Results tagged “Tour Guide” from Intelligent Travel Blog

It's been one long year since the near collapse of our financial system and, if you're anything like me, you're still not completely sure what really happened. If you're in or heading to the Big Apple and want to finally get a handle on what brought about the teetering of all things financial, check out The Wall Street Experience tours.

As a Wall Street insider and laid off, former Deutsche Bank V.P., Andrew Luan knows the collapse firsthand. Now he leads truth seekers through the canyons of downtown New York's financial district, stopping outside J.P. Morgan & Company, Deutsche Bank, AIG, Goldman Sachs, the Bank of the United States, and the Federal Reserve while he explains the complex factors that led to the near collapse. He delves into CDOs (collateralized debt obligations; the type of asset-backed securities many blame for much of the debacle), securities, ratings, and provides tour-goers with an inside view of a trader's life.

Tours start at 15 Broad Street in front of the New York Stock Exchange, and run Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10 a.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m. The Wall Street Insiders Tour lasts two hours and costs $45 per person. On its website, the company mentions it can offer reduced rates for those who can't afford full ticket price--a true indication that these are still tough times and that Luan really gets it. Check out a Q&A with him after the jump.

Many of you have written us wanting to know how to replicate writer Stanley Stewart's motorcycle drive through Sardinia's North Coast. So we asked him to dish the details. Stewart's article, "Sardinia's Carefree Coast," just appeared in our September issue, but you can find the full story here, as well as a photo gallery online.

To book a motorcycle, contact Central Italy Motorcycle Tours (+39 339 1556988) who have a range of bikes including the the Ducati ST3, a good touring bike, from $916 for five days. A slightly cheaper option would be a Suzuki DL650 at $715 for five days. Bikes can be collected in Rome, Milan or Pisa, allowing you to cross by ferry from Civitavecchia, Livorno, Piombino or Genoa. Owned and run by Francesco Venzi, who speaks excellent English, CIMT also offer a range of group or private tours in Sardinia and elsewhere in Italy that include guides, support vehicles, and accommodation.
 
"Sardinia is a biker's dream," Stewart tells us. "The roads are excellent but curvy enough to make the whole thing good fun, and the Mediterranean on your shoulder is a great companion. Inland you can get some wonderful straight runs though it is difficult to keep your eyes on the road as the mountains begin to loom.
 
"What Francesco doesn't know about touring Sardinia, isn't worth knowing," he continued. "He is not only biker, he is a traveler and an excellent guide and has seen parts of the island only the shepherds know. He supplies bikes but he also points you in the right direction, and his group tours, with support vehicles, are one of the most congenial and sociable ways to tour the island."

[Central Italy Motorcycle Tours]

Photo: Stewart rides a Ducati along the coastline, shot by Dave Yoder for the September 2009 issue of National Geographic Traveler

Want a tour guide that will tell you how to avoid getting pickpocketed? Get a former pickpocket to show you around.

Such is the case in Naples, Italy, thanks to a new public program that is arming ex-cons with travel brochures in an attempt to rehabilitate them into society. The Global Post reports that the job-works program, called "Esco-Dentro," or Exit-Inside, helps newly released convicts re-acclimate themselves to public life through jobs like street cleaning, sanitation, and immigrant assistance positions. But what's most innovative is that they've also given 80 former convicts gigs offering tourists advice on staying safe in the city. The (mostly) men, clad in yellow vests, can now be found escorting tourists attempting to maneuver through dodgy neighborhoods, helping with heavy luggage, and offering suggestions to avoid becoming a target of a petty crime (you really shouldn't be wearing that flashy watch, now should you?). Their services are all free, and tipping is discouraged (let's not even talk about bribes).

With organized crime rampant throughout Naples, proponents of the program say that it gives ex-cons an alternative to falling back into the cycle of crime. In fact, police officers in the city actually recorded some displeasure with the plan, as they felt it threatened their jobs. But they've sorted out their problems and learned that they can help each other, the program's director told the Stars and Stripes. Participants each earn $500 a week, and the trial run will last through this November.

