National Geographic Expeditions – 99

When you think of cultural immersion and access to the world you might think of National Geographic. Did you know along with informative media they offer amazing tours around the globe? Buckle up to learn about these amazing travel opportunities National Geographic Expeditions.

National Geographic Expeditions

National Geographic Expeditions offers in-depth travel for the curious and adventurous (focus on lifelong learning) while balancing with high level of service and amenities.

What National Geographic Expeditions Offers on Their Vacations

1. National Geographic Experts (destination and photography)
2. Unique Access
3. Giving back (% of trip cost)
4. Land trips, river cruises, rail expeditions, trail hiking
5. Groups of 16-32
6. Private Tours: You pick dates and curate the trip how your group wants! Examples (pics)

Who is National Geographic Expeditions for?

55+, Affluent, Authentic culture, lifelong experts, history buffs, nature buffs

Comparing National Geographic Expeditions to Adventures By Disney

National Geographic Expeditions

1. Meaningful travel
2. Exploration
3. Expert interaction
4. Off the beaten path
5. Curiosity fulfilled
6. Adult, educated
7. Affinity for National Geographic Magazine

Adventures By Disney

1. Real-world stories
2. Family fun
3. Hassle-free global adventure
4. Cherished memories
5. Family
6. Affinity for Disney

Question: Which National Geographic Expeditions Sound Best to You?

Please let us know in the All Things Travel Podcast Facebook group!

Where in the World is All Things Travel?

• Mesa, Arizona

Check out the complete list of where in the world you’re located.

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Episode 99 Transcripts

Episodes are transcribed with artificial intelligence,s so there are likely some highly amusing translations!

Ryan: Hello and welcome to all things travel. When you think of cultural immersion and access to the world, you might think of National Geographic. Did you know, along with a magazine and shows and great articles, they offer amazing tours around the globe. Buckle up and learn about these unforgettable travel opportunities. You’re listening to All Things Travel, episode 99, original air date, March 19th, 2022.

so Shayne, did you grow up with the National Geographic Magazines?

Shayne: Oh man. I remember one day we were at, my aunt was moving or something and she had this big box of National Geographic Magazines and she says, Hey, Shayne, do you want these magazines? And I look inside to see what it is and yes, I do want these magazines and I don’t know how long I spend just looking

through all the, all those places in the world and reading about what goes on there.

It was, so to answer your question. Yes.

Ryan: Yeah.

my, my mom was was an avid subscriber to National Geographic Magazine. And I remember looking through all those and one of my favorite parts was when a map was included in one of the issues. Cause I grew up loving maps and you see that the photography and the pictures from around the world.

I remember it being a part of my childhood. So that time you spent with the National Geographic Magazines, when you think of the brand of National Geographic, what do you think about

Shayne: A little bit of adventure

Ryan: Huh.

Shayne: to places that a lot of people have never heard of. Don’t know about a lot of education. You’re learning about the lay of the land, the geography there, the weather there and the climate. Then you also learn about the people there and what they do.

Day-to-day their culture, how they get by a lot of the places they went, life was a bit of a struggle, more of a struggle than we have here. So yeah. A mix of those, a mix them travel science and education and culture. Just everything that one would love about travel.

Ryan: Yeah. And so speaking of that today, we’re going to talk about this really cool type of travel that I just learned about, and it has to do with National Geographic and it has to do with immersing yourself in a new Shaynere. But first Shayne, I want to know where in the world is All Things Travel.

Shayne: Mesa Arizona.

Ryan: Mesa Arizona.

welcome

Shayne: And not just because of the name, I want to go hang out at Monkey Pants

Ryan: Monkey Pants. Yes.

I’d see a t-shirt and your.

Shayne: Yes. I was looking at the pictures and just thought, even if it wasn’t called a Monkey Pants, want to go there, also it’s called Monkey Pants. I want to go there.

Ryan: Well, I’m excited to head to Mesa, Arizona with you And hang out with our new friend at Monkey Pants. And Hey Mesa, Arizona, reach out to Shayne or I on Facebook or via email. have a thank you gift for being featured on the show today.

Shayne: And speaking of, thank you. We do want to thank you for listening to the episode today. Hope you get a lot out of it and be sure and subscribe to the show so that you automatically get it when it downloads

next Wednesday

Ryan: well Shayne for 134 years, National Geographic has been impacting the way that we see.

