Adventures by Disney takes family travel to the next level. My own family participated in the Southwest Splendors Adventures by Disney travel program several years ago, and my kids still talk warmly about Sedona and Grand Canyon National Park. Now, the new Adventures by Disney travel itineraries for 2012 include Egypt and Greece. Suffice it to say, both countries have experienced, and continue to experience, a lot of tumult. The Euro Crisis and Arab Spring aren’t over. Seeing riots in Athens, and the large protests in Cairo, made this travel writer want to know more about tourism in those countries. Seeing that Adventures by Disney is above all a safe family travel program, talking with some one there about the new 2012 itineraries seemed like a good place to start. Josh D’Amaro, the Vice President of Adventures by Disney, was kind enough to answer my questions.

There are some new Adventures by Disney trips this year, and I’m most interested in learning about the Greek Odyssey in Greece, and Pyramids, Pharaohs & Ancient Treasures in Egypt. Have you had the opportunity to experience either of these? Which of the two are you most excited about?
Greece and Egypt are both amazing destinations that are a perfect fit for Adventures by Disney. With two such culturally-rich, adventurous itineraries, it’s hard to say which experience I’m most excited about. On one hand, I’ve always had an interest in mythology, so I’m drawn to the Greek Odyssey adventure. With experiences like mini Olympic games at the home of the original games or kayaking to a medieval ghost town on the island of Spinalonga, Adventures by Disney brings the stories of the Aegean islands to life.

On the other hand, a visit to the Great Pyramids of Egypt is the ultimate adventure for any history lover – camel rides and archeological adventures combined with deep sea exploration and a Bedouin-themed beach party make for one exciting journey. I was lucky enough to have experienced our Egypt itinerary in October and it was an incredible journey!  In all honesty, I’m equally excited for both!

Egypt is still in the process of recovering from the Arab Spring (to say the least), and much of the Middle East is still in turmoil. What measures does Adventures by Disney do to ensure guest safety?
At Adventures by Disney, the safety and security of our guests is our top priority and we continue to monitor the situation in Egypt. We’ve carefully researched these destinations and are excited to offer an experience the whole family will enjoy. Our first Middle East departure took place in mid-October with great success and we look forward to guiding more guests through this amazing itinerary again in spring 2012. Currently, Egypt is scheduled to depart this coming April but that will of course be reevaluated if the situation is not safe.

What does Adventures by Disney have to offer group family travel that would be missed by families booking trips to a given destination and picking up a tour guide while there?
Two words – “Disney Differences.” Like all Disney travel offerings, Adventures by Disney holds true to the brand’s dedication to storytelling, exceptional customer service and incredible value. With our award-winning itineraries, families are treated to a hassle-free experience – luggage, ground transportation, entrance fees to popular sites and accommodations are all taken care of – an invaluable package deal, perfect for families taking their first international vacation and seasoned wanderlusters alike. From the moment guests are greeted at the airport to the moment they bid farewell, we work to ensure that adventurers are focused on experiencing all the destination has to offer and making memories with their loved ones. World-class accommodations and VIP experiences are all part of the fun with Adventures by Disney, giving our guests the ability to simply sit back and relax. Two trained Adventure Guides accompany each departure, fluent in English and the language of the destination, offering unparalleled service that only Disney can provide.

Greece has a long, glorious and complicated history. How do the Adventures by Disney guides make this accessible to children of all ages?
The history and traditions of Greece are incorporated into every aspect of the Greek Odyssey adventure. As with any of our itineraries, the Adventures by Disney trip planners designed each activity to engage travelers of all ages so everyone in the family can experience and understand the magic of Greek mythology and the country’s deeply-rooted culture. For example, in Santorini children learn how wine was made through a grape stomping activity at a volcanic winery while their parents expand their palates during a tasting of the vineyard’s finest offering. These experiences are seamlessly woven together with Disney’s dedication to storytelling, connecting each of the dots to create an unforgettable vacation for everyone.

