Recently in Tour Guide Category

I'm setting off on a group tour to Morocco next week, and throughout my travel planning, I've been somewhat apologetic as I explain that yes, as a travel editor, I signed up for a tour. So I was heartened to read Daisann McLane's column in our current issue espousing the benefits of group travel, which she noticed on a recent bus trip through Guangzhou, China:

As I sat on a bus wearing a silly cap, eating pork buns, and being serenaded by a karaoke-singing tour guide, I had to laugh at myself. Not that many years ago I was so allergic to anything remotely "touristy" that I even refused to carry a camera when I traveled. I kept a list of "not for me" places--popular attractions, neighborhoods, even nations, that I refused to visit because I thought they'd be "too full of tourists." I considered myself a class apart, a traveler, and that meant going places nobody else did, and going, mostly, alone. Tour groups? No way.

Cool or creepy? A Titanic-themed cruise, created to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the the ill-fated vessel, will retrace its trans-Atlantic journey in April of 2012 (without an iceberg collision, we hope). The cruise, created by Miles Morgan Travel, will follow the original ship's itinerary, departing from Southampton, England, and stopping in Cherbourg, France and Cobh, Ireland, before arriving at the site where the Titanic struck an iceberg on April 15, 1912. There, 100 years after the ship sank, passengers will hold a memorial service for the 1,500 who lost their lives that day. The 12-day cruise will also include a stop in Halifax, Nova Scotia, so that the passengers may visit several of the cemeteries where the Titantic's victims were buried, before finally arriving in New York, the original ship's destination.

Those traveling on the commemorative vessel Bamoral will find it outfitted with many of the same touches used in James Cameron's epic film. "The whole voyage will be steeped in Titanic history," Miles Morgan, the trip's organizer, told the Telegraph earlier this year. "The food served will match the sumptuous menus on the original voyage; the entertainment will include music and dancing in the style featured in those glorious times and there will be a chance to hear firsthand from historians who have studied the Titanic story." Right now, nine cabins have already been sold, for about $3,900 each. 

What's your take? Would you climb aboard the Bamoral to relive and remember Titanic's maiden voyage? 

[Titanic Memorial Cruise]
[Gadling]
[CNN]
[National Geographic Channel: Return to Titanic]

Image: via the Telegraph

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

IT Editor Janelle Nanos is just back from an assignment in Alaska, and is posting some of the highlights from her trip. Check out her photo gallery after the jump.


No visit to Alaska can really be called complete unless you come face-to-face with a bear. Or at least that's how I rationalized my response to coming up close and personal with Scarface, a beat-up old brown bear who came lumbering toward me during my visit to Katmai National Park. While the rest of my group stood up to make themselves appear bigger and clapped their hands to make noise, I did exactly what my guide told us not to do: I froze. Then, I instinctively grabbed my camera, right as another, smaller bear ran past me, four feet to my right. Obscured by my viewfinder, I barely saw him. My father nearly had a heart attack.

Thankfully, Dad and I were in good hands: We'd signed up for a bear-viewing trip out of Kodiak, Alaska, with Sea Hawk Air. Our pilot, Roland Ruoss, is the owner of the company and has been flying his seaplane for over 20 years; his wife Jo Murphy, a Kodiak native, was our bear-viewing guide. We left the idyllic Trident Basin, just outside of downtown Kodiak (if you can call it such a thing) and within moments we were soaring over the island in the de Havilland Beaver floatplane. I was in the co-pilot seat.

Senior editor Norie Quintos has been blogging about her recent trip to Kenya with her teen sons. Click here to see her previous posting.

Back in my college days, when I was young and idealistic, I spent two months with an NGO helping to build a school in Kilifi, on the Kenyan coast. We mixed cement by hand, laid bricks, and lived alongside Kenyan students. Twenty-some years later, I came back, this time with my children. Surprisingly, the structure I helped build still exists, as does my youthful scrawl in the cement on the side of the building. Unfortunately, the students still lack books and furniture and access to educational tools such as computers. I made a monetary donation and left, wishing I could do more. Back in the van, the kids and I talked about the disparities of education and opportunity.

