Tangerine Travel News Blog

Iris scanners are being phased out at UK airports as the Border Agency considers new technology measures. Read more at Tnooz

Take the VIRTUOSO LIFE Travel Dreams Survey today for a chance to win a 12-day Crystal cruise or $1,000 cash!

Deadline to enter is March 31, 2012
Must be a valid U.S. resident to be eligible to win.  Non-U.S. residents are invited to take the survey here. 

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Frontier Airlines announced new service to five new destinations.

Denver to Bellingham, WA
Denver to Bloomington/Normal, IL
Denver to Cedar Rapids, IA
Denver to Great Falls, MT
Denver to Harrisburg, PA

The new service will begin in mid-May.

Air France was advising travelers to postpone their travels until after Feb. 10 due to a strike scheduled through Feb. 9. Hundreds of Air France flights were canceled Feb. 7 — including 40 percent out of Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport. Air France said it would be able to guarantee 60 percent of its long-distance flights on Feb. 8 — which will be the strike’s third day — after running about 70 percent of them the day prior.

Unions representing pilots, cabin, ground crews and others called the walkout to protest a proposed law that would require air transport workers to give 48 hours notice before striking.

Air France said that travelers can may postpone travel until Feb. 29 and modify bookings free of charge in the same cabin of travel. Travelers can also delay travel from March 1 to April 23.

Our fourth day in Iceland was a fun day for everyone! We all got to choose different tours to go on throughout Iceland. Tangerine Travel went on three different ones to get an all around experience. I went on the Viking Horseback Riding Lava Tour and the others went on the Super Jeep Tour and the Elves and Puffins Tour.

The Viking Horse Back riding was a really fun experience. All riding levels can enjoy. It’s about a 5 hour trip total with transportation to and from the hotels, 2 hours riding on the lava fields and a hour lunch at the Viking Village Restaurant. The Icelandic horses are so cute and shaggy and have these great spunky personalities. The tour provides you with all the gear that you need for the weather; waterproof jackets and pants and rubber boots. The guides then pick out a horse for you depending on your riding level.

The tour goes out onto the lava fields onto all of these winding paths that seem to go on forever. On a clear day, you would have been able to see all of the mountains in the background, but there was a foggy mist that made the landscape even more mysterious. After riding with the whole group for a little, one guide takes the more experienced riders on a faster paced trip and the other takes the rest at a more leisurely pace. I decided to just take in the scenery with the leisurely group, especially since my horse seemed to have a mind of its own.

After riding for two hours, we were taken to a fun lunch at the Viking Village. Coming here is like a blast to the past when the vikings used to roam around Iceland. The waiters and waitresses are all dressed in viking apparel and the restaurant has that old feel with the dark wooden furniture and big stone pottery. The first plate of food brought out was very interesting. It included fermented shark, lamb testicles, meat pie and other things that I have no idea what it was made out of! Don’t worry, they brought out a beautiful cod dish with soup and salad as well.

All in all, the guides were wonderful and it was a fun and different way to get out and see Iceland. If you enjoy horseback riding or even if you haven’t rode but are interested, I would definitely recommend trying this out one of the days you are here.

More to come on the other tours….

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Trips from this collection are far beyond the usual vacation. And arranging these fantastic adventures requires savvy and connections far beyond the usual as well. Count on Tangerine Travel to work with these preferred travel partners to create an unforgettable experience for you.
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Fun Fact 1:

Do you like to golf? Well surprisingly Iceland is a great place to tee off. There are over 50 golf courses and in the summer there are about 23 hours of sunlight. So that means lots of time to golf! Many of the golf courses have midnight golf tournaments to burn out the midnight sun. What a unique and beautiful place to golf and see something entirely different!

Fun Fact 2:

There are trolls all over Reykjavik. And supposedly there also elves wandering around as well. The belief in Elves and Trolls in Iceland has its roots in the Old Norse religion and the legends of the Celtic slaves.  According to Icelanders….a Troll is a giant and often said to be a monster inhabiting hills and caves. There are night Trolls that are very sensitive to the sun and will turn into stone if caught by a ray of light. All over Iceland there are troll landmarks coming out of strange rock formations in the lava fields and in the mountains. Some of the tours are even themed around finding the Trolls or Elves. One of our travel agents is going on a fun tour tomorrow in search of Elves and Puffins. Hopefully she’ll see at least one of them!

Fun  Fact 3:

We are off to dinner tonight at the Harpa. The Harpa is the concert hall in Reykjavik. It is a glass building and sits right on the water. Check it out here http://en.harpa.is/.