In his latest blog post, Dale Dunlop, The Maritime Explorer, checked one off his "bucket list" when he visited Pella - Birthplace of Alexander the Great. If you are interested in what other tours Adventures Abroad has to offer to this region, please check out our Small Group Tours to Turkey or Small Group Tours to Greece.
After three fabulous days in Thessaloniki, the Adventures Abroad Via Egnatia tour led by Victor Romagnoli is moving into the heartland of ancient Macedonia. Alexander the Great and to a lesser extent, his father Philip II of Macedon, are two of the most interesting and enduring characters of the ancient world. How this one young man from an upstart kingdom in northern Greece managed to conquer most of the known world and destroy the mighty Persian Empire in the process has fascinated and baffled historians almost from the time it happened. Today we will visit Pella, the site of Alexander's birth and in the next post Vergina where his father was assassinated and buried in one of the most splendid tombs ever found. This is a day I have long looked forward to being a lifelong Alexander aficionado, so please join Victor and the rest of us as we follow in the footsteps of Alexander the Great.
Tam Coc - Exploring Vietnam's Red River Delta
15 Day Vietnam Tour — TOUR CODE: VN1 15 Day Vietnam Tour
TOUR CODE: VN1
In his latest blog post, Dale Dunlop, The Maritime Explorer, paints a vivid picture of the diverse and captivating experiences packed into one day at Tam Coc - Exploring Vietnam's Red River Delta. If you are interested in what Adventures Abroad has to offer, please check out our Small Group Tours to Vietnam.
This is my third post from the 2023 visit to Vietnam with Adventures Abroad. In the second post, we spent several days exploring Hanoi, a city of over five million and learned how to maneuver through its bustling streets without getting hit by one of the ubiquitous motorcycles that keep tourist on their toes at all times. Everywhere you go in Hanoi you are surrounded by a sea of humanity. This post will be the complete opposite as we head out into the countryside and see a different side of Vietnam in Tam Coc, known as Ha Long Bay on land. Here we will visit the ancient capital of Hoa Lu, learn how to plant rice and make spring rolls, take a boat trip to beautiful Van Long Wetland Reserve and end the day at an exclusive resort. It promises to be one of the best days ever on an Adventures Abroad trip and that's saying a lot. So let's join our AA guide Claude Morency on the bus and get going.
Thessaloniki - Exploring Greece's Second City
In his latest blog post, Dale Dunlop, The Maritime Explorer, will spend two wonderful days uncovering some of the ancient and recent histories of Thessaloniki - Exploring Greece's Second City. If you are interested in what Adventures Abroad has to offer, please check out our Small Group Tours to Turkey.
In the second last post from the Adventures Abroad Via Egnatia tour led by esteemed tour leader Victor Romagnoli, we visited the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Philippi where St. Paul preached and was briefly imprisoned. In this post, we'll follow St. Paul to his next stop, the ancient city of Thessaloniki. It is a place I have long wanted to visit because so much history was made within its walls from Aristotle right up to the 19th century when Kemal Ataturk began his life's journey here. So please join our little band as we spend two full days exploring Thessaloniki.
Hanoi - Touring Vietnam’s Capital City
15 Day Vietnam Tour — TOUR CODE: VN1 15 Day Vietnam Tour
TOUR CODE: VN1
In his latest blog post, Dale Dunlop, The Maritime Explorer, has an enlightening day as he takes in the diverse facets of Hanoi - Touring Vietnam’s Capital City. If you are interested in what Adventures Abroad has to offer, please check out our Small Group Tours to Vietnam.
In my first post from Vietnam, I gave a general overview of the country and fourteen highlights of the tour with Adventures Abroad. In this post, I'll start getting into specifics starting with the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi which is where our tour began after all but one of us on the Laos tour arrived there from Vientiane. Here we were joined by three newcomers as well as our North Vietnamese local guide. Our visit to Hanoi was actually done in two parts with a sojourn to the Halong Bay area in between, but for the purposes of this post, I'm going to combine those two visits into one.
Let's begin with a quick look into the history of Hanoi.
Mount Athos - Cruising by the Monasteries
In his latest blog post, Dale Dunlop, The Maritime Explorer, battles inclement weather to come face to face with a once-in-a-lifetime experience, Mount Athos - Cruising by the Monasteries. If you are interested in what Adventures Abroad has to offer, please check out our Small Group Tours to Turkey.
This is post #4 from the Greece portion of last spring's Adventures Abroad Via Egnatia tour led by the Canadian who knows more about Greece than most Greeks, our friend and tour leader Victor Romagnoli. In the last post, we visited the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Philippi and in this one, we'll see another. When Victor and I were planning the itinerary for this tour, we both agreed that the monasteries of Mount Athos would warrant a full day on the tour. For me, seeing Mount Athos was high on my agenda. Even though the weather was not as cooperative as I would have hoped, it was still a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I look back on with very fond memories. Here's why seeing the monasteries of Mount Athos should be on every traveller's bucket list.
Vietnam with Adventures Abroad
15 Day Vietnam Tour — TOUR CODE: VN1 15 Day Vietnam Tour
TOUR CODE: VN1
In his latest blog post, Dale Dunlop, The Maritime Explorer, offers an overview of his latest travel exploits to Vietnam with Adventures Abroad. If you are interested in what Adventures Abroad has to offer, please check out our Small Group Tours to Vietnam.
This is my first post of many to come from our 2023 trip to Vietnam with Adventures Abroad. Alison and I did this trip in conjunction with visits to Laos and Cambodia as well, but you can also do it as stand alone trip. We spent the first nine days of the trip in Laos after which all but one in the group departed for Hanoi where we were joined by three new travellers. As is my usual practice, I will do an overview post of the entire experience focusing on the high points, but not shying away from one of the disappointing aspects. Yes, there was one, but it was far overshadowed by the many, many great things we saw, did, ate, and drank in Vietnam. So with this brief introduction, let's dive right into the history of this much misunderstood nation.
