PICS: Celebrity Adventures of a Lifetime

Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand were the first people to ever cross the Atlantic in a hot-air balloon in 1987, and were also the first to cross the Pacific in 1991.

TV star Bear Grylls made the Guinness Book of World Records when, in 1998 at age 23, he became the youngest British climber to ever ascend Mt. Everest and return alive. In 1997, the adventurer became the youngest British person to ever climb Mount Ama Dablam in the Himalayas.

Gwyneth Paltrow joined celebrity chef Mario Batali, New York Times food writer Mark Bittman, and actress Claudia Bassols for a culinary tour of Spain for the 2008 PBS series "Spain... on the road Again."

Ewan McGregor and his buddy Charley Boorman traveled from Scotland to South Africa on motorbikes in "Long Way Down," a 2008 special for the FOX Reality Channel, which followed their 15,000 mile journey across two continents and countries such as Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Namibia. Ewan previously did a journey from London to New York for another special.

Jessica Biel and Emile Hirsch climbed Africa's highest mountain, Mt. Kilimanjaro, in 2010 to spread the word about the global clean water crisis. The actors joined Grammy-nominated musician Kenna in his effort called Summit on the Summit: Kilimanjaro. Biel, Hirsch and Kenna joined fellow climbers Lupe Fiasco, Isabel Lucas, Santigold and several others on a week-long journey.

These celebs don't spend all their time kicking back in the limelight, they're off adventuring around the world. Read on for some amazing celebrity excursions!


Up first, Prince Harry joined the Walking with the Wounded expedition in the spring of 2011, helping to raise money for wounded vets, making the trek all the way to the North Pole.