MORAL COMPASS: Great Places to Go Where the Going Does Good

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Active Travel, Adventure Travel, Arctic/Antarctic Travel, Digital Travel, Uncategorized, Virtual Travel

New Virtual Tour of the Arctic Bath and Hot Air Ballooning over the Arctic – Free

May 3, 2020 MoralCompass

The new Virtually Visiting Arctic holiday travels to the region of Northern Sweden around Lulea where guests will join a tour of the Arctic Bath, the new floating hotel and spa; experience the remote wilderness of the Aurora Safari Camp; and go for a spectacular hot air balloon ride over the Arctic tundra.

Virtual travel experts Virtually Visiting have created their second four-day virtual holiday showcasing two of the Arctic’s most anticipated experiences from the comfort of your own home. It begins April 30 and it’s free!

The new virtual holiday travels to the region of Northern Sweden around Lulea where guests will join atour of the Arctic Bath, the new floating hotel and spa; experience the remote wilderness of the Aurora Safari Camp; and go for a spectacular hot air balloon ride over the Arctic tundra.

Designed by Virtually Visiting, the experience will be released over four days from Thursday, April 30 through Sunday May 3. It can be experienced on Virtual Reality goggles or via computer, tablet or phone. (If you can’t “travel” on those dates, the experiences will stay live on the site for you to watch at your convenience.)

New experiences will be released each morning lasting from 5 to 20 minutes each. Each experience has been filmed to allow guests to get a true feeling of the adventures with expert guides throughout.

“This is the second full virtual holiday we have released with the aim of putting you, as the guest, right in the action. You’ll experience the tours as if you were actually there,” says Jonny Cooper, founder of Virtually Visiting. “This new tour is a really exciting opportunity to visit the Arctic Bath, one of the most anticipated and distinctive spa and wellness experiences, launched this winter, and soar above the Arctic wilderness on a hot air balloon ride. Both are new experiences this year, with two very different views of the Arctic.”

This tour will begin on Thursday April 30 with guests virtually arriving into the coastal city of Luleå and the capital of Norrbotten County. Just 70km north of Luleå is the Aurora Safari Camp, the first stop for the tour. Here guests will join Fredrik Broman on a tour of the camp including a traditional Sami Lavu (teepee) where they will learn about the camp and the nature that surrounds it, and soak up the warmth sitting around the fire and chatting.

On day two, Friday May 1, a triple treat awaits. Guests first join guide Fredrik Broman on a nature walk to the Arctic Circle learning about the complex balance of animals and plants as they thrive in the varied Arctic conditions. The afternoon offers a different perspective of the Arctic, soaring above on an Arctic Hot Air Balloon flight, newly introduced this year. Get ready to sit back, and relax as you take off from a frozen lake and rise above Europe’s last true wilderness. To end the day, guests arrive at Arctic Retreat, a traditional Arctic luxury log cabin deep in the Lapland wilderness, where your host will take you on a tour before leaving you to enjoy the countryside from an outdoor Jacuzzi.

The highlight of the four-day holiday is revealed on Saturday May 2 when you’ll join local guide Peter Engström on a tour of the long-anticipated Arctic Bath. Opened to guests in December, this floating hotel and spa is the world’s first Arctic floating spa, delivering wellness, mindfulness and cleansing treatments through spa partners Kerstin Florian. The Arctic Bath Hotel and Spa, designed by architects Bertil Harström and Johan Kauppi, freezes into the ice of the Lule River in the winter and floats on top of the water in the summer. The tour will cover the accommodations and main spa building while informing about the local connection to history, culture and nature.

As the trip nears its conclusion, there is time for one last experience on Sunday May 3. As you head back towards Lulea the trip will stop off for a nature encounter like no other, meeting the moose. Guests join local guide and founder of Cape Wild, Thomas Dahlquist, to meet “Zigge” and “Zebbe,” learning about these lovable creatures and feeding them. As heavy as 1400 pounds each, the moose at Cape Wild are gentle giants who love to be petted and fed snacks.The trip concludes after a short trip back to Lulea.

Virtually Visiting founder, Jonny Cooper, adds, “We really want to give people a true-to-life experience of these amazing activities and experiences led by some of the best and most knowledgeable guides in the region. We hope this will transport visitors to the region – so set the mood, turn off your heat, grab a wool hat and join us for our next virtual adventure.”

