Other Options...

[Calfan]

We just finished our Backroads hiking trip in Arizona. It was so different from ABD that I’m not entirely sure it’s really a competitor. In the Venn diagram of the two, the overlapping customers would be pretty small.

That said, we were completely blown out of the water. It was a perfect trip in every day. 15 guests, 3 guides, and all meals plus snacks included. Also alcohol. Emphasis was on fresh, high quality good - I’ve never eaten so well on vacation EVER.

Our guides were outstanding. Each day you had 3 hiking options, and those that stopped earlier had outings to towns/shopping/etc. We did all the hikes possible and did approx 35 miles in 5 days. Half the group did the minimum miles and spent afternoons exploring.

For those who travel solo, there were 3 solo women in our group. We enjoyed getting to know everyone.

We are in the process of deciding which one we will do next. Can’t recommend highly enough.

That sounds fantastic! Love the comment about the quality of the food and that it was all included. Will definitely have to give Backroads another look. I've tended to not seriously consider them because their trips look to be shorter than our typical family vacation, but they could be a good option when I abandon my family to go hiking with CaliforniaGirl09, lol, or we could possibly put two trips together for a longer family vacay. So glad you had such a great trip.

 

[sayhello]

We just finished our Backroads hiking trip in Arizona. It was so different from ABD that I’m not entirely sure it’s really a competitor. In the Venn diagram of the two, the overlapping customers would be pretty small.

That said, we were completely blown out of the water. It was a perfect trip in every day. 15 guests, 3 guides, and all meals plus snacks included. Also alcohol. Emphasis was on fresh, high quality good - I’ve never eaten so well on vacation EVER.

Our guides were outstanding. Each day you had 3 hiking options, and those that stopped earlier had outings to towns/shopping/etc. We did all the hikes possible and did approx 35 miles in 5 days. Half the group did the minimum miles and spent afternoons exploring.

For those who travel solo, there were 3 solo women in our group. We enjoyed getting to know everyone.

We are in the process of deciding which one we will do next. Can’t recommend highly enough.

Sounds wonderful! So what would you say Backroads' target customer is?

That sounds fantastic! Love the comment about the quality of the food and that it was all included. Will definitely have to give Backroads another look. I've tended to not seriously consider them because their trips look to be shorter than our typical family vacation, but they could be a good option when I abandon my family to go hiking with CaliforniaGirl09, lol, or we could possibly put two trips together for a longer family vacay. So glad you had such a great trip.

I stopped looking at them for the same reason (short trips) but I may have to re-evaluate traveling with them again!

Sayhello

 

[Ava]

We just finished our Backroads hiking trip in Arizona. It was so different from ABD that I’m not entirely sure it’s really a competitor. In the Venn diagram of the two, the overlapping customers would be pretty small.

That said, we were completely blown out of the water. It was a perfect trip in every day. 15 guests, 3 guides, and all meals plus snacks included. Also alcohol. Emphasis was on fresh, high quality good - I’ve never eaten so well on vacation EVER.

Our guides were outstanding. Each day you had 3 hiking options, and those that stopped earlier had outings to towns/shopping/etc. We did all the hikes possible and did approx 35 miles in 5 days. Half the group did the minimum miles and spent afternoons exploring.

For those who travel solo, there were 3 solo women in our group. We enjoyed getting to know everyone.

We are in the process of deciding which one we will do next. Can’t recommend highly enough.

Sounds fantastic! Was this a family trip, or adults only? I’ve looked at Backroads family camping trips, because my city kids really want to go camping and neither me nor my DW know the first thing about it. The one and only time I’ve tent camped in my life was when I was 10 years old with the Girl Scouts, and I hated it. LOL. I’m willing to give it another try for my kids, but I’d rather go with someone who knows what they’re doing!

 

[BluesTraveler]

Our trip was adults-only, so the shorter time worked well for us. The trip was 5 days/4 nights, and it was a true 5 days - we didn't say goodbye to the group until 3pm that afternoon. Their trips range from 3 nights to 9 nights, so there's a lot of variability.

@Ava, the guides were telling us how fantastic the family camping ones are, and they sounded really, really good.

