April 3, 2009
Mongolian Landscape
As we all continue to tighten our belts when it comes to spending on things we once considered necessary, travel is one of the line-items that can fall into a gray area of our budgets. A little tweaking of the way we look at booking travel can help us justify what is feasible, and how we can make our vacations all the more memorable.
“Location, location, location!” isn’t just for real estate these days. If you’re already halfway around the world, make it count! Once you’ve already booked a trip to Mongolia, consider extending your vacation by stopping in Beijing or Seoul for a few days to a week before making your way back home. Airlines often offer special rates for extended layovers, and hotel internet specials are becoming better and better, especially when you book 2 or more nights. Try this strategy with a Paris vacation before your arrival in Morocco; a stopover in Munich or Frankfurt on your way to or from Italy; or spend a few days in Lisbon after you disembark your Mediterranean cruise. It’s all the satisfaction of 2 vacations for a margin of the cost of doing them separately – plus you’ll be better adjusted to the time difference and won’t spend nearly as many hours in-flight. So keep checking off those places on your bucket lists, or simply re-visit that city you’ve been dying to get back to for years. Whatever your reasoning or motivation, now is the time to make your trips go further.
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March 26, 2009
Karl Brullov, The Last Day of Pompeii (1830-33)
In just two short days the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum lay in ruins and partially covers in a thick layer of volcanic ash. In AD 79 Mt. Vesuvius erupted and caught the citizens of both by complete surprise. Now excavated and a remarkable sight to behold, one can envision the likes of what these cities might have been in their prime. Bustling city-towns of trade, large agoras and markets, amphitheaters, forums and baths where frescos and unique tile work still remain today.
The area today stands as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has become one of the most visited location in Italy. The region around Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast, is dotted with quaint pastel colored villages that scale volcanic cliffs and are surrounded by turquoise seas. Positano and Amalfi are two of the areas fascinating towns, situated along the beautiful Mediterranean waters. Sorrento is yet another seaside gem which was once a cherished retreat of poets like Byron and Keats.
Ruins of a forum in Pompeii
Smithsonian Journeys offers a unique tour to this area that is unmatched. Tour the archeological sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum and witness their story, walk the sun drenched streets of seaside towns, take a tour of Naples and its inner old city, and take in a wealth of information from Study Leader Federico Poole, an archeologist who has worked on a variety of sites in the Campania region. Stay in four-star accommodations in Naples with views of the Castel dell’Ovo and the Mediterranean.
To find out more about this tour, please visit Smithsonian Journeys website for full itinerary, accommodations and tour pricing here
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March 16, 2009
The historical home of Bloomfield.
Many think of Bermuda as a subtropical island get-away in the north Atlantic, where sun, pink sandy beaches and crystal clear turquoise waters of the Sargasso Sea can wipe away the ever-present stresses of our hectic every day lives on the main land.
But there is so much more to these tightly clustered islands then meets the eye. Bermuda was discovered in 1503 by a Spanish explorer, Juan de Bermúdez., then was permanently settled by the British in 1612 as they sailed to Virgina. Bermuda’s town of St. George (originally named New London) has now been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its depth in world history and culture.
St. George is rich in historical homes and gardens, seaports, quaint lighthouses and museums of the likes one could not find anywhere else in the world. Beautiful gardens surround private white and pink-washed Georgian houses of Bermuda coral limestone, furnished with Bermuda-made cedar furniture and still owned by the original families.
The Royal Navy dockyard has attracted visitors with specific interests military history as it was the acting principal base of the Royal British Navy in the Western Atlantic between the periods of American independence and the Cold War.
Should you be thinking of visiting these islands, it is worth mentioning that the National Trust for Historic Preservation will be hosting a terrific tour to Bermuda November 1-6, 2009.
Specialists will join in for visits, discussions and receptions to share their expertise on such topics as architecture and decorative arts, British forts and native and resident artists. Time to simply relax and absorb the gracious atmosphere of this enchanted island are ample – where narrow lanes, winding roads and well-tended gardens blend easily with pink sand and that famous turquoise sea.
Highlights of this journey include a tour of Verdmont, the “crown jewel” of the Bermuda National Trust; a walking tour of Hamilton and time to explore the famous Front Street; and a visit to Tucker House, home to Bermuda’s most famous families.
Inside the Bloomfield home.
Bermuda holds a special interest for National Trust members because of the programs of our sister organization, the Bermuda National Trust. Since its establishment in 1969, the Bermuda Trust has acquired more than 60 historic properties and open-space areas in Bermuda, and is a formidable force in the preservation of this fragile island. Hosts from the Bermuda National Trust’s Cultural Tourism Office share their experience and knowledge of preservation issues of their well-kept monuments. To learn more about his tour, download this brochure from the National Trust for Historic Preservation or visit their website here or contact the tour operator, Academic travel Abroad for more information about Bermuda and this one of a kind tour.
