Archive for November, 2006

Spending a day at the Grand Canyon with Wilfred Whatanome, perhaps the most recognised member of the Hualapai Indian Nation, may have some troubling effects on your outlook on life.

Wilfred is connected to the Earth around here. The Hualapai have lived on the West Rim of the Canyon for almost a thousand years, and tribal members like Wilfred are keen to not only keep their culture alive, but to help visitors to the Canyon understand more than just the geology.

Viator & The Hualapai Nation meet for talks at Eagle Point

That’s not to say the geology isn’t interesting. But when Wilfred starts talking about the history of his people, about their old customs and folklore, and about being truly happy in your own life, you’ll notice that your attention has shifted away from your surroundings and become more introspective. Which is surprising when you are in the middle of a place like this…

Because all the cliches are in place for a reason: it’s vast, majestic, soaring, serene, mystical, and — frankly — pretty scary. This is not a place you would want to get lost in, especially at night or during winter, when temperatures plummet and those cliff edges are still 4,000 feet above the river.

Anyway, I’m no Grand Canyon expert, but I did learn a bunch of things in my one day escape from Las Vegas that will be helpful to first-time visitors:

1. Think carefully about how you want to get there. There are dramatic differences between helicopter, fixed-wing and drive-in tours. Driving down to the Canyon by Hummer will appeal to those who don’t savour a 45-minute chopper or plane ride, others will just want to “get there,” and some will see the flight as a highlight of their day.
2. Research which part of the Canyon you want to visit. The West Rim, South Rim and North Rim all offer different experiences.
3. Think about what you want to do there. This is closely linked to your decision on which part of the Canyon to visit. Things to see and do include hiking, boat rides, off-roading, horseback rides, wagon rides, and nearby sites such as Monument Valley, Joshua Tree Forest and Hoover Dam. Each tour offers a different combination.

A gift from Wilfred, on stone from his tribal lands

Viator has a broad range of tours and we’re constantly evaluating the customer experience to ensure we’re delivering what people want. For those who just aren’t sure — and that includes most first-timers, I guess — my advice is to select a tour that includes some time down at the River, not just on the rim; and time with the locals: the Hualapai and Navajo Tribes who are the custodians of much of the Canyon. I was a guest of Sundance Helicopters on their Grand Voyager Exclusive tour. At around $500 per person it’s quite a commitment, but I’m willing to bet you won’t regret a penny of it.

-Rod Cuthbert

Find all Viator blog posts about Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon

Two AM: casino, club, show, slot machines, crowds, neon…

Nine AM: desert, sagebrush, blue sky, emptiness, cowboys, horses.

You’ve escaped from the Strip. This is going to do you good.

Tex and friend, waiting for riders.

Stream of consciousness: Wow, the air is clear out here. Which horse are they going to give me? That big black one looks mean. OK, I’m getting the one I wanted. Hey Tex, nice to meet you. I have no idea what I’m doing. Pull back on the reins? OK, I can do that. God, I’m glad I wore my jacket, it’s cold still.

[Twenty minutes later...]

Piece of cake. First time in the saddle, I’m obviously born to this. Probably a ranch-hand in a previous life. Cowboy, maybe. Horse, more likely. Anyway, I’m eating this up, let’s go faster. Do I have to stay behind this lady? Get a move on, lady. Oh, forget this, I want to accelerate. OK, there’s no accelerator. Let’s go, Tex. Jeez, I wish I’d listened when they told us how to do this. I think I have to pull up on the reins. No, we’ve stopped, that’s not it.

[Another twenty minutes later...]

I’m calm now. Relaxed. Tex, you happy Mate? OK, we can stop if you’re hungry. You eat that sagebrush stuff? Looks a little dry, but OK. Here comes a hill. Alright, we’re gonna go fast now? Hey, this is pretty cool. Hold on. OK, we made it. Slow, fast, I’m good with this. I don’t think I’m in charge here, somehow. Are we there yet?

