So you’re thinking about starting a travel blog and you want someone other than your mother to read it, right? With so many travel blogs out there, adding a fresh one into the mix can be a bit daunting; ‘Who’s going to read it?’, ‘What kind of stuff should I be writing?’, ‘How can I make my blog get noticed?’ There’s a lot to consider! Here are a few tips to help get you started and on the road to writing your brand spanking, killer blog.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE NEW YEAR WITH PROJECTS ABROAD
Projects Abroad makes it easy for a new year’s resolution to become a reality. With volunteer projects in 25 destinations, including new programs launching in 2011, Projects Abroad offers many ways to enrich the lives of others around the world, while providing a sense of personal fulfillment.
“The new year is a time when many pledge to better themselves or the lives of others, and Projects Abroad offers opportunities to achieve both,” said Thomas Pastorius, vice president of Projects Abroad. “Whether making it possible for villages to have clean drinking water, caring for children in orphanages or making strides in environmental conservation, volunteers will find a project that suits their interests.”
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
In the 1920s, sled dogs carried mail and supplies to remote regions of Alaska along a trail now called Iditarod. Guests on an AdventureSmith Explorations’ new nine-day Iditarod and Northern Lights Tour in Alaska this winter can place bets on their favorite huskies and witness the start of the annual Iditarod dog sled race while basking under the magnificence of the Northern Lights. This 1,150-mile wilderness trek from Anchorage to the Bering Sea commemorates a heroic race against death by diphtheria in 1925 when these fabled dogs brought life-saving serum to Nome.
This new AdventureSmith Explorations Iditarod and Northern Lights Tour beginning Feb. 27, 2011 includes dog sledding, cross country skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling, with stops along the way to see the Northern Lights from atop a mountain and review works-in-process at the 25-acre Ice Park where, in March, the World Ice Art Championships are held. Lodging is at several of Alaska’s finest hotels.
From Fairbanks, the arrival and departure city, and a stay at the Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge on the banks of the Chena River, the tour travels to Chena Hot Springs Resort to play in this winter world. Here is some the best Northern Lights viewing, especially from the vantage while soaking in a natural outdoor lake of up to 105 degrees. (The resort is also one of the leaders in harnessing geo-thermal energy from the hot springs.)
A flight to Anchorage includes lodging at the Captain Cook Hotel and an invitation to attend the Musher’s Banquet that celebrates the great achievement of the serum run that saved the lives of countless Nome children. The life and work of mushers who drive the teams will be explored, along with insights into the characteristics of sled dogs and the years of breeding and training that go into putting together a team. Mushers will describe the strategy, hardships, technical aspects and joys of life on the trail. At the banquet guests can bid at an auction for a ride with a musher as they leave the race start chute.
The ceremonial Iditarod start begins in downtown Anchorage. The #1 position is reserved in the memory of Leonhard Seppala, an immigrant from Norway who came to Alaska for the Gold Rush and became the state’s foremost hero when he did the 1925 sled run. Any of AdventureSmith Explorations’ guests who are successful bidders on the “Idita-Rider” auction will ride in the sled of a musher as they begin the race.
The per person rate begins at $2,699 (plus $98 tax) for eight nights lodging and breakfasts, two dinners, escort, private transfers, air between Anchorage and Fairbanks plus all admissions to events and lectures.
From November 1, 2010 to April 30, 2011 AdventureSmith Explorations also offers a shorter version of their Northern Lights Tour with an optional seat on the spectacular Aurora Train between Anchorage and Fairbanks. The program departs daily upon request and rates begin at $450 per person (without the train extension), or $750 with the train ride. See: http://www.adventuresmithexplorations.com/itinerarydetails.php/advid/18
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
Point. Snap. Postcard. A new iPhone app makes sending vacation postcards as easy as a push of the finger. World Nomads (http://www.worldnomads.com/) announces the WorldNomads.com Postcard App for the iPhone thats guaranteed to secure travel memories on refrigerator doors.
Here’s how it works. Users simply download the free app from iTunes. Using the app via PayPal they purchase stamps (the cost of $2 per stamp works for delivery anywhere in the world). Users then snap a photo that is then turned into a postcard image. Type a message for the back. Add a delivery address and then submit everything electronically. The postcard is printed in the USA on real high-quality gloss paper, stamped and then sent to the address on the card anywhere in the world.
“It’s that easy,” explains Chris Noble, general manager of World Nomads. “The cost is comparable to locally purchasing a card and postage, but without the Post Office lines!”
When making stamp purchases there’s also an opportunity to donate to one of World Nomads’ Footprints Projects that help change lives by funding community development projects that fight poverty worldwide. See: http://www.footprintsnetwork.org/openprojects.aspx.
For more information visit: http://journals.worldnomads.com/travel-tips/story/58495/Worldwide/Point-Snap-Postcard-make-real-postcards-with-your-iPhone
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
For newsy Santa Fe tidbits and unique travel ideas, I’ve been following @santafetraveler on twitter.
Now, the husband-wife team behind the tweets, Santa Fe travel concierge and trip planning providers, Billie Frank and Steve Collins, have launched a new travel blog, SANTA FE TRAVELERS, highlighting things to see and do in Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico.
The blog will feature the inside scoop on local attractions, day trips, history, art, culture, music. local personalizes, food and news about the hospitality and tourism industries in Santa Fe and northern New Mexico.
To learn more, visit www.santafetravelers.com.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
Meet K2 designers and try unreleased test skis and prototypes for the 2011-2012 season. This limited adventure from Canadian Mountain Holidays is perfect for people who love heli-skiing and testing new products.
Join CMH Heli-Skiing and K2 Skis this winter (March 12 - 19, 2011) and be among the first to test out K2’s upcoming line of 2011-12 skis. You will have access to a variety of unreleased K2 test skis during a Heli-Ski week with CMH. K2 designers will be on-hand with prototype skis, and they will gather your valued feedback on an assortment of performance metrics of each ski model you choose to take for a ride.
The designers will then take your comments back to the K2 Headquarters and fine-tune the skis with your comments in mind. Your reward for all this hard work? A free pair 2011-2012 K2 skis once they are released in the fall of 2011.
Get more Heli-Skiing details at Canadian Mountain Holidays
Source: The Adventure Collection
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".