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March 5, 2009
A view of where the desert meets the greens of the Nile basin.
Last Sunday, I was on the Nile with the Smithsonian Journeys “Egyptian Odyssey” tour group. It had already been an exciting day since five of us started the morning with a hot air balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings. Delightful. Then the whole group toured Karnak Temple together, led by our guide Jihan Hussein. Magnificent! This was my fourth time through Karnak and I never cease to be dazzled by it. Then we spent the afternoon cruising upstream on the Nile on the M/S Tamr Henna toward the Esna lock.
The tour is over now and I am relaxing with friends in Cairo. This latest Egyptian Odyssey group was, I have to say, quite wonderful. Despite being focused on Pharaonic Egypt, they were very curious about contemporary culture. In the short couple weeks in this country, they started to really “get” modern Egypt. During the
Aloft over the Valley of the Kings
last few days of the tour, many of them expressed surprise, satisfaction, even joy at realizing how rich and varied is the culture of this crazy, gritty, delightful place.
When you first get under the surface a new culture, there is always a little bit of that feeling Howard Carter must have had when he first looked into the tomb of Tutankhamun. “Yes,” he is reported to have replied to Lord Carnavon’s eager queries, “I see wonderful things.”
Andrew Simon
Tour Manager
Smithsonian Journeys Egyptian Odyssey
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February 13, 2009
Chairman David Parry and President Kate Simpson need two hands to count the number of world crises they have weathered together as leaders of Academic Travel Abroad, a 59-year-old educational travel company based in Washington, D.C.
The OPEC crisis, Chernobyl, Tiananmen Square, Desert Storm, 9/11, SARS, and other world events are the backdrop upon which ATA has designed and operated innovative travel and study abroad programs for decades. Throw in the normal boom and bust cycles of the U.S. economy and both Dave and Kate agree that they can’t imagine a more interesting and challenging business to manage!
While ATA has “been there and done that” during previous downturns, the current crisis is a “perfect storm” of factors that have deeply affected the older, educated, affluent Americans who form ATA’s customer base. However, while other travel companies have panicked and slashed prices to improve bookings in the short term, ATA has taken its usual, “no drama” approach and has applied a set of timeless management techniques that have steered the company out of choppy waters in the past.
Here are a few secrets from their survival play book:
- A diversified product line that caters to travelers at several different “life stages”
- A commitment to superior customer service and strong value-added components in all of its programs
- A strong investment in marketing
- An innovative product line that meets the traveler’s need for shorter programs that don’t skimp on education
- A long term plan to be prepared when the market rebounds
- A relentless focus on strong business principles, such as containing overhead costs and maintaining a strong cash flow
Academic TravelAbroad
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February 9, 2009
I first visited Viet Nam in 1994 as a new employee of ATA and then again leading Smithsonian Study Tours’ first tour to country the following year. Since then, I’ve returned to graduate school, studied Vietnamese language, history and culture, and even started work on a doctoral dissertation examining border trade between China and Viet Nam. In all that time, I’d never actually made it back to Viet Nam. I’d come close – Cambodia, Thailand, even looked over into Vietnam from the Friendship Gate close to Pingxiang, China, but I hadn’t been able to make it back for nearly 14 years.
Finally, in October, 2008, I was able to make the trip. People who’ve traveled there a lot told me I wouldn’t recognize the place, and based on my experience in China, where I frequently visit, I was expecting a complete transformation. I was very pleasantly surprised. To be sure, there were changes – the ride from the airport into Hanoi at midnight was along an elevated highway, crowded at the time with motorcycles overflowing with flowers headed to the wholesale flower market. 14 years ago, the road to the airport was at places unpaved and meandered through villages and farms. There are now skyscrapers in Hanoi, mixed in with the elegant old French colonial buildings. But it’s still recognizable as Hanoi. Unlike their counterparts in Beijing, the Vietnamese haven’t torn down the vast majority of their city and replaced it with a hodgepodge of oddly shaped, hyper-modern buildings, or row after row of identical apartment buildings. The old quarter looks very much as it did when I first explored it: chaotic and colorful. There are more cars on the road, and many, many more motorcycles, but it still feels like Hanoi.
The biggest change I noticed was in the people. Part of what I loved about Viet Nam when I first visited was the people — friendly, smiling, welcoming. They’re still that way, thankfully, but now there’s a sense of optimism and confidence that I didn’t detect before. People in their 20s and early 30s have grown up and come of age in a period of relative openness and unprecedented economic growth, and they seem to have the feeling that anything is possible. In the early 1990s, there was a lot less certainty. Doi Moi had just begun, and no one was sure what would happen. They seemed tentative, wide-eyed toward the outside world. No more. At least in the places I visited – admittedly all very much on the beaten track – people were hip, connected, well-informed and cosmopolitan. I, being none of those things, felt a little out of place!