@sayhello - we had a wide range of folks. Youngest was 22, oldest was 73 (?). Everyone was well-traveled. 2 people had done 10 (!) BR trips, probably 5 people had done 4-6 trips, and then the rest of us were new to BR.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

That sounds fantastic! Love the comment about the quality of the food and that it was all included. Will definitely have to give Backroads another look. I've tended to not seriously consider them because their trips look to be shorter than our typical family vacation, but they could be a good option when I abandon my family to go hiking with CaliforniaGirl09, lol, or we could possibly put two trips together for a longer family vacay. So glad you had such a great trip.

I was thinking the same thing sounds amazing!

 

[AquaDame]

We leave tomorrow for China where we are mostly following in ABD's itinerary with other tour providers or on our own (with some exceptions in hotels and a couple of activities; we are not going to Guilin, we are doing a full day behind the scenes with pandas in Chengdu, etc). One thing I will say is I feel far more nervous about everything falling into place than I would be if I was going to be greeted by guides who would handle any mishaps for us! I've had a knot in my gut since Monday!

 

[sayhello]

We leave tomorrow for China where we are mostly following in ABD's itinerary with other tour providers or on our own (with some exceptions in hotels and a couple of activities; we are not going to Guilin, we are doing a full day behind the scenes with pandas in Chengdu, etc). One thing I will say is I feel far more nervous about everything falling into place than I would be if I was going to be greeted by guides who would handle any mishaps for us! I've had a knot in my gut since Monday!

Wow! Enjoy China! I can understand that trepidation! I would never attempt China on my own, so I give you kudos for doing that!

Please come back and tell us all about your trip! The all-day behind the scenes with the pandas in Chengdu sounds fabulous!

Safe travels!

Sayhello

 

[EllinK]

Yes, I would love a report of your OYO travel. The full day panda experience is definitely on my list!

 

[AquaDame]

We had a lovely trip and I am glad we went but to be honest I was running out of patience by the time we were done... China is different for sure!

Overall I would say things were easier than I feared. Our guides were lovely though I had some trouble being understood in some cases - for instance in Xian at the terra-cotta warriors I asked if they had any idea what were in some of the pots that were found and she replied that yes they found many pots, that sort of thing. On the train from Chengdu to Xian they were selling larger model trains and we tried asking the gent if he had any smaller trains but that didn't work... google translate didn't make sense to him, and miming didn't work either but tried to give up and he wouldn't leave. At that point he could smell a sell and kept trying to get us to buy the larger one. He came back three times throughout our ride! We also had a minor incident in Shanghai at the Disneyland Hotel when my husband asked at the front desk whether there was anywhere to buy cough drops as we were running low and they tried to call us a taxi to take us to a hospital. No amount of telling them it was not a big deal would calm them down. They said they would contact a service to bring us medicine and they would call us in our room so we left, then about 10 minutes later they came up to our room asking if I was sure my husband didn't need to go to a hospital and then trying to get me to make an appointment to see a nurse the next day. Finally we did convince them to let us see how he was feeling in the morning as it was already late - and thankfully they did not check back in with us.

The guide in Chengdu was still learning I think as she kept asking the driver (who supposedly did not know much english) how to say things. The guides in Beijing and Shanghai were fully fluent - we actually ended up having Miki in Shanghai whom I think others in this thread or others have mentioned using. We weren't going to have a guide there until the last minute so I did not book that portion with Catherine Liu Tours. They were on time every day, stuck to our schedule, took us to good places to eat when we were hungry and did all the ordering etc. The Lao Shan buddha is currently being cleaned and has scaffolding so they gave us other options if we wanted to change that portion but we had known about it and went anyway. It was nice how flexible they were and that they were watching out for us.

I greatly enjoyed being able to talk with the guides about their homes and lives during our car trips. Each of the areas we went to (Hong Kong, Chengdu, Xian, Beijing and Shanghai) had very different rules around buying homes, getting driver's licenses etc and were willing to chat with us fairly freely. Much as people have said with the ABD guides they knew where the "nice" bathrooms were, were kind about dietary restrictions and concerns and we felt well cared for. Unlike the ABD tour I did not have an english speaker with me 100% of the time so we did end up with a few odd food choices at certain times - at dinner when the guides were done for the day for example, or on the transfers from the station to the hotel when the guide was not present as the drivers were not english speakers. I was able to use google translate to read menus in some cases but the translations were weird and yes, at one point we ended up with a duck head where google merely said "smoked duck". The "pig dumpling" ended up being pig shaped and had custard inside. I'm guessing that can happen during OYO time too though! If anything I kind of missed having MORE OYO time... with a guide constantly at my side I didn't always advocate for them to leave us for awhile so I could shop or rest. At the Shanghai Tower it was VERY hot and I wanted a drink so I had to ask for her to let me go buy something and then she sat watching me while I drank it. When grabbing a drink or snack we tried to get them something but were always declined. In a group they build in time for browsing and breaks so it wouldn't have felt so awkward...!

