Wilder Shores of Travel

Tired of Tahiti and bored with Barcelona? If you are one of those people who has travelled extensively and you are looking for something unusual, check out a tour company called Wild Frontiers Travel (www.wildfrontierstravel.com.)

This British-based company has some unusual offerings that sound very appealing for the adventurous with relatively deep pockets. For instance, you can ride horses through Wadi Rum in Jordan, the place where some of the old film about Lawrence of Arabia was made. Or you can visit several little-travelled countries on one tour to Turkmenistan, Iran and Azerbaijan. If walking appeals, consider a walking tour in the mountains of Oman.

These are just a few of the many tours that are likely to spark your imagination. These trips are not cheap, generally between $200 and $400 per day, and the price does not include air fare. It does include pretty much everything else, though, and there is no mandatory single supplement. Unfortunately, travelling far off the beaten track is often costly if you want to do it safely.

I am partial to British tour companies, particularly for exploring fairly remote parts of the world. The Brits have long experience in many of these places because of their empire, and it is not unusual to find Brits who speak more than one difficult language.

I do find the Website of this tour company is a little ethnocentric, aty least when it comes to travel to Iran. They give information on obtaining visas for Brits, but not for others. Did you know that if you are female and want to apply for a visa, your passport photo must show you in a headscarf? That could make it a bit awkward--do you need to get a new passport if you aren't wearing a headscarf in your current photo? Anyway, aside from visa hassles Iran sounds like a fascinating place to visit.

Closer to home, Porter Airlines (www.flyporter.com) has a big sale on. You can save up to 60 per cent if you book by midnight on Friday. Sample fares include Montreal to Chicago for $191 Canadian one-way, or $180 Canadian to St. John's, Newfoundland. Prices include tax.