Bhutan: Lower Prices for 2010

It's Time to Visit Bhutan!
Good news! The Bhutan government decided not to raise their daily tourist fees after all, so we’ve lowered our trip prices to Bhutan. Give us a call and start planning your journey to this remarkable place.

Bhutan will enchant you with its natural beauty—a colorful kaleidoscope of yellow mustard fields, rooftops spread with drying bright red chilies, neat whitewashed homes tucked away on terraced rice and buckwheat patches, and high passes marked by masses of fluttering prayer flags.

Mountain Travel Sobek has a long history in Bhutan, with an understanding and knowledge of the country far superior to most other tour companies. When Bhutan opened its doors to restricted tourism in 1974, we immediately seized the opportunity to offer trips there. And when trekking was allowed a few years later, we became the first company to offer treks in the “Land of the Thunder Dragon.” Our years of experience and well-established contacts throughout the country ensure the most comprehensive and culturally interesting experience available.

Check out these incredible trips to Bhutan:

• Festivals of Bhutan
• Bhutan Sampler
• Chomolhari Trek
• Snowman Trek
• Himalayan Passages - Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet
• Cultural Bhutan Private Adventure

Peru: Travel Update

Recent floods during the rainy season in Peru have cut off train and road traffic in some parts of the country. If you are planning a trip to Peru with Mountain Travel Sobek, rest assured that we are monitoring the situation with our partners in the field. Drastic measures are being taken to restore regular transportation, and contingency plans are in place for our first 2010 departures to Peru in March. There may be a couple of cases where bus travel will be used in lieu of train travel. The trails will undergo maintenance before our groups arrive—like they do every year after the rainy season (Nov-Feb)—and should be ready for regular use. At this time, we do not anticipate cancelling any of our planned departures in Peru due to impact from the floods, nor do we anticipate significant deviation from the planned itinerary.

Feel free to give us a call if you have any questions! We look forward to taking you to Peru.

Recent Awards

• National Geographic TravelerMay/June 2009 - Once again an MTS adventure has been selected as one of National Geographic Traveler Magazine's 50 Tours of a Lifetime! This year our Machu Picchu Inn-to-Inn Trek has been chosen! Read all about it in the Tours of a Lifetime issue on newsstands now!
• National Geographic Adventure February, 2009 - Mountain Travel Sobek has once again been selected by National Geographic Adventure Magazine as one of the top 2 "Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth" among those that "Do It All!"
• National Geographic Adventure November 2008 - Our MTS 40th Anniversary adventure in Venezuela, has been chosen as one of National Geographic Adventure's 25 Best New Adventures in 2009!
• Travel & Leisure July 2007 & July 2008 - We are honored to have been chosen as one of Top Tour Operators & Safari Outfitters in the World by Travel & Leisure magazine two years in a row! For more information visit Travel & Leisure and select "Tour Operators & Safari Outfitters."
• National Geographic Adventure MagazineNovember, 2007 - Mountain Travel Sobek has been selected by National Geographic Adventure Magazine as one of the top 3 "Best Outfitters on Earth" among those that "Do It All!" In this same issue, our 9-day Glacier Hiking the Swiss Alps adventure was honored with top placement as one of the "25 Best New Trips" for 2008!

Other Recent Awards:

