Cruising for Geocachers

April 3,2017

John Bishop

tl;dr - Cruising is a great way to see multiple destinations efficiently and quickly ramp up your Country count. Cache several islands and only unpack one time- a stress free adventure! AMS Travel Sales includes a free .GPX file for each island on your itinerary.

If you're like me, you enjoy the adventure of geocaching- the new places, new sites and clever hides. You also get a big kick out of watching your smiley count grow and grow. Well, how is that country list of yours looking right now? One or two? Let's make adding some country souvenirs a goal for this year!

Cruise to St Lucia to see this amazing fortress!

If you live within driving distance (4-5 hours) of a cruise port, you'll find that cruising is the most cost-effective way to travel. Without the added expense of airfare involved, the amenities included with a typical cruise vacation make it a very economical way to travel.

There are more active cruise ports in the US than you may be aware. Of course, there are several in Florida- Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Port Canaveral and even Jacksonville. There are cruise ports in South Carolina, Louisiana, Texas, California and several in the northeast- Boston, Baltimore, New York and New Jersey. Live in the Northwest- Seattle and Vancouver are popular ports of departure for Alaska cruises. You are closer to a cruise than you think!

If you've never cruised before (and there are a LOT of you that have not) let me go over what's included on a typical cruise ship.

Meals- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and more. You'll never go hungry on a cruise ship- believe me. There are dozens of restaurants on the largest cruise ships. Some of them cost extra, but there are always complimentary dining options.

Entertainment- Broadway shows, Las Vegas style revues, musical features, magicians, comedy shows, acrobats, sometimes even high diving or ice skating are just a few of the highlights when it comes to entertainment options on cruise ships. Family oriented lines like Disney Cruise Line offer character experiences as well. For the most part, all of these acts are included with your fare.

Kids Programs- All of the major cruise lines have some sort of children's programming. Family oriented lines have more resources devoted to entertaining your little ones, but even luxury lines realized that if you offer a program for little ones- the parents are more likely to book. For families, I like to recommend Disney Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean or NCL.

Casino- Most major cruise lines (Disney is the only exception) offer casinos. You'll find a host of table games, slot machines and more in their casinos. Some cruise lines offer special 'Casino Rates' to their frequent cruisers to entice them back onboard.

Nightlife- Cruise ships offer an array of bars and nightclubs. You'll never pay a cover charge to enjoy the music and dancing that on many lines goes well into the wee hours of the morning. Sports bars are also common, so you can keep up with your favorite team while you're in the middle of the ocean.

Pools and Water Areas- You'll find extensive water play areas on many of the cruise ships marketed today. These keep getting larger and more innovative. These areas are where you'll find the engineers working tirelessly to come up with new ways to entertain the guests. It's an 'arms race' of entertainment. Each new ship that comes out has more outlandish and amazing features- indoor skydiving anyone? The newest ships have full on waterparks on their top decks complete with massive twisting slides and water coasters. Some Royal Caribbean ships also feature Surfing Simulators known as Flowriders. No charge to access these amenities.

Duty Free Shopping- Interested in a great deal on jewelry, alcohol or tobacco? Cruise ships have large shopping sections where you can score great deals on items and avoid the duty (tax) when you return. In most cases, you're limited to $800 of duty free merchandise.

You see, your cruise fare gets you access to all of that! If you were to add up what a full day of meals, entertainment, nightlife, children's activities and what it would take to provide transportation to so many different destinations you'll find cruising to be a great deal! What's more, you'll have access to geocaches in each of your ports of call. Even the cruise lines' private islands have them. The Caribbean is teeming with caches. Many of them, especially virtual caches, are within walking distance to the cruise port.

If you'd like to know more about Caribbean Cruises or other destinations (Alaska and Europe are also GREAT places to geocache and we can offer you cruises there as well) just let us know in the comments below or send in a Quote Request! Let AMS Travel Sales match you with the best cruise line for your geocaching needs.

Why Guided Tours are Great for Geocachers

March 27, 2017

John Bishop

tl;dr - Guided tours of countries often include 'Free Days' in beautiful, geocache-rich cities. AMS Travel Sales offers tours through G Adventures specifically chosen to facilitate geocaching, and offers free .gpx files of geocaches in those destinations. Want to know more? Submit a Quote Request

"Hardcore" Geocachers love statistics. They watch their smiley count rise daily, and watch their Project GC Maps turn from white to green with each new county and state added. Challenge caches and events have been created around the accumulation of geocache finds. Highest, lowest, oldest...all these stats matter!

If you are one of these who geocachers who loves the stats and milestones, take a look at that world map for a minute. If you're like me, and I have more opportunity to travel than most, it's probably looking a little bare. I sure would like to make that map look like it could be used on a St. Patrick's Day T-Shirt.

My Project-GC World Map as of March 2017.

To me, the country count is the most important of all the statistics. According to the internet, there are about 196 countries in the world as of today. Currently, my Country Count is an embarrassing "3". I did a lot of travel before I started geocaching. I have some make up work to do - and I'd like you to join me.

Geocaching Tours are a great way to see the world!

The great thing about geocaching is that it goes hand in hand with travel. What better way to really get to know the heart of a destination than through geocaching?

Geocaching groups have been exploring new destinations via cruise ships for several years. Travel Agencies (like my own AMS Travel Sales) have sprung up to facilitate and organize Geocaching Cruises. I want to suggest a different trail for my hardcore caching friends- the guided tour. Cruises are an amazing value, and a LOT of fun, but they have a fairly big limitation- they need oceans and port cities with big time infrastructure. A lot of great destinations are out of reach to cruise ships.

The guided tours I recommend for geocachers have small group sizes and one very important feature - at least one "Free Day" in a geocaching rich city or area. These lightly structured days allow the members of your group to explore as they wish. If some of your fellow tourists are photographers, foodies, or museum buffs, they're free to do their own thing. You are free to wander around with a GPS or smart phone and look for geocaches! That way, the group doesn't get held up while you try an avoid a DNF. Some tours are pretty fast paced, and wouldn't be able to accommodate devoting much time to a tricky micro hunt. The tours we recommend to geocaching groups offer a balance of traditional touring and sightseeing and free time for caching.

AMS Travel Sales offers a host of tours recommended for geocachers, in a multitude of locations. Most of the tours we recommend are part of the G Adventures product line. G Adventures philosophy of making the world a better place through travel is a perfect compliment to the underlying stewardship principles of geocaching. They have a small group size and most importantly, Guaranteed Departures. Unlike other tour companies, if you pay, you're going. Some tour companies are forced to cancel trips even for paid guests if the participation in a tour does not meet a minimum number of guests.

AMS Travel Sales offers a unique benefit to geocachers. Since this is a travel agency owned by a geocacher, we know what you need to make the most of this trip. For most international destinations, we recommend a handheld GPS rather than a smart phone. Included with each of our recommended geocaching tours is a free .gpx file* of all the geocaches that exist in the areas you will visit. We will create and send the file to you within a few days of your departure so you have current log information.

Want to know more? Check out these Guided Tours we recommend for Geocachers, all from G Adventures! The prices below are based on double occupancy and do not include airfare, travel insurance, accommodations prior to or after the conclusion of the tour. Each departure date has different pricing. Be sure to call for the latest updated information on pricing and departure dates.