By Katie Steckly Here’s a look at what we did today! From butterflies to chocolate we took in so much of the natural beauty of Ecuador 🦋 Make sure you’re following us on Instagram to see more of these […]
By Katie Steckly Our first full day on the Natural & Cultural Encounters in the Amazon tour has been a huge success! The group has ventured from Quito to Tena, where our guide Jerrell has already taught us so […]
By Leonard & Mary Friesen, South Africa Tour Leaders It’s no surprise that South Africa is on many people’s bucket lists. Where else can you take in two oceans, two world-famous Nobel Prize winners, Africa’s majestic “Big 5” […]
by Jack Suderman, tour leader January 24 We’ve had a very good, more relaxing day. We spent some time in the morning roving the pedestrian-only streets of Cienfuegos, with lots of vendors of all kinds. The group really appreciated […]
by Jack Suderman, tour leader Thursday, January 17, and Friday, January 18 After getting settled into our rooms, we had a nice supper together at a modest local restaurant, and everyone was in good spirits. It is 28 […]
Our tour leaders intentionally build community on all TourMagination tours and ensure that single travellers feel welcome. As an extra special welcome, we are pleased to announce that we are waiving the single supplement for the following three spring […]
By Len Friesen, tour leader I vividly recall the first time Mary and I were in Assisi. We arrived in the late-afternoon as the sun had begun to settle over the Umbrian plain. It was a cool evening in […]
Enjoying a luxurious cruise down the Danube. Enjoying a luxurious cruise down the Danube. Docking at Dürnstein, Austria for multiple tour options from cycling along the river, a stroll through the beautiful village of Dürnstein or a steep hike [...]
A beautiful day for cycling through Passau Germany. Historic Passau near the junction of the Inn, the Ilz rivers. For hundreds of years Passau has dealt with the surge of flood waters from the Danube River and in 2013 [...]
Greg and Terri chatting with Audrey before tour of Linz, Austria. Standing outside the balcony in Linz where Hitler addressed the crowds in 1938 during Anschluss (annexation of Austria...) Touring the quaint old city center of Strasbourg which has [...]
Dining room in the Klosterneuburg Abbey located in the Vienna woods. Len, Terry, Sue and Carol on the upper deck as the Amacerto passes through 1 of 18 locks we will enter during our cruise. A visit to the [...]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader Thursday, 4 October 2018. A final blog entry for TourMagination’s Russia and Ukraine Tours, 2018 I’m writing this from my home, which means that the wonderful Russia-extension to the equally wonderful Ukraine 2018 trip is at […]
Thursday, 4 October 2018. I’m writing this from my home, which means that the wonderful Russia-extension to the equally wonderful Ukraine 2018 trip is at an end. Most of us are back home by now, except for Bill who […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader I was in the Kremlin with our group today on the Russia extension. While there I kept seeing rather large groups of tourists come and go, often in numbers of 50 and more. I […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader Our last full day. I’ve been reading a verse or four from the Bible for each of our days in Ukraine and Russia. Each portion has been chosen to speak to that particular day, […]
Thursday, 27 September 2018 So we made it to St. Petersburg yesterday evening after a morning farewell to Odessa, on the shores of the beautiful Black Sea. Our routing to Russia took us after that through Minsk in Belarus […]
I’m writing from Bogota. We got here yesterday with no issues after a long day of travel. After a good night’s sleep, all were in good shape today. The spirit in the group continues to be strong and positive. […]
Tuesday, 25 September 2018. Odessa, Ukraine. It’s mid-afternoon here, and our first full day in Odessa. It’s also our last full day in Odessa. After a half-day city tour I now know that Odessa has been worth every bump and […]
Monday, 24 September 2018 A shorter entry today, but I want to report that we departed early this morning from Zaporozhe and arrived in Odessa by evening. It was a long day as we travelled on roads that (we were […]
Memories of Menno-ville, September 23, 2018 Here are some reflections from travellers on the Ukraine tour: I wanted to thank a woman for opening a church building for us, stumbling into Spanish, French, German before I remembered the words […]
Saturday, September 22 ,2018 Today was our “Zaporozhe and Khortitsa day”, which gave us the opportunity to visit the earliest of the Mennonite colonies in Ukraine. It is now set within a city (Zaporozhe itself) that was a Stalinist showpiece, and winner of both […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader Quick, what’s this a listing of? Lesser Kestrel, Ring-necked pheasant, Rock Pigeon and White Wagtail. How about Eurasian Collared Dove, Eurasian Magpie and the Eurasian Jay? Answer? Well, these are just a few of […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader Here’s the short course on what we did today: we spent the day touring one half of the former Molotschna colony, an area of about 20 by 30 miles, in southern Ukraine. But that sort […]
By Rod Zook, Tour Leader And we’re off! Everyone made it safely to the “starting line” in Bingen. Then we started by sitting together for several hours before and during dinner getting acquainted and getting ready to experience the […]
