Jetsettersblog

Goway Travel is offering a 10-day World of the Maya trip that presents an opportunity to learn about the enigmatic culture of the Mayans during the year when the Mayan calendar comes to an end. According to Don Forster, Goway’s product and marketing manager for Latin America, although the Long Count Calendar of the Ancient Mayans ends on Dec 21, 2012, it does not necessarily predict catastrophe.

“Though the Mayans have calculated that the date of Dec. 21, 2012 A.D. (13.0.0.0.0 in the Long Count) marks the end of a cycle and a beginning of a new one, they did not stipulate or predict what this ending and new beginning may denote,” Forster said.

According to Forster, there are generally two schools of thought on the matter. One is a more holistic spiritual view in which we see the ending of one phase and the beginning of a new one. The other is what he calls the “Hollywood view” in which a catastrophic event may take place, even the end of the world as we know it.

The trip surveys Mayan culture in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala with opportunities to extend your trip into Belize. The record of the civilization of the Maya can be found carved on towering temples such as Copan and Tikal as well as in the handiworks and daily life rituals of the modern descendants of the Mayan culture, all seen on Goway’s World of the Maya.

The 2011-12 Latin America travel planner prominently features the journey as well as many other options in to Central and South America. To order a copy of the Latin America Travel Planner, call 888-469-2955, email info@goway.com  or visit www.goway.com

EcoAmerica Tours unveiled its 2012 brochure showcasing value-pricedE Experiential Journeys to exotic desinations in Peru, including Machu Picchu, Cusco, Lake Titicaca, Nazca, Paracas and the Amazon, with choice of tourist, first class and deluxe properties.

In Galapagos Islands EcoAmerica offers a choice of four cruising vessels.

On mainland Ecuador it offers a choice of tourist, first or deluxe hotels in three guided itineraries visiting the colonial cities of Quito, Otavalo and Cuenca, the city of Baños, the gateway to the Upper Amazon Region of Tena.

In two of the programs, clients will receive a one-hour massage at the Papallacta Thermal Springs.

The Costa Rica section includes eight locally hosted opportunities for guests to enjoy the National Parks and partake in their choice of adventures, from zip-lining to river rafting to ocean kayaking. In Belize, EcoAmerica is offering three Experiential Journeys — one of them is a nine-day combo with four days in the Inland Jungle of the Cayo District with all meals and adventure activities included, plus four nights at a choice of two beach resorts in Ambergris Caye.

The Belize Beach Adventure Holidays feature stay-put active vacations at the clients’ choice of destination, either Ambergris Caye Island with a choice of two beach-front resorts and a full-day visit to the Lamanai Maya Ruins and Wildlife Sanctuary in the mainland jungle and a snorkeling trip to the Hol Chan Marine Park, or the Placencia Peninsula with beach-view accommodations at the Robert’s Grove Resort and two adventures, a one-day expedition to the Jaguar Reserve and the Waterfall Jungle at the Cockscomb Rainforest and a day cruise to the nearby Cays for a snorkel adventure and beach picnic.

In Guatemala, EcoAmerica Tours’ Glimpses of Guatemala features first class or deluxe accommodations with overnights and visits to Lake Atitlan and Chichicastenango Open Air Indian Market, the Colonial city of Antigua and the Tikal Archeological Park. The Guatemala Discovery offers clients the opportunity to explore the sites from Antigua and Guatemala City with an additional overnight in Lake Atitlan and a visit to Chichicastenango.

Tikal is visited on a one-day expedition from Guatemala City. EcoAmerica pays 12 percent pre-paid commission on all programs and FITs. Groups are priced net and free tour escort benefits are usually offered with 15 paid guests. For more information, call 887-836-3006 or visit www.ecoamericatours.com

Specialist independent tour operator On the Go Tours has just launched brand new Mexico and Central America touring programs.

