Festival Trips with JOURNEYS

All JOURNEYS trips search for insights into what makes other cultures distinctive, successful and appealing. Our festival trips focus specifically on ceremonial events and themes, but also provide you with opportunities to see other prominent attractions in the destination you visit. JOURNEYS festival trips will certainly appeal to photographers, artists and musicians, but most festivals also occur at the time of year when the weather is good, the air is clear and food is abundant. These festival trips feature joyous events at which visitors are welcome. Observe these festivals not just for the color, music and ceremony, but to appreciate what local people hold as sacred and how they celebrate their understanding of God and the universe. You will join a local expert guide who will offer festival interpretation, manage travel details and provide a context for understanding the events you observe.

The festival trips listed below are likely to attract small groups of like-minded travelers on these specific travel dates. In many destinations we can provide private arrangements to visit these and other festivals. When you are considering one of our destinations, ask our staff about festivals that might occur during the period of your travel, or ask about specific celebrations or events you may have heard about and we will determine if we can plan a festival extension or private festival departure to match your interests.

Festivals for which often provide private independent or custom travel arrangements include:

FESTIVAL TRIPS

Bhutan: Black-Necked Crane Festival
Cost: $3,150 • Duration: 9 days • Nov. 7-15, 2013

Join Bhutanese villagers in a Buddhist temple festival honoring sacred cranes and all of nature. This trip is about art, beauty, celebration, and understanding the Buddhist spirit of Bhutan.

Mexico: Christmas In Oaxaca for Families
Cost: $2,250-$2,895 • Duration: 9 days • Dec. 21-29, 2013

Celebrate Christmas in a region of Mexico known for color, crafts, hospitality and conviviality. Enjoy direct interaction with local artisans and a great coast and beach experience.

Classic and Festive Japan
Cost: $4,250 • Duration: 12 days • 5 upcoming departures or Privately on Request

This trip accomplishes something rare -- personalized, small-group engagement with Japan. Include must-see sites and adventures off the tourist path. Enjoy Oeshiki Festival in October, Shichi-go-san and Fall Foliage in November, or Cherry Blossom Festival in April.

Papua New Guinea: Classic Goroka Show Tour
Cost: $7,480 • Duration: 13 days • Sep. 5-17, 2013

Combine a classic sing-sing show with explorations of the fabled Sepik River, Tari Highlands, and Waghi Valley, all with top-level accommodations.

Colombia Cultural Extravaganza
Cost: $3,675 • Duration: 9 days • Aug. 1-9, 2013

Witness the traditional, exuberant, Feria de Flores (Festival of Flowers) in Medellin, accept the warm welcome of your hosts at a gorgeous Andean hacienda, engage Cartagena's abundant charms, and celebrate Colombia's transition to peace and stabillity.

Ethiopia Timkat Festival & Cultural Odyssey
Cost: $6,495 • Duration: 20 days • Jan. 16-Feb. 4, 2014 or Privately on Request

Join in the swirling color and passion of Timkat Festival at Lalibela, visit the castles of Gondar, the sacred city of Axum, the Gelada Baboons in the Simien Mountains and the peoples and markets of the Omo Valley.

Nepal: Fall Festivals East of Everest
Cost: $3,245 • Duration: 12 days • Privately on Request

Experience Dashain, Nepal's biggest festival, in the dramatic Arun Valley where few travelers go. Walk among Nepal's most scenic peaks and villages, visit weekly markets in Wana and Chainpur, bask in the beauty of terraced rice fields, and join revelry in local homes.

Fall Festivals of Bhutan
Cost: $3,995 • Duration: 12 days • 2 upcoming departures

Become one with the hypnotic drumming, chanting, dancing, and devotional fervor of Bhutan's most accomplished lamas as they honor and celebrate the unseen mountain spirits around them.

Guatemala Kites and Crafts
Cost: $2,598 • Duration: 7 days • Oct. 31-Nov. 6, 2013

Participate in Guatemala's fantastic day-long observance of Day of the Dead. Families and whole communities release hundreds of enormous home-made kites to connect to departed loved ones. Also enjoy the scenery and people of Antigua and the highlands, including Lake Atitlan.

Japan's Elegant Autumn
Cost: $4,650 • Duration: 12 days • Nov. 8-19, 2013

Join JOURNEYS Asia Destination Specialist Kerina Rowley for autumn festivals and exploration. Witness Japan's unabashed and effusive homage to tradition and to the seasons at Mount Fuji, in temple complexes and UNESCO World Heritage sites, in the countryside, and in the oldest cities.

Guatemala: Journey to Semana Santa
Cost: $2,950 • Duration: 9 days

Enjoy the effusive pageantry of Holy Week when the streets of Antigua are carpeted with intricate designs of flowers. Visit Mayan markets and villages, learn about the culture and textiles. Choose the week that includes Palm Sunday or Good Friday.

Mongolia: Lakes, Legends, and Naadam Festival
Cost: $3,950 • Duration: 14 days • 2 upcoming departures

Genghis Khan would have recommended this trip for authentic leadership and accommodations, wide-ranging sites, and the celebration of Mongolian culture and rituals. Join destination specialist Kerina Rowley on the 2014 departure.

Mexico Day of the Dead in Michoacan
Cost: $2,895 • Duration: 9 days • Oct. 26-Nov. 3, 2013

Begin in colonial Morelia, continue to the villages of the Meseta Purepecha, and celebrate the Day of the Dead on the shores of Lake Patzcuaro, where traditions are more beautiful, more colorful, and more elaborate than anywhere else in Mexico.

Moon Over Myanmar
Cost: $4,375 • Duration: 12 days • Feb. 10-21, 2014

Enjoy all the highlights of JOURNEYS' best Myanmar trips plus the very special Full Moon Festival. Travel with client services director Florine Herendeen. Our long-time Burma staff looks forward to celebrating their country's progress with this group at a celebratory time of year.

Papua New Guinea: Mt. Hagen Show Tour Panorama
Cost: $8,150 • Duration: 12 days • Aug. 16-27, 2013

Witness the famous Hagen sing-sing show, then visit the fabled Sepik River, Tari Highlands, and Waghi Valley accompanied by great local guides.

Papua New Guinea: Mt. Hagen Show Tour Vista
Cost: $8,555 • Duration: 13 days • Aug. 8-20, 2013

See the spectacular Hagen sing-sing and the fabled Sepik River, Tari Highlands, and Waghi Valley, all with top-level accommodations and an expert escort.

India: The Spirit of Kerala
Cost: $4,150 • Duration: 12 days • Jan. 8-19, 2014

Explore the beautiful state of Kerala from Kochi (Cochin) down to India's southernmost point. Overnight on the peaceful backwaters. See wildlife at Periyar.

Looking for the Best Ecotravel Tour Company?

JOURNEYS International has specialized in ecotourism since 1978. We offer you the best nature tours, safaris, treks, adventure travel, family and cultural trips on earth. Whether you call it an eco vacation, adventure travel, ecotravel, ecotour, sustainable travel or responsible travel, for more than 30 years we have been creating ecologically sensitive and culturally responsible travel to exotic destinations around the world. Specialty ecotrips include women's tours, Kilimanjaro climbs, exploration cruises, festival trips, student group trips and cross cultural and wildlife safaris. Read more about JOURNEYS International.