The 100 Best Worldwide Vacations to Enrich Your Life (Paperback)

by Pam Grout (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Travelers are showing a huge interest in the fast-growing sector known as "experiential" tourism—vacations that encompass heritage, culture, nature, ecology, and soft adventure.

In the footsteps of the briskly selling The 100 Best Vacations to Enrich Your Life featuring North American destinations, our new title extends these ardent travelers’ sights to global scale. From helping to build a health clinic in Tanzania to learning massage in Thailand to aiding green turtle conservation in Belize, The 100 Best Worldwide Vacations to Enrich Your Life is full of fun, meaningful, and memorable possibilities for today’s discerning traveler. The lively text irresistibly conveys the charm and excitement of each location and delivers solid, reliable travel-planning information. Abundant sidebars reveal little known local facts, nearby places to visit, lists of things to do, and more.

Other books on the market address singular aspects of experiential vacations around the world (learning, volunteering, culinary). But none presents the best of all categories in one comprehensive guide—until now. The 100 Best Worldwide Vacations to Enrich Your Life holds great appeal for travelers of many interests who want to make the most of their vacations. And, with its elegant packaging, this deluxe trade paperback will catch the attention of gift-shoppers as an inspired and attractive choice.

About the Author
Pam Grout is the author of 13 travel and self-help books, including The 100 Best Vacations to Enrich Your Life, as well as numerous articles for such publications as Travel & Leisure, Outside, Modern Maturity, New Age Journal, Scientific American Explorations, Snow Country The Washington Post, and many others. She is also the midwestern stringer for People magazine and writes a travel column called "Now, Where Was I?" She lives in Lawrence, Kansas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: National Geographic (May 20, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1426202792
• ISBN-13: 978-1426202797
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #60,845 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A vacation when I can save turtles? Sign me up!, November 13, 2008

By	A. Ocasio "Neliel" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Reading this book made me completely reevaluate my vacation choices. It covers a wide range of trips spanning across the farthest corners of the earth(yes, there's an antarctica trip, too), some that you've thought of, but most you probably haven't. The types are broken up into sections: there's Arts & crafts, Volunteer vacations(my personal favorite), learning retreats, and wellness escapes. With the multitude of options, you'd be hard pressed not to find something that you're really interested in, or, more likely--several. Each trip/cause has general costs, whats included in those costs, and contact info, including websites--although one of the websites that i visited was completely in spanish--and there had been no indication in the review that you had to be spanish speaking/literate to participate in that particular vacation. If there was one thing that was really lacking in this book, it doesn't quite tell you how much of the language you need to make your vacation enjoyable--am i okay with a phrase book or should i start studying spanish now? it doesn't really answer these questions consistently.

4 stars because the book does not address what I consider to be important information related to how difference sexes, nationalities and language levels are received by the locals. For example, the middle east trips made no mention of whether it would be difficult for lone travelers or female travelers(or a lone female traveler), which is important since I have thought of taking a few trips alone. Not that I expect this book to do all your research for you, but it would be nice if it were to mention possible problems with certain areas.

On the whole, i found this book to be incredibly enjoyable, but it is not a one-stop vacation description, its just a starting point. you still need to do a lot of research about the vacations that you find interesting. It definitely gave me new ideas and perspective about what i can really do while i'm on vacation--i can learn a craft, begin a language and immerse myself in a culture that most tourists will never take the time to appreciate. i highly recommend this book :)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enriching vacations, November 23, 2008

By	Robert C. Ross (New Jersey) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Pam Grout describes a new term in the travel business, an "enriching vacation." She writes that the essence of the trip to to gain "some perspective on your life and make a difference to other people, especially in the volunteer vacations." Others may be devoted to learning something you wanted learn about ever since you were a kid. She writes your goals is to "come back different than when you left on your vacation."

The book is divided into four categories: arts and crafts getaways, volunteer vacations, learning retreats, and wellness escapes. Sample trips include spinning wool on an old English farm, making pottery in Nicaragua, studying tectonic plates in Iceland, and assembling wheelchairs for land-mine victims in Cambodia.

Some of the vacations are basically free, except for food, lodging and travel, for example Patch Adams's Gesundheit Institute to help revolutionize health care (inspired by Robin Williams's Patch Adams). Others can be really expensive, learning to drive a sport car at speed, for example, or playing an instrument at rock and roll camp with The Who's Roger Daltrey.

I enjoyed the image of some of these trips, sort of like Tom Sawyer convincing folks how much fun it is to whitewash a fence. But Grout says most folks come back from these vacations refreshed and proud of having learned something new; "most would go right back if they could get the time off."

One caution: as another Reviewer wrote, this book will only introduce you to the idea of a particular trip; you will have to do additional research about the groups, costs, availability, etc. But Grout does give you plenty of information to start with and to build on.

I've personally love these sorts of vacations. My wife sent me to a one week Boot Camp at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. I learned a great deal about basic cooking, so much so that we decided I'd go back to learn more about Italian cooking. We both benefited; my cooking improved and we had plenty to talk about.

Grout is positive, motivational and inspirational. Each entry is one to three pages long, describing the location and experience with prices, dates and helpful advice. Vacation descriptions include addresses, phone numbers and websites for the organizations providing the trips. There's a bit on historical facts, side trips and trivia, but be sure to do further research before committing to any trip. (Note: this book is a sequel to Grout's The 100 Best Vacations to Enrich Your Life.)

This is a great book to read and learn about options, even if you don't take a "real" vacation. Enrichment is the name of Grout's game, and she delivers.

Robert C. Ross 2008

5.0 out of 5 stars Great list of trips you might not hear about, April 26, 2009

By	Robin A. Paschall (Boulder, CO United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Pam has done a great job pulling together great trips that wouldn't necessarily be listed all in one place. It's amazing how many trips there are and how diverse they can be!

At Adventures Within Reach, we have noticed that travelers no longer want to travel just to get away. They want to experience something more -- learn something, experience a new culture, or give back to the local people. This book addresses these needs.

We are happy to be listed in the book under Volunteer Vacations and hope that more people plan their next vacation to enrich their lives.