YOU MUST BE DREAMING
Combining two travel trends in one, i-to-i Volunteer Travel, the experiential travel company, offers a diving project in Cape Town that puts together the opportunity to observe South Africa’s colorful marine life and learn about the dive-
shop business. Participants can choose a two-week course ($1,795 per person) or an internship for four to 12 weeks ($2,245 and up). During the two-week program, first-time divers become PADI-qualified after classroom and pool training before moving into open water, while experienced divers get the chance to progress further in their training. In the internship, divers first become certified, then work at the dive shop and school, which makes this an ideal program for anyone looking to make a career out of diving. At the same time, the programs allow participants to spend time in Cape Town’s coolest suburbs and travel beyond the area. Both trips include insurance, food during the stay, accommodations and airport pickup. The international volunteer vacation organization i-to-i specializes in helping disadvantaged communities and ecosystems around the world by arranging placements of one to 24 weeks in conservation, community work and other projects in more than 20 countries. Call 800-985-4864 or visit i-to-i.com.
REAL DEALS
The week’s best travel bargains around the globe, by land, sea and air.
More than 30 hotels are participating in the “Best of Barbados” promotion, which includes a per-person air credit of $200 ($300 for September travel), one free night’s hotel, a $25 dinner voucher to a local restaurant and half-price companion tickets to 16 attractions. Minimum seven-night stay required. Complete travel by Dec. 2 and book through a travel agent. Promotion info: barbados.org/bestofbarbados.htm.
Jackson Lake Lodge in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park has an “Elk Lover’s Excursion Package” from Aug. 27 to Sept. 30. The $125-per-night deal includes one night of lodging for one or two guests, a welcome gift and a self-guided elk excursion. Lodging alone usually starts at about $179 a night. Book at 800-628-9988. Lodge info: gtlc.com/lodgejac.aspx.
Peter Deilmann Cruises is offering free air and shore excursions on 20 cruises in 2007 aboard the MS Deutschland. The cruises in South America, Europe and the Far East run from six to 20 nights. Prices start at $3,140 per person double (plus $125 port charges and $225 air taxes) for a six-night Canary Islands itinerary in March. Priced separately, air would cost $793, and shore excursions would cost up to $400. Info: 800-348-8287, deilmann-cruises.com.
Get free airfare on select 2007 Discovery World Cruises to Polynesia, the Galapagos, Antarctica and South America. Info: 866-623-2689, discoveryworldcruises.com.
– The Washington Post
BOOK YOUR VACATION
The Frommer name has been linked with travel since 1956, when Arthur Frommer published “Europe on $5 a Day,” forcing the rest of the industry to play catch-up on bargain-hunting ever since. Now his daughter, Pauline Frommer, who not surprisingly has been sightseeing the world since about the age of 2, is also publishing. “Pauline Frommer’s Travel Guides” ($15.99-$19.99, Wiley Publishing) carry the subtitle “Spend Less, See More,” and they offer a breezier, hipper tone than Dad’s guides, which have become decidedly slicker over the years but also slightly more boring. Pauline Frommer is definitely writing for “a new generation,” as the cover puts it, with headers that get right to the point, such as “Why You’re Here” and sections that helpfully get down to the nitty-gritty. “Don’t Leave Naples Without …” in the guide to Italy points visitors to the obvious, like pizza (but also gives a great recommendation), but also to the network of underground tunnels and to a tiny, obscure fishing community at the edge of the city. In addition to Italy, the series goes to Hawaii and New York City.
TRAVEL BY NUMBERS | Top 10 Popular Cities
The 10 most popular U.S. and Canadian cities from Travel + Leisure’s 2006 reader poll (the 2005 position – if any – is in parentheses).
1. New York (1)
2. San Francisco (2)
3. Chicago (4)
4. Charleston, S.C. (6)
5. Santa Fe (3)
6. Vancouver, B.C. (5)
7. Quebec City (7)
8. Victoria, B.C.
9. Montreal (8)
10. Seattle
GEO QUIZ
1. Comino is an island in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to which country?
2. The Bomu River and the Ubangi River together form the boundary between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and which other country?
3. The Shan and the Karen are the two largest ethnic minorities in which Southeast Asian country?
4. The island of Heimaey is part of a chain of active volcanoes that belong to which European island country?
5. In 1768 the Gurkhas captured a city in a Himalayan valley and made it their capital. Name this present-day capital city.
6. St. Sophia’s Cathedral, known for its mosaics and frescoes, is located on the Dnieper River in which eastern European capital city?
7. The Balabac Strait connects the Sulu Sea with which other sea to the west?
8. Abd al Kuri, a rock-and-coral reef that belongs to Yemen, lies in the Arabian Sea off the coast of which African country?
9. Archaeologists have unearthed ruins at Knossos on an island in the Mediterranean Sea. Name this island.
10. Jog Falls, a cataract of the Sharavati River, is near the Arabian Sea in which south Asian country?
ANSWERS: 1. Malta 2. Central African Republic 3. Myanmar (Also acceptable: Burma) 4. Iceland 5. Kathmandu 6. Kiev 7. South China Sea 8. Somalia 9. Crete 10. India
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
