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Announcing the winner of a free trip for two to Costa Rica

posted: Jan 28, 2013 by: with: No Comments

We’re settling back into our everyday routine after a weekend of fun at The Philadelphia Inquirer Travel Show, but we have one more piece of business we need to attend to. We collected names throughout the weekend to gift one lucky attendee a free trip for two to Costa Rica, and it’s time to announce the winner here on our blog.

We have randomly selected one winner, and the anticipation to announce the news is killing me. Drumroll please … The winner of our Captivating Costa Rica tour is Sue Dilella. Congratulations!

Sue, look out for an email from me soon with all the details on how to claim your prize. I’m sure you’ll have a blast. We’d love to feature your trip experience, and we’ll be in touch on how you can share updates and photos that we might post on our blog.

Thanks to everyone who braved the cold weather and snow to come out and see us at The Philadelphia Inquirer Travel Show. We had a great time, and will be sharing more takeaways from the event on our blog in the upcoming weeks. Stay tuned!

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Friendly Planet Travel Winner’s Circle: Dazzling Dubai

posted: Dec 6, 2012 by: with: No Comments

I’ve made seven different calls this year to a handful of lucky travelers to let them know they’ve won a free trip to a far-off destination, all because they “liked” and entered one of our sweepstakes on the Friendly Planet Travel Facebook page. But Elisa Kotin, our latest winner who will be going on a free trip for two to Dubai, might have been the most surprised of all! Listen to her reaction when I called her to let her know that she’d won on our previous post.

Once the dust settled and we let the reality of her win sink in, I asked Friendly Planet Travel blogger Caitlin to catch up with Elisa to find out a little bit more about her. As it turns out, Elisa has a true passion for traveling, and is extremely well traveled. She has been to 70 countries, and Dubai will be her 71st! Though she’s always wanted to go, Elisa has never been to Dubai — so this trip was a great match :-) .

Listen to the below podcast to get a snapshot of Elisa’s life, including how she felt when she won, why she’s grateful that she won the trip from us, her favorite places she’s been, what she enjoys most about travel, and more!

Elisa, I hope you have an amazing time in Dubai, and I look forward to hearing all about it when you return!

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And the winner of our ‘Be Dazzled by Dubai’ sweepstakes is …

posted: Nov 19, 2012 by: with: 3 comments

While we’re sad to see our “Be Dazzled by Dubai” Facebook contest come to an end, we’ve really enjoyed sharing advice and information about this magical city over the past six weeks.

Today, I walked into the office with a bit of a spring in my step, eager to pick a winner for the free trip for two! We chose one winner at random, and called to let this person know they’d won. So who was on the other end of the line when I made that call?

It was Elisa Kotin from Van Nuys, California! Elisa’s reaction when she found out she won was priceless. She couldn’t have been more excited, and her reaction truly made me smile. Hit play below to hear Elisa receive the big news.

Elisa even sent us a few pictures to show us how excited she was!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations again, Elisa! From all of us here at Friendly Planet, we’re so excited for you to embark on your journey to Dubai with us. We also want to thank everyone who entered. We look forward to doing more trip giveaways in the future, so keep your eyes peeled! You never know what destination we’ll be giving away next.

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Friendly Planet Travel Winner’s Circle: Taj Mahal Express

posted: Sep 17, 2012 by: with: No Comments
LUCKY WINNER: Stacey Foisy will go on a free trip to India!

We still have one more podcast interview to share with you from our Win the World Facebook sweepstakes. I don’t think hearing our winners tell us how it felt to get the call that they won a free trip will ever get old for me.

I asked Friendly Planet Travel blogger Caitlin to chat with Taj Mahal Express tour winner, Stacy Foisy. Stacey told us that she’s been bitten by the travel bug, and was researching other tour options on our website when she stumbled upon our Facebook giveaway. She knew she had to enter for the chance to win a free trip to India.

Listen in as Stacey describes what it was like to win, where she’s traveled to before, and what she’s most looking forward to seeing in India.

                                                                                                             

Thanks so much for sharing with us Stacey! And if you weren’t one of our six winners, I wouldn’t give up hope just yet. We might have a giveaway up our sleeves, coming soon. Stay tuned to our Friendly Planet Travel Facebook page, and you might just see a mirage in the middle of the desert!

