Adventure Life is an adventure travel company that provides private and small-group tours in Latin America and small-ship cruises throughout the world. They offer over 100 different itineraries in South America and Central America, and hundreds of small-ship cruises to less conventional destinations such as Africa, the Arctic, Antarctica and Alaska.
Their focus is nature, cultural, and active travel and they apply ecotourism [1] principles to their tour and cruise programs. Most trips have a maximum group size of 12, and the average size is 8. Since their founding in 1999, over 16,000 clients have traveled with the company.
Adventure Life is registered in the State of Montana as ALJ, Inc., and they do business as Adventure Life Journeys and Adventure Life VOYAGES.
Contents |
Adventure Life was founded by Brian Morgan in 1999.[2] Morgan was working as a consultant in Quito for CARE in the late 1990s, but decided to return home to Montana. While applying for jobs in Montana, Morgan planned a group tour back to Ecuador and promoted it locally. This experience made him recognize that guided tours were a service in demand, and a niche industry that his own travel experiences and Ecuadorian connections had prepared him to explore further.[3]
Adventure Life launched in February of 1999 with Spanish language study-trips, internships, and tours to Peru and Ecuador. Office is initially located in Havre, Montana. Morgan hired first staff member. First year of business, Adventure Life has fewer than 100 travelers.
Starting in 2000, The Company decided to focus on offering tours only, and no longer provides Spanish language study-trips, or internships. Office moves from Havre, and settles in Missoula, Montana. By the end of 2000, company hires 4 full-time staff members. Establishes a partner office in Lima, Peru.
Between 2001-2003, Adventure Life added tours to Bolivia, Costa Rica and Belize, Chile, Argentina, Patagonia and Guatemala. They also Establishes a second partner office in Quito, Ecuador. The company moves from Morgan's home into its first office.In 2005, tours started sending travelers to Antarctica. The next year they added Panama to the list of destinations.
Adventure Life also launched Adventure Life VOYAGES[1], which provide small-ship cruises throughout the world. During 2007, Adventure Life provides trips for over 3500 travelers. In 2008 they added the Falkland Islands. Company launches an online community forum offering client Trip Journals[2] - system utilizes the services of Google Maps.
Galapagos Conservation Fundraising
Adventure Life is an active member of the International Galapagos
Tour Operators Association, (IGTOA)[1]. The president
of Adventure Life, Brian Morgan, is also currently the president of
IGTOA.[4] In Nov.
2006, IGTOA they launched a Galapagos traveler-funding program for
island conservation, and Adventure Life was one of the first
members to adopt this initiative.[5] A
voluntary donation is added to all of Adventure Life's Galapagos
travelers’ invoices. 40% of this donation goes to IGTOA and 60%
goes to the Charles Darwin Foundation.
Dollar for dollar, Adventure Life matches these donations with
travel vouchers for future trips with their company. As of June
2008, Adventure Life’s travelers have raised nearly $40,000 for
island conservation.
IGTOA supports program in the Galapagos that include both Conservation and Professional Standards. Conservation funding is for projects that directly impact issues like introduced species, patrol of the park, and scientific research. Professional Standards relates to boat safety; passenger care; training and treatment of captains and crew members; guide training; educating travelers on conservation issues; and other issues relating to health, safety, and the rights and responsibilities of both travelers and tourist industry personnel.[6]
The Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF) has carried out research for the conservation of the Galapagos ecosystem for almost 50 years. They have been a leader in conservation science and the practical application of information gained and lessons learned in Galapagos, and are one the most respected non-profit research organization currently in operation.
Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco
(CTTC)
The CTTC is a non-profit organization established in 1996 to aid in
the survival of Incan textile traditions and to provide
support to weaving communities. Working with the Center, Quechua weavers and their
families in the region of the former Incan capitol are engaged in
skills-building, community networking and market development. By
researching and documenting complex styles and techniques of the
ancestors, the Center helps to ensure that 2,000 year-old textiles
traditions will not be lost to future generations.[7]
Adventure Life provides an annual donation to the CTTC, and
incorporates visits to the center for all of its Peru itineraries
that spend time in the Cusco
region.
Adventure Life has been featured in major publications such as USA Today [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21], The New York Times [22][23][24] [25][26][27], National Geographic Adventure [28], Outside Magazine [29][30][31], ForbesLife [32], Conde Nast Traveler[33] and Inc. Magazine.[34]
Adventure Life´s organization has developed a strong reputation by making many recurring mistakes to multiple travelers´ voyages to Central America in 2009-2010. Many clients have found themselves waiting at a location in a foreign country for their travel taxi to arrive, or hotels or tour companies being unaware of their arrival, due to what has been perceived by travelers as inexperienced and unorganized management at Adventure Life, as well as an apathetic attitude toward fixing their practices.
While booking reservations through ALJ, multiple travelers have found that the organization will wait until the very last week before departure to send a finalized travel voucher. This practice has caused many logistical problems for the traveler making additional arrangments on their own accord. This notorious practice of ALJ compounds travel complications since it is likely they will have made a mistake with your travel plans by miscommunicating the plans to thier satellite office and the hotel or taxi or restaurant.