What age groups (tween, teen, etc.) do you think benefit the most from enriched vacations in destinations with history-based attractions?
Adventures by Disney trips are designed to excite children of all ages, however each itinerary does have both a minimum and suggested age to travel ranging from 4 to 8 years old – we leave it up to the parent to decide if their child is ready for the activity level and schedule of each itinerary. Tween and teen aged adventurers may find the destinations most enriching as the hands-on experiences and history lessons of Adventures by Disney may mirror what they are learning in the classroom. Adventures by Disney brings history to life, expanding the knowledge base of younger adventurers, all while vacationing with their family in a far away land. This past summer, I was able to take my wife and two children (Alex – 9 years old and Kate – 6 years old) on our Viva Italia Signature Experience where we had the trip of a lifetime. The kids had an interactive history lesson From Rome, through Tuscany and into Venice while my wife enjoyed to the incredible sights, the delicious food and a fantastic group of people.

Most active traveling families save their trips for school breaks. How does Adventures by Disney work this into its planned schedule?
Adventures by Disney has departures scheduled year round based on the ideal time to experience each of our itineraries, but we do schedule more departures in late spring/summer when schools are typically out of session. The Adventures by Disney website can provide detail on dates available for all of our itineraries.

Thanks, Josh! The Vacation Gals appreciate your taking the time to talk about Adventures with Disney’s new 2012 travel plans in Egypt and Greece. Here’s to safe and peaceful years in both countries and, of course, the world.

Well, it happened. After years of complaining about my Blackberry (and questioning my loyalty to a non-sentient device), I finally made the switch. Hello, iPhone, I’m pleased to join your legions of fans. Now that I’ve finally joined the 21st century, I’m also getting up to speed regarding the best browsers and apps for iPhones and Androids. I interviewed Mahi De Silva, Opera Software’s Consumer Mobile expert, about the top 10 best apps for holiday travel for iPhones and other mobile devices, as well as the benefits of using Opera as a mobile browser.

You’ve collected your 10 favorite apps for holiday travel. What makes these particularly useful for holiday travel?

This is a well-rounded list that addresses travelers’ greatest needs during the holidays: keeping roaming costs down while staying informed, housed and entertained during the trip. For browsing, Opera is faster and cheaper (important with both expensive roaming costs and the end of unlimited data plans) for finding information. The list should complement the apps users already rely on.

Opera’s Top 10 Apps for Holiday Travel

1. Opera Mini Browser. Opera Mini browsers compress data to use just ten percent bandwidth of other mobile browsers options – reducing image data size, unnecessary formatting, text encoding and more. What this means – a faster mobile experience and a lower monthly bill! Cost: Free

2.  Gowalla. Gowalla is a local travel guide complete with recommendations from experts and suggestions from friends on what to do and where to go in 60 different cities. Cost: Free

3.  Foodspotting. This one lets you find & rate dishes instead of just restaurants. Find dish recommendations from foodspotters, friends & experts. Cost: Free

4.  Sit or Squat. Need to go to the bathroom, and you can’t wait? Enough said, use the Sit or Squat app. Cost: Free

5. Gas Buddy. Gas Buddy shows you the least expensive gas station wherever you are and is particularly great if you don’t know the area (US and Canada only) Cost: Free

6.  Pulse. Use Pulse to read the news you want from traditional sources, your favorite blogs and social networks. Cost: Free

7.  Flight View. When you’re traveling, it’s important to know the status of your flight. Delayed? How long? Flight View lets you check arrivals, departures, parking, weather and more. Cost: Pricing varies from free to $3.99 based on your mobile phone

8.  Hotel Tonight. Already at your destination and need a hotel in a pinch? With Hotel Tonight book hotels the same day for up to 70% off in most major cities and airports. Cost: Free

9.  Accuweather. To find out what the weather is now or what it’s going to be like at your travel destination from where are now, try the Accuweather app. Cost: Free

10.  Spotify. Get access to millions of songs for free with Spotify. You can also share the songs you are listening to and love easily through your social network. Cost: Free

Do you have any travel-related apps that you really like that are generally helpful, not just in terms of easing the stress of holiday travel?

