Teva giving away adventure vacation to Fiji

by Kraig Becker on

Teva, the company that manufactures a host of great outdoor and travel footwear, is preparing to send a few lucky travelers on a once in a lifetime adventure to the South Pacific, where they’ll have the opportunity explore Fiji aboard a private yacht, while hiking, snorkeling, and rafting through beautiful tropical locations.

The Teva House 2011 contest will select one lucky winner from the U.S., the U.K., the Netherlands, Korea, and Australia, and award them a trip for two to Tui Tai, Fiji in April of 2011. Once there, they’ll spend 10 days living aboard a 140′ long luxury adventure class yacht while exploring remote places that few travelers ever have the opportunity to see. They’ll occupy their time by hiking jungle trails and snorkeling coral reefs that are 100 miles from the closest resorts, while meeting local villagers who seldom see visitors of any kind.

One of the highlights of the trip will be a whitewater rafting excursion, conducted by O.A.R.S., that will send the travelers down the Upper Navua Gorge on Viti Levu Island. Towering walls of black lava, overgrown with giant ferns and other jungle foliage, are the hallmark of this spectacular trip, which has been described as a “river of Eden” unlike any other place on Earth. That full day adventure will include lunch on a sandbar at the heart of the canyon and a chance to interact with villagers that still travel the river on their own handmade bamboo rafts.

For more information on this amazing trip and to enter the contest, simply go to TevaHouse.com and select the flag of your home country. Then, fill out the form and start working on your tan. It gets very sunny in Fiji.

[Photo credit: OARS]

Travel missing among fastest growing Facebook pages

by Tom Johansmeyer on

What happened to the hotels, resorts and destinations? These naturals for social media didn’t make the cut on All Facebook’s list of the fastest growing Facebook pages. Media and celebrities dominated the list, which consists of Facebook pages not on All Facebook’s leaderboard, but even there, there isn’t a travel-related site until #37, the destination- and company-agnostic “I need a vacation!!!”

Of course, there is no shortage of travel content available on Facebook, from Gadling‘s page to resorts such as Turtle Island on Fiji. And, social media marketing is starting to creep into thetourism and travel business. There have been some successes, such as JetBlue and Southwest, but the gains haven’t been as profound as in other industries, particularly media. Hotels are lagging. A quick poke around shows that the W Hotels page, for example, has a bit more than 10,000 “likers.”

The travel business is taking steps toward a more robust social media presence, but there’s still plenty of ground to cover. For now, it looks like it’s up to traveler to fill in the gaps! How do you use social media on the road … or to book your trips? Leave a comment below to let us know.

Top five weekend travel media stories

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Here are some of the best travel stories from this weekend’s English-speaking newspaper travel media.

1. In the New York Times, Stephen Heyman profiles six moderately-priced New York City boutique hotels. One of the boutique hotels reviewed even has nightly rates under $200!

2. In the Globe and Mail, Heather Zorzini writes about her night in the apparently quite beautiful Dildo, Newfoundland. (How beautiful is Dildo? Look above.)

3. Tom Neal Tacker dives with sharks in Fiji, survives, and writes about it for Melbourne’s The Age.

4. In the Guardian, Tim Bryan bypasses Prague for Brno, giving the Czech Republic’s second-biggest city the weekender treatment. He eats and drinks like a champ, all for 2000 Czech crowns (under $100).

5. In the Sunday Times, Martin Symington lists seven great spots across the UK (in Cornwall, Cumbria, Isle of Lewis, the Lake District, Orkney Oxfordshire, and Wiltshire) for observing the summer solstice.

(Image: Flickr/joannapoe)

Exciting Repositioning Cruises for the Fall

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Repositioning cruises are the leftovers of cruising. When cruise ships need to move from one port to another at seasonal cusps, they take less conventional itineraries to get from one home port to another. Repositioning cruises can often be booked for less than more conventional cruises on a per-night basis.

Repositioning cruises are also, somewhat ironically, a good option for independent (even round-the-world) travelers. A well-priced repositioning cruise can deliver travelers from one continent to another, sometimes for not much more than an airline ticket, and also permit visits (however short) to many ports in-between. While RTW travelers seldom look to repositioning cruises for inspiration, they should.

One of the more exciting repositioning cruises on the schedule this fall is Holland America’s 43-day Vancouver-Sydney crossing on the Volendam, which will take in Seattle, four ports in Hawaii, American Samoa, Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, several ports in New Zealand, and several ports in Australia. It leaves September 22. The least expensive stateroom on offer comes to $3899 per person.

Holland America is also selling the above cruise with a termination in Auckland (29 days in total) for $2399.

