PRESS RELEASE FROM COLLETTE

The 14-day tour adds value with unique transportation and lengthy stays

Pawtucket, RI (January 7, 2025) – Collette’s “African Safari: Kenya and Tanzania” small group Explorations tour lets travelers dive into wildlife in two countries. This journey takes travelers beyond the guidebook with unique transportation and stays.

“Collette’s ‘African Safari: Kenya and Tanzania’ gives travelers and authentic, intimate safari experience,” said Jaclyn Leibl-Cote Read the rest of this entry »

When Janet and Jeff Blackwell checked into Beaches Negril on June 26, no one was paying much attention to a tropical wave forming off the coast of Africa. Celebrating their 40th anniversary, they planned to spend six days in Negril with their two grown sons, their wives and three small children, and then recreate their honeymoon with some private time at Sandals Montego Bay.

As the winds picked up, from 35 mph to 135 to 165, and the storm turned west and headed across the Caribbean toward them, they did consider changing their flights home. But tickets were scarce Read the rest of this entry »

Located in southern Kenya, near the Tanzanian border, Amboseli National Park is more than an afterthought to the great Mount Kilimanjaro on the horizon. It has the “Big 5” of African animals to witness on safaris, large elephant herds, and is home to the proud Maasai tribe. Not to mention plenty of options for a few nights’ stay, from lodges to luxury camping.

The landscapes of Amboseli National Park range from the seemingly endless savannahs to the woodlands of acacia trees, to the swamps created by the runoff of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Impossible to overlook, Mt. Kilimanjaro is approximately 30 miles away. Views of this almost 20,000-foot-high mountain capture the attention and curiosity of travelers and locals alike–images memorialized in the minds of all who bask in the present scene. And particularly for those who enjoy photography.

When I was in South Africa in May, I had the rare pleasure of visiting the Oyster Box hotel in Umhlanga Village, a few minutes’ drive north from the city of Durban. I say “rare” because most Americans who do visit South Africa don’t make it to KwaZulu-Natal province on the east coast, and they miss one of the best places in the country Read the rest of this entry »

WeTravel, a booking and payment platform, has recently released a Where to Go 2024 list outlining hot spots in travel for 2024. They’ve based the suggestions on bookings through the WeTravel platform. London, Ghana, Paris, and more. These recommendations are complete with popular activities from cruises to festivals, and museums to nature. Read the rest of this entry »

Wildlife reserves in Africa that offer safaris to incoming visitors are not mere tourism concessions. They are, without exception in my experience, ultimately about conservation and about saving the great charismatic wildlife of Africa from extinction.

The Eastern Cape province in South Africa used to be one of the richest wildlife zones in Africa in terms of diversity, according to Joe Cloete, CEO of Shamwari Private Game Reserve in Eastern Cape, South Africa.

“Then man arrived in 1600s, 1700s, and 1800s, Read the rest of this entry »

While in Cape Town, I had the good fortune of attending the currently featured exhibit at the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Africa Art, and was blown away. It was something the Cape Town wind had almost accomplished on its own, but the museum finished the job.

Avanti Destinations named Tenerife as a new destination on its roster of places where it provides components for independent vacation packages. It’s the first new destination Avanti has added for a while. Adding destinations was not a big trend during the Covid lockdown, or even now while the industry is re-tooling and getting back on its feet. Avanti’s last introduction of a major destination was Abu Dhabi in June 2022.

Lilly Ajarova, the CEO of the Uganda Tourism Board, visited New York last week in preparation of Uganda’s rolling out of a rebranding campaign.

The slogan for the country will change from “Uganda, the Pearl of Africa” to “Exploring Uganda, the Pearl of Africa.”

It’s only one word changed, but as Mark Twain said, the difference of one word can be like the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.

More important than the change of slogan, the tourism department is changing its idea of how to market itself and to whom.

“We’ve been able to define who our audience is,” Lilly Ajarova told me. “We are looking for travelers, not just tourists, people who are more responsible, more mindful, and travel in a responsible way, as opposed to Read the rest of this entry »

When I was in India I took an elephant ride. It’s an attraction that is offered tourists in countries such as India, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. The elephants were decoratively adorned with colorful weavings. I sat over the shoulders and rocked with the movement as the elephant walked up a hillside toward a temple. It was a thrill to be on the back of such a big, wonderful animal that was generously allowing me to ride on his back. I felt gratitude and friendship for the gentle giant.

I admit, I didn’t give it a lot of thought. It was just a few moments of one day on a 10-day tour. I took the ride, enjoyed it, and then moved on to the next thing on my itinerary. Then one day I met Stephanie Shaw, the corporate liaison for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), and I realized what should have been obvious to me in the first place. Of course. Why did I ever think that an elephant would work a day job carrying humans around on his back constantly of his own free will, hour after hour, day after day?

When I learned the story behind the elephant rides, I felt ashamed of myself for being so insensitive to the animal. I was sorry for having participated in it, for helping to perpetuate the practice of selling elephant rides, which requires a kind of captivity and treatment I can hardly bear to imagine.

I assume others who take the rides are like I was. They saw the elephant ride attraction and went on it, not thinking that much about how it came to be that the world’s largest land animal would be submitting itself to serving as a taxi at a tourist attraction Read the rest of this entry »

After a year of being locked down, it’s understandable that people may want to double up on their bucket list trips to make up for lost time. But Africa and Antarctica in the same trip? That seems a stretch.

When I first learned that two tour operators, Wilderness Safaris and White Desert, joined forces to offer two trips that combine an African safari with an Antarctic expedition, my reaction was that the combination was incongruous at best. In my mind, they seemed to be two separate worlds, almost like two opposite poles of experience. But, when I looked closer, I found that it makes perfect sense. Read the rest of this entry »