The Panda volunteer day was so worth it... we were never asked for more money to take pictures with the pandas - our guide had already set it up so she could take pics of us all day as we were working. We started by cleaning up panda poop in one of the pens and swept up. After that we were allowed to feed the panda some carrot sticks. Then we walked around the complex and enjoyed the pandas on display. Later we had a meal with the workers (there was very little to eat if you were vegetarian - they had plain rice and one vegetable dish but the rest all had meat in it) and they had us watch a video about the earthquake that damaged the base and studies/work they have been doing. We could have taken a break but decided to wander the complex some more and take more pictures as guests. There were many school groups visiting that day and they all excitedly practiced saying 'hello!' 'good morning!' and 'where you from?' with us. Following that we then went back out and removed the old bamboo from two different pens and broke new bamboo poles in half to feed them with. In one of the pens was a mama and her 1 year old baby. They got the mama to go inside while we cleaned up but the baby was up in a tree above our heads. They said they don't become aggressive until they are older so they just said to be sure to leave if he came down from the tree but it was fine to work with him up above our heads if he stayed up there. We then fed another panda some more carrots and then went to the kitchen and formed some "panda cakes" that they steam for the next day. After that we were done and received our certificates and t-shirts. I'm really glad we did this as it was pretty unique and we have a ton of lovely photos from the day.

Other highlights if anyone has questions about them: Victoria Peak, Star Ferry, Huanglongshi Ancient Town, the Muslim Street area, Hangyang tomb, Xian city wall, Mutianyu portion of the Great Wall, the Forbidden City (Palace Museum), Tiananmen square, The Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Jingshan Park, some hutong areas, visited a water village, saw the only portion of Shanghai's city wall that is left, Yu Garden, Jade Buddha Temple, and the Former French concession. We also saw the Face Changing Opera in Chengdu, had the Tang show and dumpling feast in Xian and saw the Kung Fu show in Beijing.

As far as hotels I was glad we stayed at the Explorer's Lodge for HK Disneyland over the DLH there as it had more character IMO and was cheaper. We wandered to the Hollywood hotel for breakfast and had dinner at Walt's Cafe at the DLH. We also stayed at the Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel and Towers with a harbor view room and it was just OK. The lobby smelled a bit like smoke and didn't have a very nice entry from the street. The streets we wandered in Hong Kong were very dirty with trash and mystery puddles - the A/C units above the streets all dribbled down on our heads and there was a sewery smell in the area that was too much for me. I had also caught a cold and wasn't feeling very good that day so maybe I was in a bad mood but I had wished we stayed at the explorer's lodge that night for the fresh air... Chengdu didn't smell but there was a lot of pollution over the city when we were there. I wasn't expecting that until we hit Beijing. The hotel we stayed at was great - it is called the Temple House. They upgraded us to a room with a washer/dryer which was an extra bonus but the hotel was exceptionally clean and very modern with a really unique entry. It is near a generic/high end shopping district which had some places with english menus so ordering our own breakfasts was manageable. In Xian we stayed at the Sofitel Xian on Renmin Square - the price was right but the room was pretty dated. It was also huge and had a nice view though so it was still a win in my book - we were only there one night after all. Our guides were pleased I had looked into a good location as they said often guests choose an American chain over location not thinking about the hour each way to pick them up and drop them off. In Beijing I copied Disney and booked the Rosewood. Zero regrets and was my favorite hotel of the trip. They gave us a very high floor and I enjoyed the huge soaking tub and view of the city every night. Beijing was great - the weather was gorgeous and we had blue skies - no pollution at all during our days there. We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel in Shanghai and while it was fine we had the aforementioned English snafus and I called down that our shower was not draining and they said they would send someone up to fix it but it still did not drain the next day either. For the extra money over the Toy Story hotel I would have hoped they'd fix it for us... the bus ride from TS would have been shorter also so if I were to go back I'd probably just stay there. We also spent two nights at the airbnb which I can't recommend and really regret. We've stayed at many in several countries and this was only the second time I strongly considered moving to a different hotel instead of staying there. If it had been earlier than 8pm and/or we had been staying longer than two nights I would have.