Its new flexible small group tours, with a maximum of 18 passengers that range from 9 – 22 days, provide an adventurous way to visit the very best that Mexico and Central America offer. From the Mayan sites of Palenque, Chichen Itza and Tiakal to the Colonial cities and towns of San Cristobal, Antigua and Granada the region is awash with history and culture. Added to this all of the countries in Central America and the southern regions of Mexico offer unrivalled natural beauty from lush tropical beaches to untamed rain forests.

Tour can also be combined so that it’s possible to travel from Mexico City to Panama City on a 51 day extravaganza passing through the Mayan Empires countries and onto the nature lover’s paradise of Costa Rica before finishing in the cosmopolitan capital of Panama City.

Each individual group tour has been designed to provide maximum local interaction and a true flavour of the individual countries. Throughout Central America local family run simple hotels and public transport has been selected so that the authenticity and charm of the region can be fully appreciated. All tours are fully escorted by an English speaking tour leader.

On the Go Tours run the following tours in Mexico and Central America:

Cancun to Antigua – 10 days from £610

Costa Rica Calling – 14 days from £1090

Cost Rica to Panama – 14 days from £1,030

Footsteps of the Mayans – 13 days from £740

Mayan Empires 22 – days from £1280

Mexico City to Guatemala – 22 days £1310

The Way to San Jose -15 days from £990

Wild Cost Rica – 9 days from £580

www.onthegotours.com
Tel: 020 7371 1113
ABTA, ATOL & AITO bonded

Guatemala and Honduras with Friendly Planet Travel JENKINTOWN, Pa.-October 24, 2011-Central America’s exquisite culture, picturesque views, and rich history have attracted travelers for ages. Now, thanks to Friendly Planet Travel, a leading tour operator of high-quality, affordable vacation packages to exotic destinations worldwide, travelers can experience the untamed nature and impressive sites of Guatemala and Honduras on the 11-day Best of Guatemala and Honduras tour, visiting four UNESCO World Heritage sites. Guatemala combines the best of colonial Spanish culture with traditional Mayan heritage, and Honduras is the heart of ancient Mayan culture, with impressive Mayan tombs and step-pyramids. Seeing these two historic countries on one value-packed trip will make it the trip of lifetime for any traveler. They’ll get all this for the unbeatable price of $1,999, which includes airfare, superior accommodations, fully escorted tours, and more.

Travelers begin their journey in Guatemala’s capital and largest city, Guatemala City, before heading to the colonial town of Antigua, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, nestled between three picturesque volcanoes and colonial architecture.