Tex and me on the trail at Sagebrush

It’s warm now. These leather boots of mine look good in the stirrups. Jose, how do I look? OK, Jose thinks that was a pretty stupid question. Fair enough. Good to get out of Vegas for a while. People at blackjack tables: not smiling. People on this trail ride: smiling. Hmmm…

Your correspondent was a guest of Sagebrush Ranch, and enjoyed their Jesse James Breakfast Horse Ride.

-Rod Cuthbert

According to Harper’s magazine, the calories consumed in an average American Thanksgiving Day meal could power a 27″ television for - gobble gobble - 49 hours!

Which means food is the last thing on your mind right now, if you’re American. So here are some Thanksgiving Day talking points. Fire up your PowerPoint, gather the family around, and dazzle them with the following alternative Thanksgiving Day offerings:

• Turkey, hold the Ottoman sauce
• Stuffing, getting yours knocked out
• Sweet potato, just another way to say ‘I Love You’
• Pumpkin pie a la mode

Happy Thanksgiving, America. And if you feel the need to start powering more than a 27″ TV with your meal, browse all of Viator’s things to do and start planning your next trip.

-Scott McNeely 

Victoria Falls

Feeling a bit nippy? That crisp autumnal air got you feeling blue? Or maybe you’re hotting up in the southern hemisphere, baking in the languid spring warmth. Either way, a visit to Victoria Falls might be the ticket - either get the chill out of your bones in the equatorial heat, or cool down in the spray of the mighty falls.

It’s hard to talk about the falls - or the Zambezi River, which does the falling - without using the ‘mighty’ tag - they are nearly 2km (1mi) wide - the largest single sheet of cascading water in the world. Not for nothing do the locals call them Mosi-oa-Tunya - ‘the smoke that thunders’. It shouldn’t surprise you that they’re one of the seven wonders of the natural world.

The Zambezi flows between Zimbabwe and Zambia, you can tour the falls from either side. There are also national parks on both sides. On Viator.com you can book 3- and 5-day tours that take in walking tours, sunset cruises on the river, local villages, rainforests teeming with wildlife, and (on the longer tour) Chobe National Park in Botswana.

• Three-day Victoria Falls Fly-In Tour (from Zimbabwe)
  
• Three-day Victoria Falls Fly-In Tour (from Zambia)
  
• Five-day Victoria Falls and Chobe Fly-In Tour

Head to Hong Kong for the 2006 Hong Kong WinterFest, November 24 - January 1. Organized by the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the business district will be transformed into the winter wonderland of Santa’s Town, featuring different Christmas settings. Drop in to see Snowy Chapel, Santa’s Lodge and Mistletoe Corner to name a few.

Hong Kong gets into the holiday spirit with a wide range of festivities. At the Ocean Park Christmas Sensation families can have heaps of fun at Ice Mystique, featuring new acts and new illusions. On Viator.com, you can book a tour to Ocean Park including transport to and from hotels. Check out the complete list of holiday events in Hong Kong.

While you’re in Hong Kong, check out what other Viator.com travelers like to do. Here’s a list of our Top 3 traveler reviews.

• Hong Kong by Night at Revolving 66 Restaurant & Junk Cruise
• Macau full-day tour by catamaran
• Hong Kong Island Tour

A friend I traveled with in Africa was (and is) obsessed with monkeys. While I and our other traveling partner went for reasons encompassing things like exposure to different cultures, food, and, well, lions and hippos and elephants, our companion went for the primates.

Which when you come to think of it is not a bad way to organize your travels. There are a lot of places you can see monkeys - and chimpanzees, orangutans, baboons, and other primates - and we book tours to many of them. You can visit the sacred Monkey Forest in Bali, or explore wildlife parks in Costa Rica and Barbados. In Belize, locals have joined together to create a Baboon Sanctuary.

For sheer audacity however few places beat the Taj Mahal for cheeky monkeys. One recently toppled a bit of decorative masonry there. But such wanton monkey vandalism is relatively rare - still, maybe a pith helmet wouldn’t go astray.