By Irene Suderman, Tour Leader Powerful, powerful day today. Varied, heart-tearing, inspirational, encouraging, marvelling, wondering, listening, learning and much more….. The day started with a visit to a penitentiary. Built for 1,000, it now houses 4,500 people. No photos […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader Here is when the full weight of this trip hit home for us as a group. We had left Kiev very early this morning via train for Dnipro, arriving at about noon today. After a […]
The day started out very misty at our first stop Grianan Aileach, an ancient fort (or a place of sun worship?) so the view of 2 lakes far below was a wall of fog! “We viewed the mist and [...]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader Wow. What an evening it has been. Before we knew it we saw the true Prince of Darkness visit Moscow and drive that city into pure mayhem. There was confusion all about, as if all morality […]
The cliffs of Slieve League - the highest cliffs in Ireland Glencolmcille was a place of sanctuary for St. Columba and it is a significant pilgrimage site. There are 15 stations for prayer and reflection. Some of the group [...]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader What a day! We started it with a tour of the very heart of Kiev (actually we started it with breakfast, and that’s not to be silly; it is more to comment on how […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader So our trip is up and running, even if one final couple is still scheduled to join us later today in Kiev. Here’s what is already clear from this group of TourMaginationites: We’ve gathered […]
Croagh Patrick 11 hearty souls attempted the pilgrimage up Croagh Patrick remembering the many pilgrims who climbed over these same rocks over thousands of years. It was treacherous and slippery due to occasional drizzle. 5 completed the pilgrimage while [...]
Clonmacnoise: an ancient Monastic site found by St Ciarán in 544. No original buildings. Cathedral dates to about 950 and the Round Tower to about 1150. Recently restored double arches at Clonmacnoise Friar’s river and Galway Abbey Tour leaders [...]
Schedule of Screenings in 2018 If you have ever travelled with John Ruth on a European Anabaptist Heritage tour you won’t want to miss his 90 minute documentary entitled Is There a Lesson?. During this 90-minute documentary, relive your memories of […]
Schedule of Screenings in 2018 If you have ever travelled with John Ruth on a European Anabaptist Heritage tour you won’t want to miss his 90 minute documentary entitled Is There a Lesson?. During this 90-minute documentary, relive your memories of […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader This is the day of departures. In fact, it has already happened as Lois and Nancy departed for the airport and a Durban add-on about 2 hours ago. There is a certain melancholy in […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader Today was a rather different day as we left the Cape for the winelands of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. Located about an hour north of Cape Town itself, the region is noted for its world-famous […]
By Shirley Redekop, Tour Leader Our days are winding down, but we are filled with the wonder of God’s creation. We have grown closer, and have new sister friends with each other and those we have met; at St […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader It’s not often that you get to stand at the bottom of a continent, but that was the case today for our tour group. Today was our day to drive down to the two […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader Today we visited Robben Island, 5 miles off Cape Town in the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The place and setting is full of contrasts. On the one hand, it is in a […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader 7 August 2018 This is our second day at Chisomo River Lodge, a 19,000 hectare peace of beauty on the outskirts of Kruger National Park. We arrived yesterday, but I didn’t send an installment […]
Our group of women continue to enjoy being together and get to know each other better as we travel. We gave and received many email addresses when we visited a family who have a library and school for Maasai […]
The Caring, Sharing, and Safari Tour for women in Tanzania has lived up to its name. We have spent 2 full days with the women of Arusha Mennonite Church along with Esther, another leader in the Church, from Dodoma […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader It’s amazing how much TourMagination tours always feel like family reunions when they gather. That’s how it felt today as we gathered in Johannesburg after a couple of sleepless nights en route. But spirits were […]
By John Sharp, Tour Leader The lovely and historic Wurtzbrunnen church in Emmental. After reviewing our unhappy history (many Anabaptists were scolded, fined and exiled by the Morals Tribunal here), we sang together. Afterward our host families took us […]
Do you live near Steinbach, Manitoba? Come to Pioneer Days at Mennonite Heritage Village, August 3-6, 2018. Enjoy a short dramatic presentation of a Mennonite migration story with TourMagination staff member Sandra Reimer on Friday at 3:00 pm or […]
By John Sharp, Tour Leader The Peace Oak of Salm, La Broque, France The bishop shook hands with the visitor, a military officer recruiting young men for the French Revolutionary army. It was 1793 and the revolution was in […]
By John Sharp, Tour Leader On the trail of Jacob Ammann for whom the Amish are named: Erlenbach, Thun and Bern, Switzerland. And today, Ohnenheim, Salm and St.-Marie-aux-Mine, France.
