Preferred Pride hotel program caters to LGBT travelers

by Jessica Festa on

Nearly 100 preferred hotel group members have joined together to create Preferred Pride, a network of independently owned and operated hotels that cater to the needs of the LGBT community. In addition to being “gay welcoming”, these hotels offer equal opportunity employment and are active in their efforts to support the LGBT community.

Certain requirements exist for hotels to be able to join Preferred Pride. Hotels must be either TAG Approved (Community Marketing’s Travel Alternative Group) or be a member of IGLTA (International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association).

The Preferred Pride program was created in order to bring together a diverse group of hotels from around the world who are committed to the LGBT community, as well as a way to learn more about what this community needs in order to have a more enjoyable travel experience.

Korean climbers missing on Himalayan peak

by Kraig Becker on

Three Korean climbers have gone missing on a remote Himalayan peak that has a reputation for being amongst the most deadly in the world. The men had hoped to reach the summit along a new route yesterday, but search and rescue were initiated when there had been no word from them in nearly three days.

Park Young-seok, Kang Ki-seok and Shin Dong-min left Base Camp on Annapurna, the tenth highest peak in the world, earlier in the week with designs on reaching the summit yesterday. On Tuesday however, they radioed their support team in BC to let them know that they were aborting their climb due to dangerous conditions on the mountain. That was the last that anyone has heard from the team.

Realizing the climbers were overdue, the Base Camp team called for help in Kathmandu on Thursday, and a high altitude SAR team was dispatched, along with a helicopter, to search for the missing men. They discovered a rope that they believe was used by the team, but so far they have found no trace of the climbers themselves. It is feared that they may have fallen into a crevasse or been swept away by an avalanche.

Annapurna stands 26,545 feet (8091 meters) in height and has been called the deadliest mountain in the world. The massive peak has a fatality rate of 38%, meaning that for every three climbers who summit, one doesn’t make it back alive. That is the highest death rate on any of the 14 mountains that reach 8000 meters in height or higher.

[Photo credit: Wolfgang Beyer via WikiMedia]

Host and experience budget-friendly local tours all over the United States

by Jessica Festa on

HipHost, a new “peer-to-peer marketplace for socially-hosted local tours“, not only gives travelers a way to experience new cities from a local’s point of view, but also gives people an opportunity to make extra cash.

Anyone who wants to share their local knowledge can be a HipHost and design a tour based on anything they find interesting. Some tour topics include art, culture, fitness, architecture, history, hiking, markets, music, and more. It’s free to sign-up and guests pay for tours in advance, so hosts don’t have to worry about losing money to no-shows.

Moreover, anyone interested in learning about a topic can search for affordable tours and see a region from a local perspective without paying big tour company prices. Afraid you won’t enjoy your tour? HipHost guarantees a full refund if customers are not satisfied.

Some of the many tours being featured right now include:

And many, many more. Click here to sign-up for and/or host a tour.

National Park Service announces fee-free days for 2012

by Kraig Becker on

The National Park Service has announced the dates of its fee-free days for 2012, continuing a recent, and very popular, tradition of waiving entry fees to national parks throughout the year. Next year, travelers will have 17 such days during which they can visit their favorite parks while saving a few dollars in the process.

Earlier this week, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced the fee-free days would include January 14-16 (Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend), April 21-29 (National Parks Week), June 9 (Get Outdoors Day), September 29 (National Public Lands Day), and November 10-12 (Veterans Day Weekend).

In addition to those 17 fee-free days for next year, there are still a few free days left for 2011 as well. All of the national parks will once again allow entry to travelers without paying on Veterans Day weekend, which is November 10-12.

For a complete list of the more than 100 parks that take part in the fee-free program click here.

The concept of not charging for entry to the parks was designed to inspire people to visit these amazing destinations. Considering that attendance has been at record levels the past few years, I’d say it has been successful. Announcing the dates this early also helps travelers to plan around these days, both to take advantage of the free entry or to avoid the crowds that inevitably come with them. Either way, it’s a great opportunity to experience a national park, and I’m glad the NPS is continuing the practice again in 2012.

Photo of the day: Big Bend National Park, Texas

by Elizabeth Seward on

Big Bend National Park, near the Texas/Mexico border, is a lot of things. It is beautiful, but it is harsh. It is expansive, but populated by sharp nooks and crannies. It is dusty, but the Rio Grande flows through it. It is a backpacker’s dream and simultaneous nightmare. And that is why I love this photo by Keith Pennington.

As his backpacking companion sits on a jagged cliff’s edge, undoubtedly contemplating the edgy beyond, many of these elements are caught in this still. The gorgeous landscape is captured, but the tumultuous path is also illustrated. The obligatory bright, hazy Texas sky illuminates a terrain that is, I am sure, just a little bit more daunting through the night. Kudos to the backpackers who brave Big Bend. I hope to one day join their ranks.