List of World Heritage Sites grows by 13

by Kraig Becker on

The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee just wrapped up its 33rd annual conference in Seville, Spain, where they added 13 new sites to their list of amazing locations around the globe, and made the unusual move of dropping one. The new list of World Heritage Sites now stands at 890.

Of the 13 new sites, 11 are cultural sites and 2 are natural. The two new natural sites are the Wadden Sea on the border between Germany and the Netherlands and the Dolomite Mountains in Italy. The cultural sites include such places as the Tower of Hercules in Spain, The Sacred City of Caral-Supe in Peru, and Sulamain-Too Sacred Mountain in Kyrgyzstan. For a complete list of the new sites, check out the official press release here.

The former World Heritage Site that was dropped from the list was the Elbe Valley in Dresden, Germany. The committee expressed concern over the fact that a new four-lane bridge was being built through the Valley, and even attempted to give warning of this action, placing the site on the Danger List back in 2006. When construction proceeding anyway, they felt they had no other choice, but to drop the Valley from their list.

Three other sites have also been put on notice that they could also be dropped in the future. The Belize Reef Reserve System in Belize was put on notice mainly due to the harvesting of mangrove trees and excessive development in the area. The Los Katios National Park in Columbia was added at the request of the Columbian government to help mobilize international efforts to protect the region and The Historical Monuments of Mtskheta in Georgia were listed as “in danger” over concerns with the preservation of the edifices located there.

Despite reports earlier this week, the Everglades National Park has not yet been placed back on the danger list. The committee intends to study the situation and make a more informed ruling in the future.

The new additions to the list are excelent, and it gives us an amazing life list just pursuing these World Heritiage Site. Forget the “1000 Places To See Before You Die” and just focus on these 890.

DreamTours makes your cycling adventures a reality

by Kraig Becker on

Have you ever wanted to go on an epic cycling expedition? Perhaps explore the Serengeti by mountain bike or maybe ride the Silk Road? Perhaps you’ve always wanted to go on a cycling adventure to some remote place, but just weren’t sure how to prepare or handle the logistics. If so, you’re luck, as DreamTours is here to help!

DreamTours comes to us from the same team that organizes the annual Tour d’Afrique, an annual ride from Cairo to Cape Town, crossing 7500 miles of African wilderness in the process. The concept behind DreamTours is simple, come up with a great idea for your cycling adventure, post it on the DreamTour website and invite friends, family, and cycling buddies to vote on the concept and weigh in on the idea. If you get enough people to join your tour, the DreamTeam will handle all the logistics and make the adventure a reality. The best part, you’ll get to ride for free!

The DreamTour website acts like an online forum for adventure cyclists. Once you create your account, you’ll be able to post your ideas for cycling adventures, vote on the tours posted by others, and leave comments or questions about those trips. If you see one that looks interesting, you can elect to join the tour, or recruit riders to join your adventure, and you’ll soon be off and riding. If your tour sells out, you’ll get to go along for nothing, or you can choose to apply your discount to the entire team, saving everyone money in the process.

With the DreamTour team taking over the planning process, there will be nothing left for you to do but train for your cycling adventure. Once they have everything organized, and the logistics in place, you’ll simply hop a flight to your destination, and hit the trail.

Gadling quiz – can you guess the nationality?

by Scott Carmichael on

Have you traveled enough to recognize 10 different nationalities? In today’s quiz, you’ll have to pick the right nationality for each of the photos.

There is a twist though – you only have 10 seconds to answer each question, and the longer you wait, the fewer points you’ll earn.

If you know your stuff, you should be able to score over 650 points. If you score under 300 points, then you should try cheating, or traveling more.

So, click the “read more” link to start the quiz, and don’t forget to leave your score in the comments!

Gadlinks for Monday 6.22.09

by Brenda Yun on


I just watched “The Hangover” last night and the exorbitant amount of money that was spent in just two evenings in Las Vegas made my head spin. There’s something about Vegas and road trips that throw reason and budgeting out the window, I think. For a more realistic view of the travel experience, you might want to read these great

‘Til tomorrow, have a great evening!

For past Gadlinks, click HERE.

The top ten beach hotels of the world

by Scott Carmichael on

European hotel booking site Trivago, recently released the results of their guest survey to find the ten best beach hotels in the world.

The lineup has a bit of a European tint to it, and no hotels in North or South America made the cut. Still, the list has 10 hotels I wouldn’t mind spending some time, and I’m not even that much of a beach fan.

Most of the hotels offer their own private beach, which means you won’t have to share any of it with the commoners who were not lucky enough to stay at your upscale property. Prices for the rooms start around $500/night, with the most upscale rooms going for as much as $10,000/night in the high season (for a private over-water bungalow).

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