Lofoten Islands, Norway … beyond the Arctic Circle
Discover Norway by boat and rail on a 16-day independent tour through some of the country’s most picturesque towns and dramatic landscapes.
Pay from $3773 per person twin-share for Bentours’ Complete Norway roundtrip from Oslo, combining scenic rail journeys with an 11-day Hurtigruten cruise along the spectacular coast through the Arctic Circle.
Includes a ride on the famous Flam Railway taking you by deep ravines, snow-capped mountains and spectacular waterfalls, before cruising to the pretty Art Nouveau town of Alesund, the Lofoten Islands, Tromso, Trondheim and Hammerfest
Valid for sale and travel until December 28.
Phone 1800 221 712 or visit www.bentours.com.au
Stay five nights on your personal yacht in Lake Wakatipu while heliskiing New Zealand’s renowned Southern Lakes district with your own guide.
Then complete the ultimate rockstar week with two nights at the Queenstown Hilton, still being picked up each morning for more heliskiing.
Prices start from $8700 per person.
Phone Southern Lakes Heli Ski on + 64 (0) 3 442 6222 or visit www.heliskinz.com
After more than a decade of exploring New Caledonia by bicycle, Australian cycling-guide author Bruce Ashley