Everett Potter's Travel Report

Vagabond, Ireland

One of the best things about attending the Adventure Travel World Summit (ATWS)  every year is that I get to meet people who run small adventure travel companies from all over the globe.

Now wait, this is not as absurd as it sounds. If you live in the United States, as I do, and you’re interested in adventure travel, you probably know about Backroads, Butterfield & Robinson, Duvine, Ciclismo Classico and The Wayfarers. And maybe O.A.R.S., Mountain Travel Sobek and R.O.W.

These are all estimable companies. But I’m talking about small companies that may operate in one region or even a single country. Run by locals who have top notch operations and can offer you a terrific trip at a terrific price. They not only speak the local dialect, they may well have grown up there. And they can provide you with an insider’s view of the countryside no matter what sport you’re attempting.

At last October’s ATWS in Lucerne, Switzerland, I met and spoke with dozens of such operators. Here are three that I thought were standouts:

Oxalis Adventures

I love Japan and I have always wanted to see more of the countryside on foot. Enter Oxalis Adventures., an English company with one foot in Japan (so to speak) that offers such walking tours. Their signature trip is the “Nakasendo Trail,” which is four days of walking on a 12 day trip that covers Tokyo, Kyoto and Nara. But for fitter types, they can take you off the beaten path on the “Kumano Ancient Trail,” a nine day trip with five days of moderate to strenuous walking on the sacred KiiPeninsula. The trip is priced from 2,145 UK pounds, (about $3,354) http://www.oxalis-adventures.com/

Vagabond

Vagabond offers small group adventure tours of Ireland. This is a world away from the “tour” of Ireland that your parents or grandparents did, the classic mad dash in a bus from Donegal to Waterford with time for tea in Dublin in between. Using specially designed Land Rivers, Vagabond does tours like the six day “The Edge of the World,” which visits the Dingle, Beara and Iveragh (Ring of Kerry) peninsulas, with hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking and sea kayaking (additional charges for some of these activities). The price is E1039 (about $1,411).  They also offer a variety of other tours, including an eight day “Wild Irish Rover” tour that covers the southwest and west of Ireland and a seven day “North by Northwest” tour of the country. For those with limited vacation days – i.e. most Americans – the shorter tours are a godsend. http://vagabondtoursofireland.ie/vagabond/

SpiceRoads Cycle Tours

This company’s motto is “See Asia by Bicycle” and this strikes me as a great idea. “Riding Regal Rajasthan’ is a 12-day trip through one of India’s most colorful areas while “Cycling Sikkim’s Tea Trails” is a rugged trip for those who really want to explore one of Asia’s most remote countries. But no destination in Asia is hotter right now than Burma, so I’m intrigued by their “Burma Adventure,” a  14-day trip that goes to Bagan, Mandalay, and the shores of InleLake. Priced at $3,550, it would be an amazing way to see this extraordinary Asian kingdom up close.

http://www.spiceroads.com/

Butterfield & Robinson's new Bistro Trips

By Steve Jermanok

Other biking outfitters have tried to emulate Butterfield & Robinson, but none can approach George Butterfield’s panache. Since he started his company in 1966, Butterfield’s ultra-sybaritic jaunts have included biking through France’s Loire Valley where you spend the night at a different private castle each evening. All vacations should be this glamorous. Or should they? B&R has just announced that they will be offering a more casual alternative in 2012 called Bistro trips. Instead of castles, you’ll be staying at independent 3 and 4-star hotels and pensions. Instead of a gluttonous multi-course feast, expect simpler dinners that feature indigenous fare. Pricing on these Bistro trips is $2,000-$3,000 lower than their signature biking trips and initial destinations include Provence, Tuscany, Puglia, and Normandy.

  Steve Jermanok As a columnist for National Geographic Adventure, adventure travel expert at Budget Travel, and regular contributor on outdoor recreation for Outside, Men’s Journal, Health, and Sierra, Steve Jermanok has written more than 1,000 articles on the outdoors.He’s also authored or co-authored 11 books, including Outside Magazine’s Adventure Guide to New England and Men’s Journal’s The Great Life. His latest book is Go Now! Put Your Life on Pause and See the World. He’s currently an adventure travel expert at Away.com and blogs daily at Active Travels. Follow him @activetravels

Erik Blachford

I first met Erik Blachford at a dinner in Whistler a couple of years ago, when we got into an extended discussion about the merits of the Burning Man Project. He is a devoted attendee while the jury is till out as far as I'm concerned. No matter, Erik is not the type one might think of when one thinks of the desert free-for-all called Burning Man. He's currently the Chairman and CEO of Butterfield & Robinson, the pioneer of upscale biking and walking vacations, as well as Chairman of Terrapass, Inc. He was formerly president and CEO of Expedia and CEO of IAC/InterActiveCorp's travel division. Very early in his career, Erik spent several years guiding and developing trips in Western and Eastern Europe for Butterfield & Robinson, as well as managing the company's student travel division.

On the other hand, maybe this is exactly the guy you'd expect to find at Burning Man. I recently got around to asking him some other questions in his new leadership role at Butterfield & Robinson, where founder George Butterfield is now the self-styled "CEO of all things slow."

Erik, you did a stint at B&R years ago. What were you up to then?
 

I started guiding for B&R in 1988, and spent four great seasons guiding bike trips in France as well as in Eastern Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. I also managed the B&R student trips for those years. Four weeks, 30 kids, carrying all their gear in pannier bags –quite an adventure.

Clearly, the company, and the world, have changed mightily since then. What kind of changes have you seen in the luxury biking and hiking market?

Back when I was first guiding, the whole idea of getting a little exercise while on vacation was still a bit revolutionary, especially when combined with the idea of arriving in athletic gear at some of Europe's finest hotels.

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What’s ahead for travel in 2010? Longer security lines and jittery fliers, for sure. But five travel experts looked beyond those concerns and deep into their crystal balls.

Kathy Dragon, Founder and Chief Curator at TravelDragon.com

Curators will rule: too much noise, too much information, and too many people talking becomes increasingly overwhelming.  In order to make decisions people will rely on people/sites they trust in the travel space (and in all decision making). Blogs, travel bloggers, twitter leaders and niche vertical sites will gain exposure and influence as they turn down the volume. Social Media will be a game changer.  Tour providers will invest in developing and implementing social media strategies. Those who embrace, interact, listen and share will see significant changes in customer retention, referral bookings, and resolution/customer satisfaction. Facebook will lead the consumer interaction, twitter will lead the pr, mobile devices will lead content sharing. Get Satisfaction and TripAdvisor will continue to navigate reviews and resolution.

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