All in all it cost us about 3K for the guides/drivers/train fares from Chengdu to Xian and Xian to Beijing in first class seats/entry fees to all the non-disney sites, plus another ~3K for our hotels, food and souvenirs. Our internal flights were ~$400. Disney's trip doesn't include airfare to China so I'm guessing that bit doesn't matter...

Any other questions or concerns hit me up!

 

[TXTransplant]

Sounds fantastic! Was this a family trip, or adults only? I’ve looked at Backroads family camping trips, because my city kids really want to go camping and neither me nor my DW know the first thing about it. The one and only time I’ve tent camped in my life was when I was 10 years old with the Girl Scouts, and I hated it. LOL. I’m willing to give it another try for my kids, but I’d rather go with someone who knows what they’re doing!

I haven't posted here in forever, but my son and I just finished a Thanksgiving trip to Havasu Falls, which includes 30+ miles of hiking and tent camping. We used a company called Wildland Trekking, and I can't possibly say enough good things about our two guides. The trip itself was also incredible, and I wouldn't hesitate to use this company again.

I do not enjoy camping and will not camp just for the sake of it, but camping is pretty much the only way to see Havasu Falls (which was on my must-do travel list). We were a group of 8 (a family of 6 that we did not know plus myself and my son) plus two guides.

Wildland Trekking provided ALL of the gear (day packs, sleeping bags and mats, tents, etc.) as well as all of the food, which they prepared for us. The food was SO good...we ate like kings!

I booked this trip back in April because I knew we wanted to go, and I didn't want it to sell out, but the family that traveled with us didn't book until about 3 months before the trip. I asked the guides what would have happened if my son and I had been the only ones to book...and they said we still would have gone, just with one guide!

Wildland Trekking offers a variety of other trips, both domestic and international. Most include a good bit of hiking, but not all are camping. I've got my eye on an inn/lodge based trip in Yellowstone (they also offer camping trips in Yellowstone, Yosemite, and a variety of other places). They are also very affordable (esp. compared to ABD, Tauck, and the other companies), even on the inn/lodge based trips.

If anyone has any questions about Wildland Trekking or about visiting Havasu Falls, feel free to reply or DM me.

I documented our trip on Instagram. My account is public, but I don't want to post my user name here, so just DM me here if you are on Instagram and want to see pictures, and I will send you my user name.

I'm also looking at a Backroads trip that is bicycling through the Normandy area of France, with two days spent exploring the beaches and history of the invasion. I'm not sure when we might go (my travel list is really long), but this one place I definitely want my son to see.

We are doing Jasper National Park, Banff, and Lake Louise in June 2019 on our own (no camping, though!).

 

[aggiedog]

That sounds amazing. After a recent knee replacement, I've discovered I really like hiking. I'l definitely look into that company.

I just got back last month from a trip to Banff and Jasper. Ah.maz.ing. Truly. You'll have a great time. Please plan on hiking to the tea house at Lake Louise for me. I didn't get to do it and I'm still regretting it.

 

[laceltris3]

Tauck Bridges has a new river cruise in Portugal in 2020. Boat only accommodates 84 and has 4 guides. That seems about an ABD ratio. I think I am going to put a deposit down, and you have 2 weeks to cancel once the final itinerary and pricing comes out in February.

 

[BluesTraveler]

Tauck Bridges has a new river cruise in Portugal in 2020. Boat only accommodates 84 and has 4 guides. That seems about an ABD ratio. I think I am going to put a deposit down, and you have 2 weeks to cancel once the final itinerary and pricing comes out in February.

Oh my goodness, we have been waiting for a family river cruise in Portugal. I may be putting a deposit down as well. I'm so glad you posted this.

 

[laceltris3]

Oh my goodness, we have been waiting for a family river cruise in Portugal. I may be putting a deposit down as well. I'm so glad you posted this.

We put down a deposit for June 24. It's pretty much your pick of the rooms!