Instead of paying exorbitant fees for navigation equipment with a rental car, I use MapQuest on my iPhone, which has turn-by-turn audio — and it’s free! In the U.S. I use OpenTable to find and make reservations at nice restaurants, Yelp and UrbanSpoon to find recommendations for inexpensive eats. I also use ForeFlight and TripTracker for flight information and notifications of changes to my flights. HopStop for subway directions in NYC and London, Expensify to help with expense reports and Unit Conversion for converting anything including currency, distance, time and units of measure.

The Opera Mini is extremely popular for smartphones. What makes it superior for mobile tech?

Opera Mini for iPhone and Android devices is great for a few reasons: speed, cost savings and ease of use. First, since Opera Mini compresses data up to 90 percent, it’s lightning fast since only a fraction of the data which other browsers would use is actually used by Opera Mini. This also means that Opera is up to 90 percent cheaper since users only pay 10 percent of the data other mobile browsers would typically use. This feature becomes especially useful while traveling to cut down on extravagant roaming data charges.

What’s more, Opera Mini has a feature called Opera Link, a simple way to make browser information such as your bookmarks and speed dial consistent and available from any device with Opera — be they computer, mobile device, or tablet.  Opera Mini also has easy to use “Share” features, enabling quick sharing of content with social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

What iPhone or Android app do you wish existed or are most looking forward to?

An app that would tell you what a reasonable cab fare for a trip in a foreign city would be great.

It’s true that Opera Mini is the web’s most popular mobile browser. The iPhone browser is a close second, but sheesh — Blackberry’s browser is practically not even a contender. To best control my own mobile data usage while traveling, I’m going to switch to Opera Mini. Thanks, Mahi, for helping with my steep learning curve. Guess I’ll go load in some of those top 10 best travel apps, too.

A family vacation that includes a bike ride or two is always fun. An hour biking to the beach, or around town, with the promise of ice cream at the end — what’s not to like? I always felt a little sporty after incorporating bike rides into my family’s travel experiences, until I started (virtually) following the Vogels on their adventure. This “Family on Bikes” would surely laugh at my 3-speed efforts; they’ve biked all the way from Alaska to Argentina. This has to be some kind of record. Nancy Sathre-Vogel — the mother of the group — agreed to answer some questions, before probably biking another 50 miles just for fun.

Could you tell us a little about what you and your family did?

We — me, my husband and our (then) 10-year old twin sons left from Alaska in June 2008. We spent the next three years cycling 17,300 miles through fifteen countries to the southern tip of South America, in Tierra del Fuego. The boys were 13 when we arrived.

What motivated you to undertake this big bicycle adventure?

Our feeling was, because we can! For any trip of this magnitude there are lots of reasons, but it mainly came down to wanting time together as a family before it was too late. It won’t be long before our sons are grown and have moved on to lives of their own. They might not want to travel with ol’ Ma and Pa anymore! Besides that, we like a good adventure and we love traveling on bikes.

This must be some kind of record, distance-wise, for your sons. Does it qualify for a Guinness World Record?

After we had decided to take the trip, the idea of a Guinness World Record came up — and my sons were immediately all grins!  However, the record has always been a secondary aspect and was not ever the primary motivation for the journey. Getting the official Guinness World Record as the youngest to bicycle the length of the Americas was a pretty darn cool thing for a kid! Davy and Daryl are very proud of their accomplishment and nobody can ever take that away…but they want the certificate too. Just because. And really, it makes sense for them to want the certificate of the Guinness World Record. Unfortunately, Guinness changed their policy while we were on the road and are now denying that honor.

Back to the trip: what were your and your family’s favorite stops along the way from Alaska to Argentina?

