With Halloween just around the corner, Rezgo’s Amazing Tours has taken a look at some darker tours, and why not look at the homeland of one of fictions most notorious villains, Dracula! Transylvania Live tours hosts an amazing tour that lasts 10 days and combines history culture, wooden stake carving, Dracula and a whole lot of fun. Here are some of the highlights from the trip:

Ritual Killing of the Living Dead - Help a haunted spirit to gain his peace - attend the ritual of killing a vampire in this Dracula tour.

Wine Tasting in Tokaj - It was the Tokaj wine that Dracula used to serve his guests with. Also a favourite tipple of the Dumas’s musketeers.

The Magic World of Romanian Folklore - A live presentation offered by a famous Romanian ethnographer, your travel to Transylvania will enrich you’re universe with more fantastic creatures than you could ever have imagine.

Introducing Unique Characters - Meet the Vampire Wooden Stake Specialist, the famous woodcraftsman Grigore Tulean from Maramures, a VIP of your Dracula tour. Be aware that the ancient ritual of preparing the dead with a stake or needle through the heart is still practiced in some remote regions. Discover Dracula’s descendents - pay a visit to Misiuga, Baron of Dracula in his windswept tower of Bistrita citadel.

Vampire Treats: Enjoy Jonathan Harker’s Menu - The same meal Bram Stoker’s hero ate when in Bistrita citadel, and indulge yourself further with a Vampire menu with a dinner in Turda to find out why it’s worth killing for a meal!

Dracula’s Castle in Transylvania - Bram Stoker’s imaginary castle where, in Borgo Pass, he placed the Bloody Count Dracula; accommodation, candle lit dinner and a camp fire with all the right stories.
Halloween Party in Sighisoara Citadel - Dracula’s birth place; lunch in the house where Vlad the Impaler was born and enjoy the best Halloween party ever.

Bran Castle, Peles Castle and Corvinesti Castle - Legendary castles in Transylvania with plenty of good stories for a Halloween tour.

Prices start at $2284 for the entire package, if you want to join this amazing tour go to their website: http://www.visit-transylvania.us

This all inclusive package will give you 3 meals a day, dorm style accomodation in their beach resort, and 2 hours of instruction perday, not to mention all the gear you need to master the waves.

Here is their itinerary:

Day 1 - Kia Ora, Welcome. The search begins departing Auckland we head to the far north (Ahipara Surf Lodge). Today we have 1 surf.
Day 2 - We will find the best waves in northland. This could mean driving on the beach to get you to secluded surf locations. 2 surfs today.
Day 3 -Wake up, have breakfast and then walk out the front door and go surfing. 2 surfs today, some may have 3 if you have the energy!
Day 4 - More of day 2 and 3, by evening our surf pilgrimage will bring us home for our final night at Ahipara Surf Lodge. 2 surfs today.
Day 5 - Back to Auckland chasing waves on either coast. We arrive in Auckland late Friday afternoon. 1 surf today.

Sounds pretty good! The full tour costs $799 NZD with discounts if you have your own board/car etc. For more information check out their website at: http://www.newzealandsurftours.com

While this all may sound intimidating, there are some Amazing Tour companies that offer training programs to help ease the “boof“.

If you have a chance to go to Virginia, you should go to the ACE Adventure Centre. This company offer training and tours ranging from beginner all the way to advanced, which will take you down some pretty extreme waters. I reccomend taking the course on how to flip back up if you find yourself underwater, but that is just me .

With prices starting at $120 per day when there are 4 people in a group, this could be the adrenaline adventure you have been waiting for!

Squamish Rock Guides offer some Amazing Tours that take climbers of all skill levels up with a guide. Each trip is customized to fit the ability and comfort level of each climber.

The most popular cliff in Squamish is the Stawamus Chief. There are several routes that will take you up this massive rock, but the most popular is the “Ultimate Everything”. Squamish Rock Guides say:

“This is, arguably, the easiest route to the summit of the Chief. It starts on the Apron, crosses the South Gully and then follows a myriad of slab, face and crack pitches to the top. It is popular and very pleasant.”

A full day of guiding will cost around $355 for 1:1 instruction, or $230 for you and a friend to have one instructor.