-Bruce Melendy

As much as we aim to describe our tours in a unique and creative manner without repeating ourselves, we come across ones that stump us. Take for example, the ever popular Hop on & Hop off bus tour.

We carry them in almost every city imaginable: San Francisco, Boston, New York, Sydney, London, Dublin, and Paris (to name just a few). We have open-top buses, double-decker buses, trolleys, canal buses, water taxis, tramways, and river cruises.

Usually, you purchase a pass and ride between popular attraction stops where you can sightsee or ride at will. For the most part, we refer to them, and name them something like “Hop on Hop off” or “Loop” tours, where you are free to literally get on and get off at will throughout your day. These tours are a great way to get your bearings in a new city and are exceedingly popular.

So, for this week’s traveler of the week, we nominate Sandra M, who managed to put it just a little differently as she describes her River Red Rover - Thames River Hop On Hop Off Pass.

What a fantastic way to see London, up and down, and on and off. I recommend this to anyone wanting to travel on the Thames. What a great trip! Well worth it.”

Reviewed by: Sandra M, United States

We couldn’t have put it any better ourselves!

For a person who lives in a place with no snow (San Francisco), I like ice a lot. In particular I love trekking about on glaciers. I’ve strapped on some crampons and clambered up a couple now, and there’s something about the crackle of the ice under your feet, the clean air, the fresh water and endless white that keeps me coming back for more.

My favorite so far is Perito Moreno in Chile, which you can also visit from Argentina, the glacier spans both countries in Patagonia. Perito Moreno is easy to access, you can basically walk right up to it after a short boat ride. To get to most other glaciers or ice fields, it’s best, or at least a lot less tiring, to helicopter in and out.

Fox and Franz Josef glaciers in New Zealand are next on my list, though I’m very tempted head just a little North some weekend to Whistler, Canada.

You don’t need to be in great physical shape to take a glacier walk, just reasonably active, but if you don’t think you’re up to trekking on the ice, I’d recommend a glacier cruise. Most glaciers are near water and usually cruises are in operation. I took a glacier cruise in Alaska, and it was gorgeous.

My advice when you’re on the ice: Take lots of pictures and dump that water bottle out and scoop up some fresh glacier water, it’s cold and it’s the best water I’ve ever tasted.

-Kelly Gillease

As winter approaches in the northern hemisphere, the Caribbean starts sounding like a brilliant idea. Clearing snow from your driveway, or clearing a path to a lush tropical beach? Three layers of clothes plus a fuzzy wool hat, or lounging poolside in flip-flops? Snowshoes or snorkeling?

OK, so now you’re sold on the Caribbean. The next question is - where to go? To help you sort through the hundreds of options in the Caribbean, here’s our list of most popular destinations and most popular things to do on Viator.com in November. There are a few surprises on the list, which simply reminds us that Viator’s travelers have excellent taste.

Top 5 Destinations in the Caribbean

1. Dominican Republic
2. Jamaica
3. Aruba
4. Puerto Rico
5. St Maarten

Top 5 Things to Do in the Caribbean

1. Powerboat trip in Nassau, Bahamas
2. PADI open-water Scuba diving certification in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
3. Dolphin swim at Ocean World, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
4. Zip-line canopy tour in Ocho Rios, Jamaica
5. ‘ATV Mania’ trek in Aruba

Browse all of Viator’s Caribbean destinations or get inspired with our complete list of things to do in the Caribbean.

-Scott McNeely

After poking around our London traveler reviews, we were inspired to create a “best of London” wishlist based on, well, what you’ve said about them. So here are today’s top 5, traveler recommended, London Tours:

1. River Red Rover - Thames River Hop On Hop Off Tour
2. Oxford, Stratford and Warwick Castle
3. Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Georgian Bath
4. Magic of London - A Full Day Tour of the Sights of London
5. The Original London Sightseeing Tour Hop On Hop Off