Trip Ideas

Calving runs from January to February in the southern Serengeti and around Ngorongoro, and predator activity rises with it.

I went in January myself, after climbing Kilimanjaro, and I can pair the two the same way. The camps that put you closest to the herds go well ahead.

Spring and fall usually miss the summer heat, when the trail can close, and the worst of the monsoon floods. Early to mid-October is the steadiest of the fall weeks.

The whole year's permits sell out in a single morning, months ahead, and that sale decides the trip. I've been through it twice for my own trips, and I plan the rest around the dates that come back.

The rifugi open in mid-June, and July to September is the heart of it. The southern huts close in late September, before the northern ones.

Each hut keeps its own season and its own way of booking, and the southern end runs out of huts first. I plan the stages around which huts are open and hold the beds in order.

Spring and fall are the comfortable seasons. Summer is dangerously hot on an exposed climb with no water, and in winter ice on the chains can turn you around.

The chains go by a permit lottery, drawn before each season, and it closes earlier than most people expect. I apply for the right draw, and Scout Lookout makes a real finish if you'd rather skip the chains.

From May to September the bush is dry, game gathers at water and the grass is short. The Cape is warm and dry from December to March. September suits both, with whales off the coast.

The two halves peak in different seasons, so the month decides which comes first and how long each gets. I build that around the right lodge, and plan for a malaria-free reserve if you'd rather.

Snow and high creeks hold the passes into July, and the Tioga Road opens when the plows finish. So the season is short: July to September.

Whitney's permits and the High Sierra Camps' beds go by lottery months ahead, and the John Muir Trail's start is capped. I enter the draws and build the trip around what comes back.

The markets run from late November to just before Christmas, and many of Vienna's open in early November.

Market weeks bring hotel minimum stays, and the smaller markets keep their own dates. I plan the order of the cities, the trains between them and the hotels.

The route is usually clear of snow and ice from mid-July to mid-September. Even then the afternoon storms mean an early summit.

Sleeping high gives you a night to acclimatize and a spare morning if the weather is wrong. The Boulder Field camp needs a wilderness permit, released once for the whole summer, and I hold it with the climb.

The season is short. Denali's park buses run from late May to mid-September, and the Kenai Fjords cabins close at Labor Day.

The coastal cabins are few and go early, and Denali's backcountry permits are given out only a day ahead. I put the cabins, the water taxi and the rest of the route in order.

The climbing season is the southern summer, November to February.

I climbed it myself, and I can match you to an expedition and the training for it.

Summer brings the heat, then the monsoon from mid-July, which is flash-flood season in every slot. Spring and fall are the windows.

Paria takes a few hikers a day, and the Needles' camps release a season at a time and go quickly. I watch for the nights you want, and plan around the dirt roads and the weather.

Big Bend is a late-fall to early-spring park, and the Park Service says plainly not to attempt its long loop from early May to early October. The Superstitions are at their best in winter and spring.

These routes run on water you carry or cache ahead, and Big Bend's sites are handed out at the park. I plan the water, the route and a fallback for each night.

Commercial trips launch from April to October. Motor trips run until mid-September, and after that the river is oars only.

Trips run short or long, motor or oar, and the good departures fill a season ahead. I match you to the trip that fits your time and how you like to travel.

The high passes clear in July. Glacier's chalets open in early July, and the reliable weeks run into September.

Teton campsites open on a single day in winter, and the chalets book early in the year. I hold the dates for you and plan the days in between.

The permit season runs from late May into early September. Early summer brings higher water; later in the summer the river drops.

Seven launches a day are allowed, and about four of them go to guided trips. I find the departure and the outfitter that fit your dates.

It opens when the spring snowmelt drops, usually in late June, and July into early October is the reliable stretch. July and August have the warmest water; late September and October are calmer and cooler.

The river decides each morning whether it is open, so I build a flex day into the trip. The full top-down route needs a permit released a season ahead, and I time it with the rest of your Zion days.

The huts open for winter the day before Thanksgiving and close at the end of April, then open again from July to September.

Winter nights go through a members' lottery first, and summer opens on one day in the fall. I time the request and add a guide if you'd like one.