To join the free four-day Virtual adventure from April 30-May 3, visit https://virtuallyvisiting.com/360-journeys/.

But, don’t worry, the tour will stay online if you can’t visit on those dates exactly, or if you need to time-shift to meet your schedule.

For more information on these and other virtual travel experiences, visit www.virtuallyvisiting.com or email [email protected].

Virtually Visiting was set up by a group of travel and technology experts who believe in the power of travel and the good that it can bring to the world. Understanding that the planet is an ever-changing place and that travel is not always accessible, Virtually Visiting has combined advances in technology with their passion for travel. The result is real tours and experiences available online to everyone, everywhere. www.virtuallyvisiting.com. [email protected]

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Active Travel, Adventure Travel, Antarctica, Arctic/Antarctic Travel, Digital Travel, expeditionary cruises, Virtual Travel

Poseidon Expeditions Thwarts Cabin Fever With Polar Ice – Via Video

May 3, 2020 MoralCompass

Poseidon Expeditions offers up an online travel menu of virtual expedition cruises in the mystical worlds of ice — Antarctica in winter, and in summer, the wild Arctic and even the geographic North Pole. Experiences include, among others, kayaking among the icebergs, safe encounters with whales and polar bears and a helicopter flight over the Top of the World.

PROVIDENCE, RI– Right now snuggling up in an armchair with travel videos is the best antidote to what the Germans call Fernweh or yearning for places far away. As the world is still in travel lock-down mode, most of us long for the day we can freely explore the world once again.

Today most of us can’t travel much farther than our corner grocery store. But there is relief to this cabin fever. Poseidon Expeditions offers up an online travel menu of virtual expedition cruises in the mystical worlds of ice — Antarctica in winter, and in summer, the wild Arctic and even the geographic North Pole. Experiences include, among others, kayaking among the icebergs, safe encounters with whales and polar bears and a helicopter flight over the Top of the World.

“If you have the travel bug fever, we recommend treating symptoms with polar ice – via our extraordinary videos,” said Steve Wellmeier of Poseidon Expeditions.

Poseidon has also introduced a “Relaxed” reservation policy for new bookings for the 2021 Arctic and 2021-22 Antarctic seasons aboard the 114-passenger Sea Spirit. For these new bookings in 2021-22 the deposit is reduced from 20% to 10%, and travelers have two months before the deposit is due. For Poseidon travelers booked on 2020 Arctic programs, please find coronavirus-related updates at: https://poseidonexpeditions.com/info-for-travelers/coronavirus-info/

Here’s a selection of Poseidon Expeditions’ destination videos:

East Greenland
https://poseidonexpeditions.com/info-for-travelers/video/arctic/east-greenland-in-1-minute/ (1:13)

Franz Josef Land
https://poseidonexpeditions.com/info-for-travelers/video/arctic/franz-josef-land-in-1-minute/ (1:36)

North Pole
https://poseidonexpeditions.com/info-for-travelers/video/north-pole/on-top-of-the-world-north-pole-cruise/ (18:34)

North Pole by Helicopter
https://poseidonexpeditions.com/info-for-travelers/video/north-pole/north-pole-ruise-helicopter-footage/ (2:42)

Svalbard: Where Does the Ideal Adventure Lead
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjC8-Gn3mE0 (1:00)

Antarctica
https://poseidonexpeditions.com/info-for-travelers/video/antarctica/antarctic-cruise-highlights/ (1:33)

Kayaking Antarctica
https://poseidonexpeditions.com/info-for-travelers/video/antarctica/kayaking-in-antarcica/ (2:06)

Ship videos

mv Sea Spirit
https://poseidonexpeditions.com/info-for-travelers/video/arctic/m-v-sea-spirit-video-tour/ (4:55)

Nuclear-powered Icebreaker, 50 Years of Victory
https://poseidonexpeditions.com/video-360/ (7:02)
360º virtual reality video experience

Interview with the Captain of 50 Years of Victory, Nuclear-powered Icebreaker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRDolpy54nQ&t=2s (6:02)

Additional Videos can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/user/pxpeditions

For inquiries and reservations, or to request a catalog, contact the company’s North American sales and reservation office at [email protected] or by telephone at 347-801-2610.