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Announcing the final winner of our Win the World Facebook Sweepstakes

posted: Aug 7, 2012 by: with: No Comments
WORLD TRAVELER: Congratulations to
Stacey, who has won a trip to India!

Giving away free trips to travelers from all over the U.S. has been one of the most entertaining and exciting things I’ve done in Friendly Planet Travel history (and I’ve done a lot things in my 30 years since starting the company!).

But before we get to the end, we still have one more winner to announce in our Win the World Facebook Sweepstakes. This lucky person will win a free trip for two to India on our Taj Mahal Express tour. So who was our last lucky winner?
It was Stacey Foisy from Oregon! Listen in as I tell her what she’s won.

                                                                                                             

Congratulations to all of our winners – Jamie, Lillian, Shari, Stephen, Laurie, and now Stacey. We’ll be speaking to each of them once they return from their trips to hear how it went, what they enjoyed most, and what exciting things they saw while abroad.

This brings our Win the World Facebook Sweepstakes to a close. Awarding six all-expenses-paid tours to exotic destinations worldwide has been a fantastic experience for all of us here at Friendly Planet Travel, and we’d like to thank everyone who participated.

Keep an eye on our Facebook page, as well as right here on our blog, for more giveaways in the coming months.

Do you have an idea for a future Friendly Planet giveaway that you’d love to see be brought to life? Leave a comment below with what you think we should give away next. 

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The Friendly Planet Travel Winner’s Circle: A Taste of Ireland

posted: Aug 6, 2012 by: with: No Comments
WIN THE WORLD WINNER: Laurie Forrest is going to Ireland,
courtesy of Friendly Planet Travel!

A strange number calling you could be many things: a telemarketer, wrong number, or if you’re lucky it could be me calling to tell you that you’ve won a free trip as part of our Win the World Facebook Sweepstakes. That was the case for our latest winner, Laurie Forrest, who won a free trip to Ireland.

Before I get to Laurie’s story, I want to mention that we only have one more free trip to give away. So get to our Facebook page now and enter to win – it’s your last chance! And if we reach 20,000 Facebook fans by Monday, August 6 – the last day to enter our sweepstakes – every fan of our Facebook page who has entered the contest will receive a coupon for $100 off any new trip booked with Friendly Planet.*

So, to help us reach that goal (and get a coupon for yourself), share the link to our sweepstakes on your wall. For every one of your friends who enters our sweepstakes, you’ll get an extra entry into the contest for yourself. You can also encourage your friends to enter by using the “invite friends” feature on our sweepstakes app, or by sharing our Friendly Planet Travel Facebook page using the drop-down option under our cover photo.

Now back to our Taste of Ireland winner, Laurie Forrest. I asked Friendly Planet Travel blogger Caitlin to interview Laurie about what it was like to hear that she won a free trip. Going to Ireland will be Laurie’s first trip abroad, which is perfect because she’s always wanted to travel more. It warms my heart to give this experience to a deserving individual like Laurie.

Listen in as Laurie tells us about herself, what she’s looking forward to seeing in Ireland, and who she plans on taking with her.

                                                                                                             

I look forward to calling our final winner next Tuesday, August 7. Good luck to all who have entered!

*Coupon for new bookings only. Expires 8/1/2013. Coupon is per booking and cannot be combined with any other coupons, discounts, or offers.

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Did you win a free trip to Ireland? Find out now!

posted: Jul 2, 2012 by: with: No Comments

It’s been such a whirlwind to give away four free trips to four lucky winners over the past few months. And now it’s time to add another name to the winners list. July is here, which means it’s time to announce our next Win the World Facebook Sweepstakes winner. This time, a traveler and a guest will enjoy a free trip to Ireland — the Emerald Isle!

So I picked a name, dialed a number, and Laurie Forrest picked up. That means that Laurie is the winner of our Taste of Ireland tour! Listen in to Laurie’s reaction as I tell her what she’s won — she was so excited, she stopped me mid-sentence so she could tell her husband about her prize!

                                                                                                             

With our fifth trip awarded, we only have one more trip to give to one lucky winner, and our last giveaway destination is India! Make sure you go to our Facebook page, enter to win, and let your friends know that they should enter as well. The more friends you refer that enter, the more chances you’ll get for yourself to win.

Congratulations again to Laurie, and good luck to all our other travelers who are entering to win our free trip to India!

