Fall 2017 Aurora Viewing Update from Fairbanks After a 2016-2017 aurora viewing season with a 100% success rate, we weren’t sure what to expect this year. Since this season is one of the last chances to see the Aurora before solar activity declines in the coming years, we were anxious to see what sort of light shows this fall would …
Fred Vreeman Joins the Gondwana Team! Meet Fred – an experienced and knowledgeable guide who joined our team earlier this year. He has been living up here since 1978 and has loads of experience that makes him a perfect fit for introducing our guests to life in Alaska. Fred has degrees in Natural Sciences, Sociology and Engineering and worked for …
What Makes a Good Aurora Viewing Spot? When choosing a location for Aurora viewing, you want to keep a few things in mind to ensure that you are getting the best of the displays and staying comfortable in this cold winter environment. Below we will list some important qualities and 3 of our favorite spots. No Light Pollution The best …
What Causes the Northern Lights? When you see Aurora, you are witnessing a reaction between charged particles from the sun and the gases in our upper atmosphere. Storms on the sun’s surface eject charged particles and plasma which travels towards earth in what is called the Solar Wind. This steady stream is caused by the sun’s super hot corona and …
Now is the Best Time for Aurora Viewing Locals often say that if you stay in Fairbanks for three nights or more, you have an 80% chance of seeing the Aurora Borealis. We have been running our six night Northern Lights tours for years, and seen incredible displays on nearly every single trip. Most tours actually get multiple nights of …
Customizing Unique Local Activities for Our Guests As an international eco-tour operator with a brand of authenticity and sustainability, our clients expect specialized experiences and cultural exchange. We have found that our guests get the greatest reward when we set up private sessions with locals who are passionate about sharing the culture of our destination. These “cultural vanguards” can provide …
Don’t Miss these Awesome Spots in Cuba When we first visited Cuba, we knew it was the perfect place for a Gondwana Ecotour. Meet local artists, musicians and farmers that love to share their culture and live alongside Cuban families. Taste delicious home cooked food, see beautiful beaches and parks and explore colorful Old Havana. The combination of all these …
We love trading travel tips with fellow adventurers. In “olden times,” (a.k.a. 15 years ago) these tips were usually exclusive to word of mouth or travel guides, but now a wealth of information is online. SmarterTravel.com compiles travel information for that very reason. Everything from packing tips to travel advisories can be found here, and they recently featured the Northern …
Before Gondwana Ecotours existed, …there was a guy that really liked to travel. Jared Sternberg had been all over the world by the time he entered Tulane University’s environmental and human rights Law School. However, volunteering with underrepresented communities during his summer breaks was his true passion. In 2013, he founded Gondwana Ecotours, and four years later, the company continues …
A Tense Past and Changing Diplomacy You may have read in the news that President Trump recently announced he will be reversing some Obama-era policies on Cuba. Starting in 2009, Obama began easing restrictions on American travel and remittances by Cuban Americans, and in 2014 he announced that he and Raul Castro were working together to normalize relations between the …
