Author: Jack Witt

My last group trip of 2025 was a Perfect Portugal group journey designed around culture, history, food, and ease of travel. It was the perfect country for hosting a tour group with lots of World Heritage sights, culture, history, seafood, and wine (and not just Port!). We had perfect weather the entire time in October, and Portugal is a perfect first-timers-to-Europe country as it still retains quite a bit of old-Europe charm. For this reason, Portugal is also a perfect

To say that Iceland is amazing is an understatement. With geothermal wonders in every direction, northern lights that constantly captivate, and a colorful and quirky capital city, Iceland is a place that erupts with wonder and sparkles with excitement. Continuing my celebration of hosting fun groups on active tours for the past 10 years, I had the pleasure of spending eight scheduled days (plus one extra…we’ll get to that) in The Land of Fire and Ice with 10 intrepid travelers. Our flight

Technically it’s in Africa, but it’s not the classic Africa most people associate with. The people speak Arabic, but it’s not the Middle East. French is even spoken here, adding to the intrigue of it all. It’s a place where the largest arid desert in the world starts, where picturesque snowy mountain peaks rival some of the world’s most scenic, and a place where tiles and mosaics of former palaces, kasbahs, and universities are awash with beautiful and intricate designs. It’s

Monument Valley is a place where time stands still, long enough for you to feel the harmony and peace of the last western frontier. Monument Valley, on the Arizona and Utah border, is a semi-autonomous Navajo nation of 165,000 people. The reservation covers one third of the 130,000 square-mile Colorado Plateau and features endless geological wonders. The nearest major airport to Monument Valley is Flagstaff, Arizona (about a three-hour drive). While there is lodging just outside the park, I stayed at the

Active World Journeys travel blog: Cross Country Trip on Amtrak’s California Zephyr. Those who know me know that I’m an outdoor enthusiast and nature lover. When I travel it usually involves some kind of active component such as hiking or kayaking or bike riding. But I’ve always had a multi-day overnight train trip on my travel bucket list. To me it harkens back to America before plane  travel was affordable for most people and before the highways and interstates were built.

I really should not be telling you about one of the best kept secret vacation spots in the world. I want it for myself, and I especially don’t want the locals to get upset with me for blogging about it to the world at large. But oh well, here it goes. I really should not be telling you about one of the best kept secret vacation spots in the world. I want it for myself, and I especially don’t want the

Grateful in the mist – gorilla trekking and chimpanzee tracking in Uganda. Did you know? Uganda has 50% of the world’s mountain gorilla population. There are about 450 gorillas in the sanctuary of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park where we had the opportunity to trek to a particular family named “Mishaya” on a recent primate safari tour in Uganda, Africa. The tour also featured chimpanzee tracking. After flying into Entebbe, Uganda we made our way first to Kibale National Park to track chimpanzees, the

Ahhh – the Florida Keys are just one of those places that has its own unique feel. When you’re there, you get the sense that everything runs on “Keys’ time.” It’s laid back and bohemian atmosphere makes it one of those popular destinations for just getting away from it all. It has world class scuba diving and fishing as well. There are many ways to experience this part of the state but we chose a bicycle journey through the Florida Keys We decided

Active World Journeys. Capital Reef. Exploring America from “Sea to Shining Sea” with a list of the beautiful US national parks to visit this summer after we are all Covid vaccinated. As more and more Americans are getting vaccinated, this summer looks like it will break records for domestic travel as the floodgates open and people take their travel lives back. It will be great for local economies that were hard hit in 2020 by shutdowns and capacity limitations due to the