For the kids, the best parts were those active adrenaline-charged activities; sand-boarding in Peru, floating down a river in Belize, and horseback riding in Argentina.  For me, it’s harder to pick a favorite. each and every place we traveled through had good points and bad. If I had to choose one, it would have to be Honduras. I was able to return to my Peace Corps village after 22 years away, and with my family! What could be better? My husband John would choose the wilds of Alaska and Canada, as he considers it a special experience knowing that you are just part of the food chain in the great wild yonder.

Any words of advice for other families considering a mammoth, multi-month bike trip? 

Oh yes, I sure have some words of advice. Take it one step at a time. Don’t overplan. Know that when you’re biking there are a million things that can happen that will screw up your plans, so don’t make rigid plans to begin with. Just know that you’ll get to your destination by putting one foot in front of the other. Slowly, but surely, it will happen.

Putting one foot in front of the other and eventually getting to where one ends up — great advice, from a great, intrepid traveler. Thanks, Nancy! 

Quincy Tahoma was a Navajo painter from Arizona and New Mexico. While he died at an early age, his contributions to Navajo art stirred the interest of my friend and fellow travel writer, Vera Baderscher. She co-wrote Quincy Tahoma: The Life and Legacy of a Navajo Artist. She and her collaborator Charnell Havens also write a blog about Tahoma’s life. The blog tells the story of their research and details of Tahoma’s life. Vera and Charnell were happy to answer some questions for The Vacation Gals.

Who was Quincy Tahoma?

Tahoma was a gifted Navajo painter who died in his thirties from the effects of alcoholism. His life led him from a sheep  camp near Tuba City, Arizona to Santa Fe, New Mexico and international fame as an artist. His life was full of triumphs and tragedies’ he still inspires young American Indian artists today. We were able to show more than 200 of his works in our biography, Quincy Tahoma: The Life and Legacy of a Navajo Artist.

When did you first become interested in Navajo painter Quincy Tahoma?

(Vera) I have lived in Scottsdale, Arizona for forty years. The city is packed with Indian art stores. My friend Charnell Havens introduced me to Tahoma’s art: I was interested in the way his life parallels some of the major cultural trends of the Navajo people in the mid-twentieth century — boarding school education, World War II, self-government, alcoholism, the growth in general interest in American Indian art, and the migration away from the reservation.

(Charnell) When I was a child, my next-door aunt visited Santa Fe and came home with five of Tahoma’s paintings. I was spell bound by them.  having found out very little about his life, I started probing in 1995 and gradually ramped up the research effort. In 2000, Vera joined me and from there, it was full steam ahead.

How does this book relate to your own blog, and your career as a travel writer/travel book review specialist?

(Vera) As a travel writer, I am always eager to provide people with a reason to visit new places and learn about new cultures. I hope that Quincy Tahoma: The Life and Legacy of a Navajo Artist will stimulate curiosity about the fascinating culture of the largest American Indian group. And of course, Tahoma’s paintings may entice people to learn more about Navajo art and seek it out for themselves. As for how this work relates to A Traveler’s Library, the connection is personal. Having assigned myself the job of critiquing books, I’ve become more keenly aware of the stylistic and organizational demands on a writer. I had to ask myself constantly — would I want to read this book? How would I review it?

How often do you get to tour the Navajo area? Any favorite spots therein?

(Vera) Since I have lived in Arizona for so long, my husband and I have traveled to every corner of the state, and the Navajo reservation sprawls across a large portion of Northern Arizona and New Mexico. One of my family’s favorite road trips with our boys was across the Navajo reservation. We have been back many times — particularly to Canyon de Chelly, my favorite of the many scenic spots in Arizona — and to Monument Valley.

(Charnell) I go whenever time and resources allow it. After I moved from Texas to Virginia in 2005, those trips unfortunately became less frequent. I love all the spots I’ve visited so much that I bravely took three teenaged grandchildren to New Mexico and Arizona for ten days of exploration. The trip was magical for all four of us.

