What has been your greatest discovery while traveling?

This question makes me envision Harrison Ford picking up the holy grail right after some guy's face melts off. Yummy. But besides all you treasure hunters out there, this question should be considered much more broad. In all the places you have visited is there a single treasure you hold dear? It does not need to be an object, it could be a feeling, a place, a personal awakening.

When traveling with a girlfriend, she told me one of the best discoveries was in the vastness of the world itself. I agree completely and believe that travel in itself a form of discovery. Each new location I am introduced to, I find something to relish. However, if I am forced to chose 1 paramount discovery, it has be human kindness. Whether it is the Frenchman taking an extra moment in broken english to explain the metro system; the the Spanish woman who took a picture for me even though she had never used a camera before; or the Australian woman who gave me a ride in Tasmania because I sat next to her on the plane. I will never forget any of these encounters and with each trip I always seem to find myself in new situations where human kindness overwhelms me.

Share some of your stories. What is your greatest discovery while traveling? Read more...

Where's off limits?

Okay happy campers, today I have a question for you: Where's off limits?

We all have trips planned. However plausible, each one of us have one, two, five or ten places in mind that we'd like to see next (as an aside in case any of you are interested, mine go: Kili, Cappadocia, Gonder, Bagan, Great Barrier Reef, Copan, Maccu Piccu). The real question though is this: Where are the places that you want to go, but don't think you can? Maybe you think it's too dangerous. Maybe too far. Maybe you can't get in. Whatever the reason, what is it?

I'll let you in on mine. Actually, there are two: Babylon, Iraq and the Persepolis/Bam/Kharanak sites in Iran.

I'm a huge archaeology buff and the idea that the world hasn't discovered Iran and Iraq blows my mind. Most of the well-known ancient empires that are popular tourist destinations are the Meditteranean civilizations - Greek, Roman and Egyptian. The next in line seem to be the Mayan, Incan, Aztec empires of the south. The up-and-comers of late have really been the empires in SE Asia and India. The Babylonian/Persian empire was bigger than them all.

I've spent many an afternoon in the Oriental Institute in Chicago admiring their collection, and imagining what must be left to be found in Iraq and Iran. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers and Mesopotamian geography, gave rise to the most powerful ancient civilization ever, and for the most part no one knows anything about them. There are thought to be more ruins in number in Iraq and Iran than even the Egyptians. For obvious reasons, Iraq is off-limits right now because of the ongoing war. Iran though, contrary to popular belief, is quite safe. If it weren't for the Visa restrictions, I'd be there in a second.

So here's the question for you: Where are your off-limits places you'd love to explore, but for whatever reason cannot? Read more...

v-day and mini-vacations

I will be honest.....I do not really care all that much about valentines day. Forget the chocolate, forget the fancy dinner and please do not give me an oversized plush bear of any kind. On the other hand, if my sweetie suggested a mini-trip, I would be all over it! A little quick trip to re-light the romance and enjoy a weekend with just the two of you. In the spirit of too many bad v-days, I thought I would give you my perspective on what I think a great romantic getaway entails.

1. Make it close, no need to drive for hours. Find a sweet little B & B far enough to make it special, close enough that you don't kill each other on the road-trip.

2. Don't skimp on the room. Its valentines day, which means more time should be spent in the room. So stay away from anywhere with the word motel in it. If possible, find a smaller place with a fireplace, fuzzy robes and room service.

3. Get active! Do something fun together, like a tandem bike ride or a hike and picnic. Concierge's are usually great about telling you where to go in the area.

4. Bring the camera and a goofy sense of humor. Some of my favorite pictures of my bf and I are when we were truly laughing, not just dutifully smiling for the camera. Do not be shy, ask people to take picture of the two of you in this fun mini-vacation! 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...

The Green Mile..... travel eco style!

So the word 'green' is being used quite frequently recently. For instance, NBC is in the middle of their green week, I am actually really excited to see David Schwimmer and Al Gore team up and act like super heroes. Hilarious.

Since all you out there are travel experts, you probably know how detrimental travel can be on the environment. That is why the term eco travel or green travel has created such a buzz. However, there are a lot of disreputable companies out there that are simply jumping on the green bandwagon. Sooooooo......I (in my infinite wisdom) have created a great list of the BEST eco-tour companies for all your inquiring minds. Upon creating this list I have taken into account a few things, such as why the company is green and how they are green.

1. Natural Habitat Adventures: Love them. This company is a pioneer in carbon-neutral travel, they off-set all the carbon emissions created by their cleints tours. They also provide their clients with the ability to off-set their flights, so people may decide to pay a little extra money to off-set the majority of damage.

2. National Geographic Expeditions: This is the magazine's tour company arm and the same dedication to sustainable travel exists. They have won a number of awards including Outside Magazine's Best Trip award. Side note, I am dying to take their trip to Nepal and Tibet!

3. Adventure Life Journeys: A wonderful tour company which works with local communities to create sustainable travel with the local environments. They won Conde Nast's Green Traveler award in 2006 and there is no question why. This is simply a well run and committed organization. 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...

Responsible Travel

Pop quiz: Who has ever traveled with one of the following two people?

The first, is the "once on vacation, I take advantage of everything/everyone person." This is the type of person who may or may not be an otherwise responsible individual in every day life.... Point is, they go to some country not their own and suddenly think it's okay to litter, tramp on priceless archaeological ruins, and/or become some obnoxious shell of themselves. Yep, this is the guy/gal who gives all travelers a bad name; shortening the life of foreign attractions, and giving a sometimes unforgiveable impression of our culture to other cultures abroad. Thanks for nothing.

The second person is the "site conquering, spastic, list person." Yep, you all know this type. This is the person who the second they arrive in a foreign country is operating off of some invisible list, which apparently gives high marks for crossing off as many sites/destinations as possible (in turn, not actually experiencing any of them). This person is the type who having stood for mere seconds in front of the awe-inspiring site before them is trying to rally the group to head off to the next place on their list. Talk about frustrating. The worst part about this type, is they're also the ones that return from a trip and talk about their "amazing experiences" despite the fact that they didn't take a chance to soak any of them up, learn a thing about the cultures in front of them, or take a deep breath before trying to jam another site in before closing time. As an aside, this is also the person that claims to have been to about 40 countries until you find out that 38 of them are just airports on layovers. Same mentality I suppose.

So, I have a few public service announcements to these two travelers:
1. Eating at a McDonald's in another country does not constitue a foreign cuisine.
2. Staying at a Holiday Inn and taking tours in which you never step foot off an air-conditioned bus, does not constitute traveling anywhere, let alone experiencing culture.
3. Embrace different.
4. If you can't in your own country: Throw garbage on the ground, touch pictures in a museum, climb all over priceless artifacts, don't do it abroad either.
5. Checklists are only good for buying groceries. Read more...