Super Rad Organization II...

Hello loyal readers. Awhile back we profiled one of the many organizations (Invisible Children) that we make travel-related donations to for our clients. If you'd like to know more about how this program works, please click here. Today I want to draw attention to another one of our partners near and dear to our hearts: Surfrider Foundation. Like Invisible Children, Surfrider definitely falls into both Jessica and I's self-proclaimed "rad" category. This is an organization that started here in Southern California and has blown up throughout the country as a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our world’s oceans, waves and beaches. Founded in 1984 by a handful of visionary surfers in Malibu, California, the Surfrider Foundation now maintains over 50,000 members and 80 chapters worldwide. Basically, Surfrider started as a bunch of surfers just wanting to make sure our beaches and waves are safe, clean and protected. Yes please.

Surfrider spearheads numerous projects, and if you'd like to see many of their recent successes click here, but I want to talk about one in particular today: their Rise Above Plastics Campaign. Now if you're like me, you hear facts about pollution etc all of the time and 99% are forgotten two seconds later. A lot of times I can't adequately understand or put into context the scope of the problem, and hence forget all about it. Jessica and I recently went to a Surfrider chapter meeting and were made aware of one of the most disturbing facts I have ever heard. Here it is (straight from Surfrider's site):

There is a section of the Pacific Ocean twice the size of the continental United States called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Within it, 100 million tons of plastic swirl in a vortex of currents. There is so much plastic in the water that it outnumbers zooplankton by six to one! This plastic ends up in the stomachs of marine birds and animals. In fact, one million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals die globally each year due to ingestion of or entanglement in plastics.

Twice the size of the U.S.!! I almost fell out of my chair. Worse still, this plastic dump was only the size of Texas four or five years ago. This situation has gone haywire; totally out of control. Surfrider needs help from each of us to help curb the madness. There's currently a member from their team touring with Jack Johnson (who backs Surfrider 100% and wants to get their word out to the masses), trying to educate the public. I was recently at a concert of his where he dedicated a song to Surfrider, and even wore one of their shirts throughout the whole concert (Save Trestles!). We donate a portion of any of our client's vacations that are coastal or onboard a cruise ship to Surfrider. Surfrider has a section of their Web site where you can pledge to help this massive problem with plastics, and get involved today:

- Using reusable bottles for my water and other drinks. By using just one reusable bottle, I will keep 167 single-use plastic bottles from entering the environment.

- Using cloth bags for groceries and other purchases. For each reusable bag I use, I will save approximately 400 plastics from being used.

- Recycling the plastic bags and bottles I already have. For every thirteen plastic bags I don't use, I will save enough petroleum to drive a car one mile. Read more...

Traveling "green"

What the heck does it mean to travel green anyway? We get this question a lot around here, and it usually surfaces alongside some of the following comments:



- Traveling green? (Blank stare) I can't ride a bike to Europe.
- Green travel? Is that like only going to places with rain-forests and pine cones?
- Are you guys with the Green Party? Do you work for that Al Gore guy?
- Are you guys those people that go camp out in trees chanting "Mother Earth" as loggers try to fell conifer trees?

So for the record to the above, no, no, no, and finally, NO. So what does green travel mean then? Well, it can mean a lot of things but Jessica and I believe that we ought to minimize the harm we as travelers do on the environment through flights, car and train trips, hotels rooms etc. We also believe that rather than just visiting (and often jeopardizing) the places we travel to, we should give back to the local communities we all love so much around the world.

One solution: We think carbon credits are a great way to minimize the impact of travel on the environment. Sure, they're not perfect, but it's better than nothing. A couple of things to make sure you look out for with carbon credits:
1. Make sure that credits are going towards projects that can in fact, make a difference (not just reforestation efforts).
2. Make sure those projects aren't all in one place should (heaven-forbid) a fire wipe out the area etc - similar to the investment strategy of not putting all your eggs in one basket.
3. Make sure the company's records have public audits to show where (and in what amount) their money is spent. If you'd like to see an example of a company doing a great job at this, please click here. To learn more about Pangaea's program, please click here.

And lastly, our vision of the most important piece of making travel sustainable: Give back! What better way to protect the cultures and environments we as travelers visit than to invest in their development, protect their lands and resources, and ensure the beauties of this world are around and thriving for future generations. Read more...