With offices in the US, UK, Germany, Russia, Cyprus and China, Poseidon Expeditions is a leading provider of polar expeditions in the cruise industry. The company is committed to safe and environmentally responsible polar travel. It is a member of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) and the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO).

Follow Poseidon Expeditions on Social Media:
Facebook:     https://www.facebook.com/poseidonexpeditions
Twitter:           https://twitter.com/poseidonexp
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/pxpeditions
Instagram:     https://www.instagram.com/poseidonexpeditions/
Website         http://poseidonexpeditions.com/

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Digital Travel, Historic Places, Historic Preservation, Virtual Travel

Newport Mansions Open their Doors Virtually During Closure

May 3, 2020 MoralCompass

The famous Gold Room at Alva Vanderbilt’s Marble House in Newport, Rhode Island, epitomizes the Gilded Age. While the Preservation Society of Newport mansions are closed, you can visit virtually. © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

NEWPORT, R.I. – The Preservation Society of Newport County is offering new virtual tours of its historic houses and recent exhibitions as a free activity for people to enjoy while the house museums are closed.

Visitors to the Preservation Society’s website, NewportMansions.org, now can take self-guided 3-D tours through The Elms, Marble House, Isaac Bell House and Hunter House. They can also virtually experience two previous exhibitions at Rosecliff: “John James Audubon: Obsession Untamed” and “Tiffany Glass: Painting With Color and Light.”

Here is the link: www.newportmansions.org/exhibitions/virtual-exhibition-tours

“We have had a phenomenal reaction to this,” Preservation Society CEO and Executive Director Trudy Coxe said. “Everybody has been through a Newport Mansion, but it gives you the opportunity, on a room-by-room basis, to zoom in on an object you might not have noticed.”

Preservation Society Research Fellow Sébastien Dutton is working to complete more of these virtual tours, and they will be posted as they are finished. This work is being supervised by Leslie Jones, Director of Museum Affairs and Chief Curator.

“This technology allows us to digitize the interiors of all our historic properties, in an effort not only to bring these spaces and their content to the public, but also as a matter of our core preservation principles,” Jones said. “It allows for us to not only visually account for the interiors and their aesthetics and the placement of objects, but it also allows us to have accurate measurements of every floor space, every ceiling height, down to the millimeter.”

The Preservation Society of Newport County, Rhode Island, celebrating its 75^th anniversary in 2020, is a nonprofit organization accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. It is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the area’s historic architecture, landscapes, decorative arts and social history. Its 11 historic properties – seven of them National Historic Landmarks – span more than 250 years of American architectural and social development. For more information, visit NewportMansions.org.

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bike trips, Digital Travel, Virtual Travel

Explore Ohiopyle State Park & the Great Allegheny Passage by Bike… Virtually!

April 18, 2020 MoralCompass

Cucumber Falls, Ohiopyle State Park, one of the many highlights of the bike tour along the Great Allegheny Passage. Wilderness Voyageurs is offering a virtual tour as well as a painting class online (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

If you can’t get out of your house right now, Wilderness Voyageurs has the solution for your cabin fever! Join Colleen from Wilderness Voyageurs Headquarters for a virtual tour of Ohiopyle and the Great Allegheny Passage by bike. You’ll explore all the iconic spots in Ohiopyle State Park, ride on the GAP, a rail trail system that links Maryland and Pennsylvania, and check out some spring blooms. You can also join her on Facebook or Instagram for a live painting of Cucumber Falls, a favorite Ohiopyle landmark, on April 24 at 4PM EST. Then send in a photo of your finished masterpiece and it will be posted on Instagram for the world to admire!

Wilderness Voyageurs has also partnered up with Mountain Khakis to say an extra special thank you! Now through April 20, every person who purchases a Wilderness Voyageurs gift card will be automatically entered to win a $100 Mountain Khakis gift card. Mountain Khakis is a small business with only 20 full-time office employees so they understand the importance of shopping small and local and they want to support their retailers.(Your chances of winning are looking good!)

The winner for the drawing will be randomly chosen at the end of the promotional period (April 20).

“We feel honored during these uncertain times to have such supportive customers and to work with brands that support small business, environmental stewardship, and a quality product,” writes Eric Martin, Wilderness Voyageurs owner.

Support Small Business with Online Shopping – “During this difficult time we are offering 20% OFF site wide and free shipping on orders over $30! Even though our brick and mortar store is temporarily closed, you can still gear up for those future adventures in our online shop. Your support means the world to our small, family owned business.”

