Traveler's Corner

Enjoy these first-person accounts from some of our satisfied clients:

From a couple who wanted a unique Alaskan travel experience
”Boarded the Midnight Sun Express on the Princess train and began our journey to Denali National Park. From the open air platform you could easily hear the clickity clack sound of the train as we made our way through deep gorges and mountain valleys, past lakes and rivers and evergreen forests and up rocky mountain passes.

The Princess train with its glass dome, one could sit comfortably while marveling at the perfect views of snow capped mountains and Alaska’s vast open space.

After arriving and settling in at the Crow’s Nest, we took a short hike from the visitor’s center on the Marino Trail into Denali National Park. Within just 30 minutes, mountain vistas and the sound of mountain streams made us feel part of the Alaska wilderness.

The next day we boarded the shuttle tour bus and road far into Denali National Park, stopping at key wildlife viewing areas. From the bus windows we saw sheep, moose, grizzly bears and wolves. We exited the bus and reboarded further down the long gravel road that winds it way through a part of the park.

It was the time of the midnight sun, daylight hung on late into the early morning hours never getting dark.

My journey to Alaska was all and more than I expected. I was there to visit Denali National Park and the Kenai Peninsula — I heard so much about both places. One of the highlights of my trip were the various modes of transportation that you arranged for me starting off with the Princess Midnight Sun Express train with its glass dome, the local train back to Anchorage where we picked up a car rental and drove to the Kenai Peninsula, the small boat took to us to our secluded national park cabin and the private seaplane that returned us to Seward.

One of the highlights of the beautiful drive to Kenai was the sighting of the grizzly bear devouring its prey less than 50 feet from the roadside where we pulled over.

Probably the most exciting part of this trip was the stay in the secluded national park cabin that can only be reached by boat or plane charter. It was just the two of us with the sounds of the calving glaciers and the warning that there were grizzly bears in the area and not to leave any food out or cook anything that might attract them. When we saw the rope hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the cabin we knew that was our escape route just in case the bear decided to pay us a visit. During our 24 hour visit to this very magical spot, we made lots of noise letting the bears know we were there; I doubt we slept at all but we also realized this was a once in a life time experience. The next morning when our private plane charter flew us out, we saw 2 grizzly bears minding their own business not far from our cabin. We looked at each other and smiled as we knew we were on the edge of danger and felt very lucky to have safely experienced such a beautiful and remote spot on earth.

Thank you for helping us arrange the trip of a lifetime!“
— Marilyn, Boston

back to top

Corporate Incentive's group trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico
”Everyone had a great time — Shangri-La was exactly what we were looking for. Carol, at the front desk, was helpful and friendly. The food was amazing (I’ve never eaten so much fresh guacamole in my life!) and the staff were trustworthy and kind.

Our snorkeling trip went well, too — Carlos helped us out at the dive shop. The weather was gorgeous — the breeze off the ocean is constant and refreshing, and the temp was about 80-85 degrees. No mosquitoes because of the breeze, too!

Tips to pass on to future travelers:
• Taking a bus from the airport to Shangri-La and vice versa is the least expensive way to go. The bus is $6.50 US and leaves on the top of every hour most days from the bus stop.

• There are several restaurants at Shangri-La and there is a great variety of food at any time of day — waiters even come around to folks on the beach to take orders around lunchtime. They even have a little bar and grill with swings at the bar, which is pretty fun — we all felt like little kids.

• The Turquoise Reef group rep was very helpful — she assisted our group in arranging an all-day ride to Chichen Itza and all members that attended had a great time. For tips on what to do for fun and how to do it, this rep is your best bet.

• When you arrive, the front desk takes an imprint of your credit card but does not charge you for anything until you check out. Items that would go on your card would be lunch, alcoholic beverages, and any bottles of water AFTER the first ones they put in your room (the first are complimentary, but they will re-stock your supply after those first ones, and any others you drink are charged – I think it was about $3 a bottle). We found that it was important to review this very carefully, because of the language barrier with some of the waiters at breakfast and dinner — for some reason, they had a tendency to try and charge those meals to our room even though the meals were included with the cost of our stay. Perhaps the waiters thought we were just eating there and not staying there — I’m not sure. At any rate, I would recommend checking charges carefully to ensure accuracy. The front desk is very understanding about these types of errors and will simply void anything that looks suspicious.

