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Greetings!
Enjoy this month's newsletter! Be sure to check out our
Club Zoom travel offers and promotions.
| Zoom Vacations Egypt Photos |
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Zoom Vacations' Gay Group Tour of Egypt included Egypt's finest five star hotels and Nile cruise. Our hotel in Giza offered unparalleled views of the Pyramids! We visited incredible temples like Luxor and Abu Simbel and tombs of the Pharaohs, thousands of years old. We ate like kings and were pampered like Pharaohs.
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| Our "Home" movie of Egypt |
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We share some pretty incredible experiences on our trip to Egypt. Unfortunately, we aren't allowed to bring our cameras into some of the most incredible places, such as the King Tut exhibit or the elaborate, massive tombs of the ancient pharaohs. Certainly among the most extravagant resting places ever created, these 3,000 year old tombs look like they were painted and carved yesterday! You'll have to join Zoom's next trip to Egypt to see them for yourself!
While its not meant to win any Oscars, we hope this short, two minute video will give you just a small taste of the many incredible things you'll see and do on this trip!
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| Jordan: Petra and Dead Sea Photos |
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Guests on our Jordan trip signed on to see the "lost" city of Petra, as an add-on to our trip to Egypt. We surprised them with a stay at an incredible 5 star resort on the Red Sea, and we are so glad we did!
Petra was as breathtaking as our guests had imagined it would be, and completely spellbinding. What surprised many was how beautiful, decadent, and fun the Dead Sea is. As one can see from our photos, our travelers had a blast floating on the Sea and applying the healing Dead Sea mud generously to our skin. It was the perfect opportunity to become kids again.
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| An Offer From Club Zoom Member, David Barton Gym |
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Many of us choose New Years and Thanksgiving holidays for our international vacations.
With that in mind, long time Club Zoom Member, David Barton Gym has a great offer designed to get you fit and ready for your holiday traveling!
Join before November 30, and your monthly dues are waived until January! With gyms in New York, Florida, Washington, and Illinois, we hope that many of you are able to take advantage of this offer.
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| Zooming with Joel |
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- You ask the question, he'll provide the answer!
Our Chief Travel Officer, Joel Cabrera, gets a number
of travel-related questions every week. Email your
travel question to Joel
Patrick from Ireland asks: "When I go on vacation I always over pack. I have no trouble staying light in my loafers but my luggage is always overweight. What can I do to stay light while traveling?"
Dear Patrick,
Dear Patrick, packing lightly is not as hard as you might think. You would be surprised the things that you can live without on vacation. I've learned this the hard way when I had to make due with the clothes on my back when my luggage was delayed a few years back. That was an exception, however. So, I've developed packing habits that work.
I always pack a few days before my trip. Packing at the last minute or in a rush will lead you to include what I like to call "vanity articles", that you don't really need. If you find yourself thinking "this will be the perfect opportunity to wear this shirt I never wear at home". Think again. You won't wear it on vacation. Pack your favorite items, wait a few days and then reduce it 20% by weight. This will give you the opportunity to leave plenty of empty space in your luggage for purchases on your trip, and stay within the luggage weight restriction.
Remember that if you are a shopper your luggage will grow with all those new found treasures. Pack dark or neutral colored clothing that you can wear more than once. To comply with baggage allowances, limit your pieces of luggage to one checked bag weighing no more than 44 lbs (GASP!), one carry-on weighing no more than 18 lbs, and a personal item (backpack, camera case, man-purse).
Even if you are allowed two pieces of free luggage allowance internationally, be aware that your domestic flights may only allow one free checked suitcase. Airlines strictly enforce domestic overweight restrictions and charge a hefty fee for excess baggage. Why pay to carry something you already own when you can use that money saved on fees for new stuff?
Lastly, repack toiletries in small containers. You don't need to carry these in their original bottles. If you forget any at home these days you can purchase most essential toiletries such as toothpaste and deodorant while on vacation. Remember to pack your essentials, expensive clothing or shoes and medication in a carry on so you have complete control of these when you travel.
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| Join us on Facebook! |
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Zoom Vacations' Facebook community is growing!
