Calfan
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2009
- Messages
- 2,561
CaliforniaGirl09 and I are just back from our first trip with National Geographic. We did their England Coast to Coast trip, hiking 137 miles over 11 days from the Irish Sea to the North Sea in Northern England. We had an incredibly positive experience with NatGeo and thought we would share some of what made the trip so great since we know folks on these boards are occasionally looking for alternatives to ABD.
This trip was a National Geographic Adventures trip and is best suited for adults (18 and over). However, NatGeo runs a host of family adventures and, based on our recent experience, I definitely want to try one of those. My family is looking seriously at the NatGeo Ireland Family Adventure for 2017 (we are doing China with Thomson Family Adventures in 2016).
Our positive experience with NatGeo started even before the trip began. NatGeo assigns a trip coordinator for each departure, and this person is available to help with pre-trip logistics and to answer questions. I emailed our trip coordinator numerous times with questions about the trip (e.g., what would the bag lunches consist of on the days we ate on the trail, whether there were bathroom facilities along the trail, what the terrain would be like) and she always responded promptly (even including pictures to give us an idea of the terrain). It was nice to have one person as a point of contact for these inquiries. (Thomson Family Adventures also uses this trip coordinator approach.)
Our pre-departure package (received 3-4 weeks before departure) was full of practical, useful items. It included a hardcover DK Eyewitness travel guide of Great Britain, a detailed driving map of England, a National Geographic Adventures baseball hat, metal water bottle, Neoprene pouch that I used to carry my camera accessories and I think CaliforniaGirl used for all her chargers, etc. and luggage tag, and a list of all of the trip participants, including their home towns.
And once the trip began, we were even more impressed.
We stayed at charming country inns and hotels, including some awesome pub-style hotels with great bars and common areas. Basically, it seems like NatGeo selected the best accommodations available in the towns and villages along our route.
The luggage handling was awesome. When we left a hotel, we simply left our packed bags in our hotel rooms. No early bag pulls, which was fantastic. Upon arrival at the next hotel, our bags would already be waiting for us in our rooms. No waiting for luggage to be delivered to our rooms.
The group size was another huge plus, at 14 (NatGeo limits their Adventures trips to 16 maximum, with a minimum of 8 for the trip to go; for their family adventures, the max size is 25). I was close to being able to identify everyone by name by the end of our welcome gathering and dinner and definitely knew everyone by name half way through our first day of hiking. The group size was big enough to allow for a variety of personalities and backgrounds but small enough to make real bonding possible.
We had 3 guides for our group of 14, which was also fantastic. Two of the guides accompanied us on our hikes, and the third handled all of the logistics, meal planning, baggage handling, etc. Once he had finished with these responsibilities, he would usually hike backwards from the ending point for the day (or segment) to meet us along the trail, giving us 3 trail guides. Our lead guide was Scottish but knew Northern England well, our co-guide for hiking was English and from the Yorkshire area where we were hiking, and the logistics guide was a strapping lad from New Zealand.
All meals were included with the trip (including desserts with lunch and dinner if desired) with the exception of one dinner, which was on-your-own by popular demand (since we happened to be in a large enough city to allow for a choice of dining options). We were pretty blown away by the high quality of the food. The trip became much more of a foodie trip than we would ever have thought heading into it. Soft drinks and snacks were also included everywhere, including espresso drinks like cappuccinos. We were told to simply charge everything to the NatGeo account. Alcohol was the only beverage not included.
There were a number of surprises and nice touches along the way:
At our welcome gathering, we were each given a Coast to Coast traveler’s notebook.
At one of our hotels, an in-room gift was waiting for us (locally made foot balm and soap).
One day, in addition to lunch, we took a hiking break for afternoon tea where the scones were to die for.
On one evening, we had an offsite dinner at a family-run inn that was just fantastic. We took an old-time trolley bus to get there, and the driver was a hoot. He had us in tears of laughter with his opening “monologue.” And once we got to dinner, the innkeeper was just as entertaining, but very authentic. His wife did all the cooking, and the food was amazing. That night happened to be my birthday, and the guides arranged for the innkeeper's wife to make me a birthday cake (a Victoria sponge, which is a regional specialty), which was really nice touch. The cook sent me back to the hotel with half the cake as leftovers. There was another birthday later in the trip, and the guides also arranged for a birthday cake for that celebration.
The guides often pulled out local treats for us to enjoy along the trail, like flapjack.
Both of our hiking guides took pictures along the way, which were uploaded to Dropbox so everyone can have access. Trip participants can also upload pictures to share with the group.
The farewell dinner was another highlight. Wine was included with that dinner, and the guides organized a fun trip trivia contest with prizes for first, second and third place. They also handed out personalized gag gifts for each guest, presented along with an anecdote or story that gave the background for the choice of gift. So much fun.
