Bungee jumping is old: gorge swings are in. Polly Bryan launches herself off a cliff in Queenstown for the ultimate adrenaline buzz.

When Jacob Piccinino volunteers to work with disabled children in Pune he starts on the best two months of his life.

Sometimes reality matches up to your dreams. Julie H Ferguson is awestruck by America’s most iconic natural landscape.

One of Adrian Harman-Bishop’s formative experiences was visiting his parents in Papua New Guinea’s highland regions, as the tribes gathered for the Goroka Show.

It’s common to look for cheap air fares online. But William David says that for getting around the UK by train there are even greater savings to be made.

David Calleja gets an insight into an ancient Vietnamese tradition as he takes in a water puppet show, where the actors are wooden and float across the stage.

In search of greener grass, Graham Field buys a motorbike and rides it to Mongolia. Then he wrote rather a good book about the journey. In this extract it’s August and snowing as he crosses the border into Mongolia.

Eric Whitehead flies about as far south as he can to head off on a riding safari through the frozen wastes of Chile’s Patagonian tip,

The marketing director of Titan Travel, Dan Whitehouse, talks to the Travelmag about his life in travel.

David Jenkins take the plunge into the local bathing habits while heading through the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan.

Ugly Marabou storks, endless humidity and tailgating traffic: it’s not easy to find the sunny side of Uganda’s capital city. But Jason Smart finds the streets of Kampala provide insights into East Africa.

Frances Leate finds her sombrero tilted akimbo after a couple of rums too many when she flies into the Caribbean’s finest holiday island (whatever the Americans might say).

Make this the year to expand your ski horizons. Theresa Semackor says the Crystal Ski website is a great place to check out the best new mountain resorts.

Two or three times a year, Mary Vigliante Szydlowski heads down to Mexico to catch a bit of sun. She says Cozumel, just off the Yucutan, is a great place to celebrate carneval – and sensibly stretch your vacation dollar.

Matthew Thomas takes the slow route around Nepal when he takes a trek around the Kathmandu valley.

Age is no barrier to Patricia McCormack as she flies – in her eighties – to Scandinavia for a dog-sled adventure in the land of the Sami.

Michael Goodwin examines the relentless growth of all-inclusive holidays. They might save some money but wouldn’t you be better renting a motorbike and heading off alone?

A 26-day course in Vipassana meditation proves insufficient – or inappropriate – preparation for a serious bit of freelance hiking and then a motorcycle tour of Thailand’s north, but Pascal de Kruyff lives to tell the tale – and learn from his experience.

When he flies into Moroni, the tiny capital of the Comoros Islands, Jason Smart is upset to find no fridge in his room. After a few days on these Indian-Ocean islands, poor relations even to nearby Madagascar, he learns his privations are truly minor.

Germany’s sturdy tradition of serious autumn drinking is an annual fixture on Europe’s travel circuit. Natasha Martí is something of an expert: she’s attended Oktoberfest for each of the last three years.

It’s something of a disappointment to find Jerry Herman’s experiences in Hoi An and Hanoi didn’t extend to explicit sex, but the little pleasures of Vietnamese life prove to be quite exciting enough.