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Guest Blog

As the Beatles tell us, we get by with a little help from our friends. This is especially true with adventure travel. Veteran travelers can often be one of your most important resources for learning about lesser-known but wonderful destinations, for providing you with experiential advice about what to do and what to avoid when you’re on your trip, and for helping you to find the best deals on airfare, equipment, and other important travel costs. So you’ll want to know how to meet fellow adventure travelers –and we’ll provide you with a few tips to point you in the right direction.

But even your fellow travelers can’t tell you everything: they have their own trips to plan and take, after all! For comprehensive information about adventure travel, including strategies for choosing equipment, the types of adventure travel, and some destination reviews, you’d do well to check out “Earth Trek: Everything A Novice Traveler Should Know”, available for purchase and download at our travel and trekking guide .

Local Clubs

Often, cities have clubs and societies designed for travelers and outdoor types to meet and exchange stories about their adventures. Take a look in your phone book, ask around, or look for ads at local sporting goods and military surplus stores or travel agencies. You might also contact a city official who works with community organizations; some travel-centric clubs have partnerships with local government in order to provide funding and support for club events.

Personal Networking

More people are interested in travel than you might believe. Ask your friends and family members if they know any travelers at work or college, and keep an ear well open at parties, events, or even the grocery store. If you hear someone talking about their most recent trip or about travel-related topics, try striking up a conversation: if you can meet just one traveler, chances are that he or she will introduce you to many more.

Travel Forums and Websites

There are countless websites and online forums devoted to travel topics. Join a few forums and newsgroups and ask any questions you might have, or search the forum archives in order to learn about a few tips or destinations that you might not know about yet. Try to search once or twice a week for new travel websites. Some websites post directories of local travelers to help promote group trips, equipment sharing, or simple fellowship: take advantage of these and contact travelers that live in your area.

For More Information

For more information about adventure travel, consult “Earth Trek”, available at our travel and trekking guide

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Source: How can I meet fellow adventure travelers?

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Although it isn’t a well publicized fact, Paris is the second largest European city ; also known as affectionately as the City of Lights. Almost everyone taking a European vacation will decide on a short stay in Paris; there is so much to see and do that often only the main tourist attractions can be done.

It is renowned for its wonderful Gothic inspired buildings and street markets; including famous sights like the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe . Traveling through the city of Paris can be very enjoyable; the Metro underground system is easy to understand, efficient and reaches everywhere even the most enthusiastic tourist would want to visit.

No visit would be complete without a trip to the top of the almost 1,000 feet tall Eiffel tower; it can be seen throughout most locations around the city. Illuminated at night, it dominates the city’s skyline; guided tours are available where the patriotic tour guides give you an in depth history and an insight to what it is to be French.

Don’t forget to include the famous Champs Elysees in your list of places to visit; with shops, cafes, and restaurants littered along the wide pavements, it is a ‘must see’ for every visitor. When you visit this region of the city you will see it is a much more select area; the exclusive five star hotels are situated in this more select part of the city.

If you are an art lover you will enjoy the Louvre , a truly amazing museum; with over 300,000 wonderful artistic works, you simply cannot see all of it in one day. There are enough art exhibits to keep you occupied for more time than your short stay in Paris would allow; approximately 8 million visitors a year come to see the Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa , both of which are on display. Many well known artists spent years of their lives in Paris; chances are that you will have the opportunity to see a number of famous paintings.

Another famous Paris attraction is The Arc de Triomphe which was built within the first decade of the nineteenth century.  Originally commissioned by Napoleon , it bears the names of generals of the Napoleonic Wars to honor them and his troops.  The Unknown Soldier from World War I is buried there.  Although not generally well known, the Arc had an observatory installed after it was constructed to provide views of neighboring areas; it stands in the place where the city’s main avenues begin,  including the Champs Elysees.

