Top Gear is back with the ultimate ‘polar challenge’!

If you’re a Top Gear fan like me then make sure you tune in to Top Gear tomorrow night – when you can see the boys attempting a spine-chilling ‘polar challenge’ racing all the way from Canada to the North Pole!

Top Gear is back with its most ambitious challenge to date on Wednesday 25th July. Miss it and you will miss out! In this adrenalin-pumping episode you can watch Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond attempting to race all the way from Northern Canada to the North Pole, 450 miles away! This is Top Gear at it’s coolest that’s for sure!

The terrain the boys race across is some of the toughest on earth - a mixture of mountainous land masses and jagged sea ice where temperatures can drop to a mind-numbing minus 65 degrees Celcius. This is a serious challenge, not one for the faint-hearted viewers! Cheer the guys on as Jeremy and James drive a specially adapted pick up truck through seriously arduous conditions, whilst Richard travels on something a little more laid back - a sled pulled by a team of ten Inuit Dogs!

If like me, anything to do with cars is enough to get your heart racing, then you might like to consider our Saab Ice driving experience as part of a holiday to the ICEHOTEL® this winter. Feel the rush of icy fresh air as you drive at high speed around a rally track and prove once and for all that cars aren’t just for the boys! Believe me, this is a seriously cool activity - driving on ice was definitely the most fun I’ve ever had driving a car!

If you like the sound of winer activities like ice driving, husky sledging, skiing and more then you might like to consider a short break to Swedish Lapland. Or if you're inspired by the spectacular scenery you see in this seriously cool episode of Top Gear, then you might like to consider taking a look at our latest special offers on our Icebreaker voyages or take a look at our once in a lifetime North Pole voyage.

But whatever you decide don’t miss out on the programme: Top Gear's Special will air on BBC2 on Wednesday 25th July at 8pm and will be repeated on BBC2 at 8pm on Sunday 29th July.

'Top Gear' image courtesy of and © BBC. All other photo's © Cassandra Zoro, Discover the World.

Skiing in Lapland - midnight sun skiing until late june, huge amounts of fresh powder snow, affordable heli skiing...what more could you ask for?

“…but look what happened last season, I paid all that cash and didn’t get any snow so there’s no way I’m going away this season!”

If this sounds familiar to any of your readers, then Discover the World’s new Lapland & Beyond brochure has the answer – guaranteed snow!

Whether it’s superb, affordable heli-skiing, great off-piste slopes or skiing under the midnight sun until late June, read on for some ski holiday ideas that your readers are sure to love Download discover_the_world_lapland_beyond_brochure_ski_release.doc

Live Earth Antarctica - Debut from Nunatak

With Live Earth set to storm the musical world this weekend, Nicola- our Polar voyage manager - has taken a sneaky peak at what they have planned for Antarctica. 

Whilst the world's most famous entertainers including Shakira, Duran Duran, The Police will be playing to huge crowds on all seven continents....the band of the moment on the world's most remote, windiest and coldest stage will be none other than the British Antarctic Survey's own Nunatak (aka a group of musical scientists at Rothera Research Station).  You can see them rehearsing for their gig by clicking here on YouTube. They have a lively crowd of 17 to play too in their international debut!

In probably the most unique arena of any of the planned shows, the concert will kick off in temperatures of around 10 degrees C below zero on a stage at Rothera Station's airstrip.  Check out more info on our Antarctica blog - www.antarcticblog.com

Discover the World announce new direct flight to Kiruna - more information

We now have more details about our our new direct flight with SAS to Kiruna, Swedish Lapland. For more information, please click on the press release button in the navigation pane above or click here

In addition to the new flight, we are also developing combined Icehotel/Ski packages as well as ski-only itineraries which will be detailed in our Lapland & Beyond brochure (due out in the second week of June). The resorts are Riksgransen & Bjorkliden and offer some of the world's best  off-piste skiing as well as very affordable and absolutely amazing heli skiing opportunities (I was there last week and it was incredible - sunshine, fresh powder snow (this late in the season!) and    people-free mountains!).

We were even skiing at 1230 in the morning thanks to the midnight sun - where else can you do that!

What a combination - especially if you visit the icehotel in the same holiday.

Watch this space for more details and if you would like our Lapland & Beyond brochure (2007/2008 winter season) then let me know - 01737 214 294 / alexis@discover-the-world.co.uk

thanks

Tourism in Antarctica - Discover the World's stance

Nicola Rickett, our Antarctic product manager, has put 'pen to paper' to ouline our stance on Antarctic tourism and how operators such as Discover the World can, without doubt, play their part in the fight to keep this pristine continent exactly that, negating the wider scale problems faced by Antarctica in the face of increased tourism demand.

It's all about making the right choices.