Travel 'mis-adventures'

Here at Pangaea we love to hear about some of the funny things that happen when you are abroad. Of course, with any trip some experiences which are annoying at the time, become HILARIOUS when you come home and recount the story. I seem to make lots of people laugh with my 'labrador ate my passport' story, although as my friends can attest, there were lots of tears when I could not make it to Peru! Here are a few funny stories which happened to some of our clients:

1. One couple attempting to navigate the Italian freeway system in a tiny european car were clearly not doing a very good job as numerous drivers honked, cursed in Italian and made lewd hand gestures. When the couple's young daughter asked why everyone was so mad at daddy, the couple told her everyone was just excited they were visiting.

2. After a very long flight to Australia a young woman was waiting at the airport for a friend who lived there to pick her up. In a mixture of exhaustion and excitement to be in Sydney she inadvertently left her bag on the sidewalk. Needless to say, by the time she realized her mistake the Sydney police had blown up her bag on the sidewalk!

3. On a trip to Japan, a businessman was surprised to find 50 people in nylon jumpsuits doing jumping jacks outside an office building for a pre-morning office workout.

4. Mis-translated signs are always funny!

Tell us about funny things that have happened on your vacation! Read more...

Pangaea Travel Offers Discounted Tours!

Pangaea Travel is glad to announce that we now offer DISCOUNTED TOURS AND CRUISES! Okay, hold the questions - I'll break it down for you. This is the most simple program you have ever heard of: Find any tour or cruise online with any of your favorite operators, and if you let Pangaea book it for you, we'll give you cash.

Whoa, whoa whoa! What!? You ask.
Seriously folks, it's that simple.

Visit our site now, and you can check out some of our favorite tours around the world. On the right hand side you'll see how much money we'll give you per person if you let us do book the trip for you. Don't see a tour listed that you know you want to take? No problem, we'll give you cash for it as well for allowing us to book it.

Have we gone mad? Totally lost it?

Nope, we're just that good.

Oh, and don't forget, we'll make the whole trip GREEN at our own expense as well.

Wow, we're good. Read more...

Pangaea According to Fox News.....

For all of my Mensa friends out there, here's a question: What do Fox News, rising gas prices, and Pangaea Travel have in common?

Guess #1: Absolutely nothing. Ummm.... close, but no.
Guess #2: They are all rad. No. Clearly, Pangaea only qualifies as rad. Fox News gets a "neat", and rising gas prices... well, I don't really want to say what I think about that.
Guess #3: I'm not sure, but there was a news story on this last Friday. Bingo.

Yep, last Friday we had a brief feature on the local Fox News 6 station here in San Diego. Our green measures are being noticed! We think our eco-commitment and carbon offsetting initiatives are big news, and it's nice to see others picking up on it. To view the feature, please click on this link and play the video on the right side of the screen. To read more about the environmental incentives of booking with our company, check out our Web site.

Taking a cruise? A tour? Flight? Booking a hotel room? Let us book it, and we'll make it GREEN! It'll be the same price, and there's no additional charge... Why not! Read more...

New Logo+ Press Release

Presenting.....our newest press release! Hopefully you will soon be reading about us in all types of travel magazines!

(La Jolla, CA) Pangaea Travel, the eco-active travel consultant, is helping turn travel tours and cruises green with their unique marketing programs including carbon-neutral and incentive-based travel. Travel accounts for about 12 percent of the human contribution to global warming, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The good news is an individual can offset -- if not eliminate -- their carbon footprint by making better choices, and in fact choices that can even save money.

Pangaea Travel Consultants, in partnership with Carbonfund.org, is offering clients carbon free travel worldwide for no cost and with zero inconvenience to the traveler. Uniquely, Pangaea's program offsets the carbon emissions for the traveler's entire trip; from the drive to the airport or pier, to the plane ride or cruise to rental cars and hotels etc. And with the negative effect travel has on global warming, right now carbon-free travel equates to guilt-free travel.

“Offsetting one's carbon footprint allows every traveler to become part of the solution to climate change by supporting the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions equal to their carbon emissions. The program supports carbon-reducing projects such as renewable energy, energy efficiency and reforestation projects. With our program, the traveler gets to choose" stated Chris Tharp, partner in Pangaea Travel. “In truth, carbon offsets can be more cost effective and practical than many other measures an individual can take. And I am unaware of any other travel company offering carbon credits for the entire trip and at zero cost to our traveler” concluded Mr. Tharp. “Another thing that makes us unique”, added Jessica Finley, partner in Pangaea, “is our approach to tour packages. We're so committed to carbon free travel that even if a person already has their tour or cruise completely planned, they can still call us to book their trip. With one phone call, we will issue them carbon credits for their entire trip and present them with more than $100 of gift certificates on travel apparel and accessories for a measurable added value” Jessica summarized. Pangaea believes that everyone has a responsibility to reduce their individual carbon footprint, and there are lots of ways to do so. They take this to heart in how they operate their business by using energy efficient light bulbs at the office, recycling, only turning on lights in offices in use, turning off computers and monitors when not in use, and have even offset the cost of their business operations for the year. “What can I say? It really is easy being green" stated Ms. Finley.

