All the clues in this post refer to one Ya’lla Tours destination: Bahrain, Cuba, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Turkey, or United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi and Dubai).
We’ll show you images of popular tourist sites in our mystery country, along with descriptions of those sites. This time, our subject is not technically a country but more of a city-state Continue reading
Happy Friday! Please enjoy some random shots of Ya’lla travelers:
Cuevo del Indio, Vinales Valley, Pinar del Rio, Cuba
As promised, here are a few more images from our fam trip to the Arabian Peninsula, specifically, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and northern Oman. All of these photos were taken by two travelers on the trip. I hope you enjoy the viewing as much as I have. There are still lots more to come.
DUBAI
Dubai, photo by Sue Alstedt
Dubai, photo by Sallie Volotzky
ABU DHABI
Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi, photo by Sue Alstedt
Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi, photo by Sue Alstedt
Men & their falcons, Abu Dhabi, photo by Sue Alstedt
ARABIAN DESERT
Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort near Abu Dhabi, photo by Sue Alstedt
Arabian Desert, photo by Sallie Volotzky
OMAN
northern coast of Oman, photo by Sue Alstedt
leaning in for a pat, Muscat, Oman, photo by Sue Alstedt
somewhere in Oman, photo by Sue Alstedt
Muscat, Oman, photo by Sue Alstedt
Muscat, Oman, photo by Sue Alstedt
Nizwa Fort, Oman, photo by Sue Alstedt
northern coast of Oman, photo by Sue Alstedt
See our website for tours to Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Oman. We have 10 tours published there with detailed itineraries, from 3 and 4-day stopover tours focused on the highlights of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Muscat or Salalah, to a 15-day comprehensive tour of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha and Oman. In between, we have two 8-day tours, Wonders of Arabia and Glory of Arabia, with different configurations of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the Arabian Desert in UAE. In Oman, we have a 6-day tour that includes both Muscat in the north and Salalah in the south, two very different regions, and a 9-day tour covering Muscat, Salalah, Nizwa, Sur and the Wahiba Sands desert. All itineraries are privately escorted and so totally flexible. We will also create custom itineraries to any of our destinations in the Arabian Peninsula.
Happy weekend!
Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
2013 was an eventful year at Ya’lla Tours USA.
To begin with, it was our 20th anniversary. In 1993 Ronen Paldi, Israeli native, landed in Portland, Oregon and opened Ya’lla Tours USA. He based the company philosophy and operations on the practical experience he gained as a tour guide for over 10 years in Israel and Egypt, on the ground day-to-day with travelers.
Our really big news in 2013 was the introduction of not 1 but 4 new countries to our repertoire – the UAE, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain. Our tag line “specialists to the exotic Mediterranean” no longer covers it. These were our first new destinations in over 10 years. Clients often nudged us to cover Italy, Spain and France because they combine nicely with our existing countries (Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Greece,Turkey). However, there are already many well-established, quality tour operators to Italy, Spain and France and the world really doesn’t need another one. Ronen’s excellent business sense told him that there was not room in that market for us and chose to stay focused on our product line in the Middle East/Eastern Mediterranean (plus Cuba, which is another thing altogether). The Arabian Peninsula, on the other hand, is a relatively untapped market for American travelers and it fits well culturally and geographically with our other countries, while also bringing something new.
Perhaps what sealed the deal was that our dear Jordanian friends Gaby and Reem operate a travel services company in Dubai. They were our ground operator in Jordan back in the 1990s. So, although the destinations are new, we have friends we trust advising us and taking care of our clients. They know us, how we operate, what we expect and we know they will deliver. I think it was meant to be. In addition to Gaby and Reem, the director of our office in Egypt is very familiar with the area, having visited there many times. His input was essential as we began to select hotels and compose itineraries.
Ronen and Tania went to the Arabian Peninsula for the first time in June. When they returned we had a meeting in Portland with all of our sales reps from around the country, something we hadn’t done in three years. It was fun to have everyone in the same room together and exciting to be learning about new places.
In early December Ronen returned to the Arabian Peninsula with our entire sales team, Teri McCulloh, our general manager, our videographer and 18 travel agency owners and managers. Some of us stayed behind to hold down the fort… My colleagues went to the Arabian Peninsula and all they brought me was 1,000+ pictures… (and that’s enough!)