For more information go to http://www.squamishrockguides.com

Here is a great video I found of Chris Sharma climbing in Squamish:

With my focus on the most amazing, I will highlight the most extreme tour there, the 5 hour ‘Extreme Repel Cave Tour’

For this tour you will need to combine rock climbing, repelling, crawling, squeezing, and gawking at the amazing rock formations. You start out by descending down the 7 story “Rainbarrel “ON RAPPEL” and visit the amazing “China Shop” at the very end of this amazing cave! Explorers will return to the surface by climbing back up the Rainbarrel on a wild cable ladder. Not for the faint of heart!”

All adventurers must supply sturdy footwear and warm clothing. Participants MUST have recent rappelling experience, be 15 years or older and sign a Liability Waiver. The Extreme Rappel tour runs May to October from 12 noon to 5pm.

For more information go to www.hornelake.com

The Eco-Odyssée water labyrinth puts you and a friend in a paddle boat adventure that you are sure to enjoy. You must navigate the marsh maze in your paddle boats while solving clues that are posted in the area. These clues challenge the tourists to look at the natural environment to help them find ways out of the maze. Here is what they say:

Located on an enchanting site, Eco-Odyssée is a water maze that comprises an estimated 60 intersections spread out over more than 6km. Choose the adventure that suits you and enjoy the splendor of the marsh environment from your paddle boat. Learn to identify the numerous animal and plant species that live in the marsh, concealed within the forest’s greenery. You will be charmed by this journey of discovery.

During your excursion, you will encounter replica animals and other installations that will help to direct you through the maze while allowing you to learn about the marsh environment and ecosystem. We would like to share with you the biodiversity of an environment that is typically inaccessible and little known to man. Discover an environment that is out of the ordinary, at the heart of the Outaouais, just 30 minutes from Gatineau-Ottawa. A unique and enjoyable tourist activity for all. Don’t miss making Eco-Odyssée a part of your vacation plans !

For more information go to the Eco-Odyssée website at http://www.eco-odyssee.ca

Day 1 – Whitehorse to Upper Labarge Lodge

Guests are greeted by their guide at the airport or their hotel. Depending on weather and other factors, guests may cruise the scenic one-hour trip by riverboat or fly the 15-minute route by float plane to Upper Labarge Lodge.

Day 2 – Upper Labarge Lodge

Guests have a full day to explore the Lake Laberge area. Choose from a leisurely walk through the Ta’an village, a more challenging hike and mountain bike ride to the ridges above, a bird scouting jaunt or fishing and kayaking. Second night at the lodge.

Day 3 – Upper Labarge Lodge to Homestead Lodge

Guests travel by riverboat (or kayak part of the way) from Upper Labarge Lodge down the “Thirty Mile” section of the Yukon River. A floatplane meets the group near Steamboat Island. Guests enjoy a one-hour flight over the Yukon River to Homestead Lodge near Fort Selkirk.

Day 4 – Homestead Lodge

After breakfast, guests make the short trip across the river from Homestead Lodge to Fort Selkirk. After exploring this historic site for the day, the group returns to Homestead Lodge for the night.

Day 5 – Homestead Lodge to Wilderness Outpost

Guests travel by riverboat from Homestead Lodge to Wilderness Outpost. Opportunities abound for wildlife viewing along this truly wild section of the journey. Guests “rough it” in comfortable tented accommodations.

Day 6 – Wilderness Outpost to Dawson City

Guests travel by riverboat from Wilderness Outpost to Dawson City. Our boat trip includes a shore lunch and wildlife viewing opportunities. Upon arrival in Dawson City, guests are welcomed at their accommodation within the historic town site.

Day 7 – Dawson City

Together with a guide, guests have the full day to explore the many historical, cultural and natural attractions of Dawson City and the surrounding area. Second night in the Klondike capital.

Day 8 – Dawson City Departure

Guests may board Air North’s scheduled flight back to Whitehorse, or travel by plane or riverboat into Alaska to connect with a cruise. Other options include trips to the High Arctic and the Arctic Ocean. (Please note that all travel costs from Dawson City are not included in the Great River Journey Tour package.)

For more information go to www.greatriverjourney.com

Your journey to space will be one of incredible contrast and sensory overload.

From the spaceport to 50,000ft, you will be in the spacecraft attached to the mother ship, a specially designed jet carrier aircraft. It will be a time of anticipation and perhaps contemplation of what’s ahead. You will know the rest of your crew and enjoy the confidence that has come from preparing with them and the highly trained pilots for the trip you are about to take together.