For less ambitious prospective repositioning cruisers, Cruise Critic has published a useful list of some of the more intriguing shorter repositioning itineraries for the fall: 17 nights between Copenhagen and New York on Costa, leaving September 4; 18 nights between Vancouver and Fort Lauderdale on Holland America, leaving September 25; and 16 nights between Rome and Rio de Janeiro on Princess, leaving December 4.

(Image: Flickr/pmarkham)

Galley Gossip: Passenger of the month: Adam Schaffer

by Heather Poole on

Name: Adam Schaffer

Occupation: Media and publishing executive. I am in the magazine business, but had the honor of being on the editorial advisory board of Inside Flyer magazine a few years back

Which is exactly why I picked you as my passenger of the month. Tell me something interesting you learned while working for Inside Flyer: Airline club memberships are huge. Not only is the lounge access terrific, but the agents there can often “get things done” that agents elsewhere in the airport cannot such as upgrades, special sitting, moving flights, etc.

Recently I wrote a post, The passenger didn’t ask for much, about a demanding passenger on board the very same flight you were on. A Gadling reader commented by saying, “I fly all the time and I’ve never seen anything like that ever happen on a flight!” If I hadn’t told you what was happening would you have known what was going on nine rows behind you? I had no idea the incident was as prolonged as it turned out to be. I have a good sense and can tell when “something is up” somewhere on the airplane, but you and the crew handled that situation very well.

Thank you! So how many miles have you flow this year? 20,728 thru march 31st.

Last flight? JFk-LAX

That was my flight, the crazy flight! Check it or carry on? Carry on! I once went to Moscow and St. Petersberg for eight days with a carry on!

It can be done, because I went to Italy for 10 days (Venice, Rome & Positano) with only a rollaboard and a tote bag. Window or aisle seat? Aisle. I do not like to be confined.

Something to drink? Water. I fainted on a flight to Spain on my honeymoon due to dehydration. The next thing I know I am laying in the aisle and the flight attendants are shaking me awake and asking if I’m okay. Apparently I fained and fell against my wife on the way down. My wife tried to wake me and I didn’t move! So she ran to the forward galley yelling, “I haven’t been married 24 hours and I think my husband is dead!”

Wow – I hope you buy a really big bottle of water before each and every flight, especially when you’re traveling on my flight! What type if luggage do you carry? Sturdy and inexpensive. I had a nice Tumi bag I had to check once…and it was ruined. The baggage handling system will eat your luggage!

Sorry to hear that. Any packing tips or tricks? Mix and match. Take as little as possible.

Best shoes to wear through security? Crocs are great, but then your feet get all grimey, so I suggest socks. The TSA does need to find a way to make the whole shoe thing better.

I agree. Any airport routines? I always check to see if the inbound flight is on time and where it is coming from. Sadly airlines will hedge their bets on announcing delays. Then I buy a lot of water.

You sound like a flight attendant – checking the inbound flight for delays! Smart. Best airline experience? Recently I flew on American Airlines from New Delhi, India to Chicago. 15 hours and 40 minutes en route. The new AA business class cabins on the 777 are really nice and the service was amazing. Many meal opportunities and options (and great Indian food) and a terrific choice of on demand entertainment. I was dreading the flight and was actually a bit bummed when it was over.

Nicest airport? Shanghai Pudong, best damn gift shops anywhere.

Favorite airport restaurant? One world lounge in Hong Kong. Get the “Dan Dan Noodles”

That’s all my husband talked about when he came back from Hong Kong, how amazing the lounge was and how great those Dan Dan noodles were. Hotel away from home? Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas

Too funny! I’m pretty lucky on the $1 slots over there. Favorite in-flight announcement? “In preparation for landing..”

Book last read on a flight? We are like that only, understanding the logic of consumer India, by Rama Bijapurkar

Now finish the following sentences…

I can’t fly without my…Ipod and noise canceling headsets

On my last flight…I actually watched a movie and didn’t work. Saw “Yes Man” with Jim Carey

This passenger I sat next to…Got me my current job! (Be friendly to those around you)

I had this one flight…Where the flight attendant actually threw my food at me! (And, for the record, I was just sitting quietly) It was an Atlanta to LA flight, so you can guess the carrier.

If I could be anywhere in the world, I’d…Be in Fiji and nowhere else.

When it comes to traveling I wish…A supersonic plane was in the pipeline somewhere. Would love to do LA to Hong Kong in five hours.

Why do flight attendants…Put up with crap from passengers? I know it’s a customer service thing, but some folks need a good bop on the head!

Next flight: Lax – JFK God willing in business class.

Photos courtesy of (water) Moussefromsacto, (dan dan noodles) Avlxyz, (Fiji) Muzzman