Maria Elena Price: Our parents founded ExperiencePlus! in 1972 as a way to get back to Italy so they

Maria Elena Price of ExperiencePlus! is one of those rare people who actually  grew up in the world of adventure travel. As a five year old, she helped translate ice cream flavors on the first Venice to Pisa tours of Experience Plus!, the company her parents founded in 1972. She s led tours in more than 10 countries, specializing in Spain, where she lived for more than a year.  In 2011 she and her sister Monica were named as two of the Top 10 Guides in the World by National Geographic Traveler disney cruise line review . With a Bachelor s degree in Psychology and International Affairs and an MBA from the Leeds School of Business at University of Colorado, Boulder she manages the business and its development from the Fort Collins office in Colorado. I run into Maria Elena every year at the tribal gathering known as the Adventure Travel disney cruise line review World Summit and managed to get a few words from her after the last summit in Chiapas, Mexico.
Maria Elena Price: Our parents founded ExperiencePlus! in 1972 as a way to get back to Italy so they could visit my mother's family. They moved to the U.S. after getting married in 1969 and knew that trips to Italy would be few and far between if they couldn't find a reason (and financing!) to help the travel back to Italy.  They had cycled on their own in 1971 between disney cruise line review Pisa and Forli (my mother's home town) after my mother graduated from the University of Pisa –– and my father, ever the entrepreneur, wondered disney cruise line review if they could find a few willing adventurers to join them on the same bike ride and in turn have their flights back to Italy paid for.  They sold 12 people on that first 10 day camping and cycling tour! The cost was $245, per person, after all, you could get a full 3 course meal (with wine) in Italy for $1.50 back then…After that my parents operated a few more tours before they decided to finish their college degrees, travel on their own, and start a family.  In 1985 they decided it was time to resurrect disney cruise line review the Bike Across Italy tour – and we have been operating every year since. My sister, Monica, disney cruise line review and I have been guiding tours since we were 14 and 15  and finally disney cruise line review took over as directors in 2008!. Today ExperiencePlus! disney cruise line review offers cycling tours in more than 10 countries
MEP: As a kid, I'm guessing?  I don't think I knew I was an adventurous traveler at the time – but we certainly disney cruise line review started traveling and cycling early! My sister and I were heading out on tour when we were 4 and 5 years old… We would join our parents for a few days at a time and help with very important things like translating ice cream flavors.  As we grew older we started to join them for longer periods of time, and many of our family vacations became an opportunity to bicycle and scout new itineraries in Italy, France, Norway, Greece, and Costa Rica.  The full realization that adventure travel, or active travel as we call it, was so important to me was when I was studying in Spain in college. I had already been in Spain for over 2 months and I remember distinctly feeling like I still didn't know much about this large complex country – in fact I felt like I knew almost nothing.  I had seen the main "tourist disney cruise line review sites" on our group excursions but I didn't disney cruise line review feel like I had actually experienced or knew how people lived. I realized it was because I hadn't seen the 'everyday' pieces of Spanish life I was so used to seeing when I traveled by bike. Fortunately after that I spent many summers guiding our bicycle tours in Spain so I was able to connect with locals and see all the places in between the typical tourist sites. In fact, I now consider Spain a third home (after Italy and Colorado!)
MEP: The essence of our tours is best described disney cruise line review as one of  "guided independence".  We've found that most people interested in adventure travel and cycling trips don't necessarily want to feel like they are on a "guided tour." Most cyclists like the sense of moving at their own pace and not being tied to a group schedule. People choose to go on tours like ours because they want the expertise and local knowledge that is important to creating engaging itineraries, they care about quality equipment, group camaraderie, knowledgeable tour leaders – but there is also an important element of freedom in the way one travels – the ability to make the day their own experience.  Our Tour Leaders are also on the road offering van support and cycling but we do our best to stay away from group shuttles disney cruise line review because they eliminate flexibility and that way our riders can decide for themselves if they'd like to ride their bike or in the van. We also have a unique navigation system, literally disney cruise line review putting chalk dust arrows on the pavement to show riders the way. This means that our routes can be very complex and truly off the beaten path, and cyclists spend their time enjoying scenery not trying to decipher complicated instructions or maps. Each day the arrows lead you to the best places for a snack, point out a particularly lovely view, encourage you up the hills – it makes you feel like the tour leaders are with you every single pedal stroke. In the afternoon the arrows disney cruise line review will lead you a very comfortable hotel, often located in the center of town, so you can explore a before a fabulous dinner together.