Then the countdown to release, a brief moment of quiet before a wave of unimaginable but controlled power, surges through the craft. You are instantly pinned back into your seat, overwhelmed but enthralled by the howl of the rocket motor and the eye- watering acceleration which, as you watch the read-out, has you travelling in a matter of seconds, at almost 2500mph, over 3 times the speed of sound.

As you hurtle through the edges of the atmosphere, the large windows show the cobalt blue sky turning to mauve and indigo and finally to black. You’re on a high, this is really happening, you’re loving it and coping well. You start to relax; but in an instant your senses are back on full alert, the world contained in your spaceship has completely transformed.

The rocket motor has been switched off and it is quiet. But it’s not just quiet, it’s QUIET. The silence of space is as awe inspiring as was the noise of the rocket just moments earlier. What’s really getting your senses screaming now though, is that the gravity which has dominated every movement you’ve made since the day you were born is not there any more. There is no up and no down and you’re out of your seat experiencing the freedom that even your dreams underestimated. After a graceful mid-space summersault you find yourself at a large window and what you see would make your hair stand on end if the zero gravity hadn’t already achieved that effect. Below you (or is it above you?) is a view that you’ve seen in countless images but the reality is so much more beautiful, so much more vivid and produces emotions that are strong but hard to define. The blue map, curving into the black distance is familiar but has none of the usual marked boundaries. The incredibly narrow ribbon of atmosphere looks worryingly fragile. What you are looking at is the source of everything it means to be human, and it is home. You see that your fellow astronauts are equally spellbound, all lost in their own thoughts and storing away the memories.

Then the pilots are asking you to return to your now reclined seats. Gravity is starting to return as you knew it had to. The deceleration produces strong g forces, but you’re lying down and deal with them just as you’ve been taught. You can hear and feel the feathered wings of the spacecraft producing a powerful drag as the thickness of the atmosphere increases, although out of the windows it still looks like space. The g forces quickly ease off and you hear the pilot announce that she is about to re-feather the craft for the graceful glide home.

Later that evening, after the celebrations and wings ceremony, you are finally alone and know that life will never quite be the same again. You also know you need to sleep, although maybe just time to read about Virgin Galactic’s plans to fly through the Aurora Borealis - now that would be something.

If there is a spare seat, let me know I make a great test pilot! For more information go to http://www.virgingalactic.com

Day 01 ARRIVE IN KATHMANDU

When you arrive in Kathmandu , you’ll be taken to your hotel. While in Kathmandu you will have time fascinating Buddhist and Hindu temples and shrines reflecting ancient local traditions are highlighted on our guided tour. There’s time to explore the city’s many charms on your own too. In the evening delicious traditional Nepali well come dinner await for you. O/N in Kathmandu .

Day 02

KATHMANDU - NAGARKOT

After breakfast, we’ll visit Swayambhunath temple, and said to be 2000 years stupa on a hillock offers breath-taking view of Kathmandu City. We will then processed to Visit Pasupatinath and Bouddhanath. After lunch we’ll continue our journey to Nagarkot 2300m above the sea level. This spot provides an excellent view of the sunset and Mt. Everest can be seen on a clear day. O/N in Nagarkot

Day 03

NAGARKOT - KATHMANDU

Wake up early to watch the sunrise spectacular down the first rays of the sun firing the peaks a hillest red slowly lighting of the Himalayas from Kanchenjunga and Everest in the far east of Annapurna and Dhaulagir in the West. After breakfast we’ll drive back to Kathmandu and visit Kathmandu Durbar Square , Patan (Lalitpur) - which is the oldest of the three major cities in Kathmandu Valley - famous for its Buddhist monuments and Hindu temples, and you can catch the traditional artisans working with wood, stones and metals. O/N in Kathmandu .

Day 04

KATHMANDU – RAFTING – CHITWAN

After breakfast drive to rafting spot point for white water Rafting. This Trisuli River is very popular as access to the Prithivi Highway makes “breaking off” the journey easy. Trisuli is also an ideal beginner’s River . After rafting drive to Chitwan National Park upon arrival, rooms assigned and there will be a short briefing on the program and our facilities. 4:00 PM: Elephant-back safari: Guests will ride on an elephant to explore the jungle and wildlife you will be able to see the one-horned rhinoceros, several types of deer, monkeys, wild boar, bison, sloth bear, leopard and, if lucky, the Royal Bengal tiger. This exciting ride lasts for 2-3 hours. 7:00 PM : Dinner in the central dining hall.