• The meeting room (or “Conference Salon”, as it’s called) is in the upstairs level of the restaurant where breakfast is, just past the bathrooms. It’s very spacious and breezy and has about 40 chairs and a podium.

Thank you SO MUCH for a wonderful vacation — everyone had a fabulous time. I truly appreciate all your help! Look forward to working with you in the future.“
— Erica, Community Energy, Inc.

back to top

From a woman client who went gorilla tracking in Rwanda and Uganda
”Ever since I had read Diane Fossey's Gorillas in the Mist I longed to see the mountain gorillas for myself. I had doubts, however, that — as a grandmother — I would be able to negotiate the steep, rugged terrain our cousins call their home in the mountains of Uganda and Rwanda.

When I found an outfitter who offered four climbs instead of the usual two I decided to give it a try.

At each location several gorilla famiies had been habituated at various elevations which nicely accomodated the physical abilities of tourists of all ages. To my relief I was always assigned the easiest and shortest climb until, however, we reached the gorilla habitat where we had to crawl on all fours at a fast pace along steep slopes throught thickets of stinging nettles, thorny shrubs and slippery bamboo litter. 

When I saw my first gorilla I stood in awe. What beautiful, majestic, powerful animals they are! So impressive and so trusting! In our presence the family members went about their business of grooming, resting, yawning, stretching, feeding and nursing which resembled so much our own habits. Only once in a while an unexperienced blackback or a worried mother would glance at us suspiciously. When a 450-pound silverback passed us only a yard away, my heart skipped a beat and I forgot to breath. But a look into his friendly, gentle eyes assured me that he would not hurt us. 

Back home my thoughts often returned to the unique encounters with the mountain gorillas, these powerful, fascinating, gentle giants who for a fleeting moment had made me feel like being in paradise where animals and humans live in harmony.  
 
Being close and being tolerated by the mountain gorillas in their natural habitat was the highlight of the trip.
 
How to have a positive experience when going on a rough trip in a foreign country:
1. Be open-minded
2. Be tolerant of different customs and mentalities (people are slower and less organized)
3. Be prepared for inconveniences (change of itineraries, car break-downs, no hot water, bumpy roads)
4. Be ready physically 
5. Be flexible in your habits and your thinking (don't expect your favorite cereal for breakfast)
6. Don't expect too much! (your trip is not a documentary on TV)
7. Enjoy little things too
8. Learn from people who are happy despite their poverty
9. Talk to local people to find out how they live and what they think
10. Go on trips where local people get the benefits (give them an incentive to protect local fauna and flora)
11. Don't forget that you visit a foreign country. Enjoy the differences!
12. Keep a diary“
    
— Sigrid, Michigan

back to top

A family vacation to Mexico
”Mexico was fabulous. We loved Capitan LaFitte (North of Playa del Carmen on the mainland, directly opposite Cozumel Island.) The staff was simply wonderful and we met some nice people (with some nice kids!).

The rooms were beautiful and little things like the coffee service (delivered to your room in the early morning hours!) were special touches that we really appreciated. We were so glad not to be on the "strip" in Cancun!
The kids were thrilled with having plenty of playmates - in fact they were invited to a birthday party one day while they were there (with a piñata!).
The one constructive criticism that I meant to leave for Capitan LaFitte is that it is somewhat difficult to get vegetarian meals. We discovered after the first day (when we had salad and more salad for dinner), that we had to order ahead each morning for dinner that night. With our rudimentary Spanish and the somewhat difficult English of the staff, we had a hard time finding out our options and so ate pretty much cheese quesadillas the whole time. We had even reminded the front desk person we were vegetarians when we came but I don't think they knew what to do with this information. So we were disappointed by the food. But we loved everything else. We actually wanted to buy some bedspreads like the ones they had on the beds in the room. They were so beautiful!

Thanks for the help. My husband and I do hope in the next few years to take a trip to Singing Sands Resort in Belize.“
— Virginia, Maryland

back to top