A new hotel concept in Finland features the Northern Lights as the ultimate nightlight.
Three private cabins on skis have been stationed deep in the Arctic Circle, for a glamping experience like no other. The glass-roofed cabins for two include a bed on which to lie back and enjoy the night sky, a table, dry toilet, and gas heater and stove. Together, the mobile rooms create the Aurora Wilderness Camp, near the Finnish Lapland town of Kilpisjärvi. Now available to book through Off the Map Travel, the camp is welcoming guests through mid-April of this year and will reopen in January 2019.
According to Arctic travel expert and Off the Map Travel founder Jonny Cooper, “The wilderness surrounding Kilpisjärvi is known for its remote and uninterrupted Arctic tundra… giving guests the best possible opportunity to experience the Northern Lights and simply enjoy the silence of the Arctic plains.” Statistically, the Kilpisjärvi area boasts more clear nights than any other place in Finland, with more than a 70 percent chance of seeing the Northern Lights.
Your adventure starts at 6pm when an experienced guide transports you by snowmobile to your private cabin. After your guide teaches you how to make a campfire and grill local meats, you will have the camp–and the Northern Lights–to yourself. Evening drinks, snacks and next-day breakfast are included in the experience, along with use of the cabin’s snowshoes and kick-sleds for exploring the icy tundra.
This hotel concept delivers a distinct new brand of adventurous comfort: the opportunity to tour the Arctic wilderness and hunt for the Northern Lights from the peacefulness of your warm bed.
For more information and tailor-made itineraries, visit offthemap.travel. 
Photo credit: Kilpissafarit
It’s the season of resolutions–the time to plan this year’s travel, uncover new destinations and fantasize about exotic trips you may or may not ever take. But with so many “top travel lists” how do you focus your exploration? Fear not. Traveling IQ has combed the pages, clicked the links and collated the suggestions from the most trusted travel publications, to find the ultimate destinations for IQ’s 2018 Travel Top Trilogy.
NEW ORLEANS – Photo courtesy of NewOrleans.com
New Orleans leads the pack as the American city most recommended by travel publications. Celebrating its tricentennial in 2018, the Big Easy promises to make its 300th birthday party a year-long event. And you’re invited! Whether you chomp on po’boys or savor fine Creole cuisine, guzzle Hurricanes down Bourbon Street or sip craft cocktails in hotel lounges, saunter through historical walking tours or dance along with extravagant parades, New Orleans requests the honor of your presence.
MALTA – Photo courtesy of Flickr/DRAS
Malta is stepping into the spotlight in 2018. The small island country off the coast of Sicily has a “vibe that is Mediterranean with a North African twist,” says Travel & Leisure. Already a popular European beach getaway, this year, the world’s artists will descend on Valetta, Malta’s capital, named a 2018 European Capital of Culture. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, Valetta boasts Baroque architecture, prehistoric temples and the enviable characterization as “Europe’s sunniest city,” with more than 300 days of sunshine each year.
PYEONGCHANG, KOREA – Photo courtesy of Flickr/Korea
South Korea will be on full display as PyeongChang hosts the 2018 Winter Olympics next month. Now an easy commute with the launch of a high-speed rail connecting the resort town to Seoul in 70 minutes, you can tour the Olympic village, attempt your own Triple Axel, and still make your dinner reservation in Seoul’s trendy Hannam neighborhood. After dinner, don’t forget to stroll through Seoullo 7017, the city’s new high-line park, lined with 24,000 plants atop an elevated former highway.
Filed under Europe, Events, Travel News, U.S.A.
You are welcome here—no really, you are, we promise—has been the predominant U.S. travel campaign theme of 2017.
The travel industry has been working overtime to offset a negative international perception of the United States since the presidential election. Cities such as Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco (to name a few) have invested in various versions of “Welcome” campaigns. In February, Hyatt Hotels launched the “World of Hyatt” integrated marketing campaign during the Oscars® broadcast, with a video celebrating empathy and multiculturalism. In June, Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States, announced their “One Big Welcome” strategy, using personalized video invitations from “real people” to attract potential visitors.