Shayne: I did not realize that they had been around that long. That is extraordinary.

Ryan: Yeah, absolutely. And so I was at a training a few weeks ago, and then I did some follow-up training on this what’s called National Geographic Expeditions and they offer in-depth travel for the curious and adventurous. they have this focus on lifelong learning because when you think about National Geographic, Just like you.

And I both said it was a way to educate ourselves about the world around us. And so they have these completely immersive educational trips that also balanced this sense of high level of service and amenities. Now, what type of trip does that sound like? That we’ve talked a lot about on this show.

Shayne: It sounds a lot like Adventures by Disney.

Ryan: It does have that flavor. And one of the things I want to talk about today is how are they similar and how are they different? Because the same people who are going to be interested in adventures by Disney at some point in their life may be interested in National Geographic Expeditions, that you do tend to be different types of trips.

So we’re going to talk about that.

Shayne: Excellent. I’m excited to hear about it.

Ryan: So with National Geographic Expeditions, you really have kind of three tent poles, if you will. You are traveling with National Geographic experts. So oftentimes these are destination experts or issue experts. If you’re dealing with things like archeology or ecology or things like that.

But you’re also traveling. National Geographic photographers. Can you imagine that? mean, just think back to some of those photos that you remember seeing in the magazines, and now you have professional photographers teaching you how to do the same type of photography.

Shayne: There’s so much involved with that in addition to learning the mechanics of the camera and how to capture the right lighting and framing, getting people in the right spot. There’s also navigating the terrain you’re on and working within parameters. Yeah. That would

be an extraordinary,

Ryan: So you’ve got National Geographic experts. The second area is you have really unique access. You think about 134 years studying the world’s cultures and the type of access you’re going to get to places that are off the beaten path, if you will.

And then a third, and this is something that’s really close to National Geographic’s mission part of your. Could trip costs is actually giving back. So you may be doing some service during your trip, or you may be providing a funding towards a certain initiative that impacts the place that you’re going to be studying.

So it’s, there’s really this immersive feeling of not only being there learning, but giving back as well.

Shayne: I guess a lot of the destinations of the, these aren’t going to be touristy type places where they’ll have the infrastructure for commerce,

Ryan: Yeah. I mean, there are definitely some, and I’ll share some examples here in a minute, but a lot of them are going to be. different trips. I know with the training, it was, these are the folks who have been to Rome. These are the folks who have been to Venice. They’ve been to London, they’re looking for something different.

They’re looking for that different type of trip. so for instance, with their signature land trips, because you can have land trips, you can have river cruises, you can be on the rails on train trips, maybe even some hiking. One trip is The Holy Land past present, and future.

“Hear are the unique dual narrative on history and current events from Israeli and Palestinian guides.” The silk road discovering the stands of central Asia.

Shayne: Oh, wow.

Ryan: Explore the treasures of cosmic Stan crusick, Stan Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kermit tremendous Stan. I mean talk about being off the beaten path, right.

Shayne: I guess that is a lot of the idea behind this is in addition to those other things is off the beaten path. Like you said, as people that have seen Rome and Italy, and now they want to go see some places that most people will never see.

Ryan: And I saved the best one here for last. When you think of National Geographic, you’re going to think of this type of trip, the great apes of Uganda and Rwanda. Go on treks in search of chimpanzees, gorillas, and golden monkeys with National Geographic Explorers. Yes, please.

Shayne: Man go hang out with gorillas. That

Ryan: Ah,

Shayne: is awesome.

Ryan: And so these groups are 16 to 32 people, so smaller groups your large tour groups. These examples that I just gave are there tour group trips. They can also have private tours where you pick the dates you curate the trip, how you want. So to give you some examples of that you can do Patagonia, private expedition spend three days exploring Torres Del Pawn National Park by four by four or foot or horse.

You could do the Butan, private expedition. Hi, to the iconic Tiger’s nest temple, or photograph it from a scenic view. And then this one’s really cool, Shayne Chile and Easter island, private XP expedition, discover traces of Rapa Nui culture on Easter island, including the mysterious may always statues.

Shayne: That would be so much fun.