ETA: Ugh. The dates aren't going to work for us. It's a Wednesday to Wednesday. Which means we leave on Monday, get there Tuesday and use our free pre-night. Then we don't get home until Thursday and that Friday after is the 4th of July holiday. I can't waste weekends and burn 9 days of vacation.

So we transferred to the June 27 Paris to Normandy river cruise. Here's a trick for families of 5: It's cheapest per person to book one parent and the 3 kids as a quad in the highest category suite, and then book the other parent in the lowest category with no single supplement (but still a double bed).

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

We leave for Antarctica with A&K Family on the 19th and I am getting VERY excited!

So far A&K has been good to deal with. I would rate them about the same as ABD, perhaps giving slightly higher marks to ABD simply because A&K demanded pics of our passport info page and I really dislike uploading personal information like that in this day and age (with all the security breaches). Also had a situation with an A&K agent telling me we might not be on their booked charter flight from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia because they didn't have dd's passport pic. I asked how we would get there and she said she "didn't know - maybe on our own". I don't recall ever having this type of experience with ABD. So I'd give slightly higher marks to ABD on their call centre staff.

A&K Family is covering 2 additional nights at the Park Hyatt in BA and also a half day city tour of the Recoleta district for us. This isn't something that they offer everyone - I asked my TA what he could do for us (I use SMV to book our ABDs and we always get a nice discount), and he got A&K to put together this for us. I figure it's worth around $1,000.00, so that's quite nice. On our full OYO day I booked a full day private tour with vehicle with BA Tours; I am a bit worried about petty crime / pick pockets so wanted to make sure we have a local with us at all times when we are touring. Plus we really only have 2 half days and 1 full day in the city so I want to see as much as possible.

Packing is proving to be difficult. Summer clothes for BA, casual and active winter clothes for Antarctica (plus a few nice outfits -- for Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner, New Years Eve and my birthday -- which will on the ship), Christmas decorations for our room, including a small pre-lit tree and a few gifts for dd. A lot of room is required, and for the first time ever I am going to take 2 checked bags. I figure I'd rather have a bit too much vs not enough. With our cabin being only 200 square feet I am not sure where we will store 3 checked bags -- I'm hoping the ship has a magic storage area or they all fit under the beds!

I already had a Christmas gathering with my sister and her family over Thanksgiving. It was really nice. My brother had to cancel at the last minute which was unfortunate. My sister and her family had a great time (she doesn't really get along with my brother and she commented on how relaxing it was!). We exchanged gifts and really enjoyed our time together.

I will report on the trip when we get back!

 

[Ava]

I haven't posted here in forever, but my son and I just finished a Thanksgiving trip to Havasu Falls, which includes 30+ miles of hiking and tent camping. We used a company called Wildland Trekking, and I can't possibly say enough good things about our two guides. The trip itself was also incredible, and I wouldn't hesitate to use this company again.

I do not enjoy camping and will not camp just for the sake of it, but camping is pretty much the only way to see Havasu Falls (which was on my must-do travel list). We were a group of 8 (a family of 6 that we did not know plus myself and my son) plus two guides.

Wildland Trekking provided ALL of the gear (day packs, sleeping bags and mats, tents, etc.) as well as all of the food, which they prepared for us. The food was SO good...we ate like kings!

I booked this trip back in April because I knew we wanted to go, and I didn't want it to sell out, but the family that traveled with us didn't book until about 3 months before the trip. I asked the guides what would have happened if my son and I had been the only ones to book...and they said we still would have gone, just with one guide!

Wildland Trekking offers a variety of other trips, both domestic and international. Most include a good bit of hiking, but not all are camping. I've got my eye on an inn/lodge based trip in Yellowstone (they also offer camping trips in Yellowstone, Yosemite, and a variety of other places). They are also very affordable (esp. compared to ABD, Tauck, and the other companies), even on the inn/lodge based trips.

If anyone has any questions about Wildland Trekking or about visiting Havasu Falls, feel free to reply or DM me.

I documented our trip on Instagram. My account is public, but I don't want to post my user name here, so just DM me here if you are on Instagram and want to see pictures, and I will send you my user name.

I'm also looking at a Backroads trip that is bicycling through the Normandy area of France, with two days spent exploring the beaches and history of the invasion. I'm not sure when we might go (my travel list is really long), but this one place I definitely want my son to see.

