World Rivers

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For years travelers have been visiting the great ruins, monuments and cultural attractions of the world.  Their more adventurous cousins have been going to the same countries to challenge the rapids of whitewater rivers.    Why not combine the two, we thought?  So now we have.  In 2014 we are offering five trips that combine the tourist highlights of a country with rafting on its best rivers, spending most nights in hotels along the way: Peru, South Africa, Guatemala, Laos & Thailand, and Bosnia-Croatia-Montenegro.

This enticing collection of journeys will offer something for everyone who loves the thrills and beauty of a great river.  Wantok’s encyclopedic knowledge of rivers and river outfitters in a hundred countries, compiled during a lifetime of travel and river exploration, has been applied to devise the very best itineraries with the top operators in these five areas.  The trips vary from a gentle scenic immersion in the desert and mountain wildernesses of South Africa s to rollicking whitewater adventures on the Class IV waters of Peru, and offer choices of oar and paddle boats as well as inflatable kayaks.

Perhaps you’ll be lured by the caves (including some underground rafting) and Mayan temples of Guatemala.    The waterfalls, royal palaces, millennial archaeology and backwater villages of Laos might catch your fancy, or the prospect of visits to Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca and a chance to watch the colorful Incan Festival of the Sun may prove irresistible.  Maybe South Africa’s beautiful Cape area, the Drakensberg Mountains, the canyons of the Kalahari desert, or the famous wildlife will spark your imagination. The shocking blue of the limestone-laden waters of the Balkans are tempting too.  We’re sure that one of these tempting treats will compel you to be among the first to experience this new way of seeing the rivers of the world.

We’ve chosen rivers that span the seasons as well as the world.  You can spend the winter holidays in the southern warmth of South Africa, the summer solstice at an Incan sun temple or at the top of a rimstone pool waterfall in Croatia, the fall on the pristine waters of the Guatemalan mountains, or late summer in the rainforest and Buddhist monasteries of Southeast Asia.  As the World Rivers program grows, we expect to offer at least one destination every month of the year, taking advantage of the seasons around the world.  All of the trips take you out of the US for less than two weeks, and most nights are spent in picturesque hotels and inns as we seek to avoid the blandness of the international hotel chains in favor of small, family-run properties with local flavor and a personal feel.

Sound appealing?  All the details you’ll need to pick the right trip for yourself are available in on our website.  Take advantage of the opportunity to tour some of the most interesting countries in the world and get your whitewater fix too.  But watch out:  Once you try your first Wantok World Rivers trip, you may become addicted.