As travelers explore Antigua, they’ll walk the cobblestone streets and discover Antigua’s most famous sites, including Church of San Francisco, La Merced Church, and Antigua’s Jade Factory. Travelers will stop at the bustling, colorful, open-air markets of Chichicastenango and enjoy the unique opportunity for lunch with an indigenous family before heading to the shores of the beautiful Lake Atitlan for a boat ride to Santiago and Santa Catarina. Later, travelers return to Guatemala City. From there, travelers will cross over the Honduran border through the vast coffee and fruit plantations, and continue to Copan, the most renowned archeological site in Honduras and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The abandoned ruins of Copan, dense tropical vegetation, and mystical monuments will round out the sightseeing in Honduras. Travelers continue back to Guatemala, stopping along the ancient trade route of Quirigua, another UNESCO World Heritage Site known for intricately carved, giant sculptures, including the massive Zoomorphs. A balanced mix of tour and leisure time continues as travelers enjoy a ride across Rio Dulce, also called the “Sweet River,” and visit an indigenous community development organization, Ak-Tenamit to learn about the indigenous communities of Guatemala and the sustainability of Mayan culture in a modern world. A stop at the Fort of San Felipe and logging village of Sayaxche is sure to inspire the history buffs on the trip. A tour of the twin cities of Yaxhe and Topoxte in the jungles on the shores of Yaxha Lake and later exploration of the islands of the lake will keep travelers enthralled. A final stop at the fourth UNESCO World Heritage of Tikal, located in the heart of the Mayan biosphere, entices travelers with impressive tropical forests and enormous amounts of plant and animal species. A climb to the top of some of Tikal’s tallest pyramids rounds out the best Guatemala and Honduras has to offer. The trip includes round-trip airfare from Miami and all transportation; superior hotel accommodations; 10 full buffet breakfasts, four lunches and one dinner, including lunch with an indigenous family; comprehensive sightseeing with a local, English-speaking expert guide; and a visit to the Ak-Tenamit sustainable development community. “This tour’s combination of the unmatched culture and nature in Guatemala, and impressive temples and terraces in Honduras and Guatemala, will attract even the most experienced traveler,” says Peggy Goldman, President of Friendly Planet Travel. “Magnificent monuments; exotic, tropical landscapes; dynamic Mayan culture; and stops at four UNESCO World Heritages Sites make for an unforgettable exploration of Central America’s gems.” Friendly Planet’s 11-day Best of Guatemala and Honduras tour has the following departures at the $1,999 rate: Mar. 16, Apr. 20, May 18, June 15, and July. 27. For more information about Friendly Planet Travel’s Best of Guatemala and Honduras tour, please visit the company’s website at www.FriendlyPlanetTravel.com; the blog at blog.friendlyplanet.com; or contact Jackie Zima at 610-228-2138 (office), 215-534-2973 (mobile), or write to Jackie@GregoryFCA.com. ABOUT FRIENDLY PLANET TRAVEL Friendly Planet Travel makes high-quality exotic travel affordable for everyone. Since 1981, Friendly Planet Travel has been arranging all-inclusive escorted discount vacation packages and cruises to the most exciting destinations in the world at the lowest possible prices. Each year, Friendly Planet Travel offers more than 30 different group travel packages to Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and South America-at discounts of hundreds of dollars off similar vacations. With no hidden charges, add-ons or surprises, Friendly Planet Travel vacations include convenient flights and airfare, carefully-selected first-class and superior hotels, knowledgeable English-speaking guides, many meals, and itineraries as well as friendships and memories that last a lifetime. Friendly Planet Travel offers its extensive, economical travel services to private groups including universities, religious institutions, alumni associations, and families. Groups who wish to travel together can count on Friendly Planet Travel’s three decades of experience to operate their group travel program expertly and always at the very best possible prices. Visit us at www.FriendlyPlanetTravel.com. You can also follow Friendly Planet on Twitter and Facebook.

Aeromexico will begin new flights to Guatemala from Mexico City on July 4.

The new flights are part of the airline’s international expansion plan announced earlier this year.

The flights will be operated on the next generation Boeing 737 with convenient schedules that will allow passengers to connect, domestically and internationally, to a network of Aeromexico flights. With the flight to Guatemala, Aeromexico will be offering its passengers flights to nine destinations to and from Latin America.

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Blount Small Ship Adventures will commemorate its 45th year of business in 2011. The company will celebrate this milestone all year long with new cruise itineraries and onboard festivities for guests.

In 2011, the company is offering 22 cruise itineraries. New routes explore the Mississippi River and the shores of New England and Canada. Many of the company’s popular cruises will be offered again in 2011 with an expanded schedule of activities, including more excursions, guest lectures, wine tastings, culinary demonstrations, onboard naturalists, photography workshops and more.

All of the company’s ships have been refurbished.

The ships still have their signature bow landings, allowing guests to step directly from ship to shore, and retractable pilot houses, taking its ships below the lowest bridges of waterways like the Erie Canal, where larger ships cannot travel.

“When my father founded this company in 1966, his vision was to take our passengers to destinations that the big ships simply couldn’t reach,” said Nancy Blount, president of the company. “Last year, we changed our name to Blount Small Ship Adventures to honor my father and our company’s visionary, Captain Luther H. Blount. Today I’m so pleased that we can celebrate the success of his business with exhilarating new cruise itineraries and special onboard opportunities for our guests.”