Any plans to write another book together?

(Vera) I spent ten years on Quincy Tahoma: The Life and Legacy of a Navajo Artist, and Charnell started even earlier. I am not prepared to make that kind of commitment again. We wanted to make more people familiar with this outstanding Navajo painter. Now that the book is published, our main interest is in making sure that we complete that job by ensuring that as many people as possible see the outstanding art work and read the moving life story of Quincy Tahoma.

(Charnell) Amen to that!

Thanks, Vera and Charnell. Through you, hopefully the legacy of Quincy Tahoma will live on and become more well known.

AwardWallet President Jeff Bianco

AwardWallet is a free online tool that helps travelers keep track of their award program points (such as frequent flyer miles). With all the different award program sites listed, it’s a snap to just click on the airline or hotel name, and the auto login takes the user right to the respective award program site desired, and automatically logs in said user. Aggregating all those different hotel points and frequent flyer miles into one site is incredibly useful for those of us (read: me) that are less than organized! Todd Mera and Alexi Vereschaga, co-founders of AwardWallet, answered some questions in this interview, along with Jeff Bianco, President of the handy travel awards aggregator website.

When did you create AwardWallet, and what was your inspiration?

In 2004, after traveling extensively, Todd Mera decided that there had to be a better was to track all his miles and reward programs’ statuses. Along with co-founder Alexi Vereschaga, they created a simple and reliable website so that travelers wouldn’t have to manually enter their various points and awards on a spreadsheet. It all started with a handful of airline and hotel programs, and today AwardWallet tracks over 340 loyalty award programs, tracking 10.9 billion points representing 218 million dollars.

What would you say are frequent flyers’ most common complaint about redeeming miles? And, does AwardWallet address this?

Many traveler are simply overwhelmed with managing their multiple frequent flyer accounts. If a user could limit the number of programs they are enrolled in to two or three, it would make managing their programs easier. However, since not every airline flies to every city, passengers are often required to fly with multiple airlines, Our members average between six and seven loyalty programs. If you are also tracking your spouse’s or child’s accounts, add another six for each! AwardWallet offers members the ability to view all their (and their family’s) frequent flyer accounts on one page.

Many airlines have a limited amount of award seats available and oftentimes the exact dates you’d like to fly are not available. However, with some flexibility in your schedule and persistent award searches, you should be able to find a good award ticket. Also, if there is no availability on your choice airline be sure to see who they are partnered with. Some of the biggest partner alliances are Star Alliance, SkyTeam, and OneWorld.

What does AwardWallet do to ensure the security of users’ information, and to help users understand that their private information is, indeed, secure?

Sensitive data is encrypted in our secure database. Besides using the secure https protocol when transferring data, we give users the ability to store passwords in their computers, in a “cookie.” Now, in our opinion, there are advantages to secure this data in our database (our servers are most likely better protected than yours). The service is very secure and has been ever since we launched in 2004, and AwardWallet is hosted in the USA.

What does AwardWallet do to make it a better site than your competitors?

There are a few websites that, in theory, offer similar services like tracking point balances. However, we at AwardWallet pride ourselves in having the largest number of programs users can track, travel plans automatically added to users’ profiles, and we have the most efficient customer service. We also have an iPhone and Android app. We are the most praised and popular loyalty rewards management website on Flyertalk.com and Milepoint.com.

Where would you like to see AwardWallet go on the next few years? And, what are you doing to help achieve that goal?

Just a year ago we at AwardWallet thought hitting the 50,000 member mark would be one of our greatest achievements. However, we now expect 100,000 members by the end of 2011. Recently, we’ve developed an API that allows AwardWallet to track loyalty information for users. This API gives our partners the ability to utilize rewards information of their own users, for their own needs. For example, one of our clients is Points.com with their entire user base of millions of users. AwardWallet plans on expanding in this area of business to business relationships. last, we’re very focused on tracking and aggregating loyalty point information. We plan to track over 500 loyalty programs by the end of 2011.

