Is a river cruise right for your group?

River cruising is ideal for families or friends and groups with shared interests.You can select a cruise suited towards your group’s special interest, such as a wine and culinary cruise or a cultural event.

Or pick an itinerary that will include stops that appeal to your group. Mozart or opera aficionados? Try a Danube cruise that includes Vienna, Salzburg, and Prague. Gardening enthusiasts? Maybe a tulip cruise in The Netherlands. Additionally, your group can enjoy private excursions and activities tailored exclusively for you.

If you’d prefer, you can easily separate during the day for activities and tours that appeal individually, and then meet up again later for dinner or evening relaxation to share experiences.

River cruising has some of the advantages of larger ship cruising such as moving from one location to another without unpacking, but the ships are smaller and go to villages and cities a large vessel would never make. Riverboats dock right in town. No tendering or long road trips to get to the main city. Step off the ship and you’re off and discovering immediately. You’ll be able to explore off-the-beaten-path destinations, participate in authentic experiences, and have more free time to check out local cafes, markets, and sites

Most riverboats hold 150-160 guests and can handle group sizes from 10 to a full ship charter. No lines getting on/off the ship. On-board entertainment includes local performers, artists, lecturers, culinary lessons, and wine and beer tastings. There are special interest cruises with added focus for art, history, food, and holidays of various regions throughout the world.

River cruising is best known for the rivers and canals of Europe – Danube, Rhine, Seine to name a few. But, the convenience combined with the ability to immerse culturally in destinations has broadened river cruising’s appeal to other regions of the world. Indochina, the Amazon, Africa, Russia, China all have well-established river cruise offerings.

Which river cruise is right for your group? Give me a call, I’d love to help you choose the perfect ship and itinerary. 888-429-1929

Travel Gift Ideas - No Matter Who's On Your List

Are you struggling with trying to find a unique and appreciated gift this season?

Do you have everyone from bookworms to adrenaline junkies on your gift list? Everybody has a special interest or hobby and travel is a great gift to acknowledge that activity, provide a new and unique way to enjoy that pursuit, and create lifetime memories.

While major milestones are often celebrated with bucket list vacations, you don’t need a momentous occasion to give the gift of travel. Here is a sampling of a few travel experiences sure to be loved and remembered that might not come immediately to mind when constructing your shopping list:

• Animal Lovers - visit the Lilongwe Wildlife Centre in Malawi; volunteer for Sea Turtle Conservation in Costa Rica
• Adventure Junkies – bungee jump off the Victoria Falls Bridge; live in a yurt on the Mongolian plain
• Book Lovers – Da Vinci Code tour; Literary Pub Crawl in Dublin; tour the Alexandria Library
• Culinary Fans – truffle hunting in Italy; cooking class with Michelin star chef in Mexico
• Dance Enthusiasts – enjoy Tango lessons in Buenos Aires; Salsa clubbing in Havana; learn to Waltz in Vienna
• Fun Seekers – Zipline thru the Rainforest;  race rickshaws through the streets of Siem Reap; drive a dog sled in Alaska
• Sports Enthusiasts – golf at St. Andrews; ski the French Alps; learn to scuba dive off the Great Barrier Reef
• Speed Demons – drive a Ferrari racing car on a track in Italy; participate in an America’s Cup style race in New Zealand
• Theater Fans – see a production at the Globe Theatre in London; a play at the Odeon in Athens; opera in Venice.
• Well-being Enthusiasts – learnTai Chi in Beijing; practice yoga with a guru in India
• Wine Lovers – learn to blend in Provence; harvest grapes in Chile; tour the Australian Wine Country

The list of unique experiences available while traveling is limitless. And, the memories will last a lifetime, unlike most of the “stuff” that we buy?

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Travel Style Part 3 - Custom Itineraries

Custom itineraries are wonderful for small to medium (10 – 100) groups with a shared interest or passion. Unlike pre-packaged tours, the itinerary is designed to your group’s specifications and only your group’s members participate in the experiences. You aren’t a piece of a larger group.

Are you a gourmet or wine club? Maybe you’d like to visit Tuscany and include cooking and pasta making or wine tasting and blending in the vineyards as part of your experience. How about learning to make parmigiana and the best time to press olives?

Is your group a hiking club? Want to hike the Incan trail when you go to Machu Picchu? Or scale Kilimanjaro while in Tanzania?

Are you in charge of fundraising for the local symphony? Maybe a tour of Austria that includes performances of the Vienna Philharmonic, the Vienna Boys Choir, and the Salzburg Philharmonic with a visit to Mozart’s home would appeal to your donors.

Is your family wanting to return to their roots for bonding and shared history? How about a trip to the church where many of your ancestors married and were buried?

I’m sure you get the idea. Virtually any destination or adventure can be customized for your group. It does take an extraordinary amount of planning to detail out the experiences, itineraries, transportation, etc. with the interests and size of the group. But, you have an expert (me) to help you out!

Where would you like to go and what would you like to do with your favorite group of travelers?

Where are the Penguins of Madagascar?

They’re cute, they’re friendly, and thanks to Happy Feet, March of the Penguins, and Penguins of Madagascar they’re very popular! Because they have no natural land predators, they are not afraid of humans. In fact, I found they are extremely curious when around humans and not shy at all.

So where do we go to find these amazing creatures? With one exception, penguins are found only in the Southern Hemisphere. Here is list of regions to find them.

1) Antarctica. Probably the first location people think of for penguins. The ice shelfs and cliffs of Antarctica are home to the Emperor Penguins. There are many islands that host several species of penguins including South Georgia Island and Elephant Island. The easiest way to get up close and personal to these guys is a cruise on an expedition ship. The ships aren’t allowed to dock or anchor on the continent, but they do have permits to take a few passengers at a time by Zodiac to the islands to see the penguins and other wildlife.

2) Africa. Most of the African penguin colonies are located on islands off the southern coast of Africa, primarily South Africa. Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, is one of the more famous islands with penguin colonies. There are also a couple on the South African mainland near Cape Town – Boulders Beach and Stony Point. The Penguin Islands (where else?) of Namibia sports a few colonies.

 3) Australia/New Zealand. Phillip Island, near Melbourne is host to the world famous penguin parade. Every evening at dusk the penguins return to their burrows after a day of fishing and hunting. New Zealand lays claim to being the “Penguin Capital of the World” and there are many colonies of blue and little penguins on the east coast of South Island.

4) Tip of South America. Tierra del Fuego is home to many species and colonies of penguins. Ushuaia, Argentina is a launching point for day trips to the rookeries and if you’re on the Chilean side, Puerto Arenas is your starting point. In addition, the Falkland Islands are home to several colonies. All of these destinations are stops on a Cape Horn cruise. I’ve had several penguin encounters on “Round the Horn” cruises.

5) Galapagos. Many travelers are surprised to learn that there are “tropical” penguins. The Galapagos Islands are the destination of choice for travelers looking to experience an abundance of wildlife in a relatively untouched ecosystem. But, did you know the Islands are the only natural habitat of penguins north of the Equator? One more reason to visit!

So, no. They are not in Madagascar!