Twelve years ago, get lost launched with Brad Pitt on the cover and a manifesto to explore the world in ways ignored by other travel magazines. Now, 50 issues down the track, plenty has changed but that original pledge hasn't; we're still looking at destinations – some of them much-loved, others unknown – with wide eyes and a sense of adventure.

In this issue, to celebrate the fiftieth 'birthday', we've come up with 50 of the world's most epic places to stay. Covering every part of the globe, from Antarctica to the Arctic Circle, these cool digs span bush huts, boutique hotels and blissful private residences far from civilisation.

“There are many factors travellers consider when they're deciding on their next destination,” says get lost publisher and founder Justin Jamieson of compiling the 29-page special section. “For the readers of get lost, it's less about the club sandwich when it comes to a place to stay, and more to do with the experience they'll have when they're there. We've taken a look at grand residences in Bali and Portugal right through to modest charcoal huts in the midst of a Swedish spruce forest. Some offer a chance to reconnect with nature, others are just completely different to anything else you might come across. Who knew, for instance, you could book a night in a crane on a Dutch harbour?”

There's plenty more destination inspiration in the rest of issue 50. We explore the Peruvian Andes while staying in luxury mountain lodges, hike Germany's Rhine Valley in search of castles and local wine, and take a slow road trip through Bali's wild side. There are also some up-close animal encounters: we check out the inhabitants on Canada's Vancouver Island and are the first publication to get in the water with humpback whales near Western Australia's Ningaloo Reef.

For those tripping to Beijing, we've asked a local for her insider guide. Plus, music lovers will want to book tickets to Nashville and a tiny village in Scotland where, once a year, the locals pay their respects to AC/DC's Bon Scott.

You'll find all this and more in the new issue of get lost magazine. On sale Thursday at newsagents and online from Apple Newsstand and Amazon.

For more information or to organise an interview, contact Justin Jamieson on (03) 9486 0550 or justin.jamieson@grincreative.com.au.