We are doing Jasper National Park, Banff, and Lake Louise in June 2019 on our own (no camping, though!).

Thank you for the recommendation! I finally had a chance to peruse Wildland Trekking’s website & they have some very nice looking trips. It says the minimum age for most scheduled trips is 12, so I’ll put them on the list as a possibility in the future.

 

[carpenta]

WE did a Tauck Bridges river cruise on the Danube and can't say enough good things about the trip. It opened our eyes to other providers than ABD.

 

[laceltris3]

.

 

[calypso726]

We leave for Antarctica with A&K Family on the 19th and I am getting VERY excited!

So far A&K has been good to deal with. I would rate them about the same as ABD, perhaps giving slightly higher marks to ABD simply because A&K demanded pics of our passport info page and I really dislike uploading personal information like that in this day and age (with all the security breaches). Also had a situation with an A&K agent telling me we might not be on their booked charter flight from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia because they didn't have dd's passport pic. I asked how we would get there and she said she "didn't know - maybe on our own". I don't recall ever having this type of experience with ABD. So I'd give slightly higher marks to ABD on their call centre staff.

A&K Family is covering 2 additional nights at the Park Hyatt in BA and also a half day city tour of the Recoleta district for us. This isn't something that they offer everyone - I asked my TA what he could do for us (I use SMV to book our ABDs and we always get a nice discount), and he got A&K to put together this for us. I figure it's worth around $1,000.00, so that's quite nice. On our full OYO day I booked a full day private tour with vehicle with BA Tours; I am a bit worried about petty crime / pick pockets so wanted to make sure we have a local with us at all times when we are touring. Plus we really only have 2 half days and 1 full day in the city so I want to see as much as possible.

Packing is proving to be difficult. Summer clothes for BA, casual and active winter clothes for Antarctica (plus a few nice outfits -- for Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner, New Years Eve and my birthday -- which will on the ship), Christmas decorations for our room, including a small pre-lit tree and a few gifts for dd. A lot of room is required, and for the first time ever I am going to take 2 checked bags. I figure I'd rather have a bit too much vs not enough. With our cabin being only 200 square feet I am not sure where we will store 3 checked bags -- I'm hoping the ship has a magic storage area or they all fit under the beds!

I already had a Christmas gathering with my sister and her family over Thanksgiving. It was really nice. My brother had to cancel at the last minute which was unfortunate. My sister and her family had a great time (she doesn't really get along with my brother and she commented on how relaxing it was!). We exchanged gifts and really enjoyed our time together.

I will report on the trip when we get back!

We leave for Antarctica a few days after you on Christmas. I was torn between A&K and Lindblad/NatGeo. I have heard nothing but good things about each of them. I would have loved to do A&K's Antarctica with South Georgia and the Falkland Islands tour. Alas, not enough vacay time for that one. We booked with Lindblad/NatGeo and are on the Orion expedition cruise. So far so good on our end with them. We did have to provide a medical consent form from our doctor stating we were healthy enough with no life threatening conditions and physically capable of handling the trip. Due to the PTO allotments from our jobs we opted not to add a pre or post stay to the trip. We will be flying from Miami into Santiago Chile and staying one night at the Santiago Mandarin Oriental. We haven't planned any day tours and will just do some exploring on our own or book something spur of the moment if available. Then we take a private charter plane to Ushuaia and embark on the Orion.

As for packing, DH is renting the waterproof boots, pants etc from them. They provide the waterproof parkas when we arrive which we get to keep. Nice touch! I'm renting the boots but not the pants. At 5 feet tall, they will certainly be too long. I am currently purchasing online and narrowing down which waterproof pants look the least hideous. Everything I've read states casual for the trip because it is an expedition ship. None the less, I will bring a couple of slightly dressier sweaters and wear them with black jeans for New Year's eve and my 50th birthday on New Year's Day. DH is happy he doesn't have to dress up. It's just as well that we don't need really dressy clothes too like a suit or dress. Less to pack which is fine since we are in steerage for this trip. Our cabin is only 175 sq feet.

I am excited to hear about your trip and look forward to your feedback! A&K is still on my radar for other trips down the line.

 

[EllinK]

I'm excited to hear about both of these Antarctica trips! It is definitely on my list.