In an effort to prevent a looming running rut, I decided to register myself (and a lucky friend)…read morefor the City Running Tours' Beer Run. We met up with Nate downtown and began our three-for-one jog, pub crawl, and history tour throughout parts of Minneapolis. We learned lots, drank plenty, and greatly enjoyed the chilly, Minnesota evening. I'd highly recommend signing up for a running tour when active friends and family come to visit. As I understand, they have a variety of different tours available at a few distances. Outside of racing, this tour is about as fun as running gets!

My buddy and I were there to witness history this past weekend when the Vikings came back from the…read morebiggest point deficit in NFL history. What a game. The stadium is beautiful. The facilities were modern. It was generally easy to get around but with walking around the stadium, there were a couple bottle-necks where you basically stand and wait for people to move. It didn't make much sense. There were a lot of food options. My buddy got some wings from Heritage wings and they were pretty tasty. I can't wait to go back and see another Vikings game!

The US Bank Stadium Station is the first light rail station going West that serves both the Blue…read moreand Green lines. Thus in this way, one can get to the football stadium from both Mall of America/Airport AND St Paul. It has an elevated walkway to allow crossing of the street, but it is closed during non-game days.

Jess set up our Alaskan cruise and train ride to Denali with our elderly parents. She listened to…read moremy husband and I and ensured we received exactly what we wanted with the budget and preferences we gave her. Jess is very knowledgeable and responsive. She made our overall experience enjoyable and absolutely amazing once again (we recently used her for a trip to Mexico as well).

I've been on so many trips with Chmmiebell Tours and everytime left with the greatest memories…read more Patty and Micheal gives us tools to being a one big great family. Can't wait to go on the next tour with them. Thank you ChmmyBelltours.com

I recently took a bus trip o Maine with ChmieBell Tours. The owners planned every detail. I…read moredidn't have to plan a thing. They were always pleasant and cheerful. They made a point of getting to know everyone on the bus. The sites we visited were very interesting and varied. They don't just do bus trips, they go all over the world.

This campground is great, the sites are large and the camp workers are amazing. Close to the…read morecities, yet very quiet!

We were looking for a low-key first camping experience for our kids, not too far from the Cities in…read morecase they really couldn't handle it. This fit the bill. The campsites were fine, some more separate and shady than others, but pretty standard and basically what I expected. Had no problem with the one we stayed at. The kids appreciated the playground tons. When we were there the lake was having an algae bloom, so we were disappointed not to be able to swim, but that wasn't something anyone could control. (Didn't love the trucked-in construction sand on the beach, though - I didn't even want to be down on the beach with that rough stuff!). The biggest issue we had was cars. We had 2, and had registered them when we reserved the campsite online. It wasn't until we arrived, though, that anyone said anything about having to pay a per-night fee to park them. You'd think this would be rolled into the cost for the site, charged when you register, or at least MENTIONED before you arrive. But no. So only when we checked in did we find out we were basically paying for another night of camping to just have our cars there. Our campsite only had enough gravel parking for one car, so we parked the other as close to it as we could and thought we were fine. Nope, the park hosts came by and told us we couldn't park the cars side-by-side. So we moved them to be front-to-back on our site, and the hosts said that was fine. The next morning a park worker came by and told us we couldn't park them THAT WAY, and that they didn't want cars possibly leaking on the grass. If they allow two cars per site (and make you pay for it) and don't want cars off the gravel, they need to gravel for two cars per site, otherwise change the parking allowances (and costs). This especially didn't make sense as we were in a loop that also allowed campers and trailers, which were definitely parked on the grass. Overall the campsite and amenities were fine, and this would be a four-star review if not for the inconsistent, misleading treatment of the cars you use to get to this campground.

Elizabeth is astounding. I wasn't sure we needed a travel agent until we found her to help us…read morethrough the maze of a once-in-a-lifetime Walt Disney World vacation. Now we're never going back to doing this stuff on our own. Elizabeth gave us stunningly good advice, found things we wouldn't have known about, and kept the ages and interests of the kids in mind at all times. The trip would never have been as successful without her. When we wanted to, she let us do our own planning and research. It really felt like a team effort, and she found ways to work with our suggestions. Of course after a while we'd just say to each other "I don't know - ask Elizabeth and do what she says." =) A few years later, Elizabeth helped us plan our 20th anniversary cruise. Partway through the process, we completely changed gears on her - from wanting a romantic couple-only cruise to wanting a bring-the-kids cruise. Elizabeth took it in stride seamlessly, and *again* found us options we didn't even know existed! It's like knowing someone who is an "insider" at every location you want to visit. Recently, we had to plan a dog-and-kids roadtrip. I was nervous to ask for help, thinking that might be "beneath" her, but she was fantastic. Two days later, she handed me an amazing itinerary and took care of booking the places we'd stay each night. She didn't even charge me, and the amount of stress she saved me was priceless. Elizabeth is friendly, intelligent, and super easy to work with. I highly recommend her.