Hopefully CaliforniaGirl will chime in if I’ve left anything out. Overall, just a fantastic trip and experience. So impressed with National Geographic.
This trip was a National Geographic Adventures trip and is best suited for adults (18 and over). However, NatGeo runs a host of family adventures and, based on our recent experience, I definitely want to try one of those. My family is looking seriously at the NatGeo Ireland Family Adventure for 2017 (we are doing China with Thomson Family Adventures in 2016).
Our positive experience with NatGeo started even before the trip began. NatGeo assigns a trip coordinator for each departure, and this person is available to help with pre-trip logistics and to answer questions. I emailed our trip coordinator numerous times with questions about the trip (e.g., what would the bag lunches consist of on the days we ate on the trail, whether there were bathroom facilities along the trail, what the terrain would be like) and she always responded promptly (even including pictures to give us an idea of the terrain). It was nice to have one person as a point of contact for these inquiries. (Thomson Family Adventures also uses this trip coordinator approach.)
Our pre-departure package (received 3-4 weeks before departure) was full of practical, useful items. It included a hardcover DK Eyewitness travel guide of Great Britain, a detailed driving map of England, a National Geographic Adventures baseball hat, metal water bottle, Neoprene pouch that I used to carry my camera accessories and I think CaliforniaGirl used for all her chargers, etc. and luggage tag, and a list of all of the trip participants, including their home towns.
And once the trip began, we were even more impressed.
We stayed at charming country inns and hotels, including some awesome pub-style hotels with great bars and common areas. Basically, it seems like NatGeo selected the best accommodations available in the towns and villages along our route.
The luggage handling was awesome. When we left a hotel, we simply left our packed bags in our hotel rooms. No early bag pulls, which was fantastic. Upon arrival at the next hotel, our bags would already be waiting for us in our rooms. No waiting for luggage to be delivered to our rooms.
The group size was another huge plus, at 14 (NatGeo limits their Adventures trips to 16 maximum, with a minimum of 8 for the trip to go; for their family adventures, the max size is 25). I was close to being able to identify everyone by name by the end of our welcome gathering and dinner and definitely knew everyone by name half way through our first day of hiking. The group size was big enough to allow for a variety of personalities and backgrounds but small enough to make real bonding possible.
We had 3 guides for our group of 14, which was also fantastic. Two of the guides accompanied us on our hikes, and the third handled all of the logistics, meal planning, baggage handling, etc. Once he had finished with these responsibilities, he would usually hike backwards from the ending point for the day (or segment) to meet us along the trail, giving us 3 trail guides. Our lead guide was Scottish but knew Northern England well, our co-guide for hiking was English and from the Yorkshire area where we were hiking, and the logistics guide was a strapping lad from New Zealand.
All meals were included with the trip (including desserts with lunch and dinner if desired) with the exception of one dinner, which was on-your-own by popular demand (since we happened to be in a large enough city to allow for a choice of dining options). We were pretty blown away by the high quality of the food. The trip became much more of a foodie trip than we would ever have thought heading into it. Soft drinks and snacks were also included everywhere, including espresso drinks like cappuccinos. We were told to simply charge everything to the NatGeo account. Alcohol was the only beverage not included.
There were a number of surprises and nice touches along the way:
At our welcome gathering, we were each given a Coast to Coast traveler’s notebook.
At one of our hotels, an in-room gift was waiting for us (locally made foot balm and soap).
One day, in addition to lunch, we took a hiking break for afternoon tea where the scones were to die for.
On one evening, we had an offsite dinner at a family-run inn that was just fantastic. We took an old-time trolley bus to get there, and the driver was a hoot. He had us in tears of laughter with his opening “monologue.” And once we got to dinner, the innkeeper was just as entertaining, but very authentic. His wife did all the cooking, and the food was amazing. That night happened to be my birthday, and the guides arranged for the innkeeper's wife to make me a birthday cake (a Victoria sponge, which is a regional specialty), which was really nice touch. The cook sent me back to the hotel with half the cake as leftovers. There was another birthday later in the trip, and the guides also arranged for a birthday cake for that celebration.
The guides often pulled out local treats for us to enjoy along the trail, like flapjack.
Both of our hiking guides took pictures along the way, which were uploaded to Dropbox so everyone can have access. Trip participants can also upload pictures to share with the group.
The farewell dinner was another highlight. Wine was included with that dinner, and the guides organized a fun trip trivia contest with prizes for first, second and third place. They also handed out personalized gag gifts for each guest, presented along with an anecdote or story that gave the background for the choice of gift. So much fun.
Hopefully CaliforniaGirl will chime in if I’ve left anything out. Overall, just a fantastic trip and experience. So impressed with National Geographic.
)
