You don’t need a passport or deep pockets to start 2011 with real vacation thrills at the Travel and Adventure Show at the Santa Clara Convention Center January 15, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., and January 16, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. For the price of admission, instructors will have you zip lining across the show floor, rock climbing, and scuba diving in a heated, 18,000-gallon pool. Just remember to bring your bathing suit!
The Global Beats Stage with on-going music, dancing, and cultural presentations, will whet your appetite for more distant adventures. Local chefs in the Fiery Foods Challenge will be whipping up international cuisine to test the limits of your taste buds, and world wines will be featured at tasting seminars noon to 4 p.m. Children can enjoy stories from across the globe in an interactive story-telling area.
Travel experts leading seminars include Pauline Frommer, creator of a new series of guidebooks for adult budget travelers; Jennifer Baggett, co-author of “The Lost Girls: Three Friends, Four Continents, and One Unconventional Detour around the World” and co-founder of LostGirlsWorld.com, an award-winning travel and lifestyle blog for women; and photographer Ralph Velasco, an international tour guide and author of “Ralph Velasco on Travel Photography: 101 Tips for Developing Your Photographic Eye & More.”
KCBS film critic and entertainment reporter Jan Wahl will talk about vacations at domestic and international movie locations. “Budget Travel” writer James Vlahos will give tech travel tips, talking about how smartphones and “Apps” can be a traveler’s best friend.
The Travel and Adventure show -the longest-running show of its kind in the U.S.—has been described as a vacation in itself. More than 150 travel exhibitors have signed on to help with vacation planning and will be offering travel deals available only to show attendees.
Travel and Adventure Show tickets online using Promo Code SCPR are $9. At the door tickets are $15. Children 16 and under are free. Santa Clara Convention Center parking is always free.