When deciding when to visit Antarctica, time of year does make a difference, but deciding which time of year is “best” depends on what you are looking at getting out of your Antarctica adventure. Specific wildlife sightings – mating season – new hatchlings – weather – icescapes – mud – penguins poo smell at its worst/best…? While January is typically considered the heart of the Antarctica travel season, visitors shouldn’t [...]
UPDATE Jan 9, 2012 – For both Aerogal and TAME flights, fuel surcharges can now be paid in advance to our offices. There will no longer be any payments made locally at the airport. Please see additional details in comments section below. All flights starting on January 1, 2012 to the Galapagos, will be subject to a fuel surcharge. It does not matter when the flights were booked, and applies [...]
Since the eruption of Chile’s Puyehue Volcano in early June, flights in Argentina’s Bariloche region have experienced disruptions. Waiting for the dust to settle, the airport is taking advantage of this time to do a little updating and maintenance work. Originally scheduled to reopen in this month, it was announced that the Bariloche will now be closed until Feb. 2012. Here is an official statement released today (Dec. 12, 2011) [...]
The bad news: American Airlines filed for bankruptcy this morning. The good news: At this time it looks like “business as usual” for travelers during the Chapter 11 process. Here is the official statement our flight partners received from Derek DeCross, American Airlines Vice President of Global Sales. I’ll keep you updated on changes — or check out more information on the restructuring on American Airlines website. November 29, 2011 [...]
Last month, the Galapagos National Park Service announced they are closing visitor access to two of the tortoise corrals at Santa Cruz’s Fausto Llerena Tortoise center — due to some irresponsible behaviors by, reportedly, both some select travelers and naturalist guides. Behaviors reported include littering and violating the park’s rules against touching and coming within two meters of the animals. It was also reported that visitors were observed walking on [...]
To tip or not to tip – or what to tip!? Questions regarding tipping etiquette are some of the most common concerns travelers have when visiting a foreign country. To make matters even more confusing, there is no universal language for tipping; in fact, in some countries a tip is considered an insult or an act of arrogance. Unfortunately, there is not a straight-forward, yes or no, answer to the [...]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=px9-eBAdteM&feature=channel_video_title] A little reminder in the principles of Leave No Trace is always a good idea. This short video from my last Antarctica trip provides just that. Although a tiny pebble might seem insignificant, they are incredibly coveted by Antarctica penguins — penguins make their nests from small pebbles, that are not always easy to come by in the snowy, stark environment. Seen here in a short clip are Gentoos [...]
Here’s a great deal for those headed on a Peru trip. LAN airlines is offering a free round trip domestic Peru flight when you purchase your international flights to Lima, Peru on LAN airlines. Deal applies to flights from Miami, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and several additional US connecting cities including: Boston, Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia, Seattle or Washington DC. The catch: You need to purchase your flights by [...]
UPDATE 10/28/10: As of Oct 28 (interestingly enough one day after I posted this article) LAN announced flights from Lima to Iguazu will now go through Foz do Iguazu International Airport (IGU, Brazil) replacing the original published operation from LIM-IGR in Argentina. Still totally doable — but now many travelers (including US travelers) will be required to purchase a visa for Brazil. LAN airlines recently announced new direct flights from [...]
In the recent years, it has become more and more common for border officials to exercise caution when they encounter a child traveling with just one birth parent. So if you are traveling as a solo parent with your child and another legal guardian/parent for your child is staying in the US, it is a very good idea to obtain “Permission to Travel” letter — a notarized letter from that [...]
