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Start Planning Your North Korea 2010 Trip Now, Or Else
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.
Tags: Accidents / Fires / Tourists / South Korea Travel / Busan Travel / Package Tours / → All Tags
Japanese Tourists Die At Shooting Range (But Not How You Think)
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.
Tags: Travel Deals / Israel Travel / Religious Travel / Package Tours / → All Tags
Head To The Holy Land This Holiday Season For Cheap
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.
Tags: Adventure Travel / Package Tours / Christmas Travel / Travel Gear / → All Tags
Kijubi.com Offers Holiday Gifts for Thrill-Seeking Travelers
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.
Tags: Adventure Travel / Package Tours / Amazing Race / Competitours / → All Tags
Pay to Play Global Scavenger Hunt's 'Amazing Race'-Like Contest
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.
Tags: Package Tours / Educational Travel / Smithsonian Tours / → All Tags
Smithsonian Journeys Get (Kinda) More Affordable
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.
Tags: Educational Travel / Smithsonian / Museum Travel / Package Tours / Peru Travel / → All Tags
Smithsonian Offers More Than Just A Night At The Museum With New Expeditions
If you've always wanted to make the hike to Machu Picchu to see the Incan ruins, or snorkel alongside the fish at the Great Barrier Reef, Smithsonian Journeys is foaming at the mouth with the desire to plan your trip. Journeys—the official travel program of the granddaddy of all museums, the Smithsonian—launched a new blog series and photo gallery focusing on UNESCO World Heritage sites, those places around the planet that the group deems to have "outstanding value to humanity."
Of course, both the blog and the photo gallery are a way for Journeys to entice you to take its educational tours. But the blog does offer mini history lessons (what do you expect, it's the Smithsonian) for each featured site. For example, one post discusses how shifting commercial routes helped preserve the traditional Vietnamese trading town of Hoi An. And to ensure you're learning something, the Smithsonian enlisted historians, scientists and travel experts to do the blogging.
Tags: Disney / Disney Vacations / Package Tours / Adventures by Disney / → All Tags
Adventures by Disney: The Mouse is On the Loose
We've got nothing against Disney. Family trips to the theme parks in Anaheim and Orlando provided fond memories we carry with us to this day, and of course we've seen all the classic movies. And even though more recent interactions with the company have revealed a keener focus on the bottom line, it's still a quality experience if that's what you're looking for. That's why we're sure the travel industry will be taken aback with the launch of Adventures by Disney, a series of guided tours to various adventurous destinations around the world designed to take the guesswork out of traveling and entice people who might otherwise be too timid to strike out on their own.
Tags: Trains / Package Tours / → All Tags
Not A Real Trans-Siberian Trip
Crossing Russia on the Trans-Siberian should really be about long days with nothing to do, sharing cabins with unusual locals and learning to share your vodka. But a new train set to hit the rails next month is trying to spoil all that.
The new Golden Eagle train will have the largest cabins available on the Trans-Sib route, and each will include ensuite bathrooms, plasma TVs with DVD players and underfloor heating to enhance your comfort as you journey for two weeks from Moscow to Vladivostok.
The thing we really hate is that you'll mostly travel by night (missing out on most of the amazing views of Siberia), and the scheduled day trips sound like they're designed to give the least possible contact with the locals--even the tour of the Kremlin in Moscow is described as private. And please: if you wanna watch all those DVDs on your plasma, couldn't you just stay at home?
[Photo: chill]
Related Stories:
· To Russia With Love (And Underfloor Heating) [Times UK]
· Drinkin' and Stinkin' on the Vodka Train [Jaunted]
Tags: Abercrombie & Kent / Package Tours / → All Tags
Abercrombie & Kent Branches Out in Papua New Guinea
Luxury tour operator Abercrombie & Kent is expanding its footing in Papua New Guinea. Even the tour-averse (and we are) should take note, because PNG is a place where it couldn't hurt to travel with an escort. While we'd basically run free in Rio, we might not do the same in Port Moresby
In addition to the "Ancient Cultures of Papua New Guinea" tour, A&K is offering "The Nature Conservancy: Papua New Guinea" this June for a cool $5,192. The itinerary covers places like Port Moresby, Mt. Hagen, Ambua, and Kimbe Bay, and it's lead by an expert from the Nature Conservancy. This one sounds strictly for the most outdoorsy among us, though the "monkey-faced flying foxes" you'll supposedly spot could be enough to lure anyone.
A&K also offers private packages in PNG for those who need some assistance but limited social interaction. Going at it completely alone is also an option, but you will need some balls.
[Photo: Eric Lafforgue]
Tags: Package Tours / Papua New Guinea / Luxury Travel / Adventure Travel / Abercrombie & Kent / → All Tags
A&K Gets 'Rugged' in PNG for 2007
This year luxury tour operator Abercrombie & Kent introduced a new flavor of trip to its group of travel "series." The "Explorer Series" promises "real, rugged exploration" in "remote" destinations, for the "truly adventurous." A&K will book you into luxury where it lives, but with the Explorer Series, they'll also be ready to stuff you into a yurt if that's what's available. Though we are tour skeptics ourselves, we did love that 50 Tours of a Lifetime feature in National Geographic Traveler.
We are also gonna go ahead and tentatively endorse A&K's Papua New Guinea tour, which is one of the last Explorer packages listed on their website for 2007. That's one trip we'd rather take escorted. PNG is not a place where you want to risk getting sliced up, period. Here's a run-down of how they're packaging it:
Ancient Cultures of Papua New Guinea: Sixteen days through Madang, Mt. Hagen and, um, Port Moresby. Emphasis on culture and nature walks. You will "learn about the diversity of the country and its people through theboundless assortment of tribal art, ritual masks, and statues." You will take a charter flight over glorious, rugged landscapes. You will be in a group of "10-16," which means "16, but 10 sounds better." You will also get to veg out here--add one to the beach lust file. Prices start at a cool $7,990, not including airfare.
[Photo: Eric Lafforgue]
Related Stories:
· Ancient Cultures of Papua New Guinea [A&K]