Many travelers have found that they will be turned over to multiple (3,4 or even 5) points of contact to the company while making travel arrangements. The explanation to some travelers for this is usually made by the next agent as ¨promotions within.¨ Some travelers have come to a consensus that the owner of the company has been hiring young college students or girlfriends for weeks at a time, and allowing them to transfer responsibility of international travelers logistics to one another upon leaving for another job or semester. This practice has caused many headaches to multiple travelers using this agency, and some travelers say this practice clued them in to what was to be expected in the remainder of their journey.
Adventure Life is an adventure travel company that provides private and small-group tours in Latin America and small-ship cruises throughout the world. They offer over 100 different itineraries in South America and Central America, and hundreds of small-ship cruises to less conventional destinations such as Africa, the Arctic, Antarctica and Alaska.
Their focus is nature, cultural, and active travel and they apply ecotourism [1] principles to their tour and cruise programs. Most trips have a maximum group size of 12, and the average size is 8. Since their founding in 1999, over 16,000 clients have traveled with the company.
Adventure Life is registered in the State of Montana as ALJ, Inc., and they do business as Adventure Life Journeys and Adventure Life VOYAGES.
Contents |
Adventure Life was founded by Brian Morgan in 1999.[2] Morgan was working as a consultant in Quito for CARE in the late 1990s, but decided to return home to Montana. While applying for jobs in Montana, Morgan planned a group tour back to Ecuador and promoted it locally. This experience made him recognize that guided tours were a service in demand, and a niche industry that his own travel experiences and Ecuadorian connections had prepared him to explore further.[3]
Adventure Life launched in February 1999 with Spanish language study-trips, internships, and tours to Peru and Ecuador. Office is initially located in Havre, Montana. Morgan hired first staff member. First year of business, Adventure Life has fewer than 100 travelers.
Starting in 2000, The Company decided to focus on offering tours only, and no longer provides Spanish language study-trips, or internships. Office moves from Havre, and settles in Missoula, Montana. By the end of 2000, company hires 4 full-time staff members. Establishes a partner office in Lima, Peru.
Between 2001-2003, Adventure Life added tours to Bolivia, Costa Rica and Belize, Chile, Argentina, Patagonia and Guatemala. They also Establishes a second partner office in Quito, Ecuador. The company moves from Morgan's home into its first office.In 2005, tours started sending travelers to Antarctica. The next year they added Panama to the list of destinations.
Adventure Life also launched Adventure Life VOYAGES[1], which provide small-ship cruises throughout the world. During 2007, Adventure Life provides trips for over 3500 travelers. In 2008 they added the Falkland Islands. Company launches an online community forum offering client Trip Journals[2] - system utilizes the services of Google Maps.
Galapagos Conservation Fundraising
Adventure Life is an active member of the International Galapagos Tour Operators Association, (IGTOA)[1]. The president of Adventure Life, Brian Morgan, is also currently the president of IGTOA.[4] In Nov. 2006, IGTOA they launched a Galapagos traveler-funding program for island conservation, and Adventure Life was one of the first members to adopt this initiative.[5] A voluntary donation is added to all of Adventure Life's Galapagos travelers’ invoices. 40% of this donation goes to IGTOA and 60% goes to the Charles Darwin Foundation. Dollar for dollar, Adventure Life matches these donations with travel vouchers for future trips with their company. As of June 2008, Adventure Life’s travelers have raised nearly $40,000 for island conservation.
IGTOA supports program in the Galapagos that include both Conservation and Professional Standards. Conservation funding is for projects that directly impact issues like introduced species, patrol of the park, and scientific research. Professional Standards relates to boat safety; passenger care; training and treatment of captains and crew members; guide training; educating travelers on conservation issues; and other issues relating to health, safety, and the rights and responsibilities of both travelers and tourist industry personnel.[6]
The Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF) has carried out research for the conservation of the Galapagos ecosystem for almost 50 years. They have been a leader in conservation science and the practical application of information gained and lessons learned in Galapagos, and are one the most respected non-profit research organization currently in operation.
Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco (CTTC)
The CTTC is a non-profit organization established in 1996 to aid in the survival of Incan textile traditions and to provide support to weaving communities. Working with the Center, Quechua weavers and their families in the region of the former Incan capitol are engaged in skills-building, community networking and market development. By researching and documenting complex styles and techniques of the ancestors, the Center helps to ensure that 2,000 year-old textiles traditions will not be lost to future generations.[7] Adventure Life provides an annual donation to the CTTC, and incorporates visits to the center for all of its Peru itineraries that spend time in the Cusco region.
Adventure Life has been featured in major publications such as USA Today [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22], The New York Times [23][24][25] [26][27][28], National Geographic Adventure [29], Outside Magazine [30][31][32], ForbesLife [33], Conde Nast Traveler[34] and Inc. Magazine.[35]
|
|