• SmarterTraveler.com October 2007 - Our new Bosnian Adventure, Hiking the Heart of the Balkans, has been selected as one of the best new adventure trips of 2008 by SmarterTraveler.com! Read all about it!
• National Geographic Traveler October 2007 - Once again an MTS adventure has been selected as one of National Geographic Traveler Magazine's 50 Tours of a Lifetime! This year our Montenegro: Jewel of the Adriatic adventure has been chosen! Read all about it when the second annual Tours of a Lifetime issue hits newsstands on October 2, 2007!
• Outside Magazine March 2007 - Mountain Travel Sobek wins another Outside regional Trip of the Year award! This year the award goes to our new Nicaragua: Volcanoes, Lakes, & Rainforest adventure as the Trip of the Year in the Bahamas, Mexico and Central America regional category. Read all about it in this month's issue, in newsstands today!
• More Outside winners from MTS:
  • The Great Walk of Africa ~ 2006 Trip of the Year!
  • The Upper Mekong River ~ 2006 Asia Trip of the Year!
  • Trekking the Georgian Caucasus ~ 2005 Eastern European & the Caucasus Trip of the Year!
  • Lost Islands of the Solomons ~ One of Oceania's Best Trips in 2005!
  • The John Muir Trail ~ 2004 North America Trip of the Year!
• Men's Journal December 2006 - We are honored to have been selected as the #1 Best Outfitter by Men's Journal!
• Men's Journal December 2006 - Our Alsek River Adventure was also chosen as the #2 Best River Trip (reader's choice)!
• National Geographic Adventure November 2006 - Our exciting new trip Montenegro: Jewel of the Adriatic has also been honored as one of National Geographic Adventure's 25 Best New Adventures in 2007! Check out the November issue online now!
• National Geographic Traveler October 2006 - our Upper Mekong River rafting trip in China and is featured in "50 Tours of a Lifetime." Check out the October issue on-line!

NBC on Kilimanjaro with MTS!

In November 2008, NBC chose Mountain Travel Sobek to take the TODAY show's Ann Curry up Mount Kilimanjaro! Ann and her team broadcast several reports from their climb to the mountain's glaciers as a part of the series "TODAY Goes to the Ends of the Earth!"

Learn more about Ann's climb and both of the exciting adventures MTS offers on Mount Kilimanjaro.

Family Adventures!

Want to spend some quality time with your family, but looking for more than just the traditional resort vacation?

Share the world with the ones you love on an MTS family-friendly adventure! Mountain Travel Sobek's family-friendly adventures are educational, fun, and include a wide range of activities and cultural experiences that are sure to be of interest to travelers of all ages! Check out all of the exciting options — from Alaska to the Grand Canyon, the Galápagos Islands, the Swiss Alps, and beyond!

• Family-Friendly Adventures from MTS
  
  

  Arizona	Classic Hikes of Grand Canyon & Sedona	Min. age 7
  Canada	Whistler Explorer	Min. age 8
  Hawaii	Molokai-Maui Adventure	Min. age 9
  Italy	Dolomites Family Hiking Adventure	Min. age 8
  Switzerland	Switzerland Family Hiking Adventure	Min. age 8
  Ecuador	Galápagos Islands Luxury Cruise	Min. age 6

  
  
• Family-Friendly Adventures Close To Home
  
  

  Alaska	Discover Alaska	Min. age 12
  Alaska	Alaskan Classic	Min. age 12
  Arizona	Hiking the Grand Canyon	Min. age 12
  Arizona & Utah	Bryce, Zion & The Grand Canyon	Min. age 9
  Idaho	Middle Fork of the Salmon River	Min. age 6
  Hawaii	Adventures in Hawaii	Min. age 9
  Mexico	Kayaking the Sea of Cortez	Min. age 6
  Mexico	Hiking the Copper Canyon	Min. age 10
  Mexico	Oaxaca Explorer	Min. age 10

  
  
• Family-Friendly Adventures Farther Afield

  Costa Rica	Jewels of Costa Rica	Min. age 6
  Costa Rica	Adventures in Costa Rica	Min. age 8
  Honduras	Honduras Tropical Explorer: Reef, Rainforest, & Mayan Ruins	Min. age 12
  Ecuador	The Classic Galápagos Islands Cruise	Min. age 6
  Kenya & Tanzania	Great Parks of East Africa	Min. age 8
  Tanzania	Explorer's Serengeti	Min. age 12
  Nepal	Trekking & Tigers	Min. age 12

