|
|
|
Quivertree News
New Destination Survey and Quivertree Updates !
Thanks to everyone who has participated in our destination survey.It has been most interesting to see where you want us to take you next ! Based on the voting so far, it looks like these will be our upcoming Quivertree family destinations : Turkey Thailand Spain & Portugal Gideon just returned from a trip to Turkey. He has spent quite a lot of time there and his family just loves it ! Although Philip has only been there twice for very short periods, his wife, Liora, travelled in Turkey extensively before they met and loved it too. It has a great mix of culture, food, history, archeology and much of it child friendly. And it has the most gracious, welcoming hosts. We have long felt we would be adding this incredible country to our destinations and your survey responses just bear that out ! While Thailand is quite touristy, it can be travelled in many different ways. Sometimes it's not so bad being 'touristy' as the infrastructure, food and accommodations are of a certain standard that we would desire for our families. Philip's family visited Thailand in 2007. Philip says, "I'll confess that I really wanted to go to the Thai beaches, but our kids chose culture over sunning and swimming. We spent a memorable night at Elephant Nature Park, a refuge for damaged or abused elephants, and it was one the highlights of our entire 3 month trip." Check it out at http://www.elephantnaturepark.org/ Philip was last in Portugal in 2007 and has never understood why Portugal is so underestimated. Possibly it's just overshadowed by France and Spain, 2 giants of the European tourist circuit. Portugal is incredibly beautiful, with everything you could ask for in a travel destination - food, beaches, castles, ruins, good roads (mostly) and the chance almost everywhere to get off the beaten track. Our goal is to offer trips to both Portugal and Spain, concentrating in part on staying in Posadas (castles or historic buildings of Portugal) or Paradores/Pazos of Spain. We're so excited to be adding these destinations as each offers so much in terms of family travel, but mostly the opportunity for a rich, thrilling, family bonding experience. Quivertree Updates
Recently we have been thrilled to be featured in a number of online publications and travel websites. It's clear (to us anyway) that what we are doing makes a lot of sense even in this very saturated world of online travel companies. There are a growing number of people who want to travel as a family with all the planning done by a professional, but they do not wish to join a larger group and be restricted by that group. They want their family unit to be THE group. We understand that.
So where have we featured lately ?
The first is http://www.simonseeks.com
Simonseeks is a website where a community of travel enthusiasts, experts and celebrities can upload travel guides and share their tips on the best places to stay, eat and visit around the world so we were very pleased to be noticed there.
Secondly we've been featured in http://travelforkids.com, an online site featuring everything you want to know about, yes, travelling with kids.
Last, but not least, you can find us in www.familytravelfiles.com, again an online resource for everything relating to family travel.
These are the places we want to be in - they're concentrating on exciting, fun, meaningful family travel, just as we aim
to do.
|
|
Destination Updates - Colombia
Colombia
Once again, the New York Times Travel section featured Colombia on Sunday 9/19/2010. This has become quite common lately. The feature was focused on Santa Marta, which is a great tourist hotspot, thanks to its excellent location. It is situated on the Caribbean,not far from Cartagena and Tayrona National Park, arguably the two biggest 'must see's' on a Colombian trip. Colombia is not yet a popular tourist destination in the way Costa Rica, or even Guatemala is (and in South America, Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Argentina and Chile) but as long as the country remains stable, it will become a major tourist destination. It offers so much - beautiful beaches, fabulous, spirited, throbbing cities, South American flair and fashion, and gracious, friendly hosts. Definitely a place to go, now, before it is properly and rightfully 'discovered'. Here's the link to Sunday's article
http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/travel/19nextstop.html?ref=travel
Earlier this year Colombia was featured several times in numerous other high profile publications. For example Bogota was featured in the New York Times special quarterly glossy Travel magazine in May.
That was the second time in the past 2 months that Colombia has been featured, further evidence that this once unthought of destination is quickly moving onto the traveller's hot list. Bogota's a fascinating city, and once there, you're likely to forget all the stories you once heard about Colombia, and revel in the passion and energy of the people. The introduction to the piece is wonderful. The author's first night in Bogota is rocked by the shocking news that the biggest event in town is a ...Coldplay concert ! How can this wild, untameable city be so mainstream ? Seriously, go to Colombia - you will not regret it.
And just a short while before that (and ust a week after being featured in the New York Times), Cartagena, Colombia featured in Travel & Leisure magazine.Again, after a glowing report, it's hard to ignore this fascinating, resurgent city, a must see destination in my opinion. In our family we rated Cartagena as one of our top three 'have to visit' cities of every place we've ever visited. Go there now - you'll be very pleasantly surprised!
 | | Fun in Colombia |
|
|
Recent Trips
Gideon's family trip to Turkey and Philip's to South Africa
Gideon reports from Turkey:
This wasn't my first trip there- I'd been with my wife four times previously, but it was the first with the kids - my two boys of 5 and 9 and my daughter of 13.
Many people don't really know what to expect from Turkey - just the sound of it is highly exotic - it resonates with the echos of the Ottoman Empire and much more ancient empires before it - it is a meeting place between East and West, a place where cultures clash and of course, a Muslim country. But is it modern or backwards? First world or third world? Are the people friendly or not? And what about the food?
The answer is that Turkey is exotic - but it is also modern and well developed and even in the middle of nowhere one feels safe and comfortable. The people are incredibly friendly, and the food is one of the great cuisines of the world.
Turkey has always been one of my favourite countries - It was even better with the family. To see any country through kids' eyes is literally an eye opener - and a completely different experience from travel without kids -everything takes on new meaning, one's perspective changes and you get to visit places you would never have gone to otherwise. A trip becomes less of a pure sightseeing tour and more of an immersion in the country and it's culture - kids want to see things that interest kids - sure, some of the big sights, but also the playgrounds, the ice cream parlors, the parks, the markets, and sometimes the more off -beat places and sights.
 | | Gideon's kids in Turkey |
Together we explored Istanbul, one of the great cities of the world, and then we journeyed through the almost unknown Black Sea region - the last great frontier of Turkey. It was awesome -first touring the great imperial city and seeing the remains of past civilizations and then visiting the smaller towns and villages and experiencing the magic of the Black Sea coast. Best of all, kids act as the perfect ice breaker with the locals, and we met so many people through our kids that we would never have net otherwise. Experiencing cultural differences with kids is fascinating too - they loved visiting mosques, and they really enjoyed exploring the new tastes of a culinary repetoire they had never come across before.
 | | Ice cream preparation |
Turkey proved to be the perfect family vacation - adventurous, but with the right mix of first world amenities and comfort as well. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Turkey to any family, well traveled or not, looking for a great cultural experience without suffering any discomforts. Follow my blog at www.travelwithkidz.wordpress.com
Philip reports :
 | | World Cup semi final in Cape Town |
We just returned from a family trip to South Africa.The country was definitely at its best as the host for the 2010 World Cup and everyone involved did a terrific job.There's no doubt in my mind that South Africa is a premiere destination : it really offers anything and everything a traveler could want - great infrastructure and roads (perfect for a self drive holiday), good accommodations, great food, friendly people, incredible natural attractions, top class wildlife/safari, Cape Town, consistently ranked in the top 10 cities in the world, wonderful coastline and beaches, and a fascinating mix of cultures, African and European. It cries out to be visited. We had the most wonderful trip - it's a country you cannot help but love. |
|
Don't hesitate to call us for more information at (1800) 235-9941 or (778) 986-6727.
We are happy to help!
Philip and Gideon Nurick
Quivertree Family Expeditions
http://www.quivertreeworld.com |
|
|
|
|
|
|
