In the well over 80 comments we have had so far the question of whether to do your own travel planning and arranging or use professional help is one of the most frequent themes. This does not come as a surprise.  If the shared belief of the participants in this blog is that Vacation Time is [...]

I have strong opinions about how to write travel sales copy—so strong that years ago I wrote: MICHAEL’S RULES FOR WRITING TRAVEL SALES COPY. (Written for internal use to save time and keep my pulse rate down when editing copy.) Rule #1: Avoid clichés like the plague Cliché: An expression or idea that has become weak, tiresome, stale, trite [...]

Yes, I do think it is a good idea. It is great to learn from others' experiences. Also, I often have specific questions. Our son spent a semester in China and our daughter a semester in Australia. This seems to be a part of many college students' studies now. We did not visit them while they were overseas but possibly would have, if we had felt we could get more personal information about travel options there, especially in China. I have never blogged either, but I guess we all need to be continually learning new things.

Happy to help. Most of my travel is for business, but that takes me to some pretty interesting places (Papua New Guinea, Australia, China, Malaysia, North Sulawesi ...) and I usually take advantage of some down time to get a flavor of the culture. You may be delighted to learn that despite exposure to some of these exotic places, we have returned to Costa Rica for our family spring breaks for the last nine years. We still find new things to learn and do during every CR visit. Happy trails.

Please count me in! Our family still remembers our trip with Costa Rica Expeditions (and Kenya Mendez as our guide) as one of our absolute favorite trips (and my sons were teenagers at the time, so the bar was set high!). Being able to replicate that type of experience in other parts of the world, through the advice of those who have been there already, would/will be wonderful. So I need advice on Africa, Peru, Scandinavia, China, Viet Nam...!

I think the idea has potential, though it will be interesting to see what can make it unique compared to other interactive travel resources such as Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree Forum or Trip Advisor. Obviously based on the amount of feedback here already, there seems to be a nice starting base of participants. Since we're posting our "résumés" here ;), I'll go ahead and mention my own experiences and places I'm happy to provide information about. My photography has been a good excuse to travel internationally, and it's what led me to Costa Rica in the first place. I'll be returning to Costa Rica with CRE's help for the third time this February, heading back to Corcovado again (one of my favorite places on earth). I'll finally be trying something "new" as well by stopping at La Selva, but the big park keeps drawing me back. If I'm lucky, I'm hoping to meet up with some of the folks I befriended at Sirena last year. :) Other places I've visited and can provide insights on include Yellowstone National Park in the US, Canada's Great Bear Rainforest, New Zealand's South Island (been twice and was married there this past March), Tanzania, Rwanda, Ecuador & the Galapagos Islands, as well as several spots in Europe (Greece, the UK, Spain, Russia, Belgium, Holland, Sweden... and some decade-old memories of France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy). I also spent a week or so in China, but any advice I could dole out there would be limited. My next journey is a photo trip to Patagonia starting next week, so that's a new location to add soon. Anyway, I actively participate and enjoy providing feedback and advice in other travel-related forums, so I'd be happy to participate here if needed!

I love the questions Annie Ellicott raises - perhaps because most of the "traveling" I do now is what I imagine or what I remember from past trips. Reflecting on what "quality time" means or our "wildest dreams" may be as interesting, if not more, than nuts and bolts travel advice for those who have been grounded for a while. I would love to discuss how traveling brings out hidden, or new dimensions in people. When I went to China with my mother and got to see her in her home country and native language for the first time, it was like seeing her pop out in 3-D. Here she was, a funny, confident woman - not the shy immigrant I grew up with. For her, it was like everything she had read in history books - the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, becoming real under her feet. How do vacations liberate people? In what ways are we willing to try new things, take risks, when we are out of our element? This is of particular interest to me because my own blog is about how with my special needs kids I expect them to go out of their comfort zone all the time and yet as an adult I let myself chicken out of things with excuses "not enough time/money/childcare." My commitment this year is to learn the things I expect my kids to learn - diving, biking, boogie boarding, ice skating, handstands, etc. no matter how nervous or afraid of embarrassment I might feel. What is it about vacations that makes it so much easier to try sports/activities/food/customs that you ordinarily might shy away from? On the question of bringing spouses, I think any permutation could be valuable. My husband and I have traveled together since we were teenagers. We are an interracial marriage - Asian/German/Estonian/American between us - and have always viewed cross-cultural understanding as the great hope for world peace (what a huge statement! but true). We brought our daughter to Costa Rica with CRE when she was 6 years old - it was an unforgettable journey for all of us. Since then we have adopted a second daughter from China, and I am at home with them full time (while teaching yoga to children with special needs and doing some public relations consulting as well). Because of how intense it is at home, I think the idea of a solo trip as a way to rediscover the person inside the wife and mother could be the trip of a lifetime. Also, for those with children, it may be easier for one spouse to stay at home. But any opportunity to travel with this group would be "the time of our life"!

