Galapagos ranked #1 destination by focused adventure travel site

by Chris Owen on

AvidTrips this week announced the results of its first Top Adventures survey taken in June 25 at this year’s Adventures NYC in Central Park. From a field of 60 domestic and international adventure destinations, the results reveal the world’s top three adventure travel destinations as The Galapagos Islands, the South Island of New Zealand, and Machu Picchu respectively. That caught my attention. Going further I discovered a really easy to navigate, focused adventure travel website that offers a wide variety of adventure travel options complete with ratings on difficulty and activity levels, price and more.

“The launch of our annual Top Adventures survey is part of our ongoing efforts to bring the world’s most amazing adventure trips to travelers” said Sanem Eruçar, Founder & CEO of AvidTrips.

Respondents were asked to select up to three places they most want to visit. In addition to ranking the Galapagos Islands number one, results revealed differences in desired adventures by age and gender.

The South Island of New Zealand emerged the top pick among female adventurers, followed by Machu Picchu and the Galapagos Islands. Male adventurers picked the Galapagos Islands first, followed by Patagonia and Yosemite National Park.

Travelers in the 18-34 age group would like to visit the South Island of New Zealand, the Galapagos Islands and Machu Picchu, whereas adventurers in the 35-54 age group selected Bora Bora, French Polynesia, the Galapagos Islands and Yosemite National Park as their most desired adventure destinations.

AvidTrips is a different sort of website that empowers adventure travelers to discover and book adventure trips directly with the world’s leading adventure tour operators, skipping the travel agent.

“Whether you’re a horseback rider or trekker, scuba diver or cyclist,we aim to bring you the widest selection of the most exhilarating adventure experiences – so you can focus on finding the trip that’s right for you.” says AvidTrips on it’s website.

After joining via Facebook, users can pick activities and see a map of where they are being offered world-wide. I chose “climbing” and was presented with a map showing organized tours at various locations, complete with a description of what is being offered and a price.

Just for fun, I picked a tour called Everest Base Camp with Island Peak (like I could survive it) and got a quick overview of what to expect along with a detailed description of all that would be happening. Included too were alternative but related tours and resources for further investigation.

This is good stuff to simply kill some time on a hot summer day or get a serious idea of what is involved, when the best time to go is and what costs might involve.

Flickr photo by alh1

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Photo of the day – Statue of Liberty

by Alex Robertson Textor on

The Statue of Liberty is beyond iconic. It’s the sort of place that most visitors to New York seek to visit, even if they’re not sure why, the sort of place with a symbolic and cultural reach that goes well beyond your average top tourist attraction. Today’s beautifully realist Photo of the Day, by Flickr user jwannie, depicts the Statue of Liberty as many visitors might encounter it, framed by a boat window.

Have an image that you’d like to see as a future Photo of the Day? Submit it to the Gadling Group pool on Flickr. If we like it we might just select it to be a future Photo of the Day.

Shutters on the Beach partners with Kate Spade to offer bicycles for guests

by McLean Robbins on

One of our biggest loves of late has been hotels offering retro-chic activities for guests, particularly those of the outdoor variety. Which explains our excitement when we saw the image, above, featuring Adeline Adeline bicycles styled by Kate Spade for luxe Santa Monica hotel Shutters on the Beach.

The shiny green limited edition bikes are available to guests with a custom neighborhood bike map, which includes suggested stops like the Dance Doctor for twirling lessons, A+R for the coolest design finds and Bountiful for vintage cake stands in candy colors.

Parked outside the iconic Shutters on the Beach, guests can snag a bike from the hotel’s Activity Center for $10 an hour or $25 a day; guests in Premier and suite categories may utilize them on a complimentary basis.

Check out the adorable video for even more info:

5-star beaches open, safe and monitored

by Chris Owen on

Summer is in full swing, all those summer travel tips are either being used or ignored and it’s time to head to the beach. If that beach is open. An annual survey of water quality and public notification at U.S. beaches found that the number of beach closings and advisories in 2010 reached 24,091 the second-highest level in 21 years.