Check back often to see destination travel videos and
photos. You'll also learn a travel tip or two, and have
the opportunity to interact with others in our Zoom
Community.
Who will you meet? Well, you know, the kind of people
who desire meaningful vacations in comfortable
settings where you can truly be yourself, and enjoy
incredible once-in-a-lifetime experiences that would
be difficult, impractical or impossible to do on your
own.
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| Club Zoom |
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If you are new to Club Zoom, here's the scoop. You
will receive discounts and special offers on many of
your favorite hotels, retail outlets, and services
around the country! And the best part is, it's free! It
is simply our way of saying, "thank you" for being a
part of Zoom Vacations.
Simply click on the link below to get the codes
necessary to redeem these offers.
RETAILERS
- Allen Brothers (fine steaks)
- Universal Gear (men's fashions)
- David Barton Gym, in NYC, Miami, and Chicago!
- NYC Restaurant: Paris Commune
HOTELS
- Bali: The Saint Regis
- Chicago: The Amalfi Hotel
- Chicago: The Homewood Suites
- Chicago: The Hotel Allegro Chicago
- Chicago: Avenue Hotel Chicago
- Dallas: The Melrose
- LA: The Grafton on Sunset
- LA: The Marina del Rey Hotel
- Mendocino: Stevenswood Spa Resort
- NYC: The Standard Hotel
- Portland, OR: The Jupiter Hotel
- San Francisco: The Hotel Monaco and the
Serrano
- South Beach: The Raleigh
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Featured Travelers, Brian and Brian from Chicago |
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With their cheerful dispositions and carefree attitudes, Brian and Brian added so much to our trip to Egypt. One of the Brians even got to try his hand at commanding our boat on the Nile! Brian and Brian shared their trip highlights with us.
Zoom: As you know we created many excursions along the way. What were your
highlights?
Brian: We enjoyed the side trip to Abu Simbel. The Luxor/Karnak temple visits
were outstanding. It was great to take in the sheer scale and history of
those sites and understand the history through our fantastically unique and
interesting Egyptologist, Mohammed.
Zoom: What did you think of the food in Egypt?
Brian: Food was the least of our worries since we love middle eastern fare. With
all the options there definitely wasn't much chance of going hungry on the
trip.
Zoom: How were your fellow Zoom Travelers? Did you make any friends?
Brian: Definitely. We had what we were told was a larger than typical Chicago
contingent on this trip, but that could work out in our favor in terms of
making it even easier to stay in touch with some of the group. It seemed
like our group struck a good vibe from the get-go and it was a very positive
experience.
Zoom: How did you like the Nile cruise?
Brian: The cruise was a great part of the trip and it was well-placed in the middle
of the schedule. The pace was just a bit slower and there were ample
opportunities to just relax and unwind between rounds of sight-seeing. 3
days was ideal. The boat itself was very nice and the staff were
excellent...keep this boat if possible!
Zoom: Would you recommend our trip to Egypt to your friends?
Brian: For sure. The itinerary offered a great variety of sites to visit and
activities to be a part of.
Zoom: What did you like about traveling as part of a gay group?
Brian: Quite honestly, we'd never done it before so we weren't sure what to expect.
We were Zoom newbies and having always vacationed on our own in the past. We
were interested to see how we'd like traveling in a group, especially a
group of gay men in a traditionally conservative country. We like to
embrace the culture of a country when we travel, rather than being "ugly
Americans" who expect the locals to bend to our customs and language. While
we joked about it at one point, nobody felt compelled to have their
"Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" moment on top of the tour bus and it was
obvious that the group were seasoned travelers who were there to experience
Egypt in a similar way we were.
Zoom: Do you want to travel with Zoom again? To where?
Brian: It's highly likely we will. We tend to do a "big" trip every other year or
so, filling in the middle with other travel. While we'll surely travel on
our own plenty, there are a lot of places where the organization and group
arrangement make for a better experience. Our experience with Zoom on this
trip means we'll definitely be interested in future trips. Peru and the
Baltic cruise sound interesting.
Read about our Baltic Mega Yacht Trip
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