TCS & Starquest Expeditions News

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June 25, 2010
Travelers’ Tidbits - 2010

Travelers on Around Africa 2010 private jet expedition shared enthusiastic reports of their experiences: 

    “I loved breaking up into small groups and heading to different places.”

    “Gorilla hike was a life changing experience.”

    “The opportunity to visit places and see things that may not have been
    available to the general public such as the dinner at the Luxor Temple.
    Walking into that temple at night was magical.”

    “It is wonderful in that I can set back, relax knowing everything is and has
    been taken care of for me from transportation to passport or customs
    agents in each country.”

    “The trip Around Africa was the highlight of my life. I could write,
    enraptured, all afternoon about this trip, it was so wonderful. I feel that
    I am changed forever”

    “Just to let you know... we LOVED this trip.  It was magical, spiritual,
    adventuresome and exceeded all our expectations. Your staff was caring
    and took such good care of us.”

If you are interested in traveling with us and would like to speak with a past traveler, please contact us.

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February 15, 2010
Dinosaur Expert Leads Ancient Silk Road Expedition

The Ancient Silk Road by Private Jet expedition will be led by Mark A. Norell, chair and curator-in-charge of fossil reptiles, amphibians, and birds in the American Museum of Natural History’s Division of Paleontology. Author of Unearthing the Dragon and A Nest of Dinosaurs, he is an expert on dinosaurs and has developed new ways of looking at fossils using CT scans and other imaging tools. In Mongolia travelers can join him on a thrilling exploration of the Flaming Cliffs and while examining a dinosaur skeleton and eggs recovered from the Gobi Desert.

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August 7, 2009
Travelers’ Tidbits - 2009

Travelers on our Winter and Spring 2009 private jet expeditions have shared enthusiastic reports of their experiences:  

     “It was actively challenging, intellectually stimulating, socially engaging,
     never boring, absolutely wonderful!”  

     “Lecturers were the best ever! The real stars of the trip. Great knowledge,
     communication skills and anxious to share their expertise and they are
     really nice people.” 

     “The local experts were a wonderful ‘piece of the puzzle.’ ....Helpful in
     emphasizing the need to continue learning about this planet!”   

     “The aircraft flight crew and cabin staff were all excellent. We really
     enjoyed traveling with them and in this style.”  

     “Nothing can properly describe ‘the trip of a lifetime’—it must
     be experienced.”  

If you are interested in traveling with us and would like to speak with a past traveler, please contact us.

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August 1, 2009
We Are Family!

In 1991, the world's first private jet tour operator, TCS Expeditions, was founded by T.C. Swartz and Charlene Brannon, pioneers in the educational travel industry for more than two decades. In 2003, Starquest Expeditions was created by the same team who wanted to further develop educational private jet programs to include more options that allow travelers to customize their journeys. Both companies were acquired by TUI Travel PLC, a leading international travel group, and today are reunited as TCS & Starquest Expeditions—with the same management team, a combined staff, and the same dedication to extraordinary private jet travel that you have come to expect from us. We have brought the best from both companies together and are thrilled to share some examples of how our travelers will benefit from our union:

• We are expanding our offerings to include two-week expeditions.

• We are integrating a comprehensive philanthropy program into 
  every expedition.

• For expeditions that begin or end in a foreign city, the expedition price will
  include transfers from the airport to the hotel (or vice versa).

• We are increasing the number of optional and alternate excursions for 
  each expedition.

• We are developing more ways to extend your expedition with optional,
  escorted pre- and post-tours.

In addition, we continue to partner with the award-winning airline, Thomson Airways, who maintains and operates our Boeing 757 jet. For more than a decade, we have worked with the Thomson staff and crew, who are by far the most experienced and professional in the private jet industry.