"Naples is beautiful. We want to help change its bad reputation of crime," one former convict, Antonio Solla, told the Stars and Stripes. "And who better to know how criminals work than former criminals?"

[The Global Post, The Stars and Stripes]

Photo: Angelica Marin/The Global Post

Watching the Tour de France the past few days has me dreaming of pedaling along the French countryside. (We'll just ignore the prospect of taking on the Alps for the sake of this post - I'm no Lance.) Which is why I was so intrigued to hear about the latest offering from the swoon-worthy Tour d'Afrique. This tour company, which specializes in trans-continental bicycle trips that let you transverse Africa, slice through Europe, follow the Silk Road, and ride around South America, is now letting you plan your own cycling "DreamTour."  Touting "if you can dream it, you can do it," these trips incorporate a web 2.0 touch and seem pretty incredible.

Here's the deal: You log on to their site and design and name your trip, plotting the route, uploading photos and picking out the places you'd want to visit. You set the costs for the number of riders, plus hotels, food, crew, and support, and if it's a "do-able" trip, Tour d'Afrique will set you loose to convince your friends and family -- via the social web of course -- that they need to come on board. They can comment and make tweaks, and if you get enough to commit to going, Tour d'Afrique will make it happen, and better yet, you'll get to go for free.

Convinced that this was a novel way to make my dream trip happen, I immediately got the scoop from Henry Gold, the founder of Tour d'Afrique and builder of the Dream. Check out the interview after the jump.

Senior editor Norie Quintos, who edits the annual Tours of a Lifetime special issue currently out on newsstands, talks to Jim Sano, president of San Francisco-based Geographic Expeditions, one of the oldest and most trusted guided tour operators in the country (NOTE: not associated with National Geographic Expeditions), about where the industry is headed and the role travel plays in making the world a better place.

How are current economic conditions changing guided travel?

I don't have a crystal ball, but I can say we have weathered many storms. This one may be more significant than 9/11, SARS, and the Gulf War because it is so global and pervasive up and down the economic ladder, affecting the highest end travelers as well as value travelers.

Are you making changes in your programs?

Yes. We're moving towards shorter and shorter holidays. This has actually been a trend over last few years, but for many people in the current climate, the degree of comfort to which they feel they can be away from home, as well as finding the time, has been foreshortened.

Where are people traveling?

We've seen our South American offerings, including the Galapagos, go up from last year.

I know you are planning programs several years out. What are the new destinations of the future?

Cuba is one of the countries on our radar screen. We have done educational trips to Cuba in the past, but there is a pent-up demand and we're doing legwork on that now and will be ready when conditions change. We're also looking at the west coast of Africa as an area yet to be explored; it is very rich culturally.

Your company's roots are in long adventure treks in Asia. But I've noticed your catalog has diversified and is offering fewer hard-core treks.

Whereas before 80 percent of what we offered in the '70s and '80s was trekking, now it's just under 20 percent. That's true for many other companies that started at the same time. The degree to which people want to do the harder treks has lessened dramatically. The people who used to trek now want to do something softer. They may want to hike during the day, but then they want a hot shower and glass of wine. We've adapted by offering both. There's an upcoming trip we're doing with Peter Hillary (son of Everest climber Edmund Hillary), going to South Georgia Island to retrace Shackleton's trek across the island. Part of group will be crossing with Peter; it's difficult glacier travel. But a majority of the group will stay on the vessel. Of the 80 to 100 passengers, we may get 20 who want to do the crossing. But the others still want the opportunity to rub shoulders and learn from Peter Hillary and top-notch mountaineers.

Fifteen years ago, a recently-graduated British archaeologist decided to walk 2,000 miles across Turkey, following a section of Alexander the Great's ancient path from Troy to Iskenderun (with a heavy backpack and plenty of stops at ruins and ancient battle sites along the way).

Sound crazy?