Ryan: Absolutely. So there are some tours that they’ve cured. Again, river tours, things like Holland and Belgium and springtime. You’re going to be able to see the windmills. You’re going to be able to see the flowers and they also have private tours where you get to choose the dates you get to choose the trip.

So what do you think of this so far? Just this sound like your type of travel with a curated tour.

Shayne: Me personally. Yes. Cause I that’s. What I think of a lot when I think of traveling and seeing those less seen places, the ones you have to work a little bit to get through. And I think it’s interesting looking through the available itineraries is that you can search them by and take note of the activity level required for

Ryan: Yup.

Shayne: I think that’s fine when you’re going to have that part of a vacation. And don’t be hesitant because the highest level required is moderate. Most of them

Ryan: Right.

Shayne: light, moderate to moderate. I guess there’s a few that are moderate strenuous. So yeah before you go, what you’re getting yourself into.

Ryan: Yeah. So who is this for? Who is National Geographic Expeditions for? To be perfectly honest, they tend to skew older. These are folks who. You know, upper forties, upper fifties, and beyond folks who tend to be lifelong travelers that like to be experts in things. These are history buffs, and these are nature and photography buffs.

These are people who are well-traveled. This should not be your first time. To Africa, this should not be your first time. Seeing the sites in Europe, this is for folks who want to get that different type of experience.

Shayne: No. What I think though, wouldn’t be surprised if like our friend Jennifer on her Virgin Voyages, Cruise, where they said that when. Had the idea for the Virgin cruise line that they thought it was going to appeal to a somewhat older crowd like this 55 plus crowd. And then they found out that a lot of younger people are booking these because they’re interested in this.

I could easily see younger people like my kid and her friends. I could see them being interested in this and altering the trips at some point because of an influx of younger

travelers.

Ryan: I don’t disagree with you about that. Absolutely. So let’s compare what we know about Adventures by Disney, with what I learned about National Geographic Expedition. So know from talking about Adventures by Disney on this show before. It’s about learning real-world stories. It’s focused on family fun, hassle-free global adventure and really creating those cherish memories with your family.

And most people enter Adventures by Disney because at some point as a family, they’ve had this affinity with Disney, right? Well, National Geographic is a little different because for most of the people that they are attracting, these are adults. These are educated folks who want to travel and learn, and they have an affinity for National Geographic because of that.

So National Geographic focuses on meaningful travel exploration, expert interaction. And just like you saw what those trips being off the beaten path and fulfilling travelers.

curiosities. So very similar types of trips. But again, I think maybe it hits people at different times in their lives.

Shayne: Do you think, we’ve mentioned several times, Between traveling wide and traveling narrow

Ryan: I.

Shayne: it’s just like a narrower version

Ryan: I think that’s a good way to put it. Yeah. It’s a good way to put it is. I’m going to see this, I’m traveling to this part of the world to see this, I want to see gorillas and apes. I want to see the statues on Easter island and I’m willing to base an entire trip around that. I think that’s a good way to put it Well, as we wrap up Shayne I gave a couple of examples of.

Which are those really piques your fancy?

Shayne: Well, I had to look through a few of them also. And. Egypt always talks to my list. I want to see the pyramids, like, like you got to do of months ago, but there’s also have, we also share our fascination with trains and there

Ryan: Yes.

Shayne: there’s one called Norway’s trains and fjords.

Ryan: Oh, oh.

Shayne: quite diverting.

Ryan: Oh, man. I was going to say the gorilla Trek until you said that as an example, and I think I’m going to be sitting there right next to you.

Shayne: Maybe

Ryan: Well, maybe not next to you because we both want a window seat.

Shayne: That’s true. We’ll be on opposite sides of the car. just for us. They’ll bring in a couple of apes on our Norwegian train through the fjiords

Ryan: nice.

Shayne: Well, what do you think about these National Geographic Expeditions? If this sounds like something that would appeal to you? We would love to help you plan your next vacation. Ryan and I are both travel advisors with Creating Magic Vacations. reach out to R Y A N at CreatingMagicVacations.com or S H A Y N E at CreatingMagicVacations.com.

Ryan: Most families are confused and overwhelmed when they want to plan a vacation, work with you to plan a trip perfect for your interests, which saves you time, money, and stress.

Shayne: Yeah. That would

be an extraordinary,

Ryan: So the first, so it’s extraordinarily extraordinary