National Geographic Traveler - USA (2019-12 & 2020-01)

DECEMBER 2019/JANUARY 2020

Traveling Spoon steps in
with nonnas and abuelas
worldwide. In Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia, you’ll
meet home chefs Daniel
and Tigist. The couple will
guide you through a food
market before taking you
back to their kitchen for a
two-hour class preparing
Ethiopian injera bread
and shiro (stew). Dessert
is a caffeine addict’s
delight: coffee served
with traditional ceremony.
travelingspoon.com

City Tours

Get Bold

This year’s hottest city
tours are sharp, lively,
and bubbling with new-
wave activism. They
allow travelers to soak
up the essential culture
in a few hours—as long
as internet-era attention
spans will last. “We call
our day tours ‘sampler
platters’ because we only
have two hours to entertain
and educate our guests
in a museum home to
hundreds of thousands of
fascinating items,” says
Museum Hack’s Tasia
Duske. And these are not
just for out-of-towners.
“We’re noticing that locals
are joining our tours in
order to get to know
their city on a deeper level.

With the rise of freelancing

and the gig economy,

we’re seeing an increase

in locals taking our urban

tours because they are no

longer tied to a desk from

nine to five.”

HELLO, CHALLAH

Raised in the Satmar

Hasidic tradition, tour

guide Frieda Vizel intro-

duces her microcosm of

NYC’s many immigrant

neighborhoods in a short

culture tour of Jewish

Williamsburg, in Brooklyn.

You’ll meet friends and

family while taste-testing

pastrami and rugelach

over deli counters.

Having left Hasidic life

behind, Frieda offers a

respectful and bilateral

interpretation of the tech-

light community and its

dress codes and gender

norms. friedavizel.com.

THE FUTURE IS FEMALE

Museum Hack takes only

two hours to smash the

patriarchy in its “Badass

Bitches” tour of the

National Gallery of Art, in

Washington, D.C. The goal:

illuminate the 9 percent of

women-generated art on

display in the East Building.

“Action items” include writ-

ing postcards to museum

officials. museumhack.com

EDGY ATHENS

Only the most intrepid will

go beyond the crowded

Acropolis to the rough and

real Athens in GuruWalk’s

pay-as-you-please day

tour. Armed with a guide’s

local knowledge of the

city’s darkest alleys (he’s six

three and built like a secu-

rity guard), prepare to dive

into conversations about

marginalization and legal

prostitution. Guide’s tip:

Keep your pockets empty.

guruwalk.com

Wellness Travel

Offers More Than

Massages

It’s no longer just about

exercising and eating

well. Or even mint tea and

meditating. “We’re realizing

that body, mind, and heart

are inextricably intercon-

nected,” says Michael

Bennett of Explorer X,

“and travel programs are

increasingly exploring

those connections.”

SOUNDS OF SILENCE

Beeping, honking, notifica-

tions, ads, “Alexa!”—time

to put it all on mute. For 12

days, acoustic ecologist

Gordon Hempton takes

eight people into the

Amazon Basin of Ecuador

for recharging within one

of the world’s last remain-

ing places free of urban

sound pollution. “Amazon

Awakenings” guests

can therefore focus on

natural rhythms normally

imperceptible to human

ears. Once the group

discovers its sanctuary of

silence, a float trip down

the Zabalo River weaves

the thrumming of insect

wings and the crackling of

tree branches into a private

orchestra. explorer-x.com

JOINT EFFORT

Bring on the munchies—

My420 Tours pairs a smoke

session with edibles in its

“Sushi and Joint Rolling”

experience. Among the

new wave of cannabis

tours in Denver (where

pot is legal), this class

explores the art of crafting

the perfect joint with help

from a local sushi chef.

Rice and herbs included.

my420tours.com

OUT OF OFFICE

Techies and other profes-

sionals trade MacBooks

for mountain bikes in

this eight-day bonding

excursion with Mastermind

Adventures. Its most recent

tour to Bhutan included

outings to monasteries, tea

ceremonies, and luxurious

spa treatments. When not

fueling participants’ “inner

adventures,” serial entre-

preneur Mike Brcic had

them engaged in Hima-

layan ascents and vigorous

cycling. Making connec-

tions with your newfound

“tribe” beats another

company scrum. Brcic

rarely goes to the same

place twice, so book a

spot quickly for 2020 tours

to destinations like the

Amazon and Greenland.

Go ahead—Silicon Valley

will still be there when you

get back. mastermind-

adventures.com

Hot Wheels

Won’t Need Gas

Travelers—increasingly

uncomfortable with how

their activities are contrib-

uting to climate change—

are looking for ways

to reduce their carbon

footprint, whether by using

public transportation,

bikes, or a revolutionary

new roadster.

WHEELS IN YOUR

BACKPACK

Would travelers take

planet-friendly local public

transport more frequently

if it were convenient and

easy to navigate? That’s

the concept behind Oku

Japan’s five- to seven-day

“Noto Peninsula Self-

Guided Cycling” along the

Japan Sea, which employs

folding bikes (the top-line

Brompton), modern public

transportation, and easy-

to-follow itineraries and

topographic maps. The

trip begins with Kyoto’s

teahouses and urban

markets, then quickly leads

to coastal villages such

as Wajima, where you can

stock up on lacquerware.