AwardWallet is seeing growth in the travel website market that is surprising to its founders, but entirely deserved. What with various kudos bestowed upon AwardWallet by various reputable sources (Wall Street Journal, for example), I’d expect much continued success in the future. Thanks, guys!

Small group tours are popular ways to see new countries. Travel groups are led by professional, knowledgeable guides, who presumably have as much fun exploring a destination as do their guests. Long-time tour managers and travel consultants The Trip Chicks® epitomize the combination of fun and knowledge everyone would want in small tour group leaders. I spoke with Ann Lombardi about this company she co-created.

Tell us a little bit about yourselves. Who are the Trip Chicks®?

We’re a hard-working  two-woman, unconventional travel consultant/tour guide team whose mission is to encourage more people to get out and explore the planet we share. We’ve been blessed with (mis)adventures in close to 90 countries and know the travel industry from both the airline and travel agency end. What keeps us going?  The United States has the western world’s highest rate of forfeited “use or lose vacation.” That’s sobering. We want to urge overworked North Americans to make their vacations a priority and show them how they can enjoy quality adventures without breaking the bank. Vacations are good for health and spirit, and each of us deserves a break, away from life’s routines.

You’ve been a travel agent since 1983. How has the world changed, in terms of traveling, in the past 27-odd years? (i.e. for example, has it gotten easier for women to travel solo, have some formerly peaceful places become too dangerous whereas other formerly dangerous countries are now great travel destinations, etc)

The internet of course has changed our lives forever in a mostly positive way. Now it’s a snap to research places all over the globe and to pick up helpful tips from fellow travelers, including experienced travel agents, bloggers, and tourism offices. Currency exchange rates, weather, and world events are available at lightning speed.

Social media is such an effective way to network. Like many other social media fans, I’ve made a few new friends on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Several times I’ve actually met cyber buddies for coffee or even stayed in their homes overnight! Even more than the places I visit, I always especially appreciate the faces of travel.

It goes without saying that the internet is a super way to prepare for a trip or seek advice en route. The informed traveler is the best traveler, especially in the case of solo travel for women. Going solo has become much more accepted and user-friendly than in days past. I firmly believe everyone should travel alone at least once.

Which are the most popular tours you organize; the fully escorted group tours, the more flexible small group, etc?

I’m usually an independent traveler while on vacation myself.  In our travel agency, along with booking standard trip departures found online or in the brochures of trusted tour or cruise providers, we have fine-tuned two niches over the years. First, we have our “Step Inside” relaxing, small group vacations, typically based in only one or two home-base villages. We use public transportation for daily excursions and then return to the comfort of our family-run inn for dinner each night. Men and women from 30 to 80 make up most of these tours we often guide ourselves.

In addition, we offer our customized soft adventure getaways like Bike and Barge, The Best of Tulip-time Holland, Hike The Best of Alpine Switzerland, or Bike The Best of Southeast Asia. We’ve also taken running groups to international marathon events.  What a hoot for us to come in the bottom tier or even last place in marathons around the world.  An unexpected benefit for me is that I’ve managed to collect close to $500 in coins during marathons and to record a number of entertaining interviews of spectators along the race routes. I guess you can tell I’m a pretty dedicated “athlete.”

Are there any travel experiences or new destinations that you’d like to explore in the next few years?

At the top of my bucket list are Antarctica (before it melts..), Mongolia, Bhutan, Albania, the Seychelles, Tibet, Bali, South Africa, and … I could go on and on. Travel is my passion and has been in my blood ever since I was inspired as a child by the “Sound of Music.” I knew my first trip across the big pond would include finding that hill from the opening glorious scene. I ended up bumping into an Austrian extra from the movie, and she led me straight to the iconic hill. It was a number of years before the organized “SOM” bus tours began.

