Ludus Pamplona Tours

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The Perfect Winter Gift: a trip to the London 2012 Summer Games AND a free pair of running shoes??

Sunday, November 27th, 2011

We are proud to announce our holiday promotion just launched at Track and Field Tours!  If you book your trip to the London 2012 Summer Games between now and December 31st, 2011, we will send you a free pair of Asics running shoes to stick under the tree for each package purchased!

What an awesome gift to give your track fanatic loved ones–a trip to the London Olympics and a free pair of shoes!

For more info on the winter promo and to get a step closer to your free pair of kicks, fill out the form here: http://www.trackandfieldtours.com/holiday.html

See you in London!

Congrats Ludus Tours on #2 Inc. 500 Ranking – Travel Company

Tuesday, August 30th, 2011

We are proud to announce some great news about Ludus!  We have just made the Inc. 500 list as the 2nd fastest growing travel company in the nation! Our dream of providing unforgettable experiences at our fans’ events is gaining momentum…

Thanks for everyone’s support, we look forward to working with you as we build into the future of more and more happy guests. Our tour in Daegu is currently underway for the 2011 IAAF World Championships, and we are having a blast so far with our group! Be sure to inquire about our other track tours coming up to Guadalajara for the Pan American Games, to Eugene for the 2012 Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field and to London for the 2012 Summer Games! Lot’s of opportunities for track fans to travel with Ludus to experience the best events in person…More information can be found at www.trackandfieldtours.com or by emailing info@trackandfieldtours.com

Here’s a link to our company profile on the 2011 INC 500 Travel list: http://www.inc.com/inc5000/profile/ludus-sports

Dramatic Finals – Day 2 Recap 2011 Daegu World Championships

Monday, August 29th, 2011

Day two of the 2011 Daegu IAAF World Championships (Aug 28, 2011) was full of dramatic endings and proved that everyone is beatable.

Starting with the Men’s 10K, Ethiopia’s Irbrahim Jeilan turned on an epic kick to run down Mo Farah in the final stretch—this one will go down in history. Farah appeared to have the gold until the final few seconds when Jeilan dug deeper and passed him for the gold. Strong performances by both.

Then onto the women’s long jump. The Americans were loaded with multiple medal contenders and potential going into the final but were devastated by a streak of fouls. Ultimately, Brittney Reese landed the best jump of the night to defend her long jump title and claim the first medal for the U.S.

Soon thereafter the U.S. secured two more medals in the men’s decathlon but it came down to the final event, the 1500M, to see where they placed. Trey Hardee earned his second consecutive world title in the overall decathlon, while Ashton Eaton fought for silver. In the 1500M, Eaton sprinted past the field to win the event by a long shot in a personal best time and Hardee ran fast enough to hang on to the gold.

And the last event of the night was the shocking “performance” by the infamous Usain Bolt of Jamaica in the men’s 100M final. Bolt was entertaining the crowd and cameras with his normal pre race clowning around while lining up for the final. Then they went into the blocks and Bolt jumped the gun, way before the race took off. The crowd was stunned and cameras didn’t seem to know where to focus—Bolt beating himself up or back to the start line for the event everyone came to watch. The race went on without him and gold went to Bolt’s teammate Yohan Blake.

Third night in Daegu, two days until 2011 IAAF World Championships!

Wednesday, August 24th, 2011

Tonight marks the end of night three in Daegu, which leaves only two days to go until the 2011 IAAF World Championships begin!!

So far there has been a lot to do in preparation for the tour group to arrive in South Korea. From exploring restaurants, markets and hospitality zones; to gathering tickets and checking out the venue at Daegu Stadium (quite impressive by the way!); to setting up local Korean cell phone and fine tuning details with transportation; to putting together some sweeeeeet goodie bags for our guests–it has been an exciting, nonstop adventure!

Be sure to check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/trackandfieldtours or Twitter at www.twitter.com/TrackTours2012 to get the latest updates from Daegu and the World Championships–we already started a great album of 2011 World Championships photos being updated daily!