Hi Michael, I would love to join in this conversation! Almost as good as traveling itself is dreaming about it, planning for it, reminiscing about it afterward, with people who have a similar yearning to learn about the world. I traveled more before having children (counting the days til my youngest is old enough to go to Costa Rica!). Would be happy to share experiences from China, England, South Africa, Canada, Caribbean. What makes this forum different from other online "post your review" sites is the interest from all these participants in exchanging ideas, impressions, experiences. And as one who has had the benefit of your direct advice to inquiries, it would be great for more and more people to share that as well! I started my own blog this year, about trying things I never got around to trying as a kid, now that I'm hurtling into middle age. The response has been great - readers have found support from each other in their own endeavors, and for people who love to travel, such connections are really using the internet for its best purpose - to bring us together. Many thanks, Michael, for opening up this new adventure!

Hi Terri, I am Chief Marketing & Guest Satisfaction Officer here at Costa Rica Expeditions. I’ve worked with Michael for 23 years and I’m currently helping him with the blog. I’m thrilled that we made the grade for your teenage boys, I have teenagers too, a girl and a boy and I know how hard they can be to please! You said that you need advice for travel to Africa, Peru, Scandinavia, China and Vietnam. I’ve been doing some investigating and while I don’t have all of the contacts for you yet, I have a good start. For Scandinavia Delta of Scandinavia A/S Contact: Mads Tange Email: mads@delta-scandinavia.com Web: http://www.delta-scandinavia.com/ Vesterbrogade 35 DK-1620 Copenhagen V. D E N M A R K Tel: (+45) 33 31 12 01 Fax: (+45) 33 25 16 37 For China Eastern Journeys – Travels through China Contact: David Allardice, CEO & Owner E-mail: david@easternjourneys.com Web: http://www.easternjourneys.com Tel: + 852-2544-5488 Fax: + 852-2544-5489 The 5th Floor, Anton Building, No. 1 Anton Street, Wanchai, Hong Kong SAR, China For Vietnam & Cambodia TRAILS OF INDOCHINA Limited Contact: Mr. Vinh Lam (US Representative) Email: vinh@trailsofindochina.com Website: http://www.trailsofindochina.com 9092 McBride River Ave Fountain Valley, CA 92708-6464 Tel:1- 800 835 1376 (West Coast) Fax:1- 714 908 1844 Cell:1- 714 933 5252 For Africa Trans Africa Safaris Contact: Michelle Meyer, Tours Manager Email: michell@transafricasafaris.com Web: http://www.transafricasafaris.com Phone: +27-21-713 2063. I am still working on getting you a specific contact person for another two companies in Africa and onefor Peru. For Africa, we have a relationship with Trans Africa Safaris, mentioned above, we have known them for years. We also have had contact with &Beyond. As Michael mentioned in one of his posts, &Beyond has changed management and we are in the process of figuring the right contact for you. I personally travelled with &Beyond in 2008 with the kids and it was fantastic! If you would like to hear more I would be happy to share. I also wrote The Africa Adventure Company, they were recommended by fellow bloggers Shannon and Mark. As soon as I hear from them, &Beyond and Peru I’ll be back in touch with specific names and contact information. In the meantime…as we say in Costa Rica, Felices Fiestas!