Travel Insurance Advice

Posted on February 5, 2010 by Adventures Within Reach

We highly recommend travel insurance for any trip you take.  You just never know what is going to happen before or during a trip.  Many people do not realize that travel insurance covers things like your hotel if your flight canceled or delayed, lost or stolen baggage, and trip cost if a family member becomes hospitalized.

There are many travel insurance companies, and the coverage varies in subtle ways.  When picking your travel insurance, check the coverage that applies to you.

Hurricanes, earthquakes, and mudslides

No one could have predicted that a mudslide would shut down the train to Machu Picchu or that Haiti would be devastated by an earthquake.  Will your travel insurance cover you?

Scuba diving

If you plan to scuba dive, there may be restrictions like you have to dive with a dive master and less than 100 feet.  You may need DAN coverage as well as travel insurance.

Hot air balloons

If you are doing a hot air balloon on a safari, you may need additional coverage.

Rental cars

With most travel insurance companies and credit cards, this is “secondary” insurance.  This means that they will cover whatever your regular auto insurance does not cover.  Travel insurance with “primary” coverage is better if you are renting a car.

Non-medical Evacuation

If you are stuck at Machu Picchu because of a mudslide, will your travel insurance get you out?

Groups of 10+ and student groups

If you purchase your travel insurance as a group, it is often greatly discounted.

Purchase quickly

If you purchase your travel insurance within days of your initial deposit, many extras are included like pre-existing conditions and terrorism.  Read the fine print!

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Travel Packing Advice

Posted on February 4, 2010 by Adventures Within Reach

I am very proud of the travel packing lists on the AWR website.  I feel that they are very complete, apply to everyone, and are easy to read.  But, that’s not to say they are the be-all-end-all.  Here are few more words of wisdom when packing for your trip.

Airline Tickets

Make sure the names on the tickets match your passport.  This is getting tighter and tighter every year.

Credit Cards

Some credit cards charge high fees and ugly conversion rates for international purchases.  Check with all of your credit cards to which ones are best for international travel.  Rumor has it that Capital One cards and Charles Schwab cards have the lowest fees.

Copies of travel documents

Make a copy of all travel documents and any personal documents you have (passport, credit cards, etc.), and leave one copy with someone at home, swap copies with a travel companion, and put one copy in your email or Google Docs. I always make a copy of the back of my credit cards as well since that is where the phone numbers are located.

Wallet

Wallets are the first things to get stolen, so leave them at home and put everything in a money belt.

Shoes

Flip flops are small and lightweight and can be very pleasant in a not-so-pleasant hotel bathroom.  Also bring newspaper plastic bags to store shoes in case they get muddy.

Photograph everything

Take a picture of everything you have packed.  If something is stolen, you have a record for your travel insurance.

Packing

Use a packing cube or envelope to make all your clothing smaller, more organized, and less wrinkled.  I used to ignore this piece of advice, but I am sold on them now. If you are afraid of things getting stolen out of your luggage, check out PacSafe bags.

Clothing

Morino wool shirts are very comfortable and dry quickly.  Jeans do not dry quickly and are heavy.  Sarongs are great at the beach and also as a shawl.  Bring a clothes line, sink stopper, and detergent and cut your clothing in half.

What Not to Pack

Large quantities of beauty products (make-up and electronics), too many clothes, things you can buy along the trip, multiple guide books, jewelry, and valuables.

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My Favorite Travel Websites

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Adventures Within Reach

I recently updated our “cool travel links” web page.  These are my favorite websites for preparing for travel to any of our great destinations.

PLANNING TOOLS

Farecast

  • Predicts trends in airfare over time in North America, Europe, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Also searches major airlines and airfare websites to compare prices and best times to fly.

Kayak

  • Searches over 140 websites for the best airfare, compare and sort results, and book directly from the airlines. Use the Buzz tool to search an entire area.