For anyone yet to arrive in Daegu, here are some good tips noted so far:

1. Daily Drizzle: dress appropriately for the humidity and daily gloom/drizzles. Picking up a 4,000KRW (approx. $4USD) umbrella or poncho to have in your bag in not a bad idea!

2. Inexpensive, Efficient Transportation: so far getting around town is very easy–subway/bus are frequent and not very crowded (the event has not started yet though…) and taxis are very inexpensive. TIP: taxi drivers speak a lick of English about 1/5 of the time. It is best to get your hotel business card or for the front desk to write down the address/directions in Korean, so that you can present to a taxi driver. All taxis have a GPS and are eager to use it. No need to tip in taxis, or anywhere yet in Korea.

3. Restaurants: There are plenty of Korean, Chinese and Japanese restaurants around Daegu–many of the restaurants only have menus in Korean, thus a good tip is to stop into one and look to see if the menu has many photos of the food so you can point to what you want. Also, there are many American restaurant chains in town: KFC, Bennagins, Outback Steakhouse, Smoothie King, Baskin Robbins, McDonald’s, to name a few…

Almost all of the athletes competing are already in Daegu and many of them can be spotted grabbing food in town just as easily as they can be seen plastered on advertisements on store fronts or on the side of buildings…they are all around town! Get ready for an exciting 2011 IAAF World Championships everyone!!!! 2 more days….

Getting to Daegu…Planes, Trains and Limousine Buses!

Friday, July 15th, 2011

Flights are booked!

Today marks 43 days until the start of the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea! While 43 days is not a significant number, it does put into perspective how quickly this event is approaching and is a great time to secure your accommodation and flight plans for Daegu. Wanna experience it with Ludus Tours? We still have tour packages to Daegu!

I booked my flights this week for the trip and was pleased with the reasonable rates and how simple it was to secure the reservation! I will be heading to Daegu straight from another event in Austin, TX, so the multi-city round trip was booked for around $1,500 from Austin to Daegu, returning to home in San Diego. Total travel time is estimated around 20 hours each way.

Here are some tips for those of you looking to fly to Daegu for the Track and Field World Championships:

1. Try flight search engines like www.Kayak.com and www.Hipmunk.com, which can scan multiple airlines at once to help pump out preferred schedules and rates.

2. There are not many flights in/out of Daegu each day, so you might want to consider other South Korean airports such as Busan’s Gihmae (“PUS”, southeast of Daegu) or Seoul’s Incheon (“IIA”, northwest of Daegu).

3. If you fly into IIA or PUS, there is a high-speed train in South Korea called Korail Korea (or KTX) that can get you to the Dongdaegu Train Station (Daegu) within 2 hours. Rates are around $55USD each way, check this site for more information: http://info.korail.com/2007/eng/eng_index.jsp

4. Limousine buses are also available to take from the other airports into town, but will not be as quick. For example, from Seoul it will cost about $35 and will take 5 hours.

-Larkin

“What happened in Bath stays in Bath”

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011

Bath is just an hour and a half by train from London and has been an amazing surprise to my eyes! Inscribed as World Heritage Site in 1987 it’s a stone honey colored city, with a small surface and great green hills surrounding it.

Bath is taking the name from the Roman baths founded in AD 43 by the Roman conquerors who discovered the hot water springs in the area. It became a popular and fancy place in the 18th century as rich Londoners and not only, were sent by their doctors to bath in the hot springs in order to cure rheumatism and other sort of diseases.

Smart business men and great architects took advantage of its increasing popularity and started to build Palladian style houses & villas, create new commercial activities and promote cultural events to attract more wealthy families and give them good reasons to stay for longer periods. It became a fashionable city pretty famous for having great tailors, fun gambling venues, good theater ledgers and music rooms, gorgeous houses, assembly & ball rooms for social and networking happenings. “What happened in Bath stays in Bath” was already in use at that time, just to give you an idea of the type of life you could lead in the city…

It’s a day trip from London but if you want to submerge yourself a bit deeper into its history, organize a romantic break or just take some energy back from the hectic London life style that’s the ideal place!