New Itineraries for 2011 include “Journey through Central America: Belize to Guatemala,” “Gems of the Virgin Islands,” “Caribbean Spectacular: St. Maarten & Antigua,” “Bahama Beachlovers: Caicos to Nassau,” “Skylines and Islands: New York City to Toronto,” “Discover Ontario: Scenic Georgian Bay,” “Charming Chesapeake Bay” and “Cultures and Traditions: Charleston to the Chesapeake.”

For more information, call 800-556-7450 or visit www.blountsmallshipadventures.com

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, owners of the W, Sheraton, St Regis and Westin hotel chains, has recently announced plans to open two new hotels in Central America, one in Costa Rica and one in Panama, both aimed at business travellers. In San Jose (Costa Rica), the new hotel is expected to open this year and will have 150 rooms in seven floors. Starwood is also investing around US$ 50 million in a new hotel in Panama City with 312 rooms, expected to open in December 2012.

Panama is also attracting the attention of other major international hotel chains such as Hilton, planning to open a new hotel with 213 rooms in Panama City; Ritz-Carlton, also opening a 216 room hotel in the capital, the Ritz Plaza Suites; and the Spanish chain NH Hotels, which will open a 180-room hotel in Panama City.

In El Salvador, the previous Radisson hotel has become a modern Crowne Plaza Hotel with 194 rooms and 23 meeting rooms to suit the most demanding business traveller, following an investment of US$ 3 million by Spanish group Agrisal.

There are currently more than 7000 hotels in Central America, with a total of 108,500 rooms, catering for both leisure and business tourists.

NEW WORLD ASSOCIATION FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
The recently created World Association for Sustainable Tourism, which has Costa Rica as its new vice-president, aims to transform tourism by sharing sustainable initiatives from different countries to learn from their experiences and implement best practice.

The Association is formed by 18 national governments, five United Nations entities, The Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation (OEDC), 17 international and business organisations, as well as 16 ONGs committed to promote sustainability in the tourism sector.

Under this umbrella, the hotel sector has launched several initiatives aimed at implementing good environmental practice such as the energy efficiency, renewable energy, residual water treatment and use of alternative water sources such as rainwater.

Specific strategies will be devised for places which require special care such as archaeological sites, beaches, forests and marine parks, contributing to offset the impact of visitors. Such initiatives have already been implemented in Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

PANAMA LAUNCHES FIRST MEDICAL INSURANCE FOR TOURISTS
The Panama Tourist Board (ATP) has launched a new Medical Insurance for Tourists to guarantee the wellbeing of visitors to this exotic country. The insurance is applicable to any foreigners or Panamanians living abroad who arrive in the country through Tocumen International Airport, and is valid for 30 days. It can be obtained, at no cost, on arrival at the airport.

The new medical insurance, backed by Generali and Axa, covers travellers in the event of falling ill or having an accident while in Panama, including: hospitalisation, medical expenses, transfer to the nearest hospital or regular place of residence, hotel expenses if they are convalescent for more than 10 days, pharmaceutical expenses, legal assistance, accidental death and repatriation to the country of origin, amongst others.

LUXURY TOUR OPERATOR LAUNCHES TWO CLIPPER SHIP ITINERARIES

Cox & Kings is offering a new way to explore the magnificent Pacific coastlines of Central America, rich in wildlife, culture and buccaneering history. The new itineraries of the Star Flyer Tall Ship focus on Costa Rica, offering access to major and lesser-known national parks, some located on remote islands and bays inaccessible to land-based tourists.

NEW: COSTA RICA AND PANAMA CRUISE
This seven-night cruise begins with a visit to the Panamanian island of Isla del Coiba, which is covered in virgin rainforest and home to howler monkeys and scarlet macaws. Other highlights include visits to the famous national parks of Corcovado, one of the most biologically diverse places on earth, and Manuel Antonio, a tropical lowland forest where the jungle meets the ocean.