Points

  • Earn points for various airline frequent flier plans, trade points with other people, exchange miles between your plans, or buy more points.

Seat Guru

  • Find the best seats on an airplane based on airline and airplane type. A great stop before choosing your seat.

TripHub

  • The Evite of trip planning. Organize your group trip by creating a home page, sending invitations, and discussing plans.

TripIt

  • Creates an itinerary and maps from your booking confirmation emails including travel agencies, airlines, hotels, rental cars, trains, cruise lines, and even restaurants reservations from OpenTable. Email your confirmations and TripIt will add daily weather, local maps, driving directions, city guides and more.

Yapta

  • Track specific flights, and Yapta alerts you when airfare goes down. There is also a method for getting a refund if your flight price goes down after you buy it.

TRAVEL INFORMATION

Currency Conversion

  • Just one of many currency conversion tools.

Flight Arrivals

  • Check arrival and departure information for commercial airline flights over the U.S. and Canada.

Flight Stats

  • Airport information and flight schedules for all airports in the world.

Google Mobile

  • Search for just about anything from your cell phone. Text message your search query to 466453 (‘GOOGLE’ on most devices) and Google will text message back results. Examples: “flight nw 956” returns all arrival and departure information for that flight for today, “10 usd is euro” returns the currency conversion, “weather nairobi” returns today’s weather and 3-day forecast.

Security Checkpoint Wait Times

  • See how long you can expect to wait in security at major U.S. airports.

Travel Sense

  • Travel advice and tips from travel agents for everything ranging from women traveling alone to avoiding travel scams to dealing with jet lag and lots more.

Units Conversion

  • Convert just about anything to anything.

World Electricity Guide

  • See what electrical converter you will need for any country in the world.

World Fact Book

  • Information about each country including map, background, geography, people, government, economy, communications, and transportation.

World Time Zone

  • A quick map of the world and what time it is right now.

World Time Server

  • Current local times around the world plus gadgets for your computer or website.

U.S. Embassies

  • List of U.S. embassies around the world.

TRAVEL FUN

Geocaching

  • Use your GPS to “treasure hunt”.

TRAVEL SAFETY

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

  • Information on vaccinations, diseases, drinking water, and more for international travelers.

Travel Warnings

  • Current travel warnings issued by the U.S. government.
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Canadian Climbers Make A Difference

Posted on December 9, 2009 by Adventures Within Reach

On January 22, 2010, a 12-person Canadian Team will be volunteering in Tanzania with Make A Difference Now (MAD) and will set foot on the world’s highest free standing mountain, Kilimanjaro. The week long trek with Adventures Within Reach ventures on the spectacular 6-day Machame Route.

Following the expedition to the summit, the team embarks for a week on an even greater journey to serve the needs of orphans in the village of Himo, Tanzania.  At least $10,000 will be raised and invested for the construction materials and supplies of a science lab school classroom.

“The hands-on team building experience is an opportunity to learn, an opportunity that will be very rewarding. It’s important for us to give back,” said one of the team members, Gordon Tozer, President of ConCreate USL, a leading Canadian construction company.

The dynamic, all-Canadian team is coming from Lennoxville, Quebec and Toronto. Everyone is excited to give back and make a difference in the lives of the orphans. They are thankful to have already received an immense amount of support from friends and colleagues. In coming back to Canada they look forward to the opportunity to share within their respective communities both their experience and the specific needs of the orphans.

More information and donate to the charity climb >>

Posted in Kilimanjaro, Sustainable Tourism, Tanzania | Leave a comment

Fit For Trips — a fitness program for your adventure trip

Posted on November 24, 2009 by Adventures Within Reach
Hiking in Peru

Hiking in Peru

Fit for Trips offers easy-to-follow video-based fitness programs crafted to ensure that you will feel great while exploring new places and learning about other cultures. Whether you are just getting started with a fitness routine or regularly train for athletic challenges, Fit for Trips offers trip-specific conditioning routines for adventurers of all levels.