On our first day in Nairobi, we visited the community center and school supported by our tour operator, Micato Safaris. The fancy Range Rover pitched and rolled over rutted dirt lanes lined with a random assortment of gummed-together wood, thatch, corrugated metal and cement dwellings that make up Mukuru, an unregulated district of 600,000 squatters about six miles outside the city. (For a bigger discussion on slum tours, check out a piece we ran on the subject.) My sons' eyes grew wide in the face of real poverty, so different was it from the kind they consider themselves victims of whenever I deny them a new pair of Nikes. On the other side of the car window, children's smiles--incomprehensively bright--greeted us. There was no denying the discomfort my sons and I felt. But perhaps comfort wasn't the point. The point was to feel, to question, to think, and then perhaps to act. At the Harambee House, visitors saw what previous safari clients have been moved to accomplish. Here, slum dwellers' children were offered food and education and training, young adults taught skills--a way out and up.

Parents think they should have the answer to everything, but I disagree. Sometimes it's enough to ask the questions.

What are your thoughts?

Photos by Norie Quintos

Senior editor Norie Quintos has been blogging about her recent family trip to Kenya. Her previous posts in this series include on traveling with teens, taking care of paperwork, staying healthy, and packing.

From Laikipia, we flew by prop plane (via Nairobi) to the Masai Mara, the fecund savanna immortalized by many a nature documentary. The area supports some of the greatest concentrations of wildlife, including the so-called Big Five (elephant, rhino, Cape buffalo, lion, leopard). Visitors can't help but have high expectations. Lodges are numerous and run the gamut from basic to luxe. We stayed at the recently overhauled tent suites at the Fairmont Mara Safari Club: lavishly adorned in Africana and boasting typical four-star-hotel accoutrements as bathrobe, slippers, hair dryer, sewing kit, etc. With several wheelchair-accessible rooms, a host of modern conveniences, a highly trained staff, and a prime location overlooking a hippo-filled river, it is one of a few lodges on the Mara suitable for families with very young children and guests with mobility issues. 

One problem with the celeb-status of the Mara is that it is in danger of being loved to extinction. The masses of grass-feeding animals attract predators that feed on them, which in turn lures hordes of tourists, many desirous of the type of close encounters seen on Animal Planet and BBC wildlife programs. Drivers and guides feel the pressure to deliver on unrealistic expectations, putting unsustainable forces on the fragile ecosystem. While off-road driving is not permitted within the Masai Mara reserve, many areas just outside are deeply rutted and pocked. In some cases, the old tracks have become impassable and parallel ones begun.

Senior editor Norie Quintos, just back from an African safari with her teenage sons, filed this report. Previous blogs in this series include taking care of paperwork, staying healthy, and packing.

Norie's teenage sons swim in the Ewaso N'giro River

Teenagers act as if they've seen it all, and in many ways they have--most have been subjected to a 24-hour, hundred-channel television loop; they have viewed every viral YouTube video that titillates, shocks, saddens, tickles, or pulls heartstrings; they've done everything from fly jets to race cars to shoot bad guys in hyper-real videogames; they've seen the wonders of nature in HD-clarity on Planet Earth DVDs.

And yet. Real life trumps virtual reality every single time. And our recent trip to Kenya blew them away like no Playstation, Xbox, Blu-Ray, Imax, surround sound, or new-tech substitute-reality invention ever could. Turns out the travel experience just can't be pixelated.

The trick to traveling with teens is to go beyond the visual and engage all their senses. (I worked with my outfitter, Micato Safaris, to plan such an itinerary.) Thus in the scrubland of Kenya's Laikipia Plateau, Sabuk Lodge was such a hit. Run by Kenyan Verity Williams (that Africans can be white was one preconception busted for the kids), the eight-room ecolodge offers every fun activity and more listed in the popular The Dangerous Book for Boys; in fact the book, as well as its counterpart volume for girls, is displayed prominently on the coffee table.