Well, maybe a little. But it seems to have worked out, because right now Peter Sommer (the aforementioned archaeologist and Alexander the Great enthusiast) is embarking on yet another tour that hits many of the same highlights he explored back in 1994. These days, however, he is paid to do it.

Sommer runs Peter Sommer Travels, which offers expert-led tours throughout Turkey and Greece. Given the background of the tour guides (historians and archaeologists - many with PhDs), the tours are certainly educational, but there is also plenty of time for fun, relaxation, and eating wonderful Turkish meals...oh, and did I mention that the tours get from one place to the next on hand-built gulets?

"We tend to cruise for about three to four hours per day, with stops in idyllic coves for swimming, snorkeling, or something more physical like kayaking or windsurfing," says Sommer. "We normally visit one ancient city per day, usually in the late afternoon, when the heat of the day has passed. That's when our specialist guides bring the ruins and the history to life."

So, basically, sail through paradise, then let an expert tell you stories of past civilizations while you stand on the ground where history was made. I'm sold!

A variety of tours are offered spring through fall. Check out www.petersommer.com for more details. And stay tuned for more amazing and enriching tours in the May/June issue of Traveler.

Photo courtesy of Peter Sommer Travels

If you've spent time on planet Earth recently, you may have heard the term "green-collar jobs." President Obama says they will play a key role in rebuilding our economy, Time published an article analyzing the term's meaning, and author/activist Van Jones wrote a New York Times best-seller on the subject.

So...How exactly does one tap into this new, sustainable business trend?

To find out, you may want to take a little field trip - kind of like when Luke Skywalker went to Yoda's swamp to learn to use the Force, except you get to go to Berkeley, eat at green restaurants, talk to successful business owners, and watch as an out-of-commission railroad car is smashed to pieces and recycled.

Oh, and instead of a little green creature (what is Yoda exactly?), your guide will be an informed, enthusiastic human with East Bay Green Tours.

Intrigued? Read more after the break.
 

We'd like to welcome Traveler Intern Giovanna Palatucci, who is getting her sea legs on the blog with this, her first post. 

Picture this: cows grazing on Beacon Hill, burlesque theaters in Government Center, and waves crashing at the Old State House doorstep. Certainly this is not what Boston looks like today. As modern architecture and planning quickly propel the design of our cities into the future, one group pauses to map out Boston's beginnings and transformation into a major urban center.

The Walk to the Sea, entering its first spring and summer seasons, is the latest walking tour to hit Boston. The route highlights the evolution of the city over four centuries, focusing on Boston's ties to the sea and covering ground that was once part of an active harbor.

The trail follows a one-mile route, descending 100 feet from Beacon Hill to the Long Wharf, passing historic landmarks and modern skyscrapers. Ten glass and stainless steel informational panels mark the path and explain Boston and American history through images and maps. Beginning in May, visitors can log on to the website to download an audio tour for the walk right to their iPods. And we like this eco-friendly feature: a small wind turbine on the top of the last panel keeps the signs illuminated for nighttime tours.

Walk to the Sea intersects two of Boston's famous walking trails: The Freedom Trail and the Black Heritage Trail. For those who can't get enough of walking tours through historic Boston, check out the Fairmont Copley Plaza's Freedom Trail Discovery Package, available this year from April 1 through December 31 for $349. The package includes a one-night stay in one of the Fairmont's elegant guestrooms, two tickets to the Walk Into History tour with 18th-century costumed guides, two tickets to the three Freedom Trail historic museums, and a copy of The Freedom Trail: An Artist's View.

NG News Editor Christine Dell'Amore is just back from a holiday in Paris, and she got to see the city with the help of one helpful local...

Anyone who's visited France has heard about the country's legendary rudeness - even the Mona Lisa only cracks a half-smile. That's why Paris Greeters, a volunteer group of enthusiastic locals-turned-tour-guides, has made its raison d'etre to shatter the snotty stereotype once and for all.

These multilingual welcomers lead free, private tours of the city to make you feel like "a Parisian for a day." The tours, as I learned in December, show you behind-the-scenes neighborhood gems that you probably wouldn't find on your own.