The world's wackiest ways to get around

Into (sub)orbit
On a more cosmic scale, the idea of civilians travelling via spaceship was until recently seen as improbable, impractical and absurdly dangerous. While practicality and safety are still being debated, very wealthy people are now traveling to space. Adventure tour operator G.A.P. Adventures currently offers space travel as a vacation category; the privilege of experiencing weightlessness by traveling in a MIG fighter jet will cost you $27,500. Meanwhile, Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic has opened up the queue to fly into the stratosphere with Virgin Galactic, with the first flights scheduled for 2009. Virgin's tickets cost $200,000 at the moment, with a minimum deposit of $20,000.

The rub is that G.A.P.'s (60,000 feet up) and Virgin Galactic's (over 300,000 feet) flights are sub-orbital in nature. That means you ascend to a certain altitude, experience weightlessness for a few moments and return to earth. The Russian Space Agency, on the other hand, currently offers the only legitimate space vacation (flight, room and board rather than just flight), and charges about $20 million for orbital flights to the International Space Station, where you can stay for a week or more (booked through 2009).

By sea
RMS St. Helena
A combination passenger vessel/working cargo ship, the RMS St. Helena (RMS stands for Royal Mail Ship) services several British overseas territories in the South Atlantic, most notably the island of St. Helena (population: 4,000). In fact, it's the only commercial ship making stops at the incredibly remote island, which lies some 1,200 miles from the west coast of Africa and 1,800 miles east of Brazil. Apart from transporting everything from goats and sheep to furniture and auto parts, the ship has 128 berths, accommodating both adventurous world travelers and homecoming residents returning to their birthplace following years spent abroad. There's no theater or casino onboard, and time is typically spent chatting during the daily high tea, reading on the top deck, engaging in silly deck games or gazing ponderously out to sea.

Visiting the island itself is of course part and parcel of the journey. Discovered by the Portuguese, annexed by the Dutch, colonized by the English East India Company, and chosen as the location of Napolean's exile and death, St. Helena has a surprisingly rich history for such a completely out-of-the-way place. But time is running out on the RMS St. Helena. The tiny island will soon get its own airfield, rendering the RMS St. Helena obsolete by 2010 or 2011.

Alaska Marine Highway System
Alaska's Marine Highway is the Last Frontier's year-round ferry system, with about 10 ships (200-750 passengers) covering a route that connects 33 ports — from Bellingham in Washington State all the way up to Skagway and the Aleutians — over thousands of nautical miles. Established over 40 years ago, the "Blue Canoes" have cafeterias and cabins, but little else.

Many passengers — both locals and tourists — choose to bring their own food, and rough it in sleeping bags in the heated solariums or camp out on deck in the tent cities that appear nightly. Pets are also welcome.

No other Alaska option really allows for the opportunity of year-round travel. Winter sailings —where the temperatures may average in the teens or low 20's — provide the opportunity to witness the spectacular aurora borealis or attend the Iditarod.

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