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November 15, 2008
Introducing a New Jet Configuration for 78 Travelers in 2010

TCS & Starquest Expeditions is pleased to offer a new-and-improved private jet experience for trips beginning in 2010. Our specially-outfitted Boeing 757 private jet will be a much more spacious "home away from home" for only 78 travelers instead of 88. "We designed this new configuration to recline even more and provide much more legroom," reports Shelley Cline, Managing Director and liaison with the award-winning airline, Thomson Airways, who maintains and operates the private jet. "While we are lowering the number of travelers per trip, we will not lower the number of staff servicing our trips," she adds. "We are known for our highly personalized services and that will not change. The number of staff will remain the same, so that the smaller group of travelers will have the added benefit of a more intimate, personalized travel experience with better access to expedition staff, lecturers, and flight attendants." For more information about our new jet configuration, please call 1-800-454-4149 or 1-800-727-7477.

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July 23, 2008
Gorilla Trekking On Our Ultimate Africa Expedition

Starquest is excited to offer a rare and unforgettable opportunity to see one of the most endangered animals in the world, the mountain gorilla. During a scouting trip to help refine our plans for this fall’s Ultimate Africa program, Starquest’s Program Manager Jeff DuJardin got a first-hand look at one of the more exciting excursions on the expedition, gorilla trekking in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park. “Hiking to the mountain gorillas in the stunning scenery of the Rwandan Rain Forest, coming upon them, and then spending time with them in their natural setting is an amazing and spiritual experience,” reports Jeff. There are only a few spaces are left on both departures of Ultimate Africa: October 6 to 25, 2008 and October 21 to November 9, 2008.

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July 10, 2008
New Highly Personalized Options for Lands of the Great Buddha Expedition

Travelers on the Lands of the Great Buddha expedition in 2009 can look forward to yet another way to customize the itinerary to suit their interests. Starquest is pleased to now offer travelers a rare insider’s view into traditional Japanese culture: While in Kyoto, a limited number of travelers may take a class in traditional calligraphy or ikebana flower arrangement in the home of an esteemed sensei. Each instructor is a member of the Women’s Association of Kyoto, a renowned organization devoted to introducing Japanese arts to the public. There is only one Lands of the Great Buddha departure in 2009, and, with only 33 seats to fill, we expect this program to sell out more than a year in advance.

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July 1, 2008
TCS & Starquest Doubles the Medical Evacuation Insurance Coverage for All Expeditions

From the very beginning, TCS & Starquest Expeditions has made sure that medical evacuation insurance is included in the price of all trips. In addition, we are now pleased to announce that the value of the medical evacuation insurance has doubled, from $50,000 per person to $100,000 per person, for covered reasons, on all trips starting with Nomads, Traders & Conquerors in fall 2008. "This is a great addition to the other important protections included in the price of all trips, such as minimal accident, sickness, and baggage insurance," says Stevie Wooten, our Director of Guest Services & Independent Travel . For travelers who want even more protections, we offer many other options. Please call us to inquire about the details: 800-454-4149.

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July 1, 2008
Cape to Cape by Private Jet Featured in the Robb Report

We were featured in the July 2008 issue of the Robb Report magazine. World traveler and acclaimed writer Edward Readicker-Henderson reports on his experiences during our Cape to Cape Private Jet expedition.

"After a flight in the padded comfort of TCS’ 757, I still have beach sand in my clothes when we arrive in Namibia the next morning. Sand is the attraction in Namibia, where giant dunes border the shipwreck-heavy Skeleton Coast and hide chameleons that look at you with one eye while using the other to watch for beetles that leave tracks in the pattern of snowflakes. We drive quad bikes below the dunes, searching for Welwitschia—a plant that resembles a prop from a science-fiction movie—and translucent geckos, whose skin is so tender that they cannot be exposed to direct sunlight. At the edge of the Namib Desert, the dunes drop into a maze of canyons. The setting sun seems magnified tenfold as it glints off our caravan—the quad bikes now replaced by Land Rovers—which follows a road that becomes a lane, gives way to a track, and eventually trickles into a slot in a landscape where antelope lurk in shadows. We arrive at our destination to find a camp set up with a multicourse meal, which we eat while musicians play marimbas with resonators made from hollowed-out animal horns."
—From Journey ot the Center of the Eartyh by Edward Readicker-Henderson for Robb Report.