All Fit for Trips fitness programs will help build your physical capabilities so you feel more energized, more confident and ultimately more satisfied on any of our once in a lifetime adventures. With Fit for Trips, you’ll enjoy getting ready for your trip almost as much as the trip itself.

Fit for Trips has designed special fitness programs for all adventure trips offered by Adventures Within Reach.  Programs range from 4 weeks to 15 weeks and prices start at $169.  AWR clients get an 8% discount off the regular prices!

Fit for Trips was founded by a team of adventure travel fitness experts dedicated to improving the physical fitness of adventure travelers worldwide.  And every program comes with a money back guarantee if you’re not satisfied for any reason.

Fit for Trips for Adventures Within Reach >>

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Zanzibar Music Festival February 11-16, 2010

Posted on November 18, 2009 by Adventures Within Reach
Zanzibar Music Festival

Zanzibar Music Festival

Sauti za Busara, Zanzibar’s popular music festival is scheduled for February 11-16, 2010.

Featuring top-quality musical performances by more than 400 established and upcoming artists (40 groups in total), Sauti za Busara has already established itself as one of Africa’s leading music festivals. It is an event that unites people in celebration.

The main stage of the festival is within Stone Town’s historic Old Fort. Performances run from Thursday through til Sunday, starting in the late afternoon, and continuing virtually non-stop into the evening, with the final band taking to the stage around midnight.

For visitors, tickets are $16/day general admission (standing) or $28/day seating.  Tickets for all 4 days is $36/person general admission or $64/person for seating.

Book you trip to Zanzibar Island in Tanzania >>

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AWR Helps Break World Record

Posted on November 4, 2009 by Adventures Within Reach
Denver Goirlla Run 2009

Denver Gorilla Run 2009

Adventures Within Reach is excited to announce that we helped break the Guinness Book of World’s Record for “most people dressed up in gorilla suits”!  Our staff were part of the 1061 record-breaking “gorillas”.

It was a balmy day for the Denver Gorilla Run on October 31, 2009 and quite hot inside the gorilla suits.  The AWR staff were dressed as “safari” gorillas.  In the end, few of us ran in heat — most walked or rode bicycles.  It was a beautiful course through downtown Denver and along the river.

The sad part of the story is that there are only 740 gorillas left in the world. It was a harsh reality when standing altogether and realizing that there were fewer mountain gorillas than people ready to race.

Adventures Within Reach Breaks World Record

AWR Breaks World Record

AWR is proud to support the Mountain Gorilla Conservation Fund. This great program has been dedicated to the preservation of the Mountain Gorilla ever since Dian Fossey asked for help back in 1985. AWR supports their efforts to keep the highly endangered Mountain Gorilla alive in the jungles of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

You can still donate to this great cause:

Adventures Within Reach offers gorilla treks in Uganda and Rwanda.  We recommend a minimum of 11 days in Uganda, which also includes 2 days with chimpanzees.  You can visit the gorillas in as few as 3 days in Rwanda, but a longer is better to really enjoy the country.

Learn more about gorilla trekking in Uganda/Rwanda >>

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Peru Tours Available on Your Cruise

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Adventures Within Reach

When your cruise ship docks in Callao (Lima vicinity) or Puerto General San Martin (Paracas), we can pick you up at your dock, provide a day trip or tour and return you at the end of the day, prior to your sailing !

Our guides speak excellent English, vans are large and roomy, your group size can be small: 2-10 persons.

When you book with us, you may then put your tours and prices on your cruise ship’s chat mail or blog and let us know of others who are interested in joining you. We accept payments from the individuals in your group, send a reservation confirmation to everyone…and provide a wonderful tour for your time in Peru!

We specialize in Peru cultural tours and treks, and are most pleased to help you with your plans!