14 years ago on my first trip to Viet Nam, I received no fewer than 3 proposals of marriage from young women (none of them serious, but then again they probably weren’t completely unserious) who foresaw that their lives in Viet Nam would be bleak; this year I received none. I like to think that this is not (only) because I am old, fat and generally unattractive but rather because the Vietnamese themselves like where they are and where they are headed.
Chris Roper
Senior Program Manager
Academic Travel Abroad
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February 5, 2009
We all count down the days until departing on an overseas trip to a new place we’ve never experienced before or even one which we dearly love. The day arrives and the eager anticipation overwhelms us. We meticulously plan out every day while we’re gone – right down to how many pairs of socks and what color tooth brush to bring. Our bags are taken by the luggage clerk and we board the plane, now able to relax a little before all the excitement begins. Everything’s accounted for, all is foreseen and planned to the “T.” From this point, everything always go according to plan, right?
Well, not always. Any number of minor inconveniences can throw a stick in our spokes such as a delayed flight or missed train. Small headaches arise here and there, but we overcome. Now, consider something more severe. Think of those who were traveling in China when the earthquake struck, or others who might have been caught exploring beautiful Tibet during the recent uprisings and riots, or even travelers falling ill mid-journey.
Academic Travel Abroad (ATA) is a well established tour operator which prides itself on its distinct ability to manage such situations while hosting travelers on their many worldwide tours. ATA realizes that anything from delayed flights to mother nature to local political and social disturbances can occur at any time without warning and can immediately effect the tour itinerary or operation. ATA staff are trained for these disturbances and quickly react in a way that can provide safety, comfort and a sense of normalcy regardless of the level of adjustments needed to the tour. ATA has been in business for over fifty years and has encountered many such situations in the past and has refined their skills and abilities when addressing such issues while on tour. The safety and satisfaction of our travelers is our primary concern at every step along each tour.
Although traveling on your own can render a sense of freedom while abroad, there are many reasons to consider traveling to new destination with a managed tour as they can provide resources and staff trained to handle everything from language barriers to medical needs and provide a real and tangible sense of security and enjoyment while abroad.
Safe travels!
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January 26, 2009
Last November I had the pleasure of traveling to Charleston and Savannah with members of the Woodson Art Museum. These two cities are the epitome of the traditional warmth and hospitality of the South and are a MUST to visit if you have not yet been lucky enough to have experienced the charm of South Carolina and Georgia Low Country.
The program for this trip was very full and varied so that every day there was something to enjoy for everyone. For example, we visited Middleton Place and Drayton Hall and learned about plantation life in the 18th and 19th centuries. On another day, we visited Brookgreen Gardens, a National Historic Landmark and a non-profit outdoor museum where we admired the majestic 
oaks, beautiful gardens and the world-renowned large collection of American sculptures. Sweetgrass basket making has been a proud tradition of Mount Pleasant for more than 300 years; it is one of the oldest crafts of African origin in America. We stopped one day at one of the stands on the side of the road to talk to a basket weaver and admire the products. We were hosted at a private gallery reception in Charleston as well as being taken on a gallery hop hosted by the Savannah College of Art and Design.
The southern cuisine which was plentiful and excellent was not lost on us! One evening we enjoyed the state-of-the-art demonstration of dinner by the Charleston Cooks, a well-known culinary school. On our farewell night, we had an exceptionally fine dining experience at the Old Pink House in Charleston. We also had brunch at Palmer House and this gave us the opportunity of feeling the ambiance of a typical southern house and seeing the spectacular views of the Cooper and Ashley Rivers. Perhaps the most memorable supper was 
the Oyster Roast and Low Country Boil at Palm Key. The institute at Palm Key, an organization dedicated to the rich ecology, art and history of the Low Country, treated us to a spectacular oyster roast. This was followed by a buffet supper where freshly caught shrimp (that very morning) were just one of the delicacies. This experience was the first of its kind for most of us and one we will not readily forget.
Throughout this journey we were accompanied by several guides, all true southern ladies who exuded charm and showed up each morning with a different huge hats which they wore the whole day. This added a festive air and was great fun.
Most travelers on this tour already knew each other but some new friendships were formed and others deepened through this experience. I have a feeling that the experiences of this special trip will remain with participants for a long time.
Izabella van Raalte
Academic Travel Abroad
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January 15, 2009
Sneaking into Russia!
During the excitement over the dissolution of the Soviet Union in late 1991 I attended a meeting of the American-Soviet Tourism Society in Tallinn, Estonia. With the breakup of the USSR, the three Baltic Republics were once again independent and now, I had to obtain a separate Estonian visa. When I arrived at the airport I encountered newly uniformed Estonian customs officials. Nearby stood several forlorn USSR border guards who no longer had a role to play.