LIVE Painting of Cucumber Falls: 4/24
Savage River Releases: 7/5, 9/26
Stonycreek Rafting: 6/30, 7/14, 8/25
Colorful Colorado Bike Tour: 9/20
Georgia Gold Coast Bike Tour: 10/6, 10/12, 10/18
Kentucky Bike and Bourbon: 10/5, 10/12, 10/18
Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay Bike Tour: 10/6, 10/11, 10/18

Wilderness Voyageurs started out as a rafting adventures company 50 years ago, but has developed into a wide-ranging outdoors company with an extensive catalog of biking, rafting, fishing and outdoor adventures throughout the US and even Cuba, many guided and self-guided bike itineraries built around rail trails like the Eric Canal in New York, Great Allegheny Passage in Pennsylvania, and Katy Trail in Missouri.

Wilderness Voyageurs, 103 Garrett St., Ohiopyle, PA 15470, 800-272-4141, [email protected], Wilderness-Voyageurs.com

See our series on the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Sojourn on the Great Allegheny Passage, operated by Wilderness Voyageurs and our series on Wilderness Voyageurs six-day “Badlands and Mickelson Trail” bike tour of South Dakota at www.goingplacesfarandnear.com.

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Arctic/Antarctic Travel, Digital Travel, Virtual Travel

Spend 4 Days in Arctic on Free Virtual Holiday, One Day at a Time, Beginning April 18

April 18, 2020 MoralCompass

Experience a four-day Arctic adventure in Swedish Lapland from the comfort of your own home today for free. The holiday has been designed by Virtually Visiting to be experienced through your own computer, tablet or phone as if you are there, day by day, with the itinerary unfolding from Saturday, April 18 through Tuesday, April 21.

The Arctic adventure puts you right in the center of the holiday with new experiences released each day over a four-day complete trip.

The first holiday starts on Saturday April 18. It has been designed to take guests on a wintery tour of the Arctic region of Swedish Lapland.

“We wanted to put you right in the action, allowing you to experience tours as though you were there,” says Jonny Cooper, founder of Virtually Visiting. “This is about keeping the travel experience real; we meet some of the best local guides who walk us through local life to give guests the real-life experience – from their own homes.”

What’s more, this bucket-list four-day holiday is completely free for people to experience and will unfold one day at a time at https://virtuallyvisiting.com/360-journeys/.

Your Virtual Travel Itinerary

Guests will virtually arrive 144km north of the Arctic Circle into Kiruna. The first stop has been perfectly timed just as the ICEHOTEL closes the doors on ICEHOTEL 30 for the last time this year, before it is left to melt back into the river – and it is here that the adventure begins.

The first experience on Saturday April 18 sees our ICEHOTEL guide Matilda give a personal tour around four of the jaw-dropping, individually designed and carved ice rooms and explain how it all comes together – from the frozen water in the river flowing beside the hotel, to being transformed into these beautiful masterpieces you see before you.

The tour will not only allow you to hear from Matilda but also look around the amazing space created entirely from ice and snow – a breathtaking combination of an art-exhibition and a hotel in one.

The following day, on Sunday April 19, the tour heads south 250km to Lassbyn to meet local guide and founder of the Aurora Safari Camp, Fredrik Broman. Today Fredrik will be taking guests on a Snowmobile adventure through the stunning Swedish wilderness visiting two frozen lakes and learning about local wildlife and landmarks on the way.

Monday April 20 brings a more leisurely pace and a chance to join Kent Lindvall, the founder and visionary behind the world famous Treehotel. Today, Kent will take us on a personal tour of Treehotel where guests learn about the history of the hotel including a tour inside four of the seven amazing tree-top hotel rooms. Each room has its own theme which is showcased in the design of the exterior and interior.

The final day of the tour, Tuesday April 21, the adventure will take guests east 90km to the wilderness around Kroktask. Here we join Erik Hordijk from Yellow Snow Husky tours to learn how to harness a team of huskies in preparation for the journey across the frozen landscape, before setting of on our dogsled adventure.

Each day a new virtual experience and additional information will be released allowing visitors to immerse themselves in a journey through the region getting a real sense of the people and place as you travel through it.

