Best Trip Sweepstakes Ever: Win 8 World-Class Trips and Gear to Blog Around the World

Just remember when you’re off on the best adventures of your life that you heard it here first.

Seven members of the Adventure Collection will announce today their participation in a groundbreaking new online travel contest called Blog Your Way Around the World. Enter to win eight world-class expeditions spanning Africa, Canada, Central America, Europe, South America, Indonesia, and the United States—provided by some of the most respected adventure travel companies on the planet. In return, you will be asked to blog about your experience for your friends back home. What a sweet deal.

Contest prizes include whitewater rafting, bicycle touring, heli-hiking, polar bear viewing, bird watching, zip-lining, snorkeling, sea kayaking, as well as two five-star expedition cruises and an African safari. The winner and one guest will also receive a total airfare credit of $8,000 and a gear package provided by top suppliers, including Ex Officio, Teva, Smith Optics, Eagle Creek Travel Gear, Outdoor Photographer, AFAR Magazine and Gaiam. The total prize package, with gear, has a value of nearly $80,000.

To enter, adventure travelers must submit an essay of 400 words or less to Blog Your Way Around the World, then invite their friends to vote for them. Contest entries must be submitted by December 31, 2010, and the essay entry with the most votes wins. Contestants are encouraged to solicit votes via email and social media, including Facebook and Twitter. The winner and their guest will have until December 31st, 2014, to complete their travel, and s/he must agree to post blog entries prior to travel, throughout their travels and upon his or her return home from each adventure.

Each award-winning adventure travel company is offering a trip for two on one of their flagship experiences, including:

– Whitewater rafting on Idaho’s Middle Fork of the Salmon River with O.A.R.S., National Geographic Adventure’s “Best River & Sea Outfitter on Earth” and one of Travel & Leisure’s “Top 33” Adventure Outfitters.

– Polar bear viewing in Churchill with Natural Habitat Adventures, leaders in responsible nature travel and worldwide ecotourism for over 25 years.

– Heli-hiking in British Columbia with Canadian Mountain Holidays, the world’s premier heli-skiing & heli-hiking operator.

– Bicycling through the Czech Republic and Austria with Backroads, the world’s #1 active travel company.

– Zip-lining, surfing and wildlife viewing in Costa Rica with Off the Beaten Path, the leader in guided small group and custom-tailored adventure travel

– A life-changing Galapagos adventure with Lindblad Expeditions, pioneers of expedition travel, named in Travel & Leisure’s 2009 list of best small-ship cruise lines, “#1 Small Ship for Families” and Conde Nast Traveler’s 2009 Gold List for Best Cruise Lines.

– Expedition cruising in Borneo with Orion Expeditions, winner of the Cruise Passenger Readers Choice Awards for “Best Small Ship,” “Best Cuisine” and “Best Adventure Tourism.”

– A customized safari in East Africa with six-time Travel & Leisure “Best Tour Operator,” Micato Safaris.

For complete contest details visit: http://www.blogyourwayaroundtheworld.com.