Dig Up Dinos, Rare Relics on DIY Tours

Travelers seeking more than a beach and a Daiquiri on their next trip can try digging up ancient civilizations. Travel + Leisure lists the trips that let you uncover lost worlds:

• Ica Desert of Peru: Hikers can discover preserved shark teeth, fossilized whales, and even extinct creatures on this ancient former seafloor. Costs no more than the price of a local guide.

• Fort San Juan: This early Spanish settlement in North Carolina welcomes visitors to help dig up 16th-century tools and pottery. $300 per week.
• Crow Canyon Archaeological Center: At this Colorado site, kids and adults can help uncover Anasazi artifacts buried for 700 years. $1,175 per week.
• Earthwatch Institute Expedition at Easter Island: Visitors can work with experts near the famed stone moai statues. About $3,700 for 2 weeks.
• Pioneer Trails Regional Museum: Dig up marine reptiles and dinosaurs at this North Dakota site, once home to the Tyrannosaurus rex and 73-million-year-old invertebrates. Just $100 per session.

Unearth more science-based trips by clicking on the link below. (More travel stories.)