San Francisco’s Pelican Inn: A slice of rural England in California

by Grant Martin on

Nothing beats a crisp, cold beer after a long hike through the woods, and in northern San Francisco that can be found at a place called the Pelican Inn. Located at the edge of Muir Beach and adjacent to the Muir Woods National Monument, the Pelican Inn is well positioned among a variety of trail heads and nature preserves to make access easier for the wandering adventure traveler.

More unique than its location, however, is the style of the Pelican Inn. It’s as if someone — some great creature dug its hands deep into the soil of English countryside, pulled up a quaint little inn from a small, cozy town and dropped it back into the earth fifteen miles north of San Francisco. Positioned at the corner of the property and looking towards the sprawling lawn with scattered clumps of visitors, one could easily transport from the sleepy shores of Muir Beach across the Atlantic Ocean and into some distant borough of northern England.

Inside, the Pelican Inn offers a full range of English fare and character, from a wide range of beers and snacks for passers-by to a small dining room and several inn-style hotel rooms for those staying longer.

To get there, take the 101 north out of San Francisco and then the 1, or Shoreline Highway west to Muir Beach.

Rooms start at $190/night. Pelican Inn: 10 Pacific Way, Muir Beach, CA 94965

[image via Erin Drewitz]

Carnival Splendor back in service on the West coast, repairs complete

by Chris Owen on

Carnival Splendor, the ship that was in the news after it caught fire in November, putting an abrupt end to sailings of the ship from the West coast, will be back in service February 20, 2011.

Taken out for repairs in November, Carnival Cruise Lines announced at the time that all sailings between then and January 16th had been cancelled for repairs to be made. Later, the line had to push that date forward when repairs took longer than normal. Now, the ship is ready to resume normal operations, doing seven-day sailings from Long Beach, California.

“Carnival Cruise Lines continues to be the number one West Coast operator with two ships based in Long Beach year-round, as well as a ship operating seasonal itineraries from San Diego and Laos Angeles. We have more year-round capacity dedicated to the West Coast than any other cruise line and we are committed to maintaining our leadership position in this important market,” said Gerry Cahill, Carnival’s president and CEO.Carnival Splendor has been throughly inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard and Lloyds Registry, a ship classification society, which monitored the progress of repairs during the ship’s dry-dock period.

“We’re obviously very pleased that the Carnival Splendor is returning to service and we’re looking forward to welcoming our guests aboard this fantastic ship,” Cahill said. “We would also like to thank our guests for their patience over the past few weeks, as well as our travel agent partners, the ports of San Diego and San Francisco and all of the government agencies, repair contractors and countless others who have provided invaluable assistance and support.”

Carnival will carry nearly 400,000 passengers a year between Carnival Splendor doing seven-day sailings to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas on Mexico’s Pacific coast and Carnival Paradise doing three and four-day Baja, Mexico itineraries.

Photo courtesy Carnival Cruise Lines


Travel activities at your destination gets twice the money of car rental business

by Tom Johansmeyer on

What do you do when you get to your destination? Well, apparently you spend $27 billion. A recent report from travel industry research firm PhoCusWright says that’s how much was dropped on the travel activities, events, attractions and tour space in 2009. Yep, $27 billion sounds like a big number, and doubtless, it is. But, did you know that it’s almost twice the size of the car rental market in the United States?

Several factors are responsible for the growth of this sector of the travel business, including “a growing aggregator network and advancements in technology and commercial models will power significant growth in advance bookings and online distribution,” says PhoCusWright.

And, it’s going to keep going.

Look for double-digit growth for travel activity bookings via online channels through 2012.

“The challenges of connecting to myriad small providers with limited technical capability and a low average transaction value have inhibited online distribution of travel-related activities,” notes Douglas Quinby, senior director, research at PhoCusWright. He adds that “while the market remains highly fragmented, key activity aggregators and a flood of innovation related to local search, social media and mobile devices are creating unprecedented opportunities.”