By John Sharp, Tour Leader Morning worship at Amsterdam’s historic Singel Mennonite Church: Afternoon and evening in Menno Simons country (Pingjum, Witmarsum and Berlikum in Friesland) with our longsuffering hosts Onijdes and Janje Sijtsma (we were late again). […]
By John Sharp, Tour Leader At Zaanse Schans, windmills are preserved, and in some cases, still used. In the morning we went to Asperen to learn and reflect on Anabaptist martyr Dirk Willems. After escaping his imprisonment, the iconic […]
We’re having a great trip so far! The weather has been excellent. We got to see Denali several times and we’ve seen a fair amount of animals out. It’s a good group and members of our group are enjoying […]
Total cost per person: $860 CAD; $690 USD Single supplement cost TBD What do “Double Occupancy” and “Single Supplement” mean for my tour fare? Tickets are selling fast so check with us whether there is still availability for this […]
Total cost per person: $930 CAD; $740 USD Single supplement cost TBD What do “Double Occupancy” and “Single Supplement” mean for my tour fare? Tickets are selling fast so check with us whether there is still availability for this […]
Trenton and our Maasai guide on our early morning guided walk at Tarangire. On safari in Tarangire National Park. The culprit who stole part of Ellie's lunch. All the grandchildren posing in front of a 1,000 year old baobab [...]
By Tom Yoder Neufeld, Tour Leader Friday, June 15. After a restful night on the ferry, we landed in Bari on the Adriatic coast of Italy, where we met our escort Ben, a very friendly American opera singer turned […]
By Tom Yoder Neufeld, Tour Leader Another whirlwind week, now the Greece leg of the trip has come to an end. It began with a “free day” in Thessaloniki, which we used in different ways. A good number of […]
By Tom Yoder Neufeld, Tour Leader We are now in Greece after an intense four days in Western Turkey, an area once known in biblical times as Asia Minor. We hit the road running, beginning our first day with […]
Guests will stay in one of two large lodges in the village, each with several bedrooms and one or two bathrooms. Sararo Lodge is pictured to the left. There are additional bathrooms in the bathhouse between the two lodges. The […]
Margie, Jeanette and Lisa at the ancient city of Hierapolis. Needing to stay hydrated in the heat as we explored the the newly opened site of the church of Laodicea. Special instructions as you enter an area where one [...]
We would like to extend our condolences to the staff at Bonaventure travel as they mourn the untimely passing of former owner Ruth Wiebe on Saturday, June 2 in Winnipeg. Ruth spent many years in the travel industry. READ […]
The above photo shows the spectacular view our group enjoyed from the top of the Horns of Hattin–the mountain in the Galilee where Crusaders from Europe were defeated by Muslim armies of Saladin in AD 1187. The Europeans were […]
Despite have had hiking plans undone by the heat, Peace Pilgrims had a rich and enjoyable day. From Nazareth we drove 50 minutes to Caesarea Maritima, ruins of the Roman city where Cornelius heard the gospel from Peter (Acts […]
Twenty Peace Pilgrims make our way down the Jesus Trail from Nazareth toward Sepphoris, the Roman city rebuilt during Jesus’ time. At bottom center a rock bears the white-orange-white stripes marking the path. This is our fourth day […]
It’s been hard to wait for the concert schedules to book tickets for performances that travellers will attend on the Marvelous Music & Culture of Germany Tour, September 19-30, 2018 with Rod Zook and Rennie Regehr. Here’s what professional musician Rennie […]
By tour leader Ingrid Reichard Jerusalem is the City of the Great King. It has an atmosphere of its own – at times it feels busy, crowded and commercial. At other times it feels as if it stood out […]
Waterloo, ON May 8, 2018 Recognizing shared values and an overlap between TourMagination travellers and Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) donors, the for-profit business and non-profit organization recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding signalling their desire to collaborate more closely […]
By tour leader Ingrid Reichard Today was our last day in the desert – we will never read about the Negev, the Arava, the Judean wilderness without feeling the heat and tasting the sand. We said good bye to […]
By tour leader Ingrid Reichard The Petra challenge behind us we travelled south along the King’s Highway (Numbers 20:17) all the way to the port of Aqaba in Jordan, where we made the crossing to Eilat. The crossing was […]
By tour leader Ingrid Reichard About 10 years ago the competition for the 7 modern wonders of the word resulted in the selection of the 7 New Wonders of the World. Petra came in second, just after the Great […]