Here’s some good news: the Uganda Wildlife Authority recently dropped the price of gorilla permits to $350 during low season, which spans March, April, May and October and November. With seven gorilla families in Bwindi and Mgahinga national parks, Uganda is a compelling safari destination.

The following travel companies offer treks to see the gorillas of Uganda:

Abercrombie & Kent—Untamed Uganda (13 days)

Abercrombie & Kent—Uganda Extension (5 days)

Sanctuary Retreats—Game Viewing & Gorillas (7 nights)

Sanctuary Retreats—Gorilla Tracking Adventure (3 nights)

Volcanoes Safaris—Gorillas in Bwindi (4 days)

Volcanoes Safaris—Gorillas in the Virungas & Bwindi (8 days)

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxurySafariExperts.com

Photo courtesy of Emerging Destinations

I’ve been doing a lot of online holiday shopping and recently picked up some nice travel gifts at Magellan’s Travel Supplies. When my items arrived, the box also contained a flyer about Magellan’s partnership with a nonprofit organization called SEE International.

According to the organization, 75 percent of the world’s 37 million cases of blindness are actually treatable, making the loss of sight a humanitarian emergency.

SEE International puts together teams of volunteer ophthalmologists to go where their help is needed, including places like Thailand, Mexico, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.

Since 1974 SEE’s eye surgeons have performed more than 360,000 sight-storing procedures.

Magellan’s has been a corporate partner of SEE International for over 20 years, providing travel kits for surgeons as well as advertising outreach to its customers.

Expeditions to the following countries are scheduled for 2010: Swaziland, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Ghana, The Gambia, Nigeria, Namibia, and Kenya.

Donations are tax deductible and may be made online via a secure server. Visit See International’s website or call 1-(805)963‑3303 and mention that you heard about the organization from Magellan’s Travel Supplies.

Surgical Eye Expeditions (SEE) International is a 501©(3) nonprofit organization. Tax ID #31–1682275.

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxurySafariExperts.com

Photo of Maasai woman and child courtesy of iStockPhoto.com

Well, it’s finally our turn! The 2009 Travel Bloggers’ Caravan wraps up today at LuxurySafariExperts.com. It’s been a fun two weeks and I’ve discovered a lot of new travel blogs to watch throughout 2010. We hope you did too!

Today’s giveaway—a pair of Able Planet folding noise-cancelling headphones—is courtesy of Magellan’s Travel Supplies. If you still need to pick up some last-minute holiday gits, check out their website. Magellan’s offers some unique and very useful items for travelers.

If you’re traveling to Africa next year, you’ll want a pair of noise-reduction headphones. They dramatically cut back on airplane noise so you can listen to music or a movie in comfort. I tend to watch several movies on long-haul flights and noise-cancelling headphones have saved the day on more than one occasion.

Win a Pair of Able Planet Folding Noise-Cancelling Headphones

One lucky reader will be randomly chosen from all eligible entries to win a pair of Able Planet Noise-Cancelling Headphones. Contest starts at midnight on December 15 and ends the same day at 11:59 pm. You must have a mailing address within the United States in order to be eligible to enter and win.

How to Enter

Comment on this post between 12:00 am (midnight) and 11:59 pm on December 15, 2009. You’ll need to include your e-mail address so I may make contact if you are the winner. Good luck!

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxurySafariExperts.com

Today’s stop on the Travel Bloggers’ Caravan is: EuropeUpClose.com. Visit the blog and comment on today’s post for a chance to win a Fujifilm FinePix J28 10MP digital camera with 3x optical zoom.

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxurySafariExperts.com

Today’s stop on the Travel Bloggers’ Caravan is: MyItchyTravelFeet.com. Visit the blog and comment on today’s post for a chance to win two great prizes: a $50 Barnes & Noble gift card, which may be used at any Barnes & Noble store or online at BarnesandNoble.com, and a “Library Edition” of the most recent season of “Rudy Maxa’s World”, including six DVDs containing 13 shows on destinations in India, Turkey, Japan, Thailand, St. Petersburg, Estonia, and Argentina ($112 value).

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxurySafariExperts.com

Today’s stop on the Travel Bloggers’ Caravan is: EllenBarone.com. Visit the blog and comment on today’s post for a chance to win a day pack from First Ascent, a new extreme adventure line of gear and clothing form Eddie Bauer and partners.

In addition, ExOfficio will be providing the ultimate travel ensemble! You could be trekking the globe in the latest ExOfficio outfit including; 1 Shirt, 1 Pair of Pants and 1 Pair of ExOfficio Underwear. (approximately $200 value)

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxurySafariExperts.com

Today’s stop on the Travel Bloggers’ Caravan is: CruiseDiva.com. Visit the blog and comment on today’s post for a chance to win a copy of Fodor’s The Complete Guide to Caribbean Cruises and a World Grounding Adaptor Set courtesy of Magellan’s Travel Supplies.

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxurySafariExperts.com

Today’s stop on the Travel Bloggers’ Caravan is: JtheTravelAuthority.com. Visit the blog and comment on today’s post for a chance to win a Mountainsmith Tour FX camera bag.

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxurySafariExperts.com

Today’s stop on the Travel Bloggers’ Caravan is: What a Trip. Visit the blog and comment on today’s post for a chance to win an Otterbox cell phone case or a Briggs and Riley Baseline 20-inch carry-on expandable wide-body upright suitcase.

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxurySafariExperts.com

Today’s stop on the Travel Bloggers’ Caravan is: JohnnyJet.com. Visit the blog and comment on today’s post for a chance to win Alaska and Seattle Toursaver books and a $50 Magellan’s Travel Supplies gift certificate.

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxurySafariExperts.com