Joshua Tree's season runs October to May, peaking from March to mid-April. Death Valley is a winter park, often over 100°F from May to September.

Water is carried or cached along the long trail, and both parks' backcountry permits open months out. I plan the route, the water and the permits, and check the desert roads before you go.

The festival opens in the second half of September and ends in early October.

Festival weeks bring hotel minimum stays and higher rates. I find the hotel and the nights that work, and can pair Munich with the Dolomites.

Oversnow travel runs from mid-December to mid-March, when the interior is open only by snowcoach or a guided snowmobile.

Old Faithful Snow Lodge keeps a short winter season. I put the lodge and the snowcoach together, so you arrive with the geysers on the doorstep.

June to August is the full program, busiest around the Fourth of July. September and October are quieter, with cooler air and changing leaves on the trail rides.

Ranches run from all-inclusive and polished to rustic and relaxed. I match the ranch to how much riding, and how much comfort, your group wants.

The Park Service says the calmest winds and seas often come from August through October.

The island boat sets the trip, so I hold it before the campsite. The campground at Prisoners Harbor makes it possible to walk or paddle between two harbors on Santa Cruz Island.

April to October is the season. Winter storms make the coast seriously hazardous.

Some headlands pass only at low tide, and part of the coast is capped all year. I plan each day around the tide table and hold the permits when they open.

The peak climbing season runs from May to mid-September.

I match you to a guide service and a departure, and plan the nights either side and the training before.

The falls are in full flow in the southern summer, and lowest in the dry winter, when the Okavango is at its flood peak instead.

Livingstone sits about 70 km from the Chobe front, so the falls make a natural start to a Botswana safari. I plan the order around the water.

The Park Service puts the aurora's best season at November to March, when the nights are longest. The season itself begins in late August.

Clear skies are never certain, so I plan at least three nights and keep the days flexible around the forecast.

From June to November cooler air and nutrient-rich currents draw a huge concentration of marine life, with penguins, waved albatross and frigatebirds. The seas can be rougher.

Ships and island lodges sell by route, and the routes visit different islands. I match the route to the wildlife you most want to see.

Teams climb and summit from late April to early July. June is milder up high than May, and the Park Service's own advice is to plan a trip of at least three weeks.

I match you to a guide service and a departure, and plan the training and the courses that come before it.

The Green Mountain Club calls late summer and early fall ideal on the Long Trail. Acadia's color usually peaks in the first three weeks of October, and five of the huts stay open into mid-October.

The huts fill early for the foliage weeks. I hold the nights, then fit the trail and the coast around them.

The releases start the first weekend after Labor Day and run for six weekends. The New River Gorge's fall climbing season runs from mid-September to late October.

The Upper Gauley is for paddlers 16 and over, and the release weekends are set each year. I line up the river, the climbing and a place to stay for the weekend you pick.

December to April. From June to October the Park Service calls the Everglades' mosquitoes intolerable, and it is hurricane season.

The Everglades' sites release a few months out, and Cumberland is reached by a ferry that runs fewer days in winter. I hold the sites and the boat together.

December, when the lobbies are lit, the trees go up and the city celebrates the whole month.

New Orleans is home, and I know which lobby to stay in for the lights. I put you in the right hotel, with the partner perks that come with the stay.

January and September fall between the main school holidays, so the crowds are lighter at both resorts.

I plan the park days, the dining and the resort, and add the perks that come with a Disney resort stay.

Fall is when students are on campus and sports are in full swing, so you see each school as it really is. Holiday breaks and parents' weekends are the weeks to miss.

Campus tour slots are limited and fill quickly. I string the schools together by drive time, hold the tours and book a hotel near each campus.

Late summer, once the bugs fade. On Isle Royale they are worst from late June to early July and gone by late August, and the boats stop running in September.

Boundary Waters permits are capped and open on one day in winter, and Isle Royale runs on its boat schedule. I plan the route around both.

Dog-sled trips run once the lakes freeze. January to March is the heart of it, and the holiday weeks in December fill first.

I match you to a trip that fits your group, a lodge with day runs or nights out on the ice, and plan the travel there.