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Welcome to Beyond Horizons Tours & Travel

Experience the difference.  Experience Beyond Horizons.

Beyond Horizons Tours & Travel offers Motorcoach Charters and Tours throughout Michigan and the United States. Planning a Wedding? Looking for a Winery/Brewery Tour? Need a Group Shuttle to an Airport? Looking for Transportation for your Athletic Team? This is what we do, and we do it well. We offer complete Tour Planning Services for Private Groups, Casino Groups, School/University Groups, and Senior Citizen Organizations. 

Call (989) 770-7077 today for more information.

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We love our customers. Feel free to call or email us.

Beyond Horizons Tour & Travel

588 W Pickard St, Mount Pleasant, Michigan 48858

(989) 770-7077 [email protected]

We are often out on Tours Making Memorable Experiences for our clients, please allow 24 hours for all messages to be returned.

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Our Background

Beyond Horizons Travel, LLC, emerged from more than 20 years experience of travel and of planning group travel to destinations worldwide. Our experience allows us to manage individual and group travel with ease and efficiency. Our knowledgeable and competent agents handle all facets of travel: hotels, cruises, vacation packages, transfers, and tours. We also promote fundraising travel ideas for nonprofit organizations. 

Beyond Horizons Travel, LLC, operates on the principle that service to others must be performed with excellence. We are committed to working competently to provide high-standard and personalized services to our clients. People are our most important asset, so we serve with dignity and integrity. Ultimately, we strive to develop relationships that will generate a loyal clientele. 

Beyond Horizons Travel, LLC, focuses on maintaining a reputation of trust in service to others. Our service is characterized by honesty, integrity, reliability, competence, and ethical principles.  We believe that each of these qualities contributes to our ability to attain the best results for your travel needs. 

Beyond Horizons Travel, LLC, believes that our goals are best achieved through interpersonal exchanges. We enjoy speaking  with our clients and getting to know them.

Please contact us for a personalized experience as we design a vacation that is totally yours to enjoy.

Our Services

Whether you're looking for a cruise, plane tickets, accommodations, or the whole package, we have you covered! Simple tell one of our specialists where you want to go and we'll help you figure out the rest. We work directly with other companies to get the best deals.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

While working with us, we want you to be completely happy with the experience. If you have questions about us, our services, or even travel tips, get in touch! We hope you continue to book with us for many years to come. 

Lanna Allison, President

Explore travel.

We believe travel broadens the mind and gives each of us a different perspective on life. To travel is to live. Get out and experience the world! You'll love it. 

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Explore The World

Discover unlimited beauty.

The team at Best Horizons looks forward to helping you find unlimited beauty on your next vacation. Karen and her team will help match you with the perfect trip, that will also help you discover more about yourself. Every trip is completely customized to your unique needs, with even the smallest details covered to give you peace of mind.

Whether you want to travel Europe’s most iconic and historic destinations, or cruise to the most tropical destinations on the planet, Best Horizon’s Travel is your passport to a stress-free vacation that you will never forget.  Karen works with the best travel partners in the world to provide you with a once-in-a-lifetime travel experience.

Professional Certifications & Affiliates

Proper training is paramount to the Best Horizons Travel Agency.  Not only does Karen get weekly training from her host Agency, KHM, but she has certifications, and affiliations,  that help her go above and beyond for her clientele.

What are you waiting for?

England’s Cathedrals, Abbeys, and Medieval Painted Churches

Artistic and Architectural France Cathedral Tour

Central Asia Silk Road Tour of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan

What to expect with far horizons, scholar-led tours, behind-the-scenes access, small groups.

Our tours have a maximum headcount of 14.

Unique Trips

Daily itineraries of tours are unique and noteworthy.

Trusted Partnerships

For more than thirty years we have donated to archaeological and other projects in all our destinations.

Customer Service

Allow us to assist you in discovering wonders around the globe.