My memorable trip to Austria in my youth sparked my life-long passion for travel:  exploring, meeting people, and learning.  Helping people make travel dreams come true gives us great satisfaction. Knowing our travelers often experience trips of a lifetime through our efforts makes it all worthwhile for The Trip Chicks®.  I’ll be traveling the globe until the day I leave this good ole earth. And what a way to go!

Thanks, Ann. Your enthusiasm is contagious, and clearly, exploring the world with a Trip Chicks® group tour would be fun and exciting for anyone with even a touch of wanderlust.

A luxury vacation destination is nothing without, well, luxury travel activities. I recently interviewed Juergen Oberman about Monaco, his home and home base of Type-41, the luxury automobile “supercar” rental company. Type-41 is an exclusive, invitation-only luxury car club in Top Marques, Monaco, that appeals to luxury travel and automobile lovers alike. Juergen founded this company, which operates in both Monaco and the Cote d’Azur.

Why base Type-41 in Monaco, and any plans for expansion?

Monaco is a country (and a microstate) located in southwest Europe, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea surrounded on three sides by France, and about 10 miles away from Italy. It’s the second smallest country (by size) in the world; only the Vatican City is smaller. Monaco is also the world’s second smallest monarchy, and one of the most densely populated countries in the world even though its population is only 35,000. Monaco became famous in the United States when on April 19, 1956, Prince Rainier married the American actress Grace Kelly. The event was widely televised and covered in the popular press, focusing the world’s attention on the tiny Principality.

One of Monaco’s main sources of income is tourism as many are attracted to its casino and pleasant climate. Interestingly enough though, Monaco’s own citizens are not allowed to gamble in the casino. Monaco has no personal income tax and as such, has attracted a considerable number of wealthy residents which includes a large population of Formula One drivers and other less well-known business people.

It is also a very car-centered area as the Monaco Grand Prix, the second-most prestigious automobile race in the world behind only the Indianapolis 500, is held annually in the streets of Monaco. The Monte Carlo Car Rally has also been held since 1911 and is considered to be one of the toughest and most prestigious events in rallying. Since 2009, the rally has served as the opening round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, having most recently been run on the 19th-22 January 2011 in celebration of the event’s centenary.

At this time, Type-41 is focused on the Monaco and Cote de Azur (French Riviera) area although future plans of expansion are not out of the question.

When did you first launch Type-41 (and what does the name mean)?
Type-41 was launched on Thursday, April 14th, 2011 at the Top Marques supercar show in Monaco. The company is named for the Bugatti Royale which despite it being built in the 1930s, is still considered to be one of the rarest cars in the modern world. Completely handmade, the Royale is a massive vehicle with the largest engine ever made for an automobile. For comparison purposes, the Bugatti is 20 percent longer and 25 percent heavier than the modern Rolls-Royce Phantom. Only six of these cars were ever built, and all are in existence today. The latest valuation of a Bugatti was set at $10 million. The Bugatti Royale is also known as the Bugatti Royale Type-41 as that was its official designation in the Bugatti nomenclature. The club was named Type-41 to reflect that same level of exclusiveness since membership is limited to only 111 people.

This is invitation only. What methods are used to determine who gets invited to be members? Are tourists included?
This is a club for “those in the know” and friends of “those in the know.”  Many of the members live in Europe and have a second home in the south of France, but just as many are visiting dignitaries, celebrities and people of affluent means.  The one constant is that all members are passionate about their cars and their driving experiences, and enjoy not only the ability to drive these rare supercars, but also enjoy the novelty of a community of like-minded individuals sharing the same enthusiasm and singled-minded focus on enjoying the thrill of the open road in a meticulously handcrafted vehicle built to the highest standards of the modern day world.

Thank you, Juergen. While some of us have to “settle” for the occasional NASCAR driving experience, it’s fun to think about the epitome of luxury travel with the Type-41 supercar club in Monaco.