My menu is:

- Free Walking Tour, in two hours you explore the city and get a perfect knowledge of its past and present!
- Roman Baths, a must seen as that’s the starting point of Bath fame. Buy a ticket at the Information Center for both the Roman Bath & the Fashion Museum and you’ll be able to skip the long queue!
- Pamper yourself with a typical afternoon tea in Bath at the Pump Room at the Roman Baths or browse the Visit Bath website and pick your place.
- Music & Art Festivals.
- Assembly Room & the Fashion Museum.
- Jane Austin Walking Tour. The British novelist was one of the most popular guests in Bath!
- Shopping is just great as you can find stores less crowded and stressful than London
- Go eating & drinking, try it all!
- Cotswold Way. Perfect hike to explore the English countryside, the Cotswold way is leading to Bath.

A great website to browse while planning your trip is Visit Bath and when you’re in town visit the Information Center!

Definitely add Bath to your list of things to do while you’re in UK…

Raffa

London newest attractions: Orbit Tower & Lee Valley Rafting

Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

Since in Ludus Tours we have become London official residents, we are able to check the progress of the Olympic Venues from very close!

Just a couple of curiosities we want to point out to you guys:

1) The Orbit Tower at the Olympic Park also described as “a roller coaster that’s survived a hurricane” has been elected as one of the World’s coolest new touristic attractions.

Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond are the two artists that collaborated on the 377-foot-high sculpture, designed for the 2012 Summer Olympics and meant to be ready by December this year.

To check this out with your eyes you could join the Ludus gang next summer… think about it!

2) The Lee Vally White Water Centre has been the first Olympic venue to be launched. Since April 22 thousands of people have started booking their rafting adrenaline experience!

Ludus Tours is going to be the next in to queue and will keep you posted.

Raffa

London: Olympic Sites & Restaurant Tips

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011

Lisa came to London for SportAccord. Not sure how many people she met and for how many hours she’s been talking without interruption but she survived! We had great weather by the way so she need to come back to get more of a local rainy experience (a bit different from Vancouver)!

We’ve been to most of the Olympic Sites, checked venues for Ludus Hospitality and tried some interesting restaurants that I would definitely suggest to anyone coming to London:

Camden Town / www.caponatacamden.co.uk: Great Italian food & wine with an area for live concerts
Bermondsey / www.villageeast.co.uk & www.thegarrison.co.uk: two funky places with great atmosphere and good food! Bermondsey has got at least 10 other really good places for atmosphere & meals!!
Portobello / www.firstfloorportobello.co.uk: candle light dinner, great staff & service, awesome value for money!
Chelsea / www.rossopomodoro.co.uk: Great Pizza! They’ve got real oven and different locations in town.

I’ve explored with my bike Greenwich and a bit of Southern London, but will tell you more later on. The London Marathon will happen next week end, Easter the following one, and the wedding at the end of the month. Good vibe in sunny London!

Raffa

USAV, Ludus Tours Announce Grant for Boys’ Volleyball

Tuesday, October 26th, 2010

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Oct. 19, 2010) – USA Volleyball is joining forces with its newest partner to offer the 2012 Ludus Tours Sport Development Grants to volleyball clubs for the development or enhancement of programming for boys, ages 14 years or younger.

Any USAV-sanctioned volleyball club that is in good standing with their Region and USAV is eligible to apply for one of five $1,000 grants. Only one club per USAV region will be awarded a grant. Grant funds must be used to develop new programming or enhance existing programming for boys, ages 14 years or younger. It is strongly suggested that the funds be used to create or improve youth leagues that cater to boys.

“It is a distinct pleasure to add Ludus Tours to our family of corporate partners. We know that Ludus Tours will provide USA Volleyball’s members and athletes’ families with a memorable experience at the Summer Games,” USA Volleyball Secretary General Kerry Klostermann said. “We appreciate Ludus’ commitment to volleyball at the grassroots level in the form of its Ludus Sport Development Grant.”

