Welcome to the Young Pioneer Tours blog about everything North Korea, and all of our other special off the beaten the track destinations.
Since starting in 2008 we have seen blogging about North Korea and our other great destinations as a great way to engage with our customers and to show the world a slice of life in the great destinations we visit.
Due to the mass amount of great content we create, as well as receive from our Pioneers we have since started our travel lifestyle magazine “The Young Pioneer”.
We’re always looking for contributors to our sites, so feel free to browse through our blogs, and , get in touch if you’d like to write for us.
Check out and subscribe to the YPT Blog and travel magazine
20 February 2015 / by Gareth Johnson
This year promises to be our biggest ever year on the international front, with a calendar jam packed with marquee tours from all the way to December! There are going to be a lot of firsts this year. We’ve added Turkmenistan to the calendar in October …
8 February 2015 / by Gareth Johnson
I would say it usually comes within the first hour of meeting the group going into North Korea, usually when we have beers after the orientation, or if its a quiet group on the train, and for those that fly into the country over beers in the …
6 February 2015 / by Gareth Johnson
“Quite possibly there’s nothing as fine as a locomotive starting across country in early morning, Hardesty thought. That’s when you learn that the tragedy of plants is that they have roots.” Winter’s Tail – On the morning of November 5, 2014 …
3 February 2015 / by Gareth Johnson
Westerners have largely avoided this ancient and beautiful land since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. With warming relations with and an increase of foreign visits in the last two years, this country is finally getting the recognition it deserves after …
29 January 2015 / by Eilidh Crowley
Other than an intermittent convoy of trucks it was just us, the sand dunes and a few patches of ankle high shrubbery as we drove through the Turkmen desert towards our most anticipated destination on this epic trip. Just after the scattered remains of …
20 October 2014 / by YPT Team
If you are interested in traveling to Malta, you should read this article to get the best out of it. It may not be what you are expecting. Figuring out where to stay in Malta is one of the most important decisions you will need to make initially, along …
10 October 2014 / by Gareth Johnson
Since 2013, YPT has been offering an exclusive tour of the Borderlands of the DPRK and China. A tour packed with amazing photography opportunities, the sight of Mt. Paekdu (Changbaishan on this side), intriguing chinese-dprk relationship and much more. …
18 July 2014 / by Alistair Riddell
My fascination with North Korea began in 2008 while studying for my masters degree in International Relation. I have spent the last 8 years peering through the window wondering what it was really like on the other side. I travelled to Korea last week f …
6 June 2014 / by Gareth Johnson
The recent news of a third American being detained in North Korea, or as it is correctly termed the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea will potentially throw up doubts for some people, particularly Americans thinking of visiting the DPRK. The latest …