Unfortunately, the President’s “America First” political message is translating to “America Alone” when attracting international tourism. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, 1.3 million fewer foreigners visited the United States during the first half of 2017. The New York Times reported that European readers overwhelmingly cited the Trump administration and its policies as reasons for avoiding travel to the United States. And last month, the National Brands Index, a global survey measuring perception of fifty nations, saw the U.S. drop from No. 1 to No. 6, in overall nation brand.
International travel is America’s number one service export, boasting an $87 billion international travel trade surplus last year. In an article in Worth, Roger Dow, the president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association writes, “The Trump administration has yet to convey a sustained message of welcome to international visitors. Long-term failure to do so will unnecessarily deter travelers, which could have disastrous consequences for the U.S. economy.”
While we wait….
and wait…
and wait…
Let’s take a look at a few of my favorite, inclusive travel campaigns of 2017:
(Photo via NYCgo.com)
Filed under Gay, Hotels, Travel News, U.S.A.
The world of travel moves fast! Let’s keep up–together. On Fridays, Traveling IQ curates the highlights:
*June is Gay Pride Month, with rainbow-themed festivities and parades all over the U.S. For anyone who has ever wondered why these celebrations are still important, click through for your answer (via CNN).
*Save by booking your summer vacation on the first day of the season. On June 21,”CyberSummer” offers 24-hour travel deals throughout the Caribbean, Florida, Mexico, Latin America and South Africa (via CyberSummerTravel).
*As summer descends on NYC, its residents ascend to the city’s rooftops. Raise your glass at an elevated bar (via Time Out) or shimmy up toward a gay rooftop party (via Next Magazine).
*Celebrate Father’s Day at a destination named for Papa (via AOL).
*Seventy-five years ago, Fascist Italy exiled homosexuals to the Tremiti Islands, creating both a prison regime and the country’s first gay community (via BBC News).
*Russian parliament confirms gay travel dollars are not welcomed in their country by unanimously passing an anti-gay bill that bans–among many other things–gay pride rallies (via Herald Sun).
What did I miss? Share your favorite travel news in the comments below or by posting on the Traveling IQ Facebook page.
(Photo via Policymic)
Filed under Travel News
The world of travel moves fast! Let’s keep up–together. On Fridays, Traveling IQ curates the highlights from the past week:
I’m too sexy for this country…
*The price of beauty is deportation. Or so discovered Omar Borkan Al Gala (pictured above) and two other men, deported from Saudi Arabia for being… wait for it… wait for it… too handsome (via Asiantown.net).
*Time to expand your destination wedding options. On Tuesday, France became the 14th country to allow same-sex marriage (Yahoo). The next day, the Rhode Island Senate approved legislation to make the “Hope” state the 10th in the U.S., in addition to Washington D.C., to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples (via The Advocate).
*In other sweet news, earlier this month two men married in Africa’s first traditional gay wedding (via Daily Mail).
* In the Navy, yes, you can sail the seven seas, but apparently cannot afford to dock in New York City. This year, Congress has sequestered the sailors. Because of federal budget cuts, the Navy’s annual Fleet Week is cancelled (via AMNY).
*More than ever, support Boston with your travel dollars… here are ten reasons why (via PeterGreenberg.com).
*Go big or stay home! Splurge at a hotel worthy of your holiday (via Conde Nast Traveler).
What did I miss? Share your favorite travel news in the comments below or by posting on the Traveling IQ Facebook page.
Filed under Travel News
The world of travel moves fast! Let’s keep up–together. On Fridays, Traveling IQ curates the highlights from the past week:
If he only had a knife…
*Your liquid soap, cologne and moisturizing lotion over 3.4 ounces will still not be allowed in your carry-on, but your knives, ski poles and toy bats can board the aircraft, effective April 25, 2013 (via CNN).