The team behind Virtually Visiting will launch more experience and tours after this with the chance to visit Storforsen middle falls nature walk, join a tour of the new Arctic Bath, visit ICEHOTEL 365; meet the Moose and Reindeer, learn about the Sami culture, go Kayaking, and explore the Aurora Safari Camp.

Virtually Visiting founder, Jonny Cooper, added, “As well as our new virtual holiday, we’re also working hard to add further capabilities allowing us to run live VR tours in the future, adding even more real-time interaction with guides.”

To join the free four-day Virtual Arctic adventure from Saturday April 18 – Tuesday April 21, visit https://virtuallyvisiting.com/360-journeys/ (and don’t worry, if you miss one of the days, the video can be accessed at the same link).

Virtually Visiting was set up by a group of travel and technology experts who believe in the power of travel and the good that it can bring to the world. Understanding the planet is an ever-changing place and that travel is not always accessible – we decided to combine advances in technology with our passion for travel. The result is real tours and experiences available online to everyone, everywhere.

For more information on virtual travel experiences visit www.virtuallyvisiting.com or email [email protected]

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Digital Travel, Virtual Travel

Lindblad Brings Daily Activities, Rhythms of Expedition on Virtual Exploration of World’s Most Remote Places

April 15, 2020 MoralCompass

*Lindblad Expeditions is bringing the world’s wild places through virtual expedition.*

NEW YORK — During this time of social isolation Lindblad Expeditions is bridging the distance—bringing the world’s wild places and keeping moments of ahhh alive and well—through a Virtual Expedition to explore the world’s remote pristine reaches. The small ship adventure travel company is taking guests on a virtual expedition, designed to offer the “tonic of wildness,” and the engaging and reassuring rhythms of life on board—from morning stretch classes, to exhilarating sights, photo ops and even evening Recap daily at 6 pm, complete with cocktail recipes from fleet menus.

As the Virtual Expedition unfolds in the weeks ahead—and pulling from a renowned expedition team of naturalists and experts in isolation as well —there will be activities for kids led by Lindblad’s team of certified field educators; lectures with the line’s renowned naturalist team; live musical performances from around the world; artisan demonstrations; and cooking demos of sustainable shipboard bites. And a special evening recap will reveal the newest addition to their fleet, National Geographic Endurance, via a virtual ship tour led by the Captain and members of his team.

“We are all adjusting to our new ways of living. Never have any of us experienced anything like this and we are all having to learn new tricks during a period of social distancing,” stated Sven Lindblad, CEO of Lindblad Expeditions. “The main intent is to keep us connected, put a smile on your face, and provide a bit of inspiration.”

Choreographed with all the hallmarks of a Lindblad expedition, the Daily Program will be posted daily to Virtual Expedition. Flexible, spontaneous—who knows where you’ll go?—the expedition will feature new discoveries each day, using Facebook and Instagram for both video and live activities, including:

· Today’s Activity: Video clips with Lindblad naturalists taking guests from temperate to tropical rainforests to the towering ice of Antarctica, guiding them into the sights & sounds.

· AHHHHH Moment: The healing tonic of wildness, a tiny dose of bliss, or a bit of insight. What does it feel like to spend time, truly steep in wild remote places, stop, let it sink in, get captured by one moment or a string of them? Experience it now.

· Photo Tips: Get info you can use to practice indoors or out. Learn from Lindblad certified photo instructors as they explore their own landscape in isolation.

· RECAP: It’s 6pm—grab a cocktail recipe & meet us in the Lounge, with demonstrations from virtual shipboard bartenders – and soon to be added lectures, presentations, and more.

· Virtual Music Lounge: Choreographed by Lindblad’ ethnomusicologist, Jacob Edgar, enjoy a series of live musical performances from Ireland, Iceland, Trinidad, Rapa Nui, Scotland, and more. Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, a multi-award winning traditional singer and musician from Ireland, leads the lineup starting this week.

The invitation is open: Come aboard and join the expedition—see familiar faces, discover exhilarating places, observe wildlife, get photo tips, and experience a Virtual Expedition.

For reservations or additional information on Lindblad Expeditions voyages to some of the most beautiful and fascinating places on Earth, visit www.expeditions.com, call 1-800-EXPEDITION (1-800-397-3348), contact your travel advisor, or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest and LinkedIn. #VirtualLEXpedition

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