1. A Vacation to the Moon
Space Adventures provides the opportunity for you to blast off in a Soyuz spacecraft for a circumlunar mission. During the seven-day space flight, which reaches top speeds of 17,000 mph, you'll see stars, the illuminated far side of the moon, and the Earth from 250,000 miles away. Candidates must train for four months alongside Russian cosmonauts at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. Two seats are available for $100 million each.
2. A $1 Million Vacation
A battle is brewing for bragging rights to the most expensive vacation. The Emirates Palace resort in Abu Dhabi announced a Million Dollar Travel package that "incarnates pure opulence."Along with first-class airfare and seven nights at a giant suite at the Palace, the package includes:
Chauffeur-driven Maybach at your disposal daily during your stay in Abu Dhabi.
Daily SPA treatments.
Day trip in private jet to Iran where you'll create your own Persian carpet with the country's most-exclusive and best-renowned hand-maker. Day trip to Bahrain in private jet for "a pearl deep sea experience," with the pearl hand-designed settings.
The Emirates is hoping the trip gets it a slot in the Guinness Book of World Records. But it turns out that Leading Hotels of the World has its own ode to opulence. Its $1 million Around the World in 80 Ways trip, which plays off the storied journey of Phileas Fogg, lets travelers recreate the 19th-century around-the-world fantasy experience with 21st-century comfort and flair.
3. A Vacation With Real Mermaids
At a west Florida intersection, where the 21st century runs headlong into 1947, is a roadside attraction that must be seen to be believed. There are no Disney cartoon characters or underwater mannequins, but living, breathing, bubble-blowing mermaids just an hour drive north of Tampa. Weeki Wachee Springs attracts tourists from around the world, and during its heyday attracted celebrities including Elvis Presley. But in recent times the park has fallen into disrepair and is faced with a few financial and political woes.
Weeki Wachee is a theater built into a natural spring-allowing the audience to walk into an underwater world without getting wet. With today's environmental laws, there will probably never be another place like it in the U.S. Clad in their iridescent Lycra tails, the mermaids perform choreographed routines and stories and are sometimes joined by fish, turtles, and manatees-creatures that some say inspired the original mermaid legends.
4. A Naked Vacation
A fun-but-unscientific poll found out that more Americans are open to the idea of naked vacations, a.k.a. nakations. The poll found that 48 percent of Americans would be willing to bare it all at a nude beach. That's up from 31 percent last year. Why the increased interest in nakations? Are Americans' attitudes about nudity loosening up? Or are travelers simply looking to travel light - so they can avoid the hefty baggage fees now imposed by many airlines?
All you'll need for the week (sunscreen, cap, sunglasses, shoes and toiletries) can fit in a small carry-on that will fit under the seat, avoiding even carry-on bag fees. But saving money on baggage is one thing. But what about the risk of sunburn "down there?" It's a real concern, experts say. In other words, slather it on if you take it all off.
5. A Vacation Where You Can Swim With Pigs
Swimming with dolphins? You can go one better! Visit the paddling porcines in Big Major Cay and jump in for a dip if you're brave enough. They won't bite---well, as long as you don't whisper "BLT" within earshot.
6. A Vacation In A Little People Themed Park
If you've hit up all the SeaWorlds and Wisconsin Dells of the globe, why not take a trip to a make-believe town populated by little people? According to TEA, Asia has the fastest-growing theme-park market-with 77.6 million visitors for Asia's top 15 parks alone. One of the region's biggest recent openings was the 2009 blockbuster debut of Dwarf Empire, a hilltop park in southern China devoted to-and almost entirely staffed by-people under four feet tall. The park also gained worldwide media coverage for employing many of the country's height-challenged, who traditionally have had a hard time finding work. Thanks to the park, many of China's dwarves are now gainfully employed as everything from janitors to crown-wearing empresses.