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Friendly Planet Travel Winner’s Circle: Update on Peru winner

posted: Jun 27, 2012 by: with: No Comments

Since there is still some time before I choose the fifth Win the World Facebook Sweepstakes winner, I thought now would be a good time to catch up with one of our past winners to see how her free trip went.

Our Friendly Planet Travel blogger Caitlin first sat down with our second Win the World winner, Lillian Mayes, to interview her right after she won the all-expenses-paid trip to Peru. In this interview, Lillian explained that she was most excited about visiting Machu Picchu.

We thought we’d bring Lillian back to tell us how her trip went and hear how she liked the Inca ruins. You’ll also get the inside scoop about what it’s like to take a Friendly Planet Travel tour. Listen to this podcast below!

                                                                                                             

Thanks for speaking with us again, Lillian. I’m so happy that you had an amazing time in Peru! I hope to see you again on another Friendly Planet Travel tour.

If you’re on the go, you can also right click on this link, and select “save link as” to download it to your computer and save it to your mobile device. And be sure to scroll down to see some pictures from Lillian’s trip.

Lillian’s tour group
Lillian posing with some Peruvians
Lillian and her husband at Machu Picchu 
Going on a horseback riding adventure
Visiting Lake Titicaca

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And the winner of our free trip to Turkey is …

posted: Jun 1, 2012 by: with: No Comments
TRIUMPHANT TURKEY: Steve Phillips has won
a free trip to Turkey!

You might think that I’ve lost some of my excitement over announcing the winners of our Win the World Facebook sweepstakes. After all, I’ve announced three winners already.

But it hasn’t gotten old yet. I was still as excited as ever to call a Friendly Planet Traveler and let that lucky Facebook fan know they’re going on our Best of Turkey tour — with a friend, for free!

This time around it was Steve Phillips from New York who picked up the phone! Here’s the kicker — Steve is going on a trip to Kenya with us next month, and his family purchased the optional extension to Istanbul!

What a coincidence! He’s going to have an opportunity to enjoy a taste of what lies ahead of him on our Best of Turkey tour. Listen in to hear Steve tell me about his upcoming Friendly Planet Travel trip, his two previous tours with us, and how excited he was to win!

                                                                                                             

Congratulations Steve! And for the rest of you, there are still more chances to win! Our next big giveaway is to Ireland. One lucky winner and a guest will get to enjoy the lush, green scenery and the friendly, outgoing Irish people that the country is known for. It’s easy to enter — just hit our Facebook page, fill out the entry form, and then refer your friends for more chances to win. Good luck!

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The Friendly Planet Travel Winner’s Circle: A Taste of China

posted: Apr 25, 2012 by: with: No Comments
GREAT WALL WINNER: Shari Ashley liked Friendly Planet,
and now she’s going on a free trip to China

If you’re anything like me, you couldn’t help but smile at Shari Ashley’s excitement when I told her she was the third winner of our Win the World Facebook Sweepstakes. What a rush!

Once everything cooled down, I asked Friendly Planet Travel blogger Caitlin to talk to Shari a little bit more about herself, what she’s most looking forward to seeing on our Taste of China tour, and other places in the world she hopes to travel to.

What we learned from the conversation is that Shari is quite the traveler — she’s been to Costa Rica, Italy, Egypt, and more! I’m so glad that someone who finds so much passion in travel will have the opportunity to visit another wonderful destination with us.

In the podcast, Shari describes her lifelong goal to visit every continent. Her next trip will probably be to South America, though she can’t decide between Machu Picchu or Iguazu Falls as her destination. If she chooses our new Sensational South America tour, she won’t have to. It includes both destinations in one great program, and new dates and prices will be posted shortly. So, take a look Shari.

Stay tuned, because we’re kicking off the second phase of the Win the World Facebook Sweepstakes on May 1. That means that EVERYONE will have the chance to enter again for three free trips — Best of Turkey, A Taste of Ireland, and Taj Mahal Express. So starting May 1, visit the Friendly Planet Travel Facebook page, enter your information (even if you already have before!), and your name will be in the pot to win! Hopefully I’ll be calling you on June 1 to let you know that you’re going on a free trip to Turkey!

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About Peggy

Peggy Goldman is a specialty tour operator and travel expert, who owns and operates Friendly Planet Travel, a full-service company that specializes in tour packages to exotic worldwide destinations at affordable prices.   More about Peggy

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