We’ve given you a taste of what you can expect on each tour from an overarching summary, to a gallery of images, to a daily itinerary. You can read the biographies for each of our PhD Tour Scholars or read reviews from past guests who have traveled with us. We created a series of blogs that explore various sites, regions, and cultures for your enjoyment. That said, we pride ourselves on having a personal relationship with each of you. If you have questions about any aspect of a tour, we would love to speak to you and personally assist you. Whether you are interested in joining one of our unique itineraries or you are curious about having us create a custom trip you won’t find anywhere else, we want to hear from you, we want to assist you, we want to take part in creating lasting memories that you will forever cherish.

Explore the World

Blogs & Travel Guides

From Chartres to Notre Dame: The Riches of France’s Medieval Cathedrals

Top 10 Archaeological Sites in the World

A Journey Through UNESCO Sites of the Viking Age

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Meet Our Team

Whatever your travel needs – weekend getaways, escorted tours, family reunions, adventure travel, cruises, all-inclusive resorts, wedding & honeymoon travel planning, spa or golf retreats – you can rely on our travel professionals to make the necessary arrangements.

Lacey Veenstra-Gay

Lacey is a specialist in destination weddings and honeymoons and focuses her energy on creating exquisite and unique experiences for her clients. Lacey has also spent a significant amount of time personally traveling to Antigua, Panama, Mexico and Costa Rica and uses these experience to provide her clients with exceptional insights into the differences between the various destinations.

> Learn more about Lacey’s travel expertise and client reviews

603 13th Ave East Oskaloosa, IA 52577 Phone: (641) 660-9863 (By Appointment)

Aaron Groves

Aaron’s passion as a travel counselor is working with clients to plan their perfect vacation! Whether it’s a relaxing all-inclusive beach vacation to Punta Canta or a first-time trip to London and Paris , he will work with you on the details of the vacation you have been thinking about!

> Learn more about Aaron’s travel expertise and client reviews

Phone: (515) 965-3775

Leisure Travel

Make your travel goals a reality.

For over 40 years, New Horizon’s Travel has been working to make your travel goals a reality. From romantic getaways to family reunions to long-term countryside tours, we have worked with it all.

Personalized Vacation Experiences

At New Horizons Travel, we offer a wide range of excursions for vacationers. For example, we can create a vacation plan that emphasizes sightseeing and relaxation. But if you are looking for a more active experience, our team can find amazing food opportunities, local cultural touchstones, and hiking. It all depends on what you want from your vacation experience. No matter what you want, there’s a vacation plan for you.

Contact Us Today to Get Started

Horizons has been proud to serve the Concho Valley since 1980. We'd love to help you plan your next getaway.

Let's chat.

We are proud to be your neighbors. We have been helping people from San Angelo and the surrounding areas plan and book their favorite vacations for years. Let us help you navigate the world and help you plan the vacation of your dreams. ​

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1115 S Abe St

San Angelo, TX 76903

Call Us Toll FREE

325-658-2436, [email protected].

WELCOME TO TRAVEL HORIZONS

Discover the world through my eyes, read my latest posts.

Unveiling the Secrets of Paris: The Ultimate Travelers Guide!

The Maldives: Your Passport to Paradise

Budapest: A City That Captivates Your Heart

Exploring Vienna: Unveiling the Top Attractions

Hamburg’s Must-See Attractions: Top Picks

Amsterdam – 11 Hidden Gems You Must Explore

Flying cars are coming! Here's how they could change the way you travel.

If you'd told me a few weeks ago that flying cars will change the way we travel, I probably would have laughed at you. 

But when Elon Musk hinted there might be a flying Tesla soon, the internet started buzzing with flying-car news. And now people are talking.

“There's absolutely a sense that the time has come,” said aviation industry investment banker Joey Smith at Cassel Salpeter & Co . "Numerous well-funded companies are racing to build a viable production vehicle, and they could take to the skies as early as next year."

Check out   Elliott Confidential , the newsletter the travel industry doesn't want you to read. Each issue is filled with breaking news, deep insights, and exclusive strategies for becoming a better traveler. But don't tell anyone!

What's more, attitudes toward Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) – that's a fancy term for flying cars and other personal flying vehicles – have shifted. A new study suggests Americans, and particularly younger urban consumers, are warming to the idea of flying to their next destination. Even so, the definition of a flying car is a little hard to pin down. I'll explain in a minute.