[photo by Richard Hsu via Flickr]

REI Adventures offers members 25% discount on select trips

by Kraig Becker on

In 2011, REI Adventures, the travel arm of outdoor gear retailer REI, is celebrating its 25th year of offering great outdoor and active journeys to adventure travelers. To commemorate the occasion, they’re passing on a substantial discount to members of the REI Co-Op, giving them 25% off some of their most classic trips.

In all, there are seven trips that the discount is being applied to. Those trips include a classic safari in Tanzania, a trek to Everest Base Camp, cycling in the Loire Valley of France, trekking the Tour Du Mont Blanc, hiking the Inca Trail in Peru, backpacking in Fitz Roy and Paine in Patagonia, and exploring the Alaskan wilderness on foot and kayak. Each of these trips is considered to be one of REI Adventures’ signature vacations, offering some of the most amazing and memorable experiences for any traveler.

As mentioned, to take advantage of the 25% discount, you must be an REI member. Becoming a member is simple however, and it offers more benefits than just the discount on these trips. There is a one time fee of $20 for the membership, but it entitles you to take part in special events at REI stores, increased discounts on gear items, and a yearly dividend that is based on the items you purchased. That dividend can then be spent on new gear in the store as well. If you’re an outdoor enthusiast at all, then the membership usually more than pays for itself in the first year alone.

Members always receive a discount on REI Adventures trips, but the additional 25% savings is on top of that already discounted price. For instance, the African Safari normally costs non-members $4075. Members get the same trip for $3699, but if you take advantage of the added discount, you can visit the Serengeti for just $2775. Not a bad deal at all.

Dates for the discounted trips are limited, so you’ll want to take advantage of them as soon as possible. To get more details on these adventures and the dates when they are available, click here.

Somali pirates capture American couple and crew on round-the-world adventure voyage

by Chris Owen on

Putting an abrupt stop to the voyage of a lifetime, a US-flagged yacht with four American citizens on board was hijacked 240 miles off the coast of Oman by Somali pirates Friday.

The s/v Quest, a Davidson 58 Pilot House Sloop, was in year seven of a ten-year around-the-world voyage with American owners Jean and Scott Adam and two crew members.

“S/V Quest was attacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean and the four Americans on board are being held hostage,” Omar Jamal of the United Nations said. “The sailing yacht was reportedly … en route from India to Mina Raysut, the industrial port of Salalah, Oman,” Ecoterra added.

The couple has chronicled the voyage on the their website since 2002. An entry from last December listed their stops in 2011 as “Galle, Sri Lanka; Cochin, India; Salalah, Oman; Djibouti, Djibouti; The Suez Canal; and Crete. That gets us to April.”

Both Scott and Jean Adam are certified by the US Coast Guard with a 100 ton master captains license. Designed by America’s Cup designer Laurie Davidson the S/V Quest is a sailing ship with a backup engine range of 3,300 miles

%Gallery-117152%Their planned course would have taken them into dangerous pirate-infested waters off the coast of Somalia. It is not known if the couple knew of the danger or simply ignored it.

Equipped with satellite Internet access and an Iridium phone for emergencies, the California couple sent an SOS message at the time of the attack. Maritime officials said little, if any, radio contact has been made since then reports MSNBC.

“Djibouti is a big refueling stop,” Jean Adam, a retired dentist, wrote of a stop that they were planning just beyond Somalia. “I have NO idea what will happen in these ports, but perhaps we’ll do some local touring. Due north is the Red Sea where we plan to tuck in when winds turn to the north.”

Earlier on Friday, The European Union’s anti-piracy task force said it appeared that Somali pirates had also hijacked a separate vessel, the Alfardous, and its eight crew members in the Gulf of Adenpire.

The Adams capture also came as Interpol said it would spend $2.17million to help African nations fight piracy reports the Daily Mail.

The first phase of the E.U-funded programme would include a digital fingerprint identification system to make it easier to identify pirates and share information on them.

Earlier this week, British frigate HMS Cornwall has freed five Yemeni hostages held by Somali pirates for three months.