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Last Minute Family Vacations
by Joy Crane

Perhaps you put off your summer vacation plans until the last minute, or maybe you just realized that first trip just didn't cut it. Whatever your reasons, planning a trip in mid-summer can be nerve racking.

This year, there are many benefits to spontaneous travel - namely great deals! If you're planning your own trip, here are a few tips to get started:

1. Start with the best hotels. If you normally stay at a three-star resort, check the five-star first. Everything is on sale right now so splurge a little!
2. Upgrade your travel and broaden your horizons. Just like hotels, think about upgrading your destination. If you normally go to Florida, check rates in the US Virgin Islands. If you normally travel in the Caribbean, check out the amazing deals that are being offered in Europe. You may be able to take the whole family to Nice on the same dime as last years' trip to The Keys.
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50 Tours of a Lifetime

For the past four years, the editors [of National Geographic Adventure] dug deep to bring readers the most singular, authentic, and sustainable trips offered in organized travel. This year is no different, but alas, the world is. The global economic crisis has people taking a hard look at their wallets. To many travelers, a big trip may seem unaffordable. But consider this: Travel companies are coping with the downturn by offering incentives, freebies, and discounts. Add that to the traditional savings an outfitter gets by being able to negotiate better rates on trip components and there may be no better time to take that tour of a lifetime.

[National Geographic Adventure] asked veteran contributing editor Margaret Loftus to scour the world for the best tours at the best values. Her report includes ....

Wildland Adventures was featured twice in the May 2009 issue of Recommend magazine:

The Art of Selling Sustainable Travel
by Carla Hunt

It may be regrettable — if even a bit surprising in today's save-the-planet mode — that most travelers do not ask for ecologically correct vacations when booking vacations to Costa Rica, or anywhere else, for that matter. However, that is almost universal report among travel industry sellers, although what they do report is more and more requests for leisure travel full of authentic experiences — certainly fitting, in part, under the sustainable tourism umbrella. At the same time, there are many US tour operators for whom the sustainable travel ethic is personally and professionally important, and who themselves use sustainably correct suppliers, fro ....

Costa Rica makes ideal family vacation spot
Where does travel guidebook writer Rick Steves go on vacation? Even a workaholic can relax in Costa Rica.
by Rick Steves

When I travel in Europe, I'm working. So when I take a vacation, I like to go elsewhere. I asked my friend Kurt Kutay, who runs Wildland Adventures, to set up the best possible eight-day Costa Rican vacation for a variety of experiences. This was a rare chance for our entire family to be together for the holidays.

Half of Costa Rica lives in a relatively moderate climate in the central plain. But we stayed where it's muggy to the max. On the west coast, laundry doesn't even dry when hung in the sun. The temperature is the same all year. Our lodge was off the grid, powered by its own generator; there was no air-conditioning, just fans. But for being away from it all, it was perfect. Kayaking up a lazy lagoon, daydreaming through ....

Wildland Adventures Directors, Kurt and Anne Kutay, featured in Seattle Metropolitan Magazine

Into the Wildland

For Kurt and Anne Kutay,—and thousands of travelers—that first dance became a rumba round the world.

North American Specialists

You don't have to go far for world-class adventure. These outfitters specialize in some of North America's greatest hits.

Wildland Tours Ply the whale-and seal-rich waters off Newfoundland and Labrador in a 45-foot boat (wildlands.com) ....

Best Outfitters '08

Do-It-All

Wildland Adventures

Traveling with Wildland feels like getting transported back in time. You might listen to an archaeologist interpret Maya heiroglyphs in Guatemala or commune with penguins and elephant seals in the Strait of Magellan. Protecting traditional ways of life-for people and animals alike- is Wildland's top priority. Signature Trip:"Masai Land Safari," Kenya and Tanzania, ten days, $4,295; wildland.com ....

Best New Trips '08

North America

Play Polar Bear Slug Bug

Scientists believe that global warming could drive polar bears to extinction sometime this century---a fact not lost on Wildland Tours. The Canada-based outfitter's first-ever polar bear tracking trip in distant regions of Labrador will depart next spring aboard the restored Dutch fishing vessel Wanderbird. Venturing from Nain to Torngat Mountains National Park Reserve--Canada's newest-- and onto the recently established Inuit territory of Nunatsiavut, the outfitter will team up with local Inuit for homestays and sit-downs with elders to discuss climate change and the plight of the world's largest carnivores. Last year Parks Canada biologists tagged a whopping 123 polar bears during a survey of the area; on this trip, guests will perform their own count, with par ....

Tours Of A Lifetime

The Classics

Kenya: Through a Different Lens

A region visited by migrating zebras, wildebeests, gazelles, giraffes, eland, lions, leopards, and cheetahs, the Merrueshi Community site, between Amboseli National Park near Mount Kilimanjaro and the Tsavo West National Park, was formerly used as a training camp for tribal warriors. Today it welcomes vistors who want to see the bush through the eyes of the Maasai. Wildland Adventures: "Living among the Maassai," 10 days; $4,295; 800-345-4453; www.wildland.com.

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The MJ List

Five Things We're Obsessed With This Month

#1 For those who want to hike the Machu Picchu but avoid the tourist crowds and dirty campsites on the Inca Trail, the new Machu Picchu Mountain Lodges Trek offers a lesser-known and more spectacular (it's mcuh closer to the glaciers) rout. Instead of tents you'll stay in four brand new trekker's lodges, with Jacuzzis and fireplaces, and visit local Quechua villiages along the way. The 11-day journey departs from Lima in September and October ($4,000; wildland.com) ....

Who's Game for an African Safari?

Don’t write off the idea of taking your kids to Africa. Here’s how to make
that excellent adventure come true

BY EVE GLASBERG

For many families, a safari tops the list of dream vacations. And no wonder: Africa is simply the best place in the world to see wildli ....

Seattle companies blazing trails for rugged travelers