Don't expect to open your apartment window and see a scene out of a sci-fi movie like "Minority Report" anytime soon. (You know, lanes of flying vehicles lining the sky.) It'll be a slow rollout, but it has the potential to change the way we travel like we haven't seen since the introduction of the jet engine.

'Flying feels different': Here's how air travel has changed recently

Air travel smells worse than ever. Here's how to fix it.

What kind of flying vehicles are out there?

Personal flying vehicles defy simple classification, which may be part of their allure. There are STOLs and VTOLs, quadcopters, octocopters and hexacopters. Some are electric, some are gas-powered. 

Don't be confused by all the acronyms. I think it's OK to just call them flying cars.

Right now, the ones generating the most noise are electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOLs). These aircraft take off and land like a helicopter. For example, Joby's air taxi service in Manhattan plans to use its eVTOL , which looks like an oversized drone, to shuttle passengers from New York to John F. Kennedy International Airport next year.

My categorization is a little unconventional, but here's how I see it: There are really just two types of flying cars. The first are cars that can drive on the road and fly, just like the ones in "Back to the Future." 

One of the most high-profile of these is the Model A being developed by Alef Aeronautics . It's an eVTOL that looks like a sports car. But once it takes off, the passenger cabin pivots and the vehicle flies sideways, which looks a little jarring but very cool.

The second type of flying vehicle doesn't even bother with the road. For example, the Lilium Jet is a fixed-wing aircraft and an eVTOL. But you won't see it on the highway unless it's making an emergency landing – so technically, it's not a flying car.

Like I said, these flying vehicles aren't easy to categorize. And it hasn't really mattered until now because you could find them only in aviation magazines and science fiction movies. But now there are serious discussions about flying cars, and developers have started taking orders. The future is almost here.

Flying cars aren't cleared for takeoff – yet

Don't get too excited. A few things still have to be worked out, experts say. For example, eVTOL manufacturers have struggled with several challenges. It's not just how to design lightweight aircraft made from the right composite materials and with adequate battery life. It's also piloting the flying car. Issues such as autonomous flight capability and pilot training have proven to be big barriers. 

There are also regulatory roadblocks. The Federal Aviation Administration, which has oversight of these new vehicles, has adopted a "crawl-walk-run" approach. And it's still in "crawl" mode. Last year, it laid down some rules for flying cars. Among them: They have to use existing heliports and they must have a human pilot. But there are no special traffic lanes in the sky for these vehicles yet.

The U.K. is also preparing for flying cars. In March, the government said it envisioned eVTOLs taking to the skies within four years . 

Observers are skeptical of the proposed timeline. Charles Leocha, president of the consumer group Travelers United , has worked on regulations for low-level unmanned aerial vehicles for the last decade. He said the wheels are turning slowly.

“The FAA is at least a decade away from allowing or approving any kind of flying car," he said.

All of that has made people reluctant to order a flying car – if they can afford one. Most vehicles can cost $150,000 to as much as $10 million.

"Prospective buyers are likely to hold off until regulatory barriers are dismantled," said Francesco Cerroni, a mobility expert at the design firm Buro Happold .

Pay less to fly: New strategies for finding cheap airfares now

Air travel may be about to get better. Here's what it means for your next flight.

Where to find personal flying vehicles now

If you want to see a flying vehicle for yourself, here's where to find them (outside of the movie theater):

• Lift Aircraft , which manufactures a single-seat eVTOL called Hexa, is offering test flights on its single-seat Hexas this spring. It's scheduled to be in Lakeland Linder International Airport in Florida in April and Austin in May.
• Early next year, you'll be able to hail an air taxi from Abu Dhabi and Dubai on a four-passenger Midnight aircraft. The eVTOL, operated by UAE-based Falcon Aviation , will cover the 81-mile trip in just 30 minutes. By road, the drive can take a few hours in traffic.
• There's even a flying car driving school. Netherlands auto manufacturer PAL-V will show you the ins and outs of flying a car. They even have a flying car showroom in Munich where you can buy your own gyroplane/car combination. (It'll cost you about $550,000.)

Bottom line: Flying cars remain rare. But change is on the horizon.