“As an organization, we went to the drawing board to figure out how we can help an organization like USA Volleyball,” said Adam Dailey, Managing Director at Ludus Tours.  “For Ludus, we wanted to look back after a few years and see progress from the elite to the grassroots levels and if we can contribute to that in even one small positive way, we’re contributing in a way that we’re very proud of.”

Applications will be accepted immediately and will be reviewed upon receipt. Applicants will be notified when the application is received and when a decision has been made concerning the application. Applicants should expect a response within 45 days of submitting their application.

Grant funds must be tracked and a written account of their use must be provided to USAV by July 1, 2012.

For further details and to download the application, visit: http://assets.teamusa.org/assets/documents/attached_file/filename/32380/2012_Ludus_Tours_Grant.pdf.

Victoria Whyte

PR Manager, Ludus Tours

Phone: 778-322-7474

Email: Victoria@ludustours.com

USA Volleyball, Ludus Tours Form Partnership for 2012 Summer Games

Monday, October 18th, 2010

USA Volleyball is pleased to announce its partnership with Ludus Tours as the organization’s “Official Tour Operator and Hospitality Provider” for international competitions, including the 2012 Summer Games in London.

As part of the partnership, Ludus Tours will provide custom fan packages for USA Volleyball members and fans. Ludus packages will include hotel accommodations, transportation, excursions and local guide assistance during the 2012 Summer Games.

“I used to play volleyball in high school and have always felt very connected to the sport,” Ludus Tours founder Jessica Dailey said. “Being able to partner up with USA Volleyball is a great opportunity for us to reach volleyball fans from around the country, including young athletes hoping to one day represent the United States. Ludus Tours is looking forward to working with USA Volleyball to make the 2012 Summer Games an unforgettable experience for its members and fans alike.”

“It is a distinct pleasure to add Ludus Tours to our family of corporate partners,” USA Volleyball Secretary General Kerry Klostermann said. “We look forward to this alliance providing USA Volleyball’s members and athletes’ families a memorable experience at the Games as well as providing quality services for other travel needs.”

Ludus Tours prides itself on offering flexible tour packages that fit all schedules and budgets. Through its partnership with USA Volleyball, all USAV members will be entitled to a discount on all travel packages.  Tours will specifically be catered to American volleyball fans and enthusiasts.

In addition to partnering with USA Volleyball, Ludus Tours is the Official Hospitality Provider for USA Taekwondo, USA Weightlifting and Athletics Canada.

About USA Volleyball: Founded in 1928, USA Volleyball is a Colorado incorporated non-profit organization recognized by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the Federation International de Volleyball (FIVB) as the National Governing Body for the sport of Volleyball in the United States.  USA Volleyball is responsible for both the Olympic disciplines of indoor volleyball and beach volleyball. USA Volleyball has over 260,000 registered members, 12,000 teams and 5,000 clubs nationwide. With an annual budget in excess of $11 million dollars, USA Volleyball supports the USA men’s and women’s senior national team programs, youth and junior national teams, national championship events, coaching education and certification programs, grassroots development, and programs for the disabled and Paralympic Teams. USA Volleyball has a rich tradition of success as evidenced by winning an Olympic medal in every Olympic Games since 1984 and capturing numerous World Cup, World Championship and Continental Championship titles. USA Volleyball is committed to and works toward opportunity for all to participate. It is an advocate for all Americans endeavouring to assure universal access to opportunities at all levels of the game.

About Ludus Tours: Ludus Tours specializes in tour packages and hospitality at the world’s biggest cultural and sporting events.  They offer travel packages to the 2012 Summer Games in London, the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, and Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany, among other events. Since 2003, Ludus has helped thousands of individuals, families and organizations with their accommodation and hospitality needs.  Ludus is the Official Hospitality Provider for various organizations including USA Taekwondo, USA Weightlifting, Athletics Canada, USA Volleyball and others. They are based in Austin, Texas, with offices in San Diego, CA and London, UK.