This city has a huge variety of places to visit; although no trip would be complete without seeing the main attractions mentioned here.  They may be best viewed as part of a guided tour, some of which are actually free. Most people find their Paris short stay vacations exciting but only see a small sampling; you would probably need another week to view the main galleries, visit medieval castles and explore fabulous gothic churches.

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To make travel more enjoyable and less stressful (owing to how often things go wrong) it is often a good idea to re-iterate a few simple rules that can help prevent disaster. Often problems encountered during travel leave a bitter taste in the mouth and leave you with an undeserved dislike of the destination and its people. Usually, traveling safely just requires basic common sense. As it often happens, we think we personally do not require it because someone else is responsible for these mistakes!


People often neglect to trust their instincts in a situation which takes them into trouble, and scammers actually rely on your innate sense of trust and a relaxed attitude when on vacation. So, prior to meeting these folks make it easy on yourself.

Take just what you require for your day trip out and nothing more; the rest (extra credit cards, cash) should stay in your hotel safe or another designated holding area. Especially protect cash and try not to have much available at one time.

If traveling as a couple you should each use a separate credit card in case one is stolen. Another simple trick to stop a bag thief is to place the strap over the head and across the chest; a robber looking for an easy grab will likely move on. Try to be aware of how you present yourself when you stroll around; don’t present yourself as an easy target for the snatch thieves on the back of bikes. Criminals love tourists as they are usually considered easy prey and we tourists underestimate how determined criminals are.

If you carry a bag of any kind , get a combination lock or padlock; it will be well worth it as it will deter the majority of bag snatchers who are looking for fast easy scores. A word of warning to those men that always have their wallet in a back pocket ; don’t. It is the first place any thief will look and it is an easy target for them.

The majority of problems could be avoided if people didn’t let their guard down , which is common on vacation; if you can remember to travel safely, it won’t decrease your pleasure but could prevent a lot of problems.

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If you are fortunate enough to have seven days in New York City, you will find this just enough time to see the most popular visitor attractions. Probably one of the first stops will be the Empire State Building and while it may be on every tourists list, that doesn’t mean it is not worth it, especially the view from the top.

However, it is the Rockefeller Center that will provide superior views (weather providing) from the top at around 820 feet tall. If you want to see The Statue of Liberty but are short on time then have the ferry drop you at Ellis Island (the former immigration center) where the view is great.

The Staten Island ferry can still be traveled on without cost and can offer excellent photo opportunities of the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty; dropping off at the terminal is the best place because it is where there are some good street artists.

No trip to New York would be complete now without a visit to where the World Trade Center Towers once stood not that long ago. It is true to say that the location does affect people emotionally and until you are there, it is hard to imagine just how much space was taken up by the Twin Towers.

For those who love to shop there is of course the famous Tiffany’s and Bindel plus some fantastic old discount warehouses worth a look down on the Lower East Side. Bloomingdales is another famous store (for the wealthy) to look around but don’t forget the original Macys.

An excellent tourist location is the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum which is likely to be closed until the end of 2008; this attraction is highly recommended and worth putting on your list of places to visit. There is a great deal there with the focus on the USS Intrepid, a Second World War aircraft carrier ; Concorde is also there and many other interesting vessels, including a submarine. The New York City Police Museum is worth an hour if you’re down that way; it’s free to enter but a five dollar donation is recommended to help with its upkeep; it contains a great deal of information about the World famous Police Department; you can buy souvenirs too.

Another museum is the Lower East Side Tenement Museum which focuses on the appalling conditions experienced by the immigrants back in 1864. If Central Park is on your list of places to see then there is another museum aptly named the City of New York Museum which has exhibitions exploring the city’s past, its present and the future. The museum is in a beautiful building which is free to enter but a nine dollar donation is normally given with plenty of souvenirs available.

For such a large vibrant city, seven days in New York should be viewed as minimum if most of the major attractions are to be seen comfortably and not as part of a ‘whistle stop’ tour.

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