Would-be Indiana Jones-types, adventurous Nellie Bly hopefuls and Amazing Race wannabes are invited to apply to become one of 15 teams of two selected for The Global Scavenger Hunt, the world’s only real-life international travel adventure competition taking place April 13-May 5, 2018.
“The 14th edition of the world travel championship event will once again match clever international travelers against each other in a challenging circumnavigation of the globe over 23-days visiting ten secret countries—it is A Blind Date with the World after all—while completing a series of culturally-oriented site-doing scavenges. Travel savvy teams will use their acquired travel IQ in an effort to earn the rights to the crystal trophy and The World’s Greatest Traveler™ 2018 crown,” says William D. Chalmers, author and event CEO (that’s Chief Experience Officer).
“It took Phileas Fogg 80 days to travel around the world, we do it in 23 days! And our participants see and do more than he ever did.” Chalmers says. “We annually turn the entire globe into a traveler’s dream where they visit hidden destination gems, uncover cryptic clues, carry out secret missions, hunt masterpieces, sample extraordinary cuisines, employ pre-industrial modes of transport and overcome life-enhancing challenges. It is indeed a highly hands-on and transformative adventure with a high wow factor for jaded eyes and busy people.”
The annual experience is designed to allow travelers to see their surroundings, and themselves, in an innovative way. Truly an international event, it attracts travelers from all over the globe while having visited over 75 nations to date. Previous world champions have hailed from: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, the Bahamas and the United States. The Global Scavenger Hunt is not a reality TV game show, it is all about authentic, challenging and participatory travel—life-changing travel.
Life-changing because participants are occasionally given opportunities to do good with half-day volunteering breaks scattered around the globe. Equally important, the event also serves as a platform to raise funds for interest-free micro loans, the building of medical clinics, and co-ed elementary schools in places of need. So far, event proceeds have helped thousands of families, built eleven schools and a medical clinic, in places like: Kenya, Sierra Leone, Ecuador, Niger, India, Haiti and Sri Lanka.
The 23-day around the world event is limited to 15 teams of two with a $25,000 per team entry fee that includes: all international airfare, first class hotels, 40% of meals, and special event-sponsored travel gear. Single travelers are welcome to apply and all travelers are interviewed for suitability.
Contact Great Escape Adventures at 310-281-7809 or apply online at GlobalScavengerHunt.com.
Ride & Seek Mounts 1,787 Mile Cycling Tour from Barcelona to Rome, in the Footsteps of Hannibal
Sydney, Australia– Ride & Seek is excited to offer intrepid travelers a chance to follow in the footsteps of the Carthaginian general, Hannibal Barca, on a 1,787-mile fully guided cycling tour through Spain, France, and Italy. The 28-day journey takes riders over the Pyrenees, Alps and Apennines on roads featured regularly in the Vuelta a España, Tour de France and Giro d’Italia bike races. Guests will embrace cultural and historical elements of Catalonia, Languedoc, Provence, Piedmont, Tuscany, and Umbria, including culinary delights, as they meander down roads less traveled. The “Hannibal Expedition” is divided into two distinct stages, and guests can choose to participate one or both of them. The tour is slated for September 2-30, 2018 and starts at $6,540.
Stage 1 – Barcelona to Alba (968 miles, 16 days): Starting in Barcelona guests will cycle up through Cataluña and over the Pyrenees mountain range. The crossing of the Pyrenees is obviously a tough undertaking but the route doesn’t tackle the highest peaks, which makes this stage a relatively relaxed introduction to what’s ahead. Guests enter France through the lovely town of Ceret, which was once home to Picasso, before continuing through the beautiful French countryside of the Languedoc-Roussillon. The second part of stage 1 provides an opportunity to take on a number of iconic climbs – Ventoux, Galibier, Alpe d’Huez, Agnel and Izoard among others.
Stage 2 – Alba to Rome (818 miles, 14 days): Stage 2 takes riders across the spine of Italy – the Apennines – and through a landscape of vines, castles, agriculture, and beautiful hill towns. Starting in Piedmont, riders will traverse the spectacular Oltrepo Pavese and head into Emilia Romagna. From Pisa, guests venture farther into Tuscany through what can only be described as picture postcard scenes en route to Rome.
“This tour offers total immersion into the landscape, history, and culture as we ride an inspirational trail on the roads less traveled,” said Ride & Seek President Dylan Reynolds.
“This is a fully-supported/guided expert tour. One of the benefits of keeping the group size small (a dozen or so) is that it enables us to stay in the smaller, family-run establishments that add to the authenticity of the travel experience we hope to provide. We have carefully selected the places we stay in based on their ‘personality’ and the hospitality of the hosts. Be it a parador in Spain, manoir in France or agriturismi in Italy, we seek to connect you with the places we travel in, through the accommodations we choose. We go by the mantra of selecting the best available accommodation wherever we stay but in saying that we also look to avoid the generic luxury chain hotels. Invariably our more eclectic choices such as a deconsecrated monastery in Tuscany where the English Patient was filmed, or a balsamic vinegar producer in Emilia Romagna are highlights of the trip for many of our guests.”
The company has partnered with Lynskey, considered pioneers in handcrafted Titanium production for its fleet of Sportive bikes. On the carbon front, the company offers De Rosa bikes with electronic (di2) shifting and the ever-popular Specialised Roubaix. For those looking for a less aggressive cycling option, flat bar titanium bikes are available as well as Bosch pedal-assist bikes to make the hills a little easier!
“We put a lot of emphasis on ensuring that our guides are up to the task of providing a safe, informative and fun cycling adventures. We are all serious cyclists but we are also archaeologists, journalists, wine specialists, linguists, and historians. We offer a true insight into the areas we guide and travel. By selecting guides who have local knowledge of the places we travel through, as well as varied skill sets, we feel that our guide teams are able to offer a deeper and more rounded experience than many of our competitors.”
Ride & Seek (www.rideandseek.com) is a worldwide adventure cycling company offering unusual historical itineraries with quality lodging, fine gastronomy, and cultural immersion. The tours are designed so cyclists not only see and ride some of the greatest roads in Europe but also visit some of the most spectacular sites. “Providing a cultural insight into the areas we visit both historically and gastronomically is central to what we do. Historical journeys and cultural adventures are our specialties.”
For information, visit http://www.rideandseek.com/epic/hannibal.
