Quivertree Family Expeditions August 2013 Newsletter

Dear fellow traveling families,
NOW is the time to visit the Balkans with Quivertree!

Philip and his wife Liora have recently returned from a trip to Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia/Herzegovina and Montenegro where he was researching this exciting new Quivertree destination.

Philip says: "These are fantastic countries - I cannot recall being so excited by an area for a long time. Within a relatively small region, there is the most amazing array of things to do and see."

Sun setting over Rovinj on Croatia's Istrian coast

Home hospitality in the Bosnian mountain village of Lukomir. People have lived here in the traditional way for centuries

Slovenia and Croatia are well developed. Both have a vibrant cafe culture and stunning medieval red roofed towns overlooking the sea tucked into the hills and perched on the mountains. Croatia has fabulous islands and beaches while Slovenia has the Julien Alps, picture postcard villages and churches, and miles of rafting and kayaking. Montenegro is a less touristy outdoors paradise of mountains and lakes, with hiking, biking and kayaking opportunities everywhere. Then there's Bosnia with its turbulent recent history and, says Philip, "One of my favorite cities anywhere - Sarajevo. With its Muslim culture and mosques and Turkish style food and markets, this is a city demanding to be seen."

And wherever you go, you're in for a taste treat - from gelato (everywhere) to local specialties like bureks, cevapi, lepinje and more. All exotic and all delicious!

There are many other compelling reasons to go to the Balkans - the warm hospitality (being welcomed into people's homes for meals), value for money (less expensive than Western Europe), and the incredible evening atmosphere (it seems everyone is walking and enjoying a nighttime stroll) to name just three - and for an all round destination offering everything and anything a family could want, this is it. So call today to start planning!

Kayaking outside Dubrovnik's old city walls.

Family trip to Myanmar

Karen, and Ted, brother Stephen and kids Edward and Alexander recently returned from a Quivertree trip to Myanmar. Here is their trip report: "We had a great time. Everything worked flawlessly, including all transfers and airport pick ups.

We liked all our guides. They were all very good and our guide at Inle Lake was exceptional. She did a

fantastic job describing the ethnic groups and the countryside at the Lake. She also shared some personal stories, such as how she studied computers and then decided to become a guide - that gave us a better understanding of life in Myanmar.

In Bagan we asked our guide to write a list of the temples we visited, and much to my surprise he prepared a little pamphlet of several pages stapled together, listing all the temples, what was important about each one, where we stopped for photos, etc. - this was definitely beyond expectations!

Our kids were always the center of attention. I can't even estimate how many young women had their pictures taken with the boys. We called the boys "our ambassadors" since they allowed us to meet people so easily.

Once again, thanks for putting together such a memorable trip - we are already looking forward to our next Quivertree adventure!"

Some recent Quivertree family trip photos

We've had families all over the world recently! Don and Danielle, kids Graham, Owen and Wyatt and niece Kala went on their 4th Quivertree trip, this time to China. KGChina2

Danielle said: "This may have been our favorite and most memorable trip because of the numerous fun activities we participated in and the excellence of our guides. We especially liked Longsheng and Yangshuo where we hiked, biked, kayaked, had a Li River cruise, took a cooking class (stupendous!), and shopped at lots of markets." A full report will appear in our next newsletter.

Next up, Greg and Malaika and their young kids Gabriel and Gianni were on their 3rd Quivertree trip, this time to Guatemala. Malaika said: "Once again, Quivertree exceeded our expectations and helped us add to our family memories. We were able to enjoy our time abroad while giving back to the community and minimizing our environmental impact. Not only were we able to enjoy a wonderful family holiday with our boys, we were able to expose them to a fascinating culture and open their eyes to a world less ordinary. Thank you Quivertree!"

Here Greg and the boys learn how to make chocolate while below, the family visits Tikal!
MITikal

Finally for this issue, friends Dina and Zinna went to South East Asia. Dina said: "We loved every second of this trip!"
DM1

Notes, tips and observations

In March, Outside Magazine named Quivertree as the top family operator for South Africa! Here was our press release.

http://createsend.com/t/j-914EDFD8BBACB0AA

A highlight of Philip's recent trip to the Balkans was seeing an Australian tourist jump off the famous, 25 meter high historic Mostar Bridge in Bosnia. Here's the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN0N-JBlaX8

Food markets can be a real treat for families. Here's a stunning slideshow of the best from Rough Guides.

http://www.roughguides.com/gallery/fantastic-food-markets/#/18

For our Top Ten Travel Tips, click on the link:

http://quivertreeworld.com/pdf/Quivertree-Top10-TravelTips.pdf

And finally a few photos that represent the surprises and joys of traveling.