I heard it straight from a Portland native’s mouth: everything seen on Portlandia is true. Slightly exaggerated at times, but most certainly true. I’ve long heard rumors about this quirky coastal city but didn’t quite know the extent of it.
Fact: Portland’s biggest tourist attraction used to be Powell’s City of Books - a bookstore that takes up an entire city block and climbs 5 stories. Also fact: Portland’s current biggest tourist attraction is a doughnut shop. Yes, you heard me. Voodoo Doughnuts takes (and quite literally makes) the cake.
While Portland has its quirky charms, it also has its historical charms and it was to those that I was drawn. Following a night’s stay in the Rose Hotel, our first scheduled activity was a guided bus tour of Portland. Our guide took us first to the International Test Rose Garden for lunch, up several windy (and questionable) roads for a bus our size to the Pittock Mansion, through historic neighborhoods and along the river. As we traveled we were told stories about Portland’s founding and expectations for its future - both equally interesting.
Kelly and Rhenee were excellent to work with on planning our trip. The logistics all worked smoothly and everyone was friendly and on time. Our accommodations were very good, particularly the incredible Patagonia Camp in Torres del Paine! Our guides on every excursion were outstanding and made the hikes memorable! Overall we had a wonderful trip with incredible memories!
Scott Gibson
1 day ago
Adventure Life is definitely a first-class safari tour company, and our representative was Franny Friesz. First of all, she responded immediately after we contacted Adventure Life. We told Franny that we had never been on a safari, and she was more than eager to offer a mountain of information about the trip. She informed us fully about all the ups, downs, and all arounds! She even prepared a number of packages for us to review -- even after we made changes to the areas we wanted to explore. Friendly, helpful, professional, and extremely knowledgeable -- these words describe Franny, and what a wonderful trip she prepared! We couldn't have asked for better service than Franny of Adventure Life. We HIGHLY recommend her and her outstanding company! Bon Voyage!
Prima Burke
2 days ago
The staff at Adventure Life made planning my family's trip to the Galapagos Islands as easy as possible. They listened to what we were hoping to experience and made thoughtful suggestions about how to accomplish our vacation goals while meeting the needs of travelers ages 17-76! They patiently answered questions and follow up questions in the months leading up to the trip. They helped us trouble shoot and customize the trip in every way possible. The logistics involved in traveling from Boston to the Galapagos are innumerable. The Adventure Life staff helped us arrange every detail and the team they assembled in the Galapagos was tremendous. I have never done a trip this big before and after working with Adventure Life this time--would not hesitate one second in working with them again.
Jennifer Howard Schroeder
3 days ago
Kevin got right on our request and had us booked within the week