Mega, as in the Biggest Ever, African Adventure Trip

by Jamie Rhein on

Suppose you have time-lots of it. Let’s say you have 44 weeks. Perhaps you’d like to go overland from Morocco to South Africa by way of Egypt. Here’s a travel adventure that will take you through 10 game parks, various cultural and historical landmarks, and enough thrills like rafting and tandem sky diving that you’ll have stories to tell for years. Countries not typical as tourist hot spots are included in the mix. Angola, for example, has only allowed tourists in since 2004.

In Angola you’ll see Portuguese influenced architecture and gorgeous beaches besides the 3rd largest statue of Jesus in the world. The other countries in this multi-stop, pack-in-variety approach are: Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, DRCongo Zaire, Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Egypt.

The highlights of this tour calledTrans Africa. Europe–CapeTown-Nairobi-Istanbul read like a cross between an outdoor wilderness experience, a cultural bonanza and a journey through an African history book. Read the itinerary and you might find yourself chomping to take this trip on. I sure am. R&R opportunities and the chance to luxuriate are built in. Africa Travel Center also offers shorter version African adventures where only parts of this trip are included.

* photo taken in Benguela, Angola by zokete.

Sleddog Vacations: A Winter Travel Adventure

by Jamie Rhein on

Sometimes when one is looking for information on one topic, another topic appears. Such is what happened when I came across sleddog vacations. I wasn’t actually looking for information on sleddog vacations. They hadn’t occurred to me, but somehow with a click of a mouse, there I was wandering through websites on a winter sport that welcomes participants.

Winterdance Dogsled Tours in Ontario, Canada offers two-hour to full-day excursion packages, as well as a moonlight tour. You can stay overnight at their cottage or at one of the nearby resorts. Even with the two-hour tour you can try your hand at driving the team with an experienced guide as an instructor.

Ontario, Canada also has several sleddog races, although according to the website of Ontario Federation of Sleddog Sports, the lack of snow has led to some postponements and cancellations. They are scheduled through the first week of March and there are contact numbers to find out what’s up with each. Ontario Dog Sleding Getaways website has a list of resorts that offer sleddog vacations.

For some hardcore sleddog travel adventure, head to Iceland, Finland, Lapland, Norway or Sweden. Each has sleddog trips that run from a few days to a little over a week. I found a list of several choices at Adventure Sport Holidays. Lest you think this is totally roughing it travel where you freeze at night curled up in a sleeping bag trying to create warmth with your body heat, lodge and cabin stays are the nightly fare. Some packages like Dog Sledding Along the Finnish-Russian Border include saunas, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and elk viewing.

Adventure Travel for Skill-Seekers

by Karen Walrond on

City Slickers, anyone?

Call it a new trend in adventure
travel:  instead of seeking thrills, these adventure-vacationers are seeking skills.  The New York Times is
featuring an article about travel organizations that help holidaymakers not only relax, but learn skills such as
surfing, skiing, even dressage of Andalucian horses.

"Many of our clients want to get out of their
ordinary lives so they can really concentrate on a skill or improve their basic skills," said Ellen Vanuga,
marketing manager and ride consultant for Equitours (ridingtours.com). The company offers instruction-based
horse-riding tours in the United States, Britain and various countries in Europe.

Another company, Access
Trips, does similar tour planning for everything from snowboard instructions, to mountainbiking tuition to, hopefully
soon, cooking and photography.  Geared for adults aged 20 to 45, the company doubled its business in the first
year of operation, and is scheduled to triple in 2006. 

Sounds like a great trend — and we’ll
definitely be looking into tour companies like this for future holidays.  Doesn’t this sound like a great way to
get teenagers into the thought of a cool family vacation?

S. Floridians Second in Nation's Most Adventurous Travelers

by Adrienne Wilson on

If you’re curious to know which Americans are considered the nation’s most adventurous travelers and
seeing the world more than others, this Miami
Herald piece should shed a little light on your research. When they’re not hitting their own sunny, warm, soft,
sandy beaches South Floridians are busy taking second in the nation for travel abroad and they’re not just going to
Jamaica. According to the article South Floridians go just about anywhere from the Himalayan Nation of Bhutan to Latin
America to Africa. And when a road trip is put in effect, you can bet they won’t be stopping in neighboring Central or
North Florida cities, but they’ll be crossing the state line and heading to the Carolinas and the New England area.

What allows them travel more than other Americans? Well, some experts claim it’s the proximity to places to
Caribbean islands and Central America and others note the high number of retirees with the time and money to do spend
weeks in France. Amy Ziff, editor at large for online site Travelocity, notes
the many values and discounted fares available to South Floridians because they travel so often. Interestingly enough,
Miami ranks second in the nation for vacation days not taken. Hmm… Word hard. Play harder. I suppose.

The
San Francisco Bay Area  ranks number one in the nation.