Yough Pioneer Tours
Blog
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
Bridge to Nowhere – how NOT to get to North Korea
October 25, 2019 / by Alistair Riddell
Dandong, in north-eastern China, is a city of nearly a million people that has grown up around one of the few border crossing points between China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (aka North Korea). The border itself runs down the middle o …
Top 5 North Korean Food Blogs
October 25, 2019 / by Gareth Johnson
It’s now over 11 years since Young Pioneer Tours started taking budget tours to North Korea, and whilst there are many things we love about the country, one of the top ones is the food. Us and our friends have written a lot about the cuisine of North K …
Top 5 Street Food Blogs
October 25, 2019 / by Gareth Johnson
At Young Pioneer Tours we are all about food on our trips, and have written some great blogs on the best foods and snacks that you can eat in North Korea. But of course, food doesn’t stop in North Korea, and we like to get involved in grub wherever we …
Balkan Tours 2020
October 25, 2019 / by Joel Gallagher
The Balkans has a special place in the YPT Soviet Europe tour calendar. Since we started running tours there over eight years ago we soon fell in love with the hospitable people, the Balkan food and the incredible but often dark history. As a result, w …
5 ways to make Russian friends
October 25, 2019 / by Joel Gallagher
Working at the Soviet Europe office of YPT, one of my favourite parts of the job is breaking stereotypes about Eastern Europe, an area of the world still largely undiscovered by Western Tourists since the collapse of the USSR. A common stereotype I fin …
Soviet Tours 2020: 5 of the best
October 23, 2019 / by Joel Gallagher
Young Pioneer Tours have been operating in the badlands of the former USSR and providing Soviet tours for over ten years, so it’s safe to say we know our stuff when it comes to this part of the world. We decided to give you a rundown of five Soviet hol …
Saudi Arabia tourism FAQ
October 23, 2019 / by Pier Doyon
Everything you wanted to know from the first tourists in Saudi Arabia For a very long time, non-religious-related tourism just wasn’t a thing in Saudi Arabia. But then, suddenly, it opened up. In order to save the day with a cancelled tour to Iraq, YPT …
Taking the train in Saudi Arabia
October 23, 2019 / by Pier Doyon
It might not look like it, but Saudi Arabia is actually a pretty vast country! And while desert and sand is gorgeous, it’s not the most convenient when it comes to rapid transportation. However, with its great plan of infrastructure improvement called …
Flexibility is number 1: YPT unexpectedly organizes a tour to Saudi Arabia
October 23, 2019 / by Pier Doyon
The other week, as I was talking in a pub with someone, I was asked what quality was most necessary to being a YPT guide. I said ‘flexibility, adaptability and people skills’ (OK, that’s three qualities. So I cheated a bit). Little did I know that thos …
