by Malori

Summers are always busy at Amazing Journeys and this was no exception. During three calendar months, we do nearly half of our year’s trips, and bring along nearly half of all of our year’s passengers! This summer, 250 amazing journeyers participated in a variety of trips to some incredible destinations.

From the North Pole to South America with Europe in-between, we covered a lot of the earth’s circumference.

We started with Spitsbergen, the closest place on earth to the North Pole.  Our adventure travelers headed north to Norway and then further north to the island of Svalbard in search of the polar bear and they were not disappointed.  Traveling by expedition ship, our Arctic travelers hiked on frozen tundra, rode on a sled pulled by dogs and were transported onto Spitsbergen by zodiac rafts.  Lots of wildlife was spotted, along with 30 polar bears!

Next was our Mediterranean Cruise that began in amusing and colorful Barcelona, this group of 30s, 40s, and 50s, many of them new to Amazing Journeys, discovered Spain, France and Italy and visited some of the Mediterranean coasts most loved cities. We spent our days enjoying the beauty of the Amalfi Coast in Italy, the beaches and foods of Southern France in Nice and the excitement of Barcelona. Biking, wine tasting, pizza eating, walking miles and miles, all with a great group and the warm summer sun, this cruise brought everything we wanted and more!

Our National Parks trip to Colorado and Utah was the perfect summer vacation for those who love nature and beauty. And it’s all right in our own backyard! Visiting four of the US National Parks was a highlight, and having time to hike and soak in the grandeur of it all was breathtaking. Everyday brought new awe-inspiring beauty and adventure, including white water rafting on the Colorado River, a jeep adventure riding over huge rocks and mountains in Moab, Utah, and a highlight, watching sunset over Arches National Park and seeing the “purple mountains majesty” set against rocks so orange and red, it made us cry over it’s sheer beauty! And thanks to our Denver friends who came out to party with us one night in Denver…we loved seeing all of you!

Our 74 Amazing Journeyers experienced a different kind of journey on our Jewish Heritage River Cruise along the Danube River in Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. Some started in Prague, offering an extra few days of touring, while others began their journey in Munich. This trip, our first river cruise, was an opportunity to explore part of our heritage and with it, part of ourselves. It was truly a journey of discovery as we delved into our past and the turbulent times of our Jewish people. Each day was a new opportunity for education as we met with locals like the 101-year-old Holocaust survivor, spending Shabbat with the local community at the Synagogue of Linz, and walking through the same streets that our family members had done in the not-so-distant past. Every day seemed to bring a new realization of our past, and our family members. And, all loved the river cruise experience and said they would do it again!

Peru and the Inca Trail, one of our summer trips, was offered to those in their 20s and 30s and this group got to challenge themselves on the 47 kilometer Inca Trail. This once-in-a-lifetime experience combined four days and three nights of hiking and camping, in the scenic valleys, mountains and high elevations of Peru. Their prize at the end of it all? Reaching Machu Picchu through the Sun Gate on the morning of the fourth day. They were rewarded with a spectacular sunrise, magnificent views, and bragging rights for life! They also enjoyed biking in Lima, the markets of Cusco, learning how to weave, visiting llamas and alpacas, tasting local foods and visiting ancient ruins which dot the country.

Our second Peru group, which was designed for our 40+ group of travelers, got to experience adventure as they hiked, biked and white water rafted their way through Peru. For this group of adventurers, visiting Machu Picchu, enjoying a cooking class and exploring ancient Incan sights were among the highlights.

For those who got to spend a part of their summer with Amazing Journeys, we thank you the opportunity to plan and share a part of your summer with you.

Come join us for next summer! We’re already planning and our trips will be appearing on our website soon! We’d love to show you our amazing world!

-by Erin

Since we announced our cruise to Spitsbergen, we have had people calling and asking: What exactly is an Arctic Expedition Cruise?  Where is Spitsbergen?  Why would I want to book a trip to the Arctic when I have a foot of snow in my back yard?

We thought it might be helpful to hear about the adventure first-hand.  Read the article below to learn more about what exactly you will encounter on an Arctic Expedition Cruise and you’ll see why you should consider joining us on this truly once-in-a-lifetime experience!

Click here for more information on our awesome expedition to Spitsbergen – only 3 cabins remain!

An Arctic Expedition Cruise: What to Expect
by Nellie Huang

I’ve dreamt of going to the Polar Regions ever since I got bitten by the travel bug: the idea of entering one of the most remote parts of the world, coming face to face with wildlife, trudging on ice was intoxicating. So when I was setting off on my Arctic expedition, I had a whole world of expectations.