How flying cars could change the way we travel

High prices and continued doubts about the viability of zipping around town like George Jetson haven't stopped people from thinking about the future. Experts seem to agree that safe VTOLs with FAA approval could change travel forever.

"It would reduce congestion by removing some traffic on the road and create a new aviation sector, with new jobs," said Raj Rajkumar, professor of computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.

Flying cars could dramatically cut the drive time between destinations typically served by short-haul commercial flights. So instead of catching a shuttle flight from Washington to New York, you'd just fly there in your own car in a fraction of the time it used to take to drive.

But that's just the beginning. As these vehicles become faster and more affordable, they hold the promise of competing with commercial aviation. Imagine flying your family car from the suburbs of an East Coast city to Florida for your next vacation in less time than it would take you to go to the airport, get through security, wait for your departure, fly, land, collect your luggage and rent an earthbound car?

The thought of ditching airlines, with their awful customer service and addictive loyalty programs, may be the greatest promise of the AAV revolution.

If you'd asked me a few weeks ago if such a future was possible, I would have been very skeptical. Now, I'm just a little skeptical.

This is the second of a two-part series on the future of air travel .

Christopher Elliott  is an author, consumer advocate, and journalist. He founded  Elliott Advocacy , a nonprofit organization that helps solve consumer problems. He publishes  Elliott Confidential , a travel newsletter, and the  Elliott Report , a news site about customer service. If you need help with a consumer problem, you can  reach him here  or email him at  [email protected] .

eBaum's World

25 Fascinating Photos to Broaden Your Horizons

Posted: December 23, 2023 | Last updated: December 23, 2023

A fun collection of fascinating and odd pictures sure to make your day a bit more interesting. There is no shortage of odd, interesting, and entertaining things in our world, which can totally captivate your mind and pique your interest. So get comfy and enjoy this cool round-up.

Like our content? Follow us for more.

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Flying cars aren’t yet cleared for takeoff, but change is on the horizon

Travel troubleshooter.

This is the second of a two-part series on the future of air travel. Read part one here .

If you’d told me a few weeks ago that flying cars will change the way we travel, I probably would have laughed at you. 

But when Elon Musk hinted there might be a flying Tesla soon, the internet started buzzing with flying car news. And now people are talking.

“There’s absolutely a sense that the time has come,” says aviation industry investment banker Joey Smith at Cassel Salpeter & Co . “Numerous well-funded companies are racing to build a viable production vehicle, and they could take to the skies as early as next year.”

What’s more, attitudes toward advanced air mobility — that’s a fancy term for flying cars and other personal flying vehicles — have shifted. A new study suggests Americans, and particularly younger urban consumers, are warming to the idea of flying to their next destination. Even so, the definition of a flying car is a little hard to pin down. I’ll explain in a minute.

Don’t expect to open your apartment window and see a scene out of a sci-fi movie like “Minority Report” anytime soon. (You know, lanes of flying vehicles lining the sky.) It’ll be a slow rollout, but it has the potential to change the way we travel like we haven’t seen since the introduction of the jet engine.

What kind of flying vehicles are out there?

Personal flying vehicles defy simple classification, which may be part of their allure. There are STOLs and VTOLs, quadcopters, octocopters and hexacopters. Some are electric, some are gas-powered. 

Don’t be confused by all the acronyms. I think it’s OK to just call them flying cars.

Right now, the ones generating the most noise are electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles. These aircraft take off and land like a helicopter. For example, Joby’s air taxi service in Manhattan plans to use its eVTOL , which looks like an oversized drone, to shuttle passengers from New York to John F. Kennedy International Airport next year.

My categorization is a little unconventional, but here’s how I see it: There are really just two types of flying cars. The first are cars that can drive on the road and fly, just like the ones in “Back to the Future.” 

One of the most high-profile of these is the Model A being developed by Alef Aeronautics . It’s an eVTOL that looks like a sports car. But once it takes off, the passenger cabin pivots and the vehicle flies sideways, which looks a little jarring but very cool.

The second type of flying vehicle doesn’t even bother with the road. For example, the Lilium Jet is both a fixed-wing aircraft and an eVTOL. But you won’t see it on the highway unless it’s making an emergency landing — so technically, it’s not a flying car.