There's fishing with a stick, string, and bread-dough bait in the Ewaso N'giro River; jumping off boulders into same river; playing outdoor table-tennis with a red-robed Samburu; looking for game on foot and on camel; learning to read scat and animal tracks; and listening to Verity's fireside bush tales (she worked on movie sets, including Out of Africa and The Ghost and the Darkness). Who knows what more we could have done had we stayed for more than a night? While it's hard to say no to all the activity, the languorous lure of the lodge is strong, with its uniquely handcrafted local furniture, open-sided suites overlooking the river, hearty meals served family-style, and quiet library nook.

Irony was not lost on Elizabeth Seward when she climbed into a Hummer to take an eco-tour through the Mexican outback. But the rugged terrain in Baja Sur, while being tough to navigate, offers hidden delights. 

Baja California Sur swells with tourism, despite the drug cartel wars intimidating those watching the news everywhere--or at least in the U.S. The state's pristine beaches draw in vacationers from around the globe. They're hooked on the teal waters, dolphin-gazing, rocky landscape, and perfect weather. But I never hear anyone talk about the Baja Sur outback.

The outback is in Australia right? Well, not if the trip I recently took, on the southern stretch of Mexico's peninsula, is any point of reference. I was invited to embark on one of the most ironic adventures I've experienced so far: a drive through the Mexican outback to the organic farm Rancho La Verdad... via Hummer. At 60 gallons of fuel wasted every 20 miles or so, I couldn't quite grasp the concept of taking a Hummer as an eco-enlightening adventure. But with my interest piqued, I slathered on my 70 proof sunblock for the day and did something I never suspected I'd do in Baja Sur--I turned away from the crystal blue waters and drove off into the desert mountains. I quickly learned that the sun beats down so abrasively on the terrain that the area's only 'river' reminds me of a dried up creek that ran, or tried to run, behind my house in Ohio growing up.

The hawks sound like pre-climatic death-whistles in a western movie in this area of Baja Sur. And as analogies would have it, the area I explored with the company, Baja Outback, was, in fact, the set for the movie, Troy.  If you've seen the film you can be assured that not much was altered from what is an everyday reality for the few daring to live in this seemingly post-apocalyptic graveyard. Coyotes hang dead from already dying trees--a kill and show tactic embraced by local farmers desperate to drive the culprits away from their prized livestock. But beneath the dried and aging shell of the Baja Sur outback, life flourishes--secretly.

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.

What better way to explore some of the country's greatest natural treasures and historic sites than a bicycle tour through the back roads of Florida? And now, you can do it any time of the year! In an effort to help make Florida tourism greener, non-profit organization Bike Florida is bringing back year-round, long-distance bicycle touring for the first time in 25 years.

To inaugurate the new initiative, Herb Hiller and Linda Crider, co-founders of the modern-day Florida bicycling movement, will lead a week-long bicycle tour this October 10-16, starting and ending at Palatka, a rural county seat by the St. Johns River in northeastern Florida.

"For too long there's been no organized comfortable cycling way to discover backroads Florida," says Crider.  "These tours are organized for that, but also for fun."

It's less than a month to senior editor Norie Quintos's trip to Kenya (her third) with her teenage sons (their first). Here's how she's been prepping. This is the second in a series of blogs on the trip. Click here to see the first.

Kenya currently remains under a U.S. State Department travel warning due to "threats of terrorism and the high rate of violent crime." (Many on-the-ground experts say this designation is unfair, undeserved, and politically motivated, but that's another story). I consulted the travel intelligence folks at iJet, who said that if I avoided the northwestern border areas, as all safari itineraries do, and practiced basic personal precautions, there was no reason to stay away. As with any trip to a developing country, or any trip really, I wanted a tour operator that would be able to respond effectively should the unexpected and unlikely happen. There are many established safari companies that fit the bill. The one I selected--New York-based Micato Safaris--maintains deep ties to Kenya; its Kenyan founders still reside in Nairobi. The company also uses the services of a group of aircraft-supported physicians if medical treatment is necessary.