For further insights please visit www.antarcticblog.com or for the specific post please click here

Thanks
Alexis

May Bank holiday ideas - unique ideas from the Iceland specialists

We have some great short breaks for all preferences that will make for some great & unique listings in any Bank Holiday round-ups you have planned, including:

• Superjeeps for the adrenalin junkies out there
• A romantic cracker for any of your readers looking to spice up their relationship
• Family fun on a great value holiday based in Reykjavik
• Nature lovers will go crazy over Iceland's natural offerings, from huge waterfalls in the south to stunning spouting geysers and tectonic plate rifts close to the capital

Please just call me on 01737 214 294 for more details including prices etc.

IMAGES - what would an Icelandic listing be without a superb image to go with it. We have probably the most Icelandic images of any operator and they are all free to use!

Thanks
Alexis

Ice driving - what an experience!!!

One of the perks of travel for us people on the other side of the 'journalist fence' (i.e. PROs) are fam trips. Occasionally we're lucky and snag a great trip and I did just that over the weekend, returning from the Swedish Icehotel on Tuesday.

With DTW strong on sending its staff out to the front line (woohoo!) to experience first hand what our clients/journalists do, I couldn't have asked for a better trip.

With our direct flight (with SAS) beginning next winter, we are also adding skiing options (where snow is virtually guaranteed, unlike southern Europe's mountains!), as well as exclusive packages to stay in both the Icehotel and the Esrange Spacecentre, chosen by Virgin Galactic as its European launch pad for its non-astronaut flights.

I can't get over the sheer amount of amazing activities - avalanche training, ice driving (absolutely amazing!), northern lights by snowmobile, reindeer sledging, husky sledging, ice climbing, skiing, off piste skiing, xc skiing, heli skiing, snow shoeing, ice sculpting and the list goes on.

However, the thing I'll take away from the trip is the stunning scenery and the HUGE amounts of snow. The Kiruna region offers so much anyway in the form of activities and attractions but the mountains, lakes and rivers covered in several feet of snow literally took my breath away time after time. Sounds cheesy I know but it was just so amazing.

Ok, so the ice driving experience is also something I'll never ever forget!!

You can download plenty of unique story angles here - Download icehotel_angles_discover_the_world.doc - that will no doubt inspire (it's a big document so may take a minute or two to download. Email me - alexis@discover-the-world.co.uk - instead and I'll send it through).

Should you need further details of our Icehotel holiday, please visit www.discover-the-world.co.uk/icehotel or call me on 01737 214 294.

Thanks. Alexis.

Inspiration in one place...

Featuring arguably the greatest variety of stunning scenery and unspoilt wilderness of any European destination, Iceland has dazzling landscapes ranging from surreal to sublime.The dramatic landscapes, born from volcanic eruptions and carved out by glaciers, are made up of colours which defy description; imagine rust-red craters, cobalt-blue lakes and luminous green moss interspersed with black sandy beaches.

Find some inspiration all in one brochure (Iceland & Greenland) by clicking here

'Discover the World' named Travel Specialist of the Year in New Zealand Tourism Awards 2007

Not only did we manage a top 10 'Tour Operator' placing in Wanderlust's anual reader awards, presented by Lyn Hughes at Destinations London last week, but on Tuesday night Tourism New Zealand & Air New Zealand and their panel of judges voted us 'Travel Specialist of the Year 2007' and we won the 'Best On-line Content 2007' award - both relating to our New Zealand holiday programme...obviously.

We also gained a Highly Commended award for both the following:
> Best New Zealand Marketing/Promotional Campaign
> Best New Zealand Consumer Publication

For more information, please click on the Press Releases link above.

As always, if you need any information and some great rights free images across all of our New Zealand holidays then do let me know by phone or email (01737 214 294 / alexis@discovertheworld.co.uk)

Virgin Galactic takes off in Kiruna - Swedish Lapland

Story Angle: Space travel for mere mortals takes a step forward - Branson stamps his mark on Lapland and the city of Kiruna, whilst close by is an experience of a different sort - the Swedish Icehotel

According to www.sweden.se, british entrepreneur Richard Branson and his Virgin Galactic have picked Kiruna (the northernmost city of Sweden) as one of their platforms for space tourism. In September 2004 Branson announced that his Virgin Group of companies had commissioned five spacecrafts. These vessels would be the first in the Virgin Galactic fleet, aiming to carry private passengers with adventurous spirits, not to mention fat wallets, beyond the atmosphere of Earth and into space.

The first commercial space tourism adventures will be launched in the US, from Spaceport America in New Mexico, starting as soon as 2008. Shortly thereafter, perhaps in 2011 or 2012, these atmospheric escapes will begin in Kiruna as well.

So...if unique experiences to space aren't quite within your readers' budgets, how about an alternative experience, visiting the icehotel and even taking part in husky sledging, snowmobiling, moose watching and of course sleeping on ice!

It just so happens that the Swedish Icehotel is around 20 minutes from the satellite control center and Discover the World offer a 3 night holiday experience (Dec - Apr each year) to the Swedish Icehotel from £751 based on twin share (1 night on ice, 2 nights in 'warm' accomodation). Click here for more details.

For images and further info then call me on 01737 214 294.

thanks.
Alexis