Elizabeth helped tremendously with planning our Disney World 2016 Connolly Vacation! Learning…read moreabout Fast Passes, various restaurants and attractions, Elizabeth was patient with our many questions and her suggestions on which rides, restaurants to go to was a HUGE help. Thank you so much! The best planned vacation we've ever taken!

Jamie customized a weeklong Alaskan adventure for my husband, my 82 year old travel-wary mother and…read moremyself, built around what my mother could tolerate. The trip was fantastic for both my mother (afraid to travel) and my husband and I (seasoned travelers). We rode trains, saw Denali in the sunshine, took a glacier tour and kept active without the days becoming overwhelming. We will use The Wandering Puffin again. Highly recommend!!

We found Jamie while trying to find a travel agent to plan our first trip to Europe. He took the…read moretime to meet with us, listen to our wish list, then made some great suggestions based on time and location to get the most out of our trip. We spent 18 day in Europe going from London to Paris, Bruges, Munich and Rome. We had a great mix of planned activities and free time. Every detail of our trip was accounted for and planned perfectly by Jamie. We will definitely be using the Wandering Puffin for our next European adventure!!!

A fantastic fortnight in Bhutan organised by Windhorse Tours…read more We were a group of four friends who were recommended to use Windhorse by a travelling friend. Initially I liased with Windhorse director Jambay with whom we finalised the trip itinerary ( top tip: we went in November high season; accom sells out quickly so try to book at least 6 months in advance), and flights in/out of Bhutan and of course visa which includes Sustainable Development Fee. All was done in a helpful, focussed and professional way. We arrived on two different flights; in each case we were meet & greeted on arrival by our guide, Sonam Loday and our driver, Chorten. On small group tours such as this, the Windhorse team are crucial to the enjoyment of the holiday, and we were extremely happy with ours! Sonam was very experienced, so his planning, anticipation and decision making was first class. Equally importantly, his good humour and love of his job made the history and culture of Bhutan come alive, while always seemingly effortlessly made all go smoothly... What a great guy! Our driver Chorten provided excellent support during activities, but his driving was unbelievable.... So smooth on the winding mountain roads, stopping safely on request for photo ops, and his pristinely clean and maintained van was perfect to carry our group in comfort. Our 13 day itinerary encompassed Central and Western Bhutan, and we never felt rushed, often spending 2 nights in one place. Accom was great and always seemed appropriate to the location, and included guest houses, lodges, and traditional hotels. We always seemed to have the best rooms with views etc. We enjoyed the food, and non of our group had tummy issues throughout the trip. We agreed that Bhutan is a fantastic place to visit, and Windhorse made our trip perfect.... At a very reasonable cost.

We've just returned from a second trip with Windhorse Tours in Bhutan. Last year (2024) we did an…read moreexcellent 6 day cultural trip with them and wanted to go back this year for trekking. There was no question who we would arrange our tour with this year: Windhorse Tours! We booked a 10 day tailor-made tour with 2 days acclimatization hiking around the beautiful Haa Valley; time in Thimphu and then 7 days trekking the Jomolhari loop. We booked to go late October/early November... usually a sweet spot between the end of summer rain and the start of snow accumulation in the mountains. This year was unusual. While it's understood weather in the mountains can be unpredictable, this year Cylcone Montha inserted itself into our plans bringing heavy rain, and snow to the mountains. Our excellent guide, Pelden Wangchuk, really took care to ensure our well-being, safety and happiness. While we had planned a circuit trek, significant new snow at higher elevations blocked our path. Pelden was continually checking on conditions ahead, and with us. We all decided to aim for Jomolhari Base Camp but then return the way we came. Remarkably, we awoke at Base Camp to clear skies and spectacular views of Jomolhari. And, one benefit of returning the same way was seeing the gorgeous scenery we missed previously. With larch and other trees in their full autumn colours, the views were quite stunning... often enhanced by high water in the swollen Paro river! We've done a few Himalayan treks and were impressed by the quality of equipment and service provided by Windhorse. Their tent did a remarkable job of staying dry and the sleeping bags were toasty warm. Hot water bottles were a nice touch! It must've been quite a feat keeping our gear and all the tents dry on the inside but somehow the crew did just that. On previous treks, we'd never had a mid-morning hot tea/coffee break, let alone a hot lunch... served by our Camp Assistant with good humour and smiles. Whatever the conditions, our cook turned out a choice of tasty, varied food including unexpected treats like French Toast and a beautifully decorated cake that tasted as good as it looked. All the hotels and food (often buffets) were of top quality too - as they were on our first trip. Even though it rained on our trek, we still enjoyed the whole experience and were again really impressed with Windhorse Tours.