Whetting My African Wanderlust

I’ve just finished savoring a terrific coffeetable book on Africa: Don Shay’s Endangered Liaisons presents an extraordinarily impassioned and eloquent evocation of riches revealed and lessons learned in two decades of African adventures. I’ve just posted a review of it on Don’s Place.
Shay’s book recalled for me my own life-changing adventures in Africa, and inspired [...]

Ten Tips for Ecotourists

I’ve just posted a new column on Don’s Place. Here it is:
Ten Tips for Ecotourists
Many years ago, when I was on an adventurous tour of northern Pakistan, an incident occurred that continues to trouble me. Our hardy band of 10 had been told by both our Pakistani guide and our U.S. guide that we should [...]

Earth Day & Responsible Travel

Earth Day seems a good time to review one of my favorite aspects of the Adventure Collection: the members’ passionate devotion to the principles and practices of responsible travel.
Partly because it’s good business practice, and partly because their travelers expect it, but most of all, because they deeply love and care for the wonderful places [...]

Adventure Travel in New York

Adventure travel doesn’t always have to involve traveling to the end of the earth. You can have adventures in big cities too.
Case in point: Tonight I made an expedition to the East Village, in the company of three excellent local guides (who also happen to be travel writers). We started off at a conversation-cultivating watering [...]

Top Tips for Family Trips

Summer is fast approaching. For kids, it’s time to kick back and savor long, school-free days. For parents, it’s time to embark on one of the year’s scariest roller-coaster rides: the family vacation. A successful family vacation is as good as it gets: Encountering new places and people with your children (and if you’re lucky, [...]