A January update from TravelLocal HQ

From the depths of the British winter – a very happy new year to all of you!

We have to start our monthly update with a photo of our team Christmas Party. There are now 14 of us based next to Temple Meads station in Bristol (UK), plus 42 locally-owned travel companies around the world (shortly to be 45 – see below) and about 20,000 of you in 30 countries worldwide. We felt a hearty celebration was in order, as you can see. For a full list of who’s who, and what on Earth they’re dressed as, scroll to the bottom…

Showing you all that photo is topical really – after Christmas must come the detox. There are a few “Dry Januarys” here in the office, but nothing beats jetting off somewhere beautiful and burning off the pounds – our theme for January’s newsletter.

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If you’re heading to the Far East then 2018 is the Year Of The Dog – apparently this means that the year will be a good one, with lots of fun, but exhausting… Our interpretation is that you’re all going to continue travelling around the world. We have ways to help you with your choice, primarily our “Where to Go in 2018” Guide. One country particularly caught our eye – Brazil.

The country needs no introduction. It is both familiar and mysterious to us – the land of Ipanema and Christ the Redeemer, but also the vast jungles of the Amazon Basin. And of course the great river itself – from meltwater at 5500m high up in the Andes, to a 200 mile wide mouth (with an island in the middle bigger than Switzerland) it pumps into the Atlantic, every second, one fifth of all the world’s freshwater discharge. Perhaps you haven’t truly seen the world until you’ve seen Brazil?

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Two snippets to finish – we will be adding Iceland to our list of destinations in the coming weeks. More on that in next month’s update.

Also we now list a few group tours – primarily for Japan and Namibia – both countries where travelling in a group actually works well. Do get in touch if any of them take your eye – space for Japan in particular is running out fast.

Best wishes and happy travels,

Huw & Tom

TravelLocal Managing Directors and Founders

Christmas Photo – List of Participants

(Back row, from left to right)

Sim – Seaweed, Penny – Jellyfish, Sam – Pirate, Rikki – Skipper, Kati – Captain Hook, Jon – Captain haddock (from Tintin), Corinne – Mermaid, Mark – Captain Haddock II, Jess – Smee, Cliff – Pirate, Huw – Sea Urchin

(Front row, from left to right)

Gemma – Mermaid, Claudia – Lobster, Tom – Popeye, Bridie – Pirate