Like I said, these flying vehicles aren’t easy to categorize. And it hasn’t really mattered until now, because you could only find them in aviation magazines and science fiction movies. But now there are serious discussions about flying cars, and developers have started taking orders. The future is almost here.

Flying cars aren’t cleared for takeoff — yet

Don’t get too excited. A few things still have to be worked out, say experts. For example, eVTOL manufacturers have struggled with several challenges. It’s not just how to design lightweight aircraft made from the right composite materials and with adequate battery life. It’s also piloting the flying car. Issues such as autonomous flight capability and pilot training have proved to be big barriers. 

There are also regulatory roadblocks. The Federal Aviation Administration, which has oversight of these new vehicles, has adopted a “crawl-walk-run” approach. And it’s still in “crawl” mode. Last year, it laid down some rules for flying cars. Among them: They have to use existing heliports and they must have a human pilot. But there are no special traffic lanes in the sky for these vehicles yet.

The U.K. is also preparing for flying cars. In March, the government said it envisioned eVTOLs taking to the skies within four years . 

Observers are skeptical of the proposed timeline. Charles Leocha, president of the consumer group Travelers United , has worked on regulations for low-level unmanned aerial vehicles for the past decade. He says the wheels are turning slowly.

“The FAA is at least a decade away from allowing or approving any kind of flying car,” he adds.

All of that has made people reluctant to order a flying car — if they can afford one. Most vehicles range from $150,000 to as much as $10 million.

“Prospective buyers are likely to hold off until regulatory barriers are dismantled,” says Francesco Cerroni, a mobility expert at the design firm Buro Happold .

Where to find personal flying vehicles now

If you want to see a flying vehicle for yourself, here’s where to find them (outside of the movie theater):

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• Lift Aircraft , which manufactures a single-seat eVTOL called Hexa, is offering test flights this spring. It’s scheduled to be in Lakeland Linder International Airport in Florida in April and Austin, Texas, in May.
• Early next year, you’ll be able to hail an air taxi from Abu Dhabi and Dubai on a four-passenger Midnight aircraft. The eVTOL, operated by United Arab Emirates-based Falcon Aviation , will cover the 81-mile trip in just 30 minutes. By road, the drive can take a few hours in traffic.
• There’s even a flying car driving school. Netherlands auto manufacturer PAL-V will show you the ins and outs of flying a car. It even has a flying car showroom in Munich where you can buy your own gyroplane/car combination. (It’ll cost you about $550,000.)

Bottom line: Flying cars remain rare. But change is on the horizon.

How flying cars could change the way we travel

High prices and continued doubts about the viability of zipping around town like George Jetson haven’t stopped people from thinking about the future. Experts seem to agree that safe VTOLs with FAA approval could change travel forever.

“It would reduce congestion by removing some traffic on the road and create a new aviation sector, with new jobs,” says Raj Rajkumar, professor of computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.

Flying cars could dramatically cut the drive time between destinations typically served by short-haul commercial flights. So instead of catching a shuttle flight from Washington, D.C., to New York, you’d just fly there in your own car in a fraction of the time it used to take to drive.

But that’s just the beginning. As these vehicles become faster and more affordable, they hold the promise of competing with commercial aviation. Imagine flying your family car from the suburbs of an East Coast city to Florida for your next vacation in less time than it would take you to go to the airport, get through security, wait for your departure, fly, land, collect your luggage and rent an earthbound car?

The thought of ditching airlines, with their awful customer service and addictive loyalty programs, may be the greatest promise of the autonomous aerial vehicle revolution.

If you’d asked me a few weeks ago if such a future was possible, I would have been very skeptical. Now, I’m just a little skeptical.

The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times.

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Solar eclipse 2024: Follow the path of totality

Thinking of taking a last-minute drive to see the eclipse here's what to know.

Geoff Brumfiel

RV traffic sits at a standstill along a two-lane road near Madras, Ore., a few days before the 2017 total solar eclipse. Experts say traffic could be heavy, but eclipse watchers shouldn't necessarily be deterred. AFP Contributor/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

RV traffic sits at a standstill along a two-lane road near Madras, Ore., a few days before the 2017 total solar eclipse. Experts say traffic could be heavy, but eclipse watchers shouldn't necessarily be deterred.

