Zipcar, the world’s largest car-sharing service, is making it easier than ever to experience the natural beauty surrounding Portland, Ore. Forty Portland-based Zipcars are now outfitted with either Northwest Forest or Oregon State Park access passes (10 vehicles have both). Anyone with a Zipcar account (easy to set up online) can reserve the pass-equipped cars on a first-come, first-served basis. Zipcar has placed the passes in all Honda Elements, Subaru Outbacks and Honda CRVs, as well as in some Subaru Imprezas. To view which Zipcars have passes, click on the vehicle’s online description and check out its amenities, which also include iPod adapters and bike racks.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
Costa Rica’s number one volunteer tour operator, Tropical Adventures, organizes a series of special projects over the holidays that allow guests to both enjoy fun activities and contribute to the local youth and adults. It offers two nine-day adventures that combine volunteering with fun activities. The first on Dec. 19-27, 2009 includes guests hosting holiday parties at a beach town, a retirement home and an indigenous community. It also features a rafting trip on the Pacuare River, a waterfall tour into Panama and a canopy zip line experience.The second trip, Dec. 26, 2009 - Jan. 3, 2010 involves four days running a summer camp for kids. It will be summer in Costa Rica and the children will be out of school. The camp will offer arts and crafts, sports and games, environmental education and lunch. The waterfall and zip line excursions are also included.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
Binoculars? Check! Camera? Check! Sunblock? Check! Passport? Not required!
AmanganiAmangani, on the edge of Grand Teton National Park and just 60 miles from Yellowstone National Park, makes it possible to go on safari this summer without even leaving the US.
Amangani’s new Wildlife Experience, a nature safari through some of the West’s most glorious scenery, introduces guests to the array of wildlife that runs free in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. More than 300 species of birds (bald eagles, mountain bluebirds, trumpeter swans and sand hill cranes among them) and big game, such as moose, elk, bison, wolves and bears, come into view with the help of an experienced guide.
Available through August 31, 2009, the Wildlife Experience includes four nights in one of Amangani’s Superior Suites, continental breakfast each morning, airport transfers, a full-day guided expedition through the Jackson Hole Valley and onward to Yellowstone National Park (maximum four participants per vehicle) for $1,700 per person based on double occupancy. Two children under the age of twelve can stay with their parents at no charge (breakfast additional).
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
A great guide can make a successful trip just as quickly as an average or sub-par guide can ruin one, says Dan Austin, co-founder and Director of Austin-Lehman Adventures (ALA), a leading active tour company based in Billings, Montana.
With over 20 years in the business, Austin knows what he’s talking about. ALA was honored this year by the editors of National Geographic Adventure Magazine with its highest accolade as one of the “Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth.”
Here are the top traits ALA looks for in selecting guides:
1. Focused with laser-like precision on making sure that guests feel like a V.I.P.
2. Naturally intuitive and has the innate ability to foretell what a guest is thinking or wanting.
3. Spontaneous and can seamlessly deal with the unexpected, both pleasant and potentially disastrous. This means having a Plan B ready in case of such things as sudden weather changes, lodging snafus and road delays.
4. Passionate and eager to share his / her knowledge about an unfamiliar destination.
5. Multi-tasks, switching from chauffeur, coach, and doctor, to teacher, culinary wizard, athlete, mechanic, social worker and psychologist, all in a heartbeat..
6. Has sense of humor and can loosen everyone up to break out of their shell, helping to create strong bonds between absolute strangers.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
Win the vacation of a life time. A crewed-yacht charter from the Moorings and 4 round trip tickets to the British Virgin Islands.
Click here to learn more.
Source: Caribbean Travel + Life
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
A HUNDRED YEARS OF CONTROVERSY MARKED AT THE NORTH POLE
©John Weller courtesy Quark ExpeditionsStunning vistas of ice and snow and rare wildlife highlight Quark Expeditions’ fifteen-day journey to the North Pole in July 2009
A century has passed since the first men claimed to have reached the North Pole. The validity of the claims of Americans Robert Peary and Matthew Henson continue to generate controversy. There is one incontrovertible truth, Quark Expeditions, leading innovators and operators of expedition cruises to Polar Regions, will once again journey to the top of the world with 128 intrepid travelers. From July 9 to July 23rd, the icebreaker, 50 Years of Victory, the world’s largest and most sophisticated nuclear-powered icebreaker, will crush its way through Arctic pack ice to the “North Pole.” Travelers will be accompanied by an Quark Expedition’s outstanding team of lecturers and naturalists.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".