Fall 2011 Travel Schedule

I haven’t been to New Zealand in over four years

My trusty assistant Amy and have I been working on developing my schedule for the rest of the year. It shouldn’t be as hectic as April-July was for me, but it will still be pretty busy. Starting on Thursday, here is where I’m scheduled to be:

    • September 22 – September 28, Toronto, Ontario: I’ll be in Toronto for G Adventures annual corporate meeting in Niagara Falls and on the 27th I’ll be speaking the Future of Travel event in Toronto for UN Travel and Tourism Day. On the 26th I’ll be having a meetup in Toronto and everyone is invited. RSVP on Facebook.
    • September 28 – October 12, Ecuador: Latin America has been a weak point in my travel resume and I aim to make up for it in the next 15 months. I’ll be traveling to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands with assistance from Trippy.com. They are a new travel planning startup and I am serving on their board of advisors. You can help me plan my trip to Quito and the Galapagos. To get access to the beta version of the site, just use the code word: ARNDT
  • October 12 – October 24, New Zealand: I’ll be flying from LA to Auckland to follow the Australian Rugby team at the Rugby World Cup with Qantas. It has been over four years since I was last in New Zealand and I’m looking forward to getting a second chance at taking photos. The last time I was there it was the beginning of their winter. This time it will be in the spring so it should be a totally different set of conditions to shoot in.
  • October 24 – November 5, Los Angeles: I’ll be in LA for a bit over a week resting, working and attending the 2011 BlogWorld. I’ll be speaking again on the Travel Track this year. I have no idea where I’ll be staying in LA yet, but I we’ll figure it out before I arrive.
  • November 6 – November 11, London: I’ll be taking a very long flight across North American and the Atlantic Ocean to the UK where I will be attending the 2011 World Travel Market. This is one of the biggest travel events in the world and I’m really looking forward to attending. I’m also looking forward to going back to London, which is always a treat. I’m also scheduled to speak at the Social Travel Market the day after the WTM closes.
  • November 11 – November 22(?), France and Germany: Eurail.com is giving me a 10-day rail pass in Europe to use as I see fit. Not surprisingly, I’m going to use it to visit many of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites I haven’t visited in France and Germany. On the list of places to visit include: Mont Saint-Michel, the Chartres Cathedral, Château de Chambord, and Avignon. I don’t have the details of the route worked out yet, but that is part of the fun of having a pass.
  • End of November, ???: Here is where things get a bit murky. I think I’m going to end my train trip in Brittany and take the ferry to the islands of Jersey and Guernsey on the way back to the UK. One option I have is going to Colombia and the other is going up to Scotland. I’ve never been to either place, so I’m not sure what to do at this point.
  • December or January, Antarctica: Near the top of the places I wish to visit is Antarctica. G Adventures runs cruises to Antarctica and I’m thinking I will go there this season. I just don’t know if I’ll go on a trip in December or January yet. Whatever I do during this period will revolve around going to Antarctica. If I have to go in January then I might head to Central America to hang out for a while.

So the next several months will be busy for me. It will put me on 4 continents, give me 10,000’s of frequent flier miles and mix a fair amount of business with exploration. As always, if I’m passing through your town let me know so we can meet up!

16 thoughts on “Fall 2011 Travel Schedule”

  1. When I went to Germany last year, the highlight of my trip was visiting the Neuschwanstein castle near Muniche. It is the castle that the Disney Sleeping Beauty castle was modeled after and the artwork inside is INCREDIBLE as well, you can climb up the side of the mountain and see it from a bridge over a waterfall. IT IS BREATHTAKING, there is absolutely nothing like it, it is definitely a must-see.

  2. Hopefully we’ll cross paths in Ecuador. I get into Quito on October 5th and I’m trying to figure a way financially to make the Galapagos experience happen. Safe Travels.

  3. Go to Trier for the day. Maybe a day and half. The whole city could be placed on the UNESCO list it seemed like. It’s stuffed with Roman ruins, and it’s the birthplace of Karl Marx.

  4. In November, when you take that UNESCO route…you should try to pop by Strasbourg, the city centre – Grande Ile, is a UNESCO site… Also, I am currently living here. :)

  5. Hope to catch you around WTM – I’ll be there on the Tuesday & attending the afternoon session on working with travel bloggers & the Travel Blog Camp in the evening – hope to say hi

  6. Gary, come and stay up north in the magnificent Bay of Islands, not too far from Auckland on a very scenic drive. Happy to offer you preferential rates at our luxury lodge in the native NZ forest. Let me know if you are keen

    • I’ve love to go north. I haven’t been north of Auckland. However I don’t think I’ll have any free time on this trip.

  7. Good to see that Qantas is confident, anyway. If you’re not getting to NZ until the 12th, it’s possible that Australia will already be knocked out of the cup. The quarterfinals will be played before then. Australia will almost certainly be playing South Africa based on current scoring, and they are not pushovers.

    There will certainly be Rugby to watch, just maybe not the Wallabies.

    • I’ll be honest: I have soft spot for the All Blacks. I would really like to see Samoa, Tonga or Fiji win, but I know the odds of that are slim.

  8. That’s a pretty robust couple months Gary!
    Glad Toronto is on the itinerary. Looking forward to finally meeting you!

  9. What a fabulous looking few months! New Zealand in the spring is beautiful and you’ll find photo opportunities at every turn! Will you be heading to the South Island at all? I’m sure there’s arguments both ways, but personally I think it’s much more scenic. (Oh, and ‘Go Wallabies!’)

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