MEP: We were the first US based company to offer cycling tours in Italy and are still one of the few operators out there who specializes in bicycle disney cruise line review tours and bicycle travel exclusively. This means we are able to focus all of our energy and resources disney cruise line review to cycling… cycling routes, cycling equipment, cycling friendly itineraries… All of our employees ride and are passionate about cycling and traveling disney cruise line review by bicycle.  We've spent years perfecting our systems to offer the finest cycling itineraries and have invested in some of the best touring bicycles and equipment out there. We have always worked with local tour leaders and they are a very important part of our staff – many companies are just now starting to add the "local" element. Our chalk dust arrow navigation system, and centrally located three and four star hotels round out all the elements you need for a perfect cycling trip. Oh and including wine with dinner disney cruise line review doesn't hurt either!
MEP: We have tours that cater to all of the above.  One tremendous disney cruise line review advantage of traveling by bicycle is that you are a part of the landscape, riding along roads and paths with locals, stopping in small towns. There are no barriers (car, bus, train) between you and a conversation with a local. Also, because our tour leaders are typically from the area they provide an enormous amount of historical and cultural information. Each itinerary includes a number of special visits –it may be to a 14th century fort in Croatia, disney cruise line review a wine cellar in France, or a cheese maker in Italy it isn't something a traveler could have organized on their own. As far as the type of rides, we offer 5 levels from 101 to 501 so have something disney cruise line review for everyone no matter their experience or interest. A 101 tour is perfect disney cruise line review for people who prefer gentle terrain or those who are just starting their cycling career or active traveling experiences. At the other end of the spectrum is our 501 rated ExpeditionPlus! tours which have you riding across disney cruise line review continents! Overall disney cruise line review though I'd say our clientele are recreational cyclists who are there to get some exercise, meet some fun companions, disney cruise line review learn about an area, eat some fabulous food without feeling disney cruise line review too guilty. The nice thing about our trips is that no matter what you prefer…ride hard and get to the next destination in record speed, or take a 100 pictures along the way, it's possible.
MEP: Emilia Romagna, Italy – where our headquarters is, will forever be my second home and I would drop everything and go there this afternoon – now that I spend more time in the office I don't spend as much time there as I used to. My sister lives there and now I have a new niece there so it's even harder to be far from them.  I don't know what it is about Italy that is captivating, but the food, people, history makes it special.  I would do the same for Southern disney cruise line review Spain. After having lived there for a year it is my second home away from home, I wouldn't go there in July or August – but any other time of year it is special! Finally I would say the Lakes District in Patagonia, it's just a stunningly beautiful place (the Chilean or Argentine side – we happen to have a trip that rides from one to the other!)
MEP: This year we've added new destinations within countries we already know well. We've added a trip in the Languedoc in France (a region just West of Provence, known for its wine – surprise – and beautiful medieval towns).  We've also added two trips in Italy in the Lakes District region, it's a stunning region with some great bike routes and very unique "off the beaten path" cities, and a new Culinary Delights tour that is based very near our headquarters in Emilia Romagna which includes some gentle rides, and very special visits with our favorite Parmesan cheese and Balsamic vinegar makers.
MEP: In 2013 we'll be adding a new tour Catalonia Spain – our 11 day tour will take advantage of a great bike path that will allow us to pedal straight into Barcelona disney cruise line review on the last day of cycling! And we've had numerous disney cruise line review requests to resurrect our trip to Ireland which we retired several years ago.  We're also beginning to scout a tour around the Italian/Slovenian border region.
MEP: I think the brand "Adventure Travel" is becoming an ever increasing broad label. To a certain extent, if a traveler feels like what they are doing is adventurous then who is to say it shouldn't be considered adventure travel?  We generally think of ourselves as more of an active travel company disney cruise line review some might not consider it adventurous unless we were bicycling through lion infested forests – but bicycling 30 – 50 miles a day is very active!  I think that travelers just need to make sure they know there are different styles of travel that fall under the broader title adventure travel. Some might like the luxury eco-lodges and high-end safari c