Please contact us to request a copy of the complete Robb Report article and to learn more about upcoming expeditions that travel to the places that Readicker-Henderson visited.

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May 6, 2008
Harvard Professor Joins Voyage of the Beagle Expedition

Starquest seeks out the most experienced and knowledgeable experts for our educational expeditions, and the Voyage of the Beagle expedition is no exception. Joining Stanford University’s Professor in Human Biology and Anthropology Bill Durham, and Stanford’s Professor Emeritus of Political Science David Abernethy, is Harvard University’s Professor of the History of Science Janet Browne. Dr. Browne is a leading scholar on the life, times, and works of Charles Darwin. She is the author of a 2002 book, Charles Darwin: The Power of Place, and of the award-winning biography, Charles Darwin: Voyaging. She rounds out a stellar team to lead what is perhaps the most extraordinary way to celebrate Charles Darwin’s legendary around-the-world expedition aboard the HMS Beagle. Our modern-day voyage, originally conceived of by Professor Durham, is aboard a specially-outfitted private jet and departs in 2009, the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin’s groundbreaking work, On the Origin of Species.

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February 5, 2006
Modern Marco Polos

In Modern Marco Polos, Myrta Pulliam reports on our Crossroads of Humanity by Private Jet expedition, in The Indianapolis Star. "To see the incredible places we did—forbidden places, places many people wouldn't think they'd ever get to see, to get a sense of so many cultures, such a variety of architecture—was simply astonishing," she said. Read on for her impressions of our services and expertise, and what it was like to be on this innovative expedition.

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August 28, 2005
Luxury Trips for the Studious

Read about us in the August 28 New York Times. In Vacation 101: Luxury Trips for the Studious, Luke Jerrod Kummer reports on the growing interest in luxury trips with an educational edge, and why travelers choose to go on our Crossroads of Humanity private jet expedition, Crossroads of Humanity. Kummer observes that "Relaxation and indulgence are top attractions on most luxury travel itineraries. But for some wealthy vacationers, having a unique educational experience has become the most coveted souvenir."

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June 1, 2005
Five Continents, Ten Countries, and 36,000 Miles in 24 Days

We were featured in the May/June and July/August issues of National Geographic Traveler magazine in 2005. Covering 36,000 miles and five continents, Traveler contributing editor Pat Kelly reports on his experiences on our Legendary Places around-the-world expedition:

"Sunset on Easter Island and I'm hunched over a wobbly folding chair commemorating my journey by getting the ultimate travel memento — a tattoo. And why not? Sailors returning from epic voyages to the South Seas traditionally got Polynesian tattoos, and this journey was nothing if not epic. Pedestrian trinkets such as T-shirts or refrigerator magnets simply will not do for an adventure spanning five continents, ten countries, and wildly diverse cultures. "Breathe normally," I tell myself. "Embrace the experience. Besides, your 50-year-old hide could use a little enhancement." Hueso, a young Chilean tattoo artist, swabs my back with alcohol and hands me a mirror to inspect his work. Hello! They're bigger than I'd expected, but somehow the unique pictographs native to this island seem to belong between my shoulder blades. Maybe, I realize, I've gone a bit native myself. If so, this journey has made its mark on me in more ways than one."

— From "The Globetrotter: Our Writer Covers Five Continents, Ten Countries, Ten Cultures, and 36,000 Miles — in 24 Days" by Patrick Kelly for National Geographic Traveler magazine

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November 14, 2004
A Photographer Captures Legendary Places During Our Inaugural Expedition

Photographer Ceclia Lewis documented her travels with us on our inaugural expedition, Legendary Places by Private Jet. See her beautiful photographs and read about her extraordinary experiences in the Las Cruces Sun-News.