Amazon

March 31–April 7, 2017

Trip Cost: Announced Soon

This April, we’d like to offer you a living lesson on the ecology and conservation of one of the planet’s most important habitats: the Amazon rainforest. Join us on a Peruvian jungle adventure allowing us special access to wildlife nestled deep into the Amazon, from vibrant macaws, jaguars and monkeys to butterflies, caiman, and more. While some of the most remote rainforest eco-lodges in the world serve as your home base, you’ll have the chance to discover and observe new species and meet with scientific researchers in the still-untouched Tambopata National Reserve, reachable only by boat. Our group will be led by Dr. Jason Goldman, a seasoned science journalist and wildlife reporter, and Phil Torres, a researcher and science communicator who discovered multiple new species over the course of two years spent in the Peruvian Amazon. He’ll personally show you a few of them—such as the decoy spider and silkhenge—on this trip.

Hidden Havana

April 27–30, 2017 (optional extension to May 1)
Trip Cost: $2,795

Santeria with local practitioners? A spin around Fusterlandia? A behind-the-scenes tour of La Corona Cigar Factory? Together in Havana, Cuba, we’ll wander both main roads and backstreets, storefronts and factories to absorb the vibrant art and complex politics that define this island. Later, we’ll have the opportunity to explore the local countryside for a glimpse at historic coffee plantations, local waterfalls, and some of Cuba’s unique biodiversity. 

Berlin’s Wunderkammer Unlocked

May 25–29, 2017
Trip Cost: $2,499 (Flight not Included)

Germany’s capital is part fairytale, part spy rendezvous—in short, a wunderkammer. Berlin boasts century-old ballrooms, supremely esoteric museums, architectural oddities, and even a Monster Kabinett. Together, we’ll also explore spaces filled with the weight of history, including the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the Stasi Museum, Tempelhof Airport, and Berliner Unterwelten (Subterranean Berlin). On this jam-packed whirlwind wunderkammer tour, we’ll introduce you to spots that longtime locals aren’t even aware of.

Music and Medinas of Morocco

June 23–30, 2017 (optional July 2 extension)
Trip Cost: $2,999 (Flight not Included)

If you’ve been dreaming of falling asleep tucked between soft sand dunes and under a sparkling kaleidoscope of constellations, then you should come join us in Morocco. But stargazing in the desert of Merzouga is only one of this trip’s many unique moments; you’ll also have the opportunity to visit the oldest university in the world, wander around crumbling, 14th century tombs overlooking a modernizing city,  visit Roman ruins, and tour an expansive film studio on the fringes of town where you can wander the sets of movies like Kingdom of Heaven and Gladiator. We’ll talk with musicians, artisans, and academics as we take in the sounds, sights, spices, and long history of this diverse nation. Interested travelers can also stay an extra two days to experience the Gnaoua Music Festival in the coastal city of Essaouira. The festival features a diverse and eclectic selection of contemporary jazz, pop, rock, and soul, and some of the funkiest concerts in the current music scene.

Pazza Venezia

July 11–16, 2017

Trip Cost: Announced Soon

Come to the other side of Venice to take part in a local music festival and experience the famed city as you never could as a tourist—by joining the entourage of the crowd favorite mambo-psycho brass band, Gato Loco. By day, we’ll explore local islands and abandoned churches, and by night, we’ll enjoy Gato Loco’s special performances, parties, and most of all—watch the fireworks and dance on the beach until sunrise at the Rendentore Festival, an event that began in 1576 to celebrate the end of the plague. On this extremely special once-a-year trip, you will stay in homes rather than hotels, and eat with local musicians, friends, and relatives rather than at restaurants. Once initiated into this tight-knit musical family, you’ll swap gondolas for Gato Loco’s motorboat and speed down the canals; for after the cruise ships leave, the real party begins.

Summer Days in Iceland: Family Trip

July 27–31, 2017 (optional August 1 extension)

Trip Cost: $2,769 (per adult, flight not Included)

In these deep days of winter, imagine a summer expedition to Iceland, full of wide open spaces and lush vistas—not to mention an Elf School and Sea Monster Museum. You’ll have the chance to splash around in the Blue Lagoon, gaze upon a vibrant crater lake, visit the country’s most famous historical site, and wander on foot below majestic whales. In the company of our curious kids, we’ll take in the country’s natural wonders as well as its many delightful oddities for a trip that will inspire imagination and wonder in all of us, young and old.

Bhutan and the Kingdom of Happiness

October, 2017 (specific dates coming soon)

Trip Cost: $3,649 (Flight not Included)

Bhutan is perhaps known best for its chart-topping levels of gross national happiness, for its beautiful scenery, and for its strict tourism requirements. On this trip, you can investigate the first, enjoy the second, and avoid the third. We’ll see distinctive Dzong architecture, ancient Buddhist sites, and get a feel for local arts and crafts. These are eight days filled with an emotional richness you won’t forget.

Paris Underground

Updated: First week of October, ending with Nuit Blanche
[Originally listed as September 21–25, 2017]

Trip Cost: $2,595 (Flight not Included)

Come with us to explore the darkness within the City of Light—after all, why visit the Louvre when you could be slipping inside the Museum of Vampires and Legendary Creatures? These are the types of questions one asks when traipsing the streets of Paris with Atlas Obscura. What about the Gravestone Courtyard, a carousel of extinct and endangered species, and one of the oldest medical collections in Europe—not to mention the Catacombs? Together, we’ll consider the more sinister exhibits at the Musée de la Magie, and even experience a dinner enjoyed in total darkness. There is so much of Paris yet unseen—and we want you to join us in seeing it (or sometimes, just tasting it).

Celebration of Souls in Mexico City

November 2–5, 2017

Trip Cost: Announced Soon

Join us in Mexico City for All Souls’ Day, otherwise known as Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead), one of the country’s most celebrated holidays. Together, we’ll observe unique ways of honoring friends and family members who have passed, while experiencing the colors and sounds of this vibrant city at their zenith. When we’re not engaged in festivities, we’ll poke into a local market dedicated to mysticism, peer inside the city’s “megalibrary,” and perhaps take a short reprieve at the Museum of Everyday Objects.