Pangaea Travel is uniquely positioned as an eco-active travel consultant focusing on custom tours and cruises. What makes their position genuine is their policy of providing carbon credits to offset the carbon footprint created by the traveler's entire trip, including plane, train, car, cruise ship, hotel, etc. They do this with no charge or inconvenience to their client. Pangaea specializes in adventure, educational and cultural travel, matching the tour or cruise with their clients individual travel preferences. Read more...

"Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don't forget your booties 'cause it's cooooold out there today."

Jessica and I often find ourselves in a Groundhogs Day-esque conversation that goes something like this:

Random stranger: "So, you own a travel agency... that's great!"
Jessica and I: "Actually we're doing something different, it's not really an agency, we do x, y, and z"
Random stranger: "Oh.... I see...." (confused look)
(Pause)
Random stranger: "So what is it you do again?"

In honor of Bill Murray, or maybe because print lasts longer, we are going to lay out for all you loyal readers the niche we have created for ourselves and why we think it makes us unique... and frankly, just totally rad.

First off, if any of you are ever going to book a tour or cruise, come to us! Even if you know the cruise line you're going to take, when, where and how - we are your people. Here's why: If you let us book the tour/cruise for you, we'll share in the proceeds with you. Yep. We get paid by the cruises and tour companies to bring them clients. That means, if the cruise costs you $3,000 and you let us book it, it still costs you $3,000. *But* we'll give you money on the back end to outfit yourselves for the trip. What's the catch you ask? There isn't one.

Secondly, we got into this business to make a difference. We think the travel industry does a tremendous amount of harm to the environment, cultures and sites it visits. A round trip flight from Washington DC to Paris burns over a ton of harmful emissions into the atmosphere alone. Yikes. So, we've partnered with a number of organizations to do something about it. The first is Carbonfund.org. Moving forward, every client that books their trip through us will be receiving carbon neutral travel. What this means is, we will be purchasing carbon credits to offset the damage clients' trips are doing on the environment. When you travel, your plane, cars, trains, boats and even hotel rooms all release carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels which are causing the Earth’s climate to change and warm. These harmful fuels will have catastrophic results if we do not act to reduce them. What's better than Pangaea choosing to do this? Unlike other travel companies that claim to do this for their clients, we are offsetting EVERY portion of their trip (flight, hotel, cars/boats/trains) not just one or two pieces, and we are doing it at our own expense. That's right. We pay for all of it out of our own pocket. As if that's not enough, we've offset our annual business impact here at Pangaea.

Next, we will be also giving back to several leading global conservancies supporting various environmental causes. We will soon be posting the details of this program as well.

Lastly, we can do the simple stuff! If you want a hotel booked, an international flight quote, or a custom made adventure, we're here for you! Read more...

Pangaea Travel Voted Best of La Jolla

This week, Pangaea Travel was voted as having the best travel agents in La Jolla! Thanks to all of you that voted for us, and we look forward to many years to come. For those of you that don't know about us, please visit our Web site at: www.pangaeatravel.net.

We like to think that we are a lot different than other travel companies out there, so for all of you who are wondering what this means we thought we'd attach a list of ten things we are not:
1. We don't wear headsets; they hurt our heads and frankly, just look weird.
2. We've traveled the world to places that aren't limited to Caribbean cruises, and Baja, Mexico.
3. We don't sell packaged trips... Who wants cookie-cutter?
4. Neither of us are grumpy middle aged women. I promise.
5. We don't have 1984 Reading Rainbow travel videos playing in the corner of our store.
6. Not only do we say we care about the environment and conservation, we're actually doing something about it.
7. We believe tours of 150 people following a yellow flag waving maniac, should be outlawed by all governments.
8. We don't serve Kool-Aid, we serve Malbec and Rombauer.
9. Tacky travel posters are only good for starting a fire.
10. In fact, don't even call us travel agents, it just makes us angry. Read more...