Blog - Amazing Journeys
Wanderlust Blog

Here at Amazing Journeys, we’re lucky to have the best jobs in the world—and we think our good fortune is worth sharing. So, when your next journey seems like a distant dream, take a few minutes to explore our WANDERLUST blog—it’s chock-full of engaging tales and helpful tips from our travels around the world.

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Weathering the Storm

Friday, March 13th, 2020

by Malori

You have no doubt been inundated with information regarding the coronavirus. This is not the first time since our founding two decades ago that a global event has led to uncertainty around travel, and it won’t be the last.

I want to assure you that your well-being now and in the future is of the utmost importance to us. Those who are traveling with Amazing Journeys on upcoming trips have received personal emails throughout this crisis. We are monitoring the COVID-19 situation via the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control, and the State Department. We trust their information as well as the on-the-ground advice from our travel partners and our in-country partners and staff to make educated decisions about our trips, while not overreacting and keeping it in perspective among the other potential risks we may encounter in everyday life, whether traveling or at home.

For those who have reached out to us with concern over our well-being as a company and as individuals during these trying times in the travel industry, we thank you for your concern.  I have weathered many storms during my tenure in travel and I know from experience it’s all about having the right raingear.  We are well-positioned to ride this out.  Fortunately, I am the sole owner of Amazing Journeys and can make quick and well-informed decisions. I run a debt-free operation and have since day one.  What does all of this mean?  Amazing Journeys is here for the long-run.

I strive to be a responsible citizen and so I have asked my staff to work from their homes for the coming days and possibly weeks. As always, please feel free to contact any of our team at any time.

Email: info@staging.amazingjourneys.net
Phone: 412.571.0220
Please be sure to leave a message so that we can return your call

As your Amazing Journeys family, please remember that we are here for you now and in the future. It was travel that brought us together in the first place and not only will we get through this together, but we look forward to traveling together for many years to come.

We thank you for your complete trust in Amazing Journeys and hope we see a day in the very near future when our adventurous travelers are back on cruise ships, tour busses and planes, heading once again to the destinations of their dreams.  And when you do, we hope that you will allow Amazing Journeys once again to help you indulge in your wanderlust.

Wishing you good health and comfort in the coming weeks,

Malori and the Team at Amazing Journeys

Indescribable Antarctica

Wednesday, March 4th, 2020

by Erin

It has been said that the only people who can describe Antarctica are those who have never been, and I could not agree more!  Having been home for a week now, I am still processing the fact that we stepped foot on Antarctica – the frozen continent – and am having trouble putting the experience into words.

The scenery was breathtaking and truly indescribable.  I found myself fighting with my camera because it wasn’t taking pictures that could capture the beauty, grandeur, immense scale and vastness of what I was seeing with my eyes.  Videos weren’t doing it either and the only thing that I could do was stand there, in that moment, and try to commit everything to memory – the chill of the air, the sound as the ship sailed through icy water, the sun reflecting off glaciers and the height of the mountains that surrounded us.  We experienced all types of weather, and in each one, the lands and waters surrounding us was different.  My favorite part was hopping into a zodiac, sailing away from the ship and finding a quiet spot just to sit and observe.  And in the age of Facebook, Instagram and getting that truly post-able picture, I also reminded myself just to be in the moment.

Traveling to such a remote destination, a continent that only 51,000 people visit a year (less people than it takes to fill a football stadium), is not easy.  It took 10+ hours to fly to Buenos Aires, 3+ hours to fly to Ushuaia, 2+ days cruising through Drake Passage and potentially some of the roughest seas on Earth, but when you wake up, look out the window and see massive icebergs floating by you, you realize that it is totally worth it!

Each stop that we made was different – there was a day where we walked around with penguins and climbed to the top of a ridge for a beautiful view, a day where we visited an Antarctic research station, a day where we walked around the edge of a once active volcano and a day where we went ice swimming.  Each experience was unique and even those who have been to Antarctica will have experienced something different as each sailing charts its own course depending on the weather conditions.

While I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I have now been to Antarctica, and have the daunting task of going through over 3000 pictures, I don’t think I will ever truly grasp the sights that I saw, the silence that I experienced or just how magical nature truly is in a destination as untouched as Antarctica.

What Was The Craziest Gift You Have Ever Received?

Tuesday, February 11th, 2020

Amazing Journeys has been honored and blessed to have received a multitude of gifts over our 20 years of trip planning and guiding.  I want to say right from the start, we are not encouraging gifting on our behalf – we are honored by your patronage and presence on our trips and that is the only gift we are hoping ever to receive.

Of course, we have received the traditional gifts of flowers, pictures, stuffed animals, edible fruit, deli trays, lunch for the staff, candy, jewelry, hats and books.  We are always flattered to receive them and are so grateful at the kindness behind the gift.  The cards are thoughtful and usually contain  notes of thanks for an amazing trip or once-in-a-lifetime experience but more often, they are thanking us when we have introduced them to their basherte, “saved” them from natural disaster or introduced them to a destination that they never thought they would visit.

On a recent trip to South America, someone asked, “what was the craziest gift you have ever received?” That brought to the forefront an entirely different category!  We wanted to share with you what we think are the most fun, craziest and most loved gifts we have received. The photo above speaks for itself… yes, there is an Amazing Journeys bra, a moose hat, bedazzled underwear and so much more!

Thank you to those who have honored us over the years with your appreciative nature, your fun and enthusiasm, and most importantly, your friendship.

We are so grateful~
Malori

AJs 20th Anniversary!

Wednesday, January 29th, 2020

Bluebird of Happiness

Wednesday, November 27th, 2019