We recently touched base with Dominique Callimanopulos, founder and CEO of Elevate Destinations, a boutique travel services company specializing in high-quality, environmentally responsible travel and philanthropy, to learn more about her company, their trips, and the good work they do in the communities they visit.

What is Elevate Destinations?

Elevate Destinations is a philanthropic travel company that gives back to the communities we visit. We donate five percent of the net costs of all our trips to vetted NGOs active in conservation and community development in the destination countries. Wherever possible, we select eco-hotels and sustainable lodges that also give back to community. We incorporate community engagement and service elements into our customized itineraries. We have become specialists in the area of donor travel: bringing board members and donors from A-list international organizations to visit projects in the field. We've designed trips for Direct Relief International, EcoLogic, KickStart, The Global Fund for Children, and WaterPartners International, among others.

I see you offer trips in Latin America, Africa, India and Bhutan, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia. Which trips/regions are the most popular?

African safaris are very popular. Central America is on the rise, because it is easy to travel to. We are also getting a lot of requests for Southeast Asia and Bhutan is emerging as a compelling destination as well. This month we will also be introducing trips to Mongolia.

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.

Contributing editor Margaret Loftus will help you decide if a European river cruise is right for you. Check out our May/June 2009 50 Tours of a Lifetime issue for more great tours.

By its nature, riverboat cruising is a far more intimate affair than the behemoths that cruise the open seas. Last year, I spent three days aboard the 118-passenger riverboat Swiss Sapphire as it plied Belgium's Albert Canal. Soaking up the local scene is all part of the journey, on the boat and off. "You're not having as big of a footprint, you're able to get more into a destination, rather than looking at it inside of a bubble," argues Tom Armstrong, spokesman for Sapphire operator Tauck World Discovery. Underway, I watched joggers and bikers along the canal from my cozy quarters (rooms range from 150 to 300 square feet) and marveled at how the captain carefully negotiated the river's locks. Onshore excursions typically emphasize local interaction, such as our visit with the chocolatier or lunch at a local's home. Bicycles are provided for those who'd rather strike out on their own.

Outfitters tout European river cruising as a convenient mode of travel - there's minimal schlepping and you only unpack once-- and a good value. Rates range from $150 to $400 a day and are usually all-inclusive--an
especially decent deal when the euro is stronger than the dollar. These days, several operators are offering added incentives for those who book early. Uniworld, for instance, is knocking $300 off the brochure price per person if you book a 2009 cruise and pay in full before May 30.  A plus for solo travelers: Tauck is eliminating single supplements on select river cruises, including its 12-day Budapest to the Black Sea trip.

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

It's no secret here at Traveler that we'll go just about anywhere for a good cupcake. So when our Geotourism Intern Christina Stockamore told us about an actual bike tour with cupcakes built in we immediately demanded she share the details.

Will work for baked goods: Christina, far left, poses with the group.

After purchasing my first road bike a few months ago, I was anxious for the weather to turn a little warmer to join a group bike ride. I noticed that City Bikes, a full-service shop in D.C., offers a weekly 18-mile bike ride called the Cupcake Ramble. The route starts at their shop in Adams Morgan, passes through Rock Creek Park and ends at their other location in Chevy Chase, Maryland. The best part: The ride is led by pastry chef Sol Schott, of the popular D.C. eateries Open City, Tryst, and The Diner.  

So on a recent weekend I decided to try it out, and I met the group at 11 a.m. on Sunday outside City Bikes in Adams Morgan. Sol arrived a few minutes later apologizing for his delay--he had just wrapped up his work in the bakery. I noticed we had a mixture of bikes--road bikes, hybrids, cruisers--and as we got moving, I was grateful that mine had gears.  

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.