The Innovative Travel Co. advises the month of Ramadan will start on July 9 and continue through to Wednesday August 7, 2013.
The start of the month of fasting for Muslims begins on the first sighting, with the naked eye, of the new moon. During Ramadan Muslims abstain from food, drink and other physical needs during the daylight hours. Ramadan is a time to purify the soul, practice self-sacrifice and re-evaluate  life, strengthen ties with family and friends and do away with bad habits. Visitors are welcomed in Muslim countries during Ramadan and advised on the ways of respecting the customs.

Edgewater Resort & Spa gives agents chance to win seven nights for up to six people in a Beachfront Villa. Includes tropical breakfast and island night dinner and show for up to six people, and $200 resort credit (one credit per villa). Agents will go into the draw to win one of three prizes by booking clients into the Edgewater by June 30 2013.

(Airfares not included - land only package)

Southern California CityPASS admission cards shaves 24 percent off the cost of visiting Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park (each CityPASS admission card includes a 3-Day Disneyland Resort Park Hopper ticket), Universal Studios Hollywood and SeaWorld San Diego. Adult Southern California CityPASS cards will sell for $319* (a value of $421); children’s passes (ages 3-9) retail for $279.

*Through an exclusive offer on CityPASS.com, travellers can opt to add a discounted ticket to the San Diego Zoo or San Diego Zoo Safari Park to their Southern California CityPASS admission card. (Southern California CityPASS admission card cost with optional zoo ticket: $353, adults; $304, children ages 3-9.)

Southern California CityPASS can be purchased online at CityPASS.com or at any CityPASS attraction. They are valid for 14 consecutive days, beginning with the first day of use.

Conservation Volunteers Australia has released a series of new voluntourism experiences, allowing opportunities to get up close and personal with local wildlife and allow visitors to volunteer to work as part of the travel experience.

Experiences on offer include planting trees on the Great Ocean Road; working alongside park rangers to monitor threatened species; and close encounters with wildlife such as tiger quolls, penguins, owls, koalas and kangaroos.

Programs on offer include a three day Victorian Alps Owl Monitoring programme whereby participants assist with monitoring the threatened species of the four large Forest Owls including; Powerful, Barking, Masked and Sooty Owl. The program takes place in the foothills of the Victorian Alps in the High Country region where small numbers of all four owls have been found.

Four hours drive north-west of Melbourne, is the Grampian region and the Southern Grampians Wildlife Research is a three day programme that involves saving the rare Eastern Barred Bandicoot. Visitors have the opportunity to explore the Grampians National Park, while checking traps and recording data to help in the survival of the endangered species.

Click here for more tours available

The Innovative Travel Co. is offering two tours for the 100th commemorations at Gallipoli in 2015.

Option 1 : Tour escorted by Mike Yardley -  April 13 - 25, 2015. Istanbul, Ankara, Cappadocia, Pamukkale, the UNESCO site of Ephesus and ending with the Dawn Services (subject to ballot) at Gallipoli. Priced from NZ$10,495 pp share twin.

Option 2 : Gallipoli 2015 Special cruise  - April 17 -27 2015. Cruise on board MSC Armonia in Istanbul to Anzac Cove. From the port of Canakkale, in  leading up to the Dawn Service, there will be guided tours of Anzac Cove, Lone Pine & Chunuk Bair, led by world class authors and historians.
Priced from NZ$7,438 pp share.

Contact Innovative Travel ph 0508 100 111 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

50 Degrees North has teamed up with photographers, Ewen Bell and Fredrik Bowman, for an adventure into the Arctic snow and ice. Running in February 2014, the tour starts in the North-East of Sweden and finishes in the North-west of Norway.

Highlights include; staying at the Aurora Safari Camp in Lavvo; Jokkmokk Winter Market; reindeer racing; dog sleigh and snow shoe adventures;
visit to Kiruna Ice Hotel, day trips to remote villages of Lofoten and visits to fishing villages and landscape photography around Reine.

Priced from AU$9,800, the tour departs on February 03 to February 17, 2014, and is limited to eight passengers. (The last trip earlier in 2013 sold out and there are six remaining spaces for next year’s tour.)

The International Federation of PGA Tours says the 2013 World Cup of Golf will return to The Royal Melbourne Golf Club from November 21 - 24, preceded by the Australian Masters from November 14 - 17, also at the Royal Melbourne course.

Over 2,000 New Zealanders attended the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne in 2011, and the drive is on to attract Kiwi golf fans and spectators to this years event.

The World Cup has been played three previous times in Australia, each at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club with the tournament last played in Australia in 1988.

The 2013 World Cup will mark the fourth occasion that Melbourne has hosted the event and it remains the only city outside the United States to have staged the Presidents Cup on two occasions.

Ticket and booking information for the 2013 World Cup and the Australian Masters will be released by Tourism Victoria when available.

More than 5,000 people will take part in The Great Ocean Road Marathon, on May 18 and 19. During the event, the Great Ocean Road will be closed to vehicles.

This is the ninth year of the Great Ocean Road Marathon which includes a marathon, half marathon, 14km, 6km and kids’ gallop event. Former Olympic athlete Steve Moneghetti is race patron.