Edwardian garden at Geffrye Museum. Photo credit: Sunniva Harte
London’s new Overground railway line has lead 10 museums and galleries to launch CultureLine.
The new East London Line runs from West Croydon and Crystal Palace in south-east London to Dalston Junction in the north-east. Next year, the line will extend to Highbury and Islington.
Loch Assynt Ardvreck with Castle and Quinag.
Fancy walking Scotland’s first ‘Global Geopark’? In the far north of the Scottish mainland, the North West Highlands Geopark attracts adventurers, mountain travelers and outdoor lovers alike.
Stunning mountain and coastal landscapes, this 2,000 square-km geopark starts at The Summer Isles and continues northwards to the north coast.
Love desert landscapes and touring? Then you might fancy the new Camp Mars which gives adventure seekers a chance to live like the Bedouin in the Tunisian Sahara.
A true desert experience, Camp Mars, owned by adventure tour specialists SudXtrem, is located 45km from the nearest water-source. Guests will spend the night under the canvas of the traditional Bedouin tented community.
Fancy an eco-friendly horseback riding adventure?
If you’re a fan of PBS travel TV series Equitrekking, Darley Newman is also hosting new equestrian vacation company Equitrekking Travel.
Says Newman:
“I travel the world riding horses with local people to discover history, culture, wildlife and beautiful natural settings. Horseback riding is an eco-friendly, active way to explore a new area and with the right local guide, you can learn insider’s information not found elsewhere. Riding with local guides, which we promote, also helps strengthen local communities by supporting small horse businesses.”
Equitrekking Travel specializes in horseback riding adventures in Iceland, Jordan, Costa Rica and South America. The company will often stay in family-owned environmentally-friendly inns and ranches, like La Salamora, a small working Uruguay estancia which is wind powered.
For more info, check out Equitrekking Travel’s site.
Photo credit: Chip Ward of Equitrekking
Staying in farmhouses can lead to authentic country living and travel experiences.
That’s why traveling greener loves the idea of Mallorca Farmhouses which offers traditional fincas, country cottages and rustic retreats for holiday rentals. Many of the company’s properties are located within or near rural villages on the Spanish island.
Says Mallorca Farmhouses:
“Mallorca boasts more than simply sun, sea, sand and sangria. Head into the island’s interior and visitors will discover picturesque cobbled villages, thriving local markets, wild pine-clad hills teeming with birds and butterflies and undulating countryside with fields of almond, olive and lemon groves.”
Are you fascinated by global indigenous culture and biodiversity? Then take a look at New Zealand tours by Auckland tourism company TIME Unlimited Tours.
Recently, the company won the global Indigenous Tourism and Biodiversity Website Award 2010, a collaboration between Planeta.com and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity/UNEP (CBD) and Heidehof Foundation.
This award is presented to an indigenous tourism operation “which has a website that promotes sustainable practices and educates visitors on cultural protocols and biodiversity conservation.”
Image courtesy of Cycling Embassy of Denmark
If you love luxury bicycle trips, then DuVine Adventures and its global bicycle tours might be your speed.
The cycling tour company has launched a new website with brand new 2o1o itineraries: Cycling in Croatia and multi-sport tour in the Galapagos & Ecuador. Also a new blog shows images from bicycling tours; pages on the bikes, guides, wine, and history of each destination and thousands of travel tips.
Since 1996, DuVine Adventures has specialized in personalized cycling tours in Europe (France, Italy, Ireland, Spain, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Austria, Croatia); North America, South America and South Africa. Their travelers cycle and stay in the best hotels, eat gourmet cuisine and taste world-class wines.
For more info, visit DuVine Adventures online.
Images courtesy of DuVine Adventures
Have you always dreamed of Spain’s Camino de Santiago?
Now, you can cycle the legendary pilgrimage in 2010 with Cycling through the Centuries (CTTC). Based in Portugal, the family-owned, luxury cycling tour specialist strives to maintain eco-friendly and sustainable operations in Spain.
Says the company:
“For a thousand years since the bones of St. James were reputedly discovered in Santiago, common people, bishops, priests, kings, popes and saints have made this famous pilgrimage. Nowadays, the expedition is not as often religiously driven, but a personal journey and test to physical and mental endurance.”
The trip will begin in the Pyrenees above Pamplona then cross northern Spain, visit cathedral cities León and Burgos and make many pilgrim stops. Each day, the tour will end with relaxing in monasteries, ancient pilgrim inns, small hotels and restaurants famous for their regional cuisine.
For more info, check out CTTC online.
Image courtesy of the National Tourist Office of Spain
Are you planning a trip to Southeast Asia? Then you might fancy one of the new 2010 customizable tours from Journeys Within, a boutique Southeast Asia tour company.
Called “pioneers in philanthropic travel” by Conde Nast, Journeys Within is recognized for its efforts to positively impact local communities in Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. Here are the company’s new 2010 customizable tours:
Culinary Immersion: “From the spice of Thai food to the exotic textures of Laos cuisine and the sour mixes found in Cambodia, this tour takes travelers through these amazing countries while tantalizing their taste buds along the way. Highlights include cooking classes in each city focused on local cuisine, eating with a local family, visiting the Grand Palace in Bangkok, riding elephants in Chiang Mai, and much more.”
Give As You Go Tour: “This tour offers travelers a chance to see the highlights in each country, but also positively impacts the communities they are visiting. This tour visits important community projects in Cambodia that were developed by Journeys Within.”
Context Travel is now offering a special, exclusive 10% discount off its European and North American trips to readers of traveling greener until December 31/09.
The walking tour specialist is a network of English-speaking scholars and professionals who organize and lead eclectic walking seminars in Paris, London, Rome, Florence, Venice, Naples, Istanbul, New York and Philadelphia.
Walking tours are especially green ways to experience and support a destination and its local culture.
Here are just 10 of Context’s “walking seminars”:
1. Paris Food Crawl
2. London: Portrait of a City
3. Runner’s Tour of Rome
4. Picturing Florence: A Photography Workshop
5. Ecology of Venice
6. Naples Shopping Tour
7. History and Continuity in Istanbul
8. Architecture of New York
9. Central Park, American Landscape
10. American Art in Philadelphia
To qualify for this exclusive Context Travel offer, you must mention traveling greener in your trip notes when booking.
