Sleepyheads finally have a tour that accommodates their schedules. The Crack of Noon Tours, as you can tell from the name, forgo the early-bird jaunts that force you to wake up at an ungodly hour when the sun isn't even out yet, in favor of a midday starting time whenever possible.

What's nice is that a noon tour time means that you'll have the morning free to do what you want, rather than being rushed through an itinerary. Who are we kidding? What it really means is that you'll be able to sleep until 11:50 am and grab some items from the hotel's breakfast buffet before sprinting out the door. ]]> Jennifer Kester 2010-05-26T09:06:52-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/17/12318/627

They won't take our advice, but they'll still take our money: Despite an absence of diplomatic relations between the countries, Americans can still travel to North Korea, so long as you go when they want you to go, and with whom.

Visiting North Korea is allowed only during the annual Mass Games involving thousands of North Koreans performing complicated choreography and moving into intricate patterns like a college marching band on steroids. The games are normally held August through October, during which Westerners can travel with a tour group—since the government will assign you an escort to make sure you only see the North Korea they want you to see. Now is the time to start planning and booking those trips.]]> egw 2009-11-17T13:29:29-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/16/43635/572

You might think a shooting range could be a slightly dangerous place to visit on vacation because there's that small chance you could get shot. Unfortunately, eight Japanese tourists were killed at a Busan indoor shooting range in South Korea on the weekend, but ironically, because a fire burned the place down.

So far there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the fire, although they seem to think it started in a sofa near the entrance (cigarette butt, anyone?). The Japanese group was on a two-day trip to Busan, which is one of the closest parts of South Korea to Japan.]]> amandak 2009-11-16T09:19:28-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/12/203416/10

Why not consider going beyond the commercialized gift-giving this holiday and make a trip to the Holy Land? Travelzoo offers a package that'll take you to the sacred spot and other sites in Israel. It's a 10-day, eight-night trip with airfare and accommodations included that'll cost you $1,299.

For the three-city tour, you'll be shuttled around in a bus to places like the ancient Roman port of Caesarea, the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth and the Old City of Jerusalem. You'll stay four nights in Jerusalem, two in Galilee and two in Tel Aviv. As part of the package, you'll get nine meals—eight breakfasts and one dinner. ]]> Jennifer Kester 2009-11-13T08:59:27-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/10/23524/481

As the holiday countdown begins, it's time to start shopping, like it or not. If you have an adventure traveler in your life, or heck, just want to reward yourself with a present, we suggest checking out the gift certificates for Kijubi.com. The website offers tickets for activities as diverse as bike tours, skydiving lessons and off-road jeep tours.

The drawback is that as of now, the site only caters to travelers heading to California, Nevada and Florida. But hardcore thrill seekers will head to those states just to participate in recreational activities such as air combat. Yes, air combat as a recreational activity. You get to fly real military planes under the guidance of active-duty Marine Corps and Navy fighter pilots. Although the pilots do the flying, you'll get to call the shots for the plan of attack.]]> Jennifer Kester 2009-11-10T10:24:24-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/28/31647/943

Update: We apologize for calling Global Scavenger Hunt a TAR clone. It actually debuted in 2000, one full year before Amazing Race.

The Amazing Race has spawned yet another clone. The Global Scavenger Hunt, similar to companies like Competitours, sends wannabe TAR contestants in a race all over the world. Thing is, instead of a million-dollar prize, you'll have to settle for a "World's Greatest Travelers" trophy and free race entry next year to defend your title. You'll also have to pay to play; the race costs $9,900. It's a lot of dough to play your favorite TV game, but it does include all international airfare, hotels, about 40 percent of meals and special event gear.

All the details and the little bit of charity, after the jump.]]> Jennifer Kester 2009-10-28T14:54:18-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/26/6147/0022

It's not often that package tours excite us, but every time we read about the Smithsonian Journeys we get really itchy feet. The catch is that the price tag for the once-in-a-lifetime journeys is relatively high—usually pretty fair considering they include interesting experts and experiences that the average traveler often misses—but still kinda pricey.

But this could be your lucky week since a Smithsonian promotion arrived in our in-box with the promise of discounted prices, and we sat up and took notice. The tours are still not exactly in the budget travel range, but they're a little more affordable. ]]> amandak 2009-10-27T10:39:17-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/