Day 05 ROYAL CHITWAN NATIONAL PARK

5:30 AM: Wake-up call followed by tea or coffee, then proceed on a Nature Walk. This encounter on foot with the environment will introduce the main features of eastern Chitwan. Sal forest, open grassland and reverie jungle. Our guides will help you identify some species of birds, plants and other wildlife that you may encounter.
8:30 AM : Breakfast
9:30 AM : Elephant briefing program: Learn more about these fascinating animals during a visit to our elephant stable. (For the brave ones there is even a crash course in riding and leading the elephants)
1.00 PM : LUNCH. After lunch , Canoing : A traditional dug-out canoe takes you on a silent trip down the Rapti river to view aquatic birds and the animals of the river banks. Back to resort through the Jungle.
7:00 PM : Tharu Stick dance: Farmers of the nearby villages will show some of their traditional skills and dances. 8:00 PM : Dinner around the campfire.

Day 06 ROYAL CHITWAN NATIONAL PARK - LUMBINI

6:00 AM: Bird Watching (or another elephant ride) after early morning tea/coffee.
8.00 AM: Breakfast
9.00 AM: Luggage down and departure at 9.30 AM . to Lumbini.
The actual program for your stay, will be given to you on arrival at Resort / camp. The activities are adjusted to the season and weather conditions. Naturally, it may not always be possible to follow this schedule to the minute and the circumstances may force us to alter the program at short notice. On safari in the jungle you will be accompanied by expert naturalists who will advise on safety procedures and we request you to respect their judgment at all times. If you wish to stroll in the forest alone, a guide will have to accompany you for your safety. O/N in Lumbini.

Day 07 LUMBINI – TANSEN - POKHARA

Lumbini: Morning tour of Lumbini the Birth place of Lord Buddha, the apostle of peace, compassion. The old Monastery, images of Buddha’s mother Maya Devi, etc. are still preserved in Lumbini. Drive to Pokhara via Tansen the most popular summer resort with far stretching views of the Himalayas . Tansen is a great rarity, a Nepali town big enough to be interesting, yet so far utterly unspoiled. Set at 1400 meters on the southern side of the Mahabharat range in south central Nepal , it’s an ideal hill station, with a marvellously fresh climate. On arrival, we will proceed for lunch before we start our tour. O/N in Pokhara

Day 08 POKHARA CITY TOUR

After breakfast we’ve sightseeing around Pokhara valley. Pokhara lakeside villages sits, “front row centre” to one of the most beautiful Himalayan panoramas in the world. The Annapurna and famous “Fishtail” mountain peak of Machapuchhare tower over the tropical setting of Pokhara and you spend there will be the scenic highlight of your trip. You’re free in Pokhara Valley also called ” Magic Land ” or Dreamland” of Nepal , to explore the various interesting place like a boating in Fewa lake over looking the region of Annapurna Areas, David Falls , Mahendra Cave and some Temples . Evening you’re free to explore the colorful town. O/N in Pokhara.

Day 09 POKHARA - KATHMANDU

After breakfast you’re return to Kathmandu by road. After arrive in Kathmandu you’re free to shop and pick up some last minute souvenirs, rest and visit the shop etc.. O/N in Kathmandu .

Day 10 DEPARTURE

After breakfast free for you until time to leave the international airport for your final destination.

For more information, go to http://www.planjourney.com

Bali is a jewel of the orient, and this amazing tour will give an opportunity to experience the true Bali, off the main roads and interacting with the local people, real travel!

Here is what they say about their tour:

“A rare opportunity to see the real Bali, a 4 hour downhill cycling experience through the quiet village backroads.

We begin by whisking you away from your accommodation to the beauty of Kintamani, nestled high on a volcanic crater rim, where you will enjoy a hearty breakfast to the stunning views of Lake Batur and its smoking volcanic neighbour.

After breakfast we’re off on our mountain bikes, with our friendly guides leading at a leisurely pace along the quiet, secret backroads through the villages and varied landscapes of Bali, which change dramatically with altitude

Cruising downhill, watch the passing parade of rural life, chancing upon a special temple ceremony, stopping at a village warung to chat with the children, or watch wood carvers at work. And we visit a traditional Balinese family local compound, a privileged look amidst its daily routine.”

With an AC hotel pickup and full meals, this is a great deal at around $40 USD. For more information goto www.balibintangtour.com.