NEW: COSTA RICA AND NICARAGUA CRUISE
Sailing north, the first port of call on this seven-night cruise is the fishing town of San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua where optional excursions include visiting the colonial town of Granada or the Masaya volcano crater. Returning to Costa Rica’s northern coast, visits are made to Palo Verde National Park, which contains 300 species of bird and Islas Tortugo, whose waters are home to manta ray, whale and dolphin.

Both cruises are priced from £2,995 per person including international flights with Iberia, 1 night accommodation in San Jose, 7 night accommodation on the Star Flyer in a category 4 outside cabin on the Commodore deck, meals as detailed, private transfers and an excursion on Day 2. All excursions on board are optional and payable locally.

Copa Airlines has announced that that as of June 2011 it will increase daily flight frequencies to several countries in its extensive route network, offer more convenient schedules and begin service to three new destinations — Toronto, Canada; Porto Alegre, Brazil; and Nassau, Bahamas.

Copa Airlines’ transition as of June 15 from a four-bank to a six-bank operational system (groups of connecting schedules) will allow the airline to better utilize Tocumen Airport’s existing infrastructure as well as offer passengers more and better scheduling options.

As of June 15, the Hub of the Americas at Tocumen Airport will add to its existing flight banks, currently two in the morning and two in the afternoon, a group of early morning departures — ideal for travelers who want to arrive at their destination early in the day — and a group of afternoon departures.

These operational changes also translate to significant improvements in Copa Airlines’ flight schedules to major destinations on the American continent, such as New York’s JFK Airport and Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., as well as to South America’s principal cities.

Copa will also increase frequencies of flights in other markets, including Lima, Bogota, Santiago, Orlando and Miami.

For more information, visit www.copaair.com

INKA AND THEIR ANCESTORS has been completely redesigned to include some of the very latest and most exciting discoveries in Peru – Sipán where archaeologists have uncovered one of the richest tombs ever found, Chankillo, with its recently revealed solstice observatory, and Caral, created 5,000 years ago and the oldest city in the New World.

Hosted by project directors, you will learn of the latest finds at both San José de Moro and Huaca del Luna. Travel for 16 days with Dr. Bill Sapp, August 13 – 28, 2011.

The cost is $7,995.00.   VISIT THIS LINK.

UNDER SOUTHWEST SKIES – Led by Dr. E. C. Krupp, the Director of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, explore some of the most stunning ruins in the Four Corners region, including Canyon de Chelly, Hovenweep, and Chaco Canyon.

Co-sponsored with UCLA Extension, this trip is timed to coincide with summer solstice to include observations of sunrise and sunset as the ancients may have performed them. June 17 – 26, 2011 with archaeo-astronomer, Dr. E. C. Krupp: $3,995.00 + air.

VISIT THIS LINK.

THE MAYA OF THE YUCATAN -

Travel with only 13 others on an 8 day expedition through Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula where you will visit renowned Chichén Itzá and Uxmal, and see recently excavated discoveries at Ek Balam.

View the walled city of Campeche and impressive 16th century colonial churches.

July 10 – 17, 2011 with epigrapher, Stanley Paul Guenter: $3,995.00 including international flights. You may want to consider taking your children or grandchildren!

VISIT THIS LINK.Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions you may have. I’d love to speak with you about any of our exciting trips.

By the way, we sent out a post card this week and I would love to have your feedback when you receive it. Let me know if you enjoy receiving these updates, and if the post card was enticing.

As it’s been raining for a month straight here in northern California, the idea of travel to a warm climate was certainly attractive to me!

Kind regards,

MARY DELL

Mary Dell Lucas
Founding Director
mdlucas@farhorizons.com
(800) 552-4575
(415) 482-8400
Web Page: http://www.farhorizons.com
Blog: http://www.farhorizons.com/blog