I continued by air to Moscow and, at arrival at Sheretimevyo Airport, I was amazed that there was no immigration control. Clearly, the system still regarded Tallinn as an internal flight. So when I presented my passport and Russian visa at the Moscow hotel there was much discussion about the fact that all the parts of my visa were intact. (The Soviet system was to issue a separate paper visa with one part detached on arrival and, after providing authority for the hotel stay at each place, the remainder was kept upon departure. There was never a visa in the passport itself.
The same consternation occurred on check in at the Astoria Hotel in Leningrad or was it now St. Petersburg.
The finale came on departure at Leningrad’s Pulkovo Airport for home. I shuffled up to the border police stand and presented my passport and all the parts of the official visa. These passport control stands were and are booths where the shelf for presenting your passport is about 4 ½ feet high. Through the years this was usually the most uncomfortable encounter of a visit to the USSR.
The young and, as always, expressionless border guard took one look at my complete visa and rang for the supervisor. The supervisor appeared and went behind the counter where I could not see what they were looking at. There was much discussion and thumbing of my passport. My heart sunk because this meant I was going to miss my flight.
Finally, after about ten minutes, I heard the thump, thump of the official stamp on my visa and I knew that I would be free to go. As the supervisor left the booth she turned to me and exclaimed in disgust on word – Yeltsin!
Several months later the same thing happened on the night train from Vilnius, Lithuania to Moscow. But that is another story…
Dave Parry
Chairman
Academic Travel Abroad
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January 12, 2009
Emma Impavido reflects on how satisfying she finds her job as Program Manager, even in difficult economic times. ATA’s team of Program Managers are responsible for designing and operating ATA’s tours for its non-profit clients. Emma is ATA’s senior Program Manager for Italy, Greece and U.K. programs.
I am increasingly reflective about why I like my job as a program manager and why I think the travel industry will survive the current global economic crisis.
I have been creating enticing cultural group tours to Italy, Greece and UK for nearly 15 years, 8 of which I have been with ATA. (And I am one of the newer members to the department!) I enjoy putting itineraries together because I love being transported to a destination on a daily basis. There is excitement in designing a new culinary tour to Sicily; the need for a solution when dealing with an unexpected museum closure and there are decisions to make when analyzing what I can remove from the program to keep the costs down while still maintaining a first class educational journey.
Travel planning is in my blood. Friends and family are forever asking me (a Brit) for advice on where to stay or eat when traveling to Italy, and not my Italian husband! Many of us at ATA have this passion about travel and are sources of knowledge about the different regions of the world in which we operate.
But for those behind the scenes, travel is not always the glamorous job of jet setting around the world to check out elegant hotels and fine restaurants. When times are good there are still the issues that keep us on our toes: uprisings in Mongolia, a broken pelvis in Athens, a sick traveler on a Trans Siberian rail journey, not to mention the lost luggage and travel delays. These are perhaps nothing compared to the challenges the travel industry will face in 2009, but they are truly typical examples of what we encounter day to day.
Travel is the first luxury to go when finances are tight, but I am confident that people will still look to travel planners and travel agents, each experts in their own field, to assist with their travel decisions.
In this age of modern technology anyone can book a flight, hotel and rental car and have the basics for a vacation. Even I thought I could book a last minute family getaway to the beach recently on my own. Despite my husband and I being on the telephone simultaneously with different airlines and travel providers (and checking out different travel websites at the same time) we watched flight availability disappear before our eyes. Yes, people are looking for discounts but they are obviously still interested in traveling. This is encouraging. Gone are the days, perhaps, when people made plans months in advance, which is why we continue to see a rise in late bookings. In the end, a local travel agent was able to book a package to the beach for me and my family, cheaper than I could put the parts together myself. Trust the experts, I thought. They know the family beach package deals, and I don’t!
At ATA we are experts in sophisticated worldwide cultural group journeys. We also do so much more. Apart from the first class customer service, our tours are unique – they provide special access to historical sites that are either not normally open to the public or are opened at exclusive times for our group. Each of our tours is led by an expert leader and an elegant and organized tour manager that make for a hassle free experience. Individuals would be hard pressed to put this caliber of experience together on their own.
Discerning travelers will continue to look for life changing experiences to discover the world, and I hope they will seek out our expert knowledge and experience. We may have to amend our budgets, and some creative ideas will have to be curtailed (what not to include is always the greatest challenge on any itinerary ) but that’s what keeps the job of a Program Manager so interesting. This is a difficult time, but as challenging times often do, it brings home why I love this job and the experiences we create.
Emma Impavido
Senior Program Manager
Academic Travel Abraod
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