Day Trips For Lima

  • 1/2 day tour of Lima (colonial and modern), in a group or private guided tour (08:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.).
  • 1/2 day tour of a Lima museum (your choice of Larco Museum, National Museum or the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology), private guided tour (08:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.).
  • Full day culinary tour in the Lima vicinity (markets, cheviche and pisco!), including lunch at a typical Peruvian restaurant, in a group tour (09:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.)
  • Full day tour of Lima (colonial and modern), lunch at a typical Peruvian restaurant, tour of Pachacamac Archaeological Complex, in a group or private guided tours (08:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)
  • Add the Hacienda Mamacona’s Peruvian Paso Horse Show, Dinner and Folklorica Dance Program (4:00 – 8:00 p.m.), if you are in Lima on a Thursday, and your cruise ship does not sail until 10:00 p.m.

DAY TRIPS/TOURS FOR PARACAS:

  • Full day tour of Paracas National Preserve (private tour) and boat tour of Ballestas Isles (sea lions, pelicans, penguins and dolphins), with lunch on your own (07:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.).
  • Full day to Ica for a Nazca Lines overflight, visit the local Ica museum and Ica shops, with lunch on your own (09:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.).

MORE ON CRUISE SHIP DAY TOURS AND PRICING >>

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Climb Mount Pisco With AWR

Posted on October 16, 2009 by Adventures Within Reach
pisco_map

Route to Summit of Mt. Pisco

Climb Mount Pisco! The West Peak of Pisco is 5,752 meters (18,980 feet) above sea level and an excellent mountain to climb for a good introduction and acclimatization to climbing. There is only one difficult 50 meters ice pitch. This mountain has a spectacular view of the mountains in the Cordillera Blanca, such as Chacraraju (6,108 meters), Chopicalqui (6,354 meters), Huascaran (6,768 meters), the Huaydoy’s (6,393 meters) and the Artesonraju (6,108 meters). The first ascension by the normal route to the West Peak was by the SW ridge, in 1951.

Climb Nearing the Summit

Climb Nearing the Summit

There are several itineraries for climbing Pisco. They depend on your previous climbing experience, your physical fitness, and your acclimatization to the altitude. All itineraries start in Huaraz, but you may add the Pisco climb to your 5-day trek in the Cordillera Blanca (Santa Cruz loop), by starting in Cashapampa.

**Add Cordillera Blanca Trek

  • Duration: 3 to 5 days (3-days, 4-days, 5-days)
  • Season: May to November
  • Prices per person: starting at $620 per person (3-day climb)

FOR EXPERIENCED CLIMBERS: If you have done this climb…or it seems too tame for you…we can offer other climbs in the Cordillera Blanca:

  • Urus –same difficulty as Pisco
  • Ishinca –same difficulty as Pisco
  • Tocllaraju — technical climb, must be well fit
  • Alpamayo — technical climb, must be well fit
  • Huascaran — part technical climb and resistance, must be well fit

And in the Cordillera Huayhuash:

  • Diablo Mudo — this is an easy mountain, usually climbed on the trek of Huayhuash, as part of the program.

MORE ON CLIMBING MOUNT PISCO >>

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Green Travel Auction

Posted on October 15, 2009 by Adventures Within Reach

Green Travel Auction

Patagonia trip offered at the STI aGreen Travel Auction

Sustainable Travel International (STI) is hosting a Green Travel Auction October 15-31, 2009.

STI has a fantastic assortment of eco-vacations, green hotel stays and incredible tours donated by travel and tourism providers across the globe who are committed to responsible travel.

All proceeds support Sustainable Travel International’s mission to promote responsible travel and ecotourism, support sustainable development, and help travelers and travel providers protect what’s best about the destinations we visit.

Adventures Within Reach has donated a 5-night/6-day Kayak Trip for Two in Spectacular Patagonia, Chile, and bidding starts at just $1500!

Don’t miss this chance to get the vacation you’ve always dreamed of, at a fraction of the retail price, and support a great cause!

Green Travel Auction >>

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