Our friends at WalletPop.com reported last month on The Best — and the Dirtiest — Beaches in the U.S. They told us about the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and their 21st annual list rating many popular beaches. Let’s take a closer look at the top beaches that made “Superstar Beach” status in the NRDC 5-star rating guide. Those Superstar beaches deserve special notice for not only receiving a 5-star rating this year, but for having perfect testing results for the past three years, indicating a history of very good water quality.Delaware: Rehoboth Beach-Rehoboth Avenue Beach, in Sussex County

More information from Rehoboth.com:

“Rehoboth Beach is a beautiful small town on the East Coast featuring enjoyable year round weather, beautiful real estate, great restaurants, and tax free shopping – all just two hours from Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia. Rehoboth Beach offers plenty for the whole family to do, including its one mile Boardwalk, its beautiful clean beaches and water, and its many other recreational activities.”

Delaware: Dewey Beach, in Sussex County

NorthJersey.com describes Dewey Beach

“A sun-dappled and libido-fueled testament to hedonistic beach life, come the height of summer, tens of thousands of fun-seekers flood into Dewey Beach, Del., a costal town with a year-round population of about 350 that can swell to 30,000-plus on summer weekends. On a mile-long stretch of sand between the quiet seaside town of Lewes and the popular family resorts of Bethany Beach and Fenwick Island, this is where hard-partying, binge-drinking youth congregate for all-night wilding.”

Minnesota: Park Point Lafayette Community Club Beach, in St. Louis County


GoDuluthMn.com tells us:

“As you drive along Duluth’s Skyline Parkway, you will see something unusual as you look down towards Lake Superior. In the central part of Duluth, just across the Aerial Lift Bridge, is a long strip of land. Park Point is the world’s longest freshwater sandbar (more than five miles long) that stretches out into the largest freshwater lake in the world.”

New Hampshire: Hampton Beach State Park in Rockingham County

From HamptonBeach.org:

“Where else along the Seacoast can you find 80 free evening concerts taking place throughout the summer and fantastic fireworks displays every week? Where else can you spend a spectacular summer day on the sands, sandwiched between refreshing Atlantic surf and row after row of accommodations, amusements, boating adventures, restaurants, and shops?

Only at Hampton Beach, a great beach and a whole lot more!”

See more beaches at NRDC Ratings for a Selection of U. S. Popular Beaches.

The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an environmental action organization that uses law, science and the support of 1.3 million members and online activists to protect the planet’s wildlife and wild places and to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all living things.

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The Country’s Biggest Tourist Trap: South of the Border

by Paul Brady on

There is a tourist trap in South Carolina called South of the Border. A combination truck stop, motel, roadside attraction, carnival and snack stand, it’s high kitsch of the first order, bordering on exploitative with its stereotypically Mexican “mascot” Pedro. A couple days before the Fourth of July, when I drove through, it’s also a bonanza for fireworks, all manner of which are legal in South Carolina, even if they’re sold at exit one, just south of the border with North Carolina.

Traveling the American Road – Exploring South of the Border


It started as a half-way point on the haul down to Florida, a convenient place for New York- and Boston-area families to spend the night while driving to Walt Disney World and Miami. But faster speed limits, not to mention cheaper flights, a growing number of chain hotel outposts and the economic downturn, have left South of the Border as more of a curiosity than a much-needed overnight waypoint. It’s hokiness is no longer a draw but rather something to be snickered at after you get back in your car and continue down I-95.

One saving grace is Fort Pedro, an explosives depot masquerading as a fireworks stand. A $699 collection of bombs, mortars and various other sparklers was the most expensive package I saw; simple firecrackers seemed unavailable in any quantity shy of 1,000. Packages as bright as the magnesium blooms they promised went on, row after row, as giddy shoppers stacked their carts. One group had assembled an arsenal so formidable it seemed destined for either resale in a control state or the ultimate end to the chunk of South Carolina in which they’d be ignited.

My friend Rob, who was along for this part of the ride, suggested we buy dozens of sparklers to hand out during the Fourth, the better to make friends with. Our best find were yard-long behemoths, in a pack of eight, for about a buck a pop. We declined to purchase super-light hot air balloon-inspired lamps, like you see in Southeast Asia, for fear that we’d spark yet another Lowcountry brush fire. I did buy a South of the Border bumper sticker for a dime.

The rest of the attractions were by turns unappealing or disappointing. The reptile house didn’t seem worth an outlay of $8. The hat shop had precious few hilarious headpieces. The most that can be said of the ice cream stand is that it serves ice cream.

Visitors can ride to the top of the famed South of the Border sign, taking in the view from the “sombrero.” But the open road was waiting. We didn’t feel the need to hang around any longer: we had real stops to make.