Speaking of colleagues, we got a new one, just as the year was drawing to a close – Michael Walsh, our new sales manager in California and Colorado. Welcome Michael!
Finally, my 2013 babies, our pretty new web site and this blog, both of which will benefit from those 1,000+ photos mentioned above.
In 2014 we’ll continue to deepen our knowledge of the Arabian Peninsula; Egypt, Greece, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Turkey and Cuba too, and share what we know with you. Thanks for reading.
We wish you a healthy, peaceful and prosperous 2014.
My first question was, where exactly is Oman?
Ya’lla Tours made history by being the first US tour operator to operate an educational FAM trip to Oman.
I didn’t know this would be the case when I packed up for our visit to the UAE and Oman, but found out during the trip when the Oman tourism director showed up and made a point of personally greeting our group. Later, the US Ambassador to Oman, Greta C. Holtz, invited our Ya’lla person in Oman, Amur, to lunch after the holidays.
Oman is a land of contrasts, and has something to offer the visitor who wants soft adventure, authentic experiences and even luxury.
With a long Arabian Sea coastline with great beaches and desert and mountains, there is a unique variety that is really unexpected. Oman is also a photographer’s paradise. It is almost impossible to take a bad picture there.
Our travels in Oman took us from Muscat, the capital, to the desert, for a beautiful overnight, to the souks, and along the fantastic coastline. Along the way we visited the Royal Opera House, a work of art in itself, the 5th largest mosque in the world, the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, the Al Alham Palace, flanked by two 16th-century Portuguese forts, and the museum of Muscat, the Bait Al Baranda. A little later, further along the Corniche (promenade), we helped the local economy at the largest souk in Oman, the Muttrah Souk.
We saw the Oman of ancient when we visited the brick-walled village of Bilad Sayt, nestled into the Rustag Mountains, and had a traditional lunch in a mud-walled building called Bait Al Safah outside the first capital of Oman, Nizwa. We spent the night about two hours from Muscat in a desert camp, Sama Al Wasil, which consisted of twenty suites and had another traditional meal Bedouin-style.
Oman is the best kept secret in the region. It is extremely clean, the people are kind and treat you like brothers and sisters when you talk with them, and it is totally unspoiled as a tourist destination. Look for even more interest in Oman, as Ambassador Holtz and the Sultanate of Oman have signed an “Open Skies” agreement.
Do your clients a favor, suggest a trip to Dubai for a couple of days, then a nice trip through Oman, and then maybe top it off with a visit to Abu Dhabi. Dubai is Las Vegas on steroids, Oman is Arizona-Arabian-exotic and Abu Dhabi is a real-life Disney World or Aladdin’s castle that has kept its natural heritage and culture intact. This is an adventure for singles, couples and families to enrich and enjoy the exotic that are usually the stuff of dreams.
To see some choices visit the Ya’lla Tours web site.
Remember, we can custom plan any trip for your clients, be it one person or a group.
Man, I really loved Oman.
Rich Davis, Ya’lla Tours USA Sales Manager, Midwest Region
Guest blogger Rich Davis is the Ya’lla Tours sales manager in the Midwest region.
A couple of weeks ago our fam group returned from the Arabian Peninsula, specifically the UAE and Oman, bringing with them some great stories and thousands of photographs that I’m still happily sorting through. For those of you not in the travel industry, “fam” is short for familiarization and a fam trip is a discounted trip offered by a travel supplier to travel agents to educate them on a particular destination, product or service. In this case, Ya’lla Tours is the travel supplier. Our policy has always been to work with travel agents, not directly with travelers, so we put a lot of emphasis on educating travel agents about our destinations, which can be tricky to sell to Americans (the Middle East, Cuba…)
The Arabian Peninsula is a new product for Ya’lla Tours, just launched over the Summer of 2013. So, in addition to travel agency owners, managers and senior agents, most of our sales team traveled on the fam trip. In the coming weeks, we’ll roll out impressions of the experience here on the blog, in words and images, from some of the trip participants. We’ll start with some random images just to whet your appetite:
DUBAI
OMAN
ABU DHABI
The Ya'lla Blog 