Welcome to the Young Pioneer Tours Blog, the place where we we keep you informed about everything YPT, from current tours, to future tours and a whole lot of eclectic stuff in between.
YPT first started blogging in 2008 and are considered the best North Korean Travel blog that there is.
But, as Young Pioneer Tours have expanded our locations, so have we expanded our blog. Now we have one of the best travel blogs in the world!
And while most of our content is about the numerous destinations we go, including travel guides and what to pack, we also delve into more serious subjects such as the safety of certain destinations, as well as how LGTBQ+ friendly the places we visit are.
While the vast majority of our content is produced in-house, we are always on the look-out for guest bloggers and writers. Want to write for us? Then simply get in touch.
You can also check out our sister publication YPT Life.
Check out and subscribe to the YPT Blog and travel magazine
17 October 2018 / by Gareth Johnson
Taking the Trans-Siberian train features on most travel enthusiasts and train aficionados’ bucket list. The train ride, spanning over 6 or 7 days depending on which train one chooses, takes passengers across the whole of Russia, from cosmopolitan Mosco …
17 October 2018 / by Alistair Riddell
Glorious Fatherland returns! After the triumphant return of the Mass Games, formerly titled “Arirang” and now called “Glorious Fatherland”, the DPRK have announced the games are back for 2019! The reinvigorated Mass Games have been a massive hit — YP …
12 October 2018 / by Pier Doyon
When it comes to visiting North Korea, most people choose to either fly from Beijing or take the train and cross into the DPRK via the border in Dandong. Once in a while, you’ll hear eccentrics saying they caught a flight from Shanghai. Returners wish …
3 October 2018 / by Gareth Johnson
Despite having lived in China for 12 or so years (a fact I sometimes bring up), I had up until recently done comparatively little travelling in the country. Xinjiang in particular had never really appealed to me; this could have been due to my innate t …
2 October 2018 / by Alistair Riddell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKWNRXwVmAY&feature=youtu.be The Mass Games make a triumphant return with “Glorious Fatherland”! It’s no news that North Korea’s iconic and world famous Mass Games is back in Pyongyang after a five-year hiatus. Forma …
28 September 2018 / by Alistair Riddell
We tend to get some interesting characters on our tours, but perhaps none more so than Dan ‘Tito’ Davis, a former drug dealer and 14-year fugitive from the US authorities. We’ve already spoken about meeting Tito previously, and our sister website theyo …
26 September 2018 / by Joel Vostok
A highlight of YPT’s Soviet Europe calendar is September 2nd, the day when Transnistria declared their independence from Moldova after a brutal civil war. Arguably the most important day in the breakaway country’s short history, no expense is spared on …
24 September 2018 / by Gareth Johnson
Dandong is genuinely one of my favourite cities in China for a number of reasons; the great weather in the summer, the beautiful views of North Korea, the excellent food, and frankly the utter sureness of the place at times. Can North Koreans leave Nor …
21 September 2018 / by Pier Doyon
If you ever travel to Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands or Myanmar, you might very well notice that a lot of people there have, let’s say, less than perfect dentition. This is caused by the betel nut, also known as the areca nut. The areca nut is the f …