The Arctic definitely did not disappoint. The wildlife encounters we had, the thrill of hiking on glaciers, the sensation of swimming in Arctic waters and the stimulation provided by the stunning environment – all made it one of the best trips of my life.

Sure enough, an Arctic expedition might not be for everyone. There are those who prefer independent trips to guided tours and those who’d rather stay in the warmth of the cruise then venture out into the cold, choppy sea. For those who are considering going on an expedition cruise, this might help you make your decision.

They are worlds apart. If you’re worried about environmental impact, you’ll be glad to know an expedition cruise is much smaller than a holiday cruise, G Adventures’ M/S Expedition ship takes up to only 120 passengers. Only expedition cruises provide educational lectures conducted by experts onboard, each of them specializing in a different field. Onboard an expedition cruise, passengers also get to receive daily expedition reports and wildlife lists.

Independent travelers who are used to exploring on your own should know that due to safety reasons, passengers are asked to follow behind the expedition leader/guide at all times. There is a strict protocol to this, and for good reasons, as polar bear attacks in the Arctic are not uncommon. That said, for those who are worried about safety, rest assured that safety is the priority of these expeditions and plenty of precautions are taken by the team to make sure the trip goes smoothly.

From previous expedition experiences, I was expecting to go on long day-hikes or landings that would last more than half a day. But as mentioned above, hikes in the Arctic are limited to short walks of not more than three hours due to safety reasons. Each time we did a landing, the expedition team had to spread out and enclose a perimeter and not to mention, carry a rifle with them, to ensure our safety.

Travelers who go on such expedition cruises tend to be adventurous, responsible travelers. There is a wide range of people who come onboard: from retirees to young outdoor travelers to adventure-seeking families. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting people on the cruise, many of whom were solo travelers like me. Some of us have become lifetime friends and we’re already planning our next expedition cruise together.

So if these information about the Arctic expedition cruise fall within your expectations, then don’t hesitate – it’s time to make that dream come true.

Original source: G Adventures

After a long and committed relationship with couples and families, the travel industry is hitting the singles scene full force. There is a growing number of companies exclusively catering to unattached travelers organizing journeys that mix high-end vacationing with coed bonding. Many of these outfits are going beyond the old lonely hearts Carnival booze cruise, rolling out extended excursions to both nearby US National Parks and far-flung locales like Asia, Australia, South America and even Spitsbergen, Norway. 

According to the latest census, nearly half of all adult Americans are unmarried. With young people waiting till later in life to settle down and with more boomers retiring and getting their second wind, the travel industry has a lot of potential single clients. Research has found that 26 percent of leisure travelers took at least one trip by themselves last year. So while many others in the business are just starting to recover from the recession, solo-specific tour operators are reporting two or three times as many 2011 bookings as the industry overall.

Of course, going solo isn’t without its quirks. To begin with, singles-only companies sometimes avoid the single supplement by matching travelers with roommates, a delicate procedure. Then there’s the age factor: Since these trips draw nearly all ages, age-specific trips can lend itself to some people who miss the spectrum to feel left out….yet if a trip is open to too wide an age range it can tend to be too diverse for an interest group.

And women hoping to be surrounded by travel-loving men may be disappointed to discover that the clientele skews so heavily female that a few companies even reserve “emergency” spots for men. 

If you’re already humming the theme to The Love Boat, you’re not far off; while Julie and Gopher may not have been aboard, most early singles tours were cruises. Singles cruises today are no longer limited to just romantic Caribbean getaways.  Quite the contrary as experienced cruisers “outgrow” the fun in the sun idea in lieu of more destination-oriented endeavors.  Indeed, ocean-faring trips are still popular and becoming even more broad with cruising opportunties that not only include Europe, Alaska and Southeast Asia, but unique cruising experiences to far away places like Antarctica, Galapagos Islands and The Amazon.

Still, the singles-travel market now looks much like the general travel industry, with its constant stream of new and more unusual trips designed to appeal to experienced travelers. But no matter how much these companies tout their travel bona fides and stress that they’re not dating services, they say vacationers only care about one thing: more than where they are going, a recent survey showed that they want to know who else is going.

Despite even exotic destinations, it’s really the social side of the trips that has prompts many to sign up again and again.The preponderance of repeat bookers, though, can be intimidating to travelers who show up without knowing a soul. Travelers also report that the trips sometimes develop their own cliques, and even the companies admit that there are often one or two people who need a lot of help being eased into the group. Amazing Journeys, for example works diligently to “cater to the solo traveler”- expressing to first time travelers that everyone traveled with us for the first time once.  By nourishing the lasting value of repeat business while cultivating and catering to first time travelers, Amazing Journeys has had exceptional results in blending the two sources into each and every successful trip.