MTS in the News

• New York Times - January 11, 2009 - Our 5 new adventures to the Galápagos Islands (including shorter cruises, combination itineraries, and a new luxury option) were highlighted in the NY Times article "Where the Pros Are Heading."
• SmarterTraveler.com - December, 2008 - Our new 40th Anniversary exploratory adventure in Albania, Hiking in Albania, is featured as one of the Best New Adventure Trips of 2009 by SmarterTravel.com.
• Men's Journal - July, 2008 - Our exciting new hiking adventure in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hiking in the Heart of the Balkans, is noted by Men's Journal as one of this summer's great fixed-price European adventures that won't break the bank even as the value of the U.S. dollar continues to drop.
• Travel & Leisure, January, 2008 - The 54 MTS Private Adventures itineraries we now offer in 33 countries around the world are given special note in Travel & Leisure magazine's Guide to Going Off the Grid. Pick up the January issue today!
• LA Times, October, 2007 - Our Nicaragua: Volcanoes, Lakes, & Rainforest adventure is highlighted in the November 30, 2007 edition of the LA Times as one of the most interesting countries where the US dollar can still "go the distance." Check it out!
• - Esquire, October, 2007 - Our Mountain Gorilla Expedition received high praise in this month's special edition of Esquire, "The Big Black Book". Check it out!
• - USA Today, September 20, 2007 - Our new Follow-the-Leader Adventure to Gabon with Allen Bechky was featured as one of "6 global adventures [that] span the extraordinary" in the USA Today!
• - AARP Magazine, September/October 2007 - Learn more about why group travel can be the best way to experience some of the most remote destiations in the world in the September & October issue of AARP Magazine. Highlighted trips include our Trobriand Island & Papua New Guinea!
• - The New York Times, August 12, 2007 - Mountain Travel Sobek's Machu Picchu Inn to Inn trek was featured in the Sunday Travel section!
• - USA Today, August 11, 2007 - Our Galapagos Adventure and other MTS family-friendly adventures are noted in today's issue of the USA Today!
• Pink Magazine, Jun/July 2007 - Mountain Travel Sobek is recommended as a world class adventure tour operator in regions around the world. Check out this month's issue!
• Outside Magazine, April 2007 - Learn more about our exciting rafting adventure The Great Bend of the Yangtze and the many conservation efforts tied to this exciting program in this month's Outside Magazine!
• Alaska Magazine, April 2007 - Our world class Glacier Bay Escape kayaking adventure is highlighted in this month's this month. Alaska Magazine. Check it out!
• Concierge.com, March 2007 - Our Kuna Yala Explorer is featured as one of the world's best "Totally Active Beaches" by Concierge.com this month. Read all about it!
• Vogue Magazine, March 2007 - Two of our exceptional adventures in Patagonia and Antarctica are featured in this month's Vogue (along with many other exciting destinations we currently travel to). Check it out!
• The New York Times, March 4, 2007 - The increase in travel to Nepal as a result easing tensions and political unrest in that country are highlighted in The New York Times today (along with the many adventures we currently offer in Nepal). Read more about it!
• National Geographic Adventure Magazine, March 2007 - Our unique Swedish Dogsledding to the Ice Hotel, is featured in this month's issue of National Geographic Adventure Magazine (in newsstands February 13th)!
• Men's Journal, January 2007 - Our exciting new European adventure Montenegro: Jewel of the Adriatic has once again received top honors, this time by Men's Journal who has rated it one of the "World's 50 Greatest Adventures This Year." Read all about it in the January issue!
• New York Times, December 17, 2006 - Our work to combat dams and deforestation by developing river-based ecotourism in China's Yunnan River Province (in conjunction with the Nature Conservancy) was highlighted in today's New York Times. Read the entire article "Ecotourism: Traveling the World to Help Save It" and learn more about the excitig river adventures we currently offer on the Mekong and the Yangtze.
• USA Today, December 8, 2006 - Check out this edition of USA Today where our exceptional new trip Montenegro: Jewel of the Adriatic has been noted as one of "Five Adventures to Get Your Blood Rushing" in 2007.
• Men's Journal, November 2006 - Our Mountain Gorilla Expedition! with Allen Bechky has been featured as one of the World's Greatest Safaris! by Men's Journal this November. Read all about it!