NASA says that roughly 31.6 million people live in the path of this year's total solar eclipse, and a little under half of the U.S. population lives within 200 miles driving distance of the path of totality .

That could mean many millions of Americans will hit the road to get a better view on April 8. If you're still pondering whether or not you want to make the journey, here's what to consider.

Have some destinations in mind, and check the weather and cloud cover forecasts in advance

It's a good idea to scout out one or more locations within driving distance, so that you have some flexibility if traffic or weather is threatening your plans, says Jonathan Upchurch, a professor emeritus of civil engineering at Arizona State University who has studied travel around solar eclipses.

There are several interactive tools that show the path of totality, including Eclipse2024.org and the National Solar Observatory . You can use them to figure out what sites might work best for you.

In terms of weather, check not just the weather forecast, but also the cloud cover forecast. Some websites, such as Windy.com will predict cloud cover ahead of time, giving you a sense of whether you'll actually be able to see the eclipse in all its glory.

Everything you need to know about solar eclipse glasses before April 8

During the total solar eclipse in 2017, Upchurch says he chose to go to Idaho "because there were some great chances of having sunny skies, and I had the opportunity to be nimble and relocate if I wanted to."

Before driving into the path of totality, make sure your gas tank is full and that you've got everything you need

During the last total solar eclipse in 2017, it's estimated some 5 million people took to the roads, and those numbers will potentially be much higher this year.

Given all that, Upchurch says it's important to make sure you're taking what you need into the path of totality. You should make sure your car is gassed or charged up, and that you have plenty of snacks and water with you in case you get stranded for a while, especially when trying to leave.

Solar Eclipse 2024: Totality stretches from Texas to Maine

Simple tips to safely photograph the eclipse with your cellphone.

Also don't forget to bring eclipse glasses, which must be worn anytime you're looking at the sun, except for the few minutes when it is completely blocked by the moon.

Some state emergency planners also recommend bringing a paper map or road atlas in case cellular networks become overloaded with visitors seeking directions from their phones.

Don't forget your eclipse glasses everyone! Erika Goldring/FilmMagic hide caption

Don't forget your eclipse glasses everyone!

Arrive early and stay late

Once you figure out where you're going to watch the eclipse, and you've got your supplies, try to get there early. Although traffic is likely to be heavier than normal on the morning of eclipse day, it still should be possible to reach many destinations without too much hassle, says Upchurch.

"Leaving is definitely going to be more of a problem," he says. As the eclipse concludes, people will take to the roads all at once to try and get home as fast as they can. In 2017, that led to traffic jams that lasted many hours in some areas. If possible, Upchurch says, people should stay put for a while to try and avoid the worst of the post-eclipse rush, which in 2017 stretched even into the following day in some parts of the country.

Here's what time the eclipse will be visible in your region

And one more thing: If you do find yourself on the move near the time of the eclipse, state officials stress that you should not simply pull over to the side of the road or highway you're driving on. It's important to be parked legally and safely at the moment of totality.

If you're already in the path of totality: Relax and enjoy!

Several major metropolitan areas including Dallas, Indianapolis, Cleveland and Buffalo are already inside the path of totality, so there's no need to seek a better view, Upchurch says. You'll probably have the most fun simply staying where you are.

Shots - Health News

Watching a solar eclipse without the right filters can cause eye damage. here's why.

If you're on the edge of the path of totality, however, you might consider making a short trip to get closer to the center of the eclipse's path.

"If you're within about 40 miles of the center line, you'll have two-and-a-half minutes or more" of complete totality, Upchurch says. It's up to you to decide whether it's worth making the trip to a more central location.

Despite studying the potential hassles of traveling extensively, Upchurch says he's still looking forward to seeing the 2024 eclipse, which he plans to watch from Texas.

"Totality is absolutely spectacular," he says. "If you have a chance to witness it, I would do it."

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• eclipse 2024
• 2024 eclipse
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• total eclipse