*Scraping the sky on Instagram from 2,716 feet (via Huffington Post).
*Rumor has it, “air rage” is on the rise (via CNN).
*Boys will be boys, and bears and beasts and stags and trees. Photographer Charles Fréger captures men of Europe dressed in outfits wilder than the National Tour of Priscilla Queen of the Desert (via National Geographic).
*The same oil that fried up your lunch might be powering your next flight to Europe (via BBC).
*Curious about the sexual orientation of a building? Tour the Gayest Buildings in America (via California Home & Design).
*A time-lapse film captures New York City in the fast lane (via Kickstarter):
What did I miss? Share your favorite travel news in the comments below or by posting on the Traveling IQ Facebook page.
(Photo: Still from movie, Snakes on a Plane)
Filed under Travel News
The world of travel moves fast! Let’s keep up–together. On Fridays, Traveling IQ curates the highlights from the past week:
The National Sport of Turkey
*We connect with foreign cultures in many ways: music, art, food, literature, etc. With Turkey, may I suggest their National Sport (via BuzzFeed).
*If you liked it then you should’ve put a stamp on it. The U.S. Postal Service may be selling architecturally distinctive post offices because of its financial problems (via NY Times).
*Ten indispensable apps for last-minute travel (via Smarter Travel).
*The joyous experience of air travel is getting more complicated. U.S. airports have already started experiencing delays as a result of automatic federal spending cuts (via ABC News).
*The U.S. State Department has launched a web portal providing information for gay travelers, who sometimes face specific risks when visiting foreign countries. The section will note if there have been recent attacks against LGBT-identified people or, more generally, whether local laws permit consensual sexual relations between two people of the same gender (via BBC).
*If at first you don’t succeed… try, try again? An Australian billionaire has released blueprints for the Titanic II, a replica of the original ship which sank in April 1912, with plans to set sail across the Atlantic in 2016. Oh yeah, FYI… the ship will be built in China (via ABC News).
What did I miss? Share your favorite travel news in the comments below or by posting on the Traveling IQ Facebook page.
(Photo via BuzzFeed)
Filed under Travel News
The world of travel moves fast! Let’s keep up–together. On Fridays, Traveling IQ curates the highlights from the past week:
Rio is the Happiest!
*San Francisco is the happiest city in America, but Rio de Janeiro makes the world smile (via Huffington Post).
*Poop, power outages and the perfume of sewage defeat the cruising vacation of 3,143 passengers aboard the Carnival Triumph (via Miami Herald).
*On Valentines’ Day, American Airlines and US Airways announced the marriage that will soon conceive the world’s largest air carrier (via Washington Post).
*Kids are great–and necessary to the continuation of the human race–but you don’t always want them on your flight. Now, a Malaysian-based airline is introducing a kid-free, quiet zone (via Passport Magazine).
*France’s Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport offers duty-free shopping and an Auguste Rodin gallery (via NY Times).
*Want to know more about your upcoming vacation destination? Tourism boards are sharing pictures, upcoming events, and restaurant recommendations on Twitter (via NBC News).
What did I miss? Share your favorite travel news in the comments below or by posting on the Traveling IQ Facebook page.
(Photo via Fox Latino)
Filed under Travel News
Open your heart to me, baby
I hold the lock and you hold the key
Open your heart to me, darlin’
I’ll give you love if you, you turn the key
This Valentine’s Day, let Cologne hold the lock and the Rhine hold the key.
Join the Köln tradition by engraving both your names on a padlock and locking your love along the pedestrian pathway of the Hohenzollernbrücke Bridge. Then throw the key in the Rhine River.
In addition to connecting east and west Cologne, the Hohenzollernbrücke also symbolically links thousands of lovers.
(To learn more about Cologne, Germany… read my article on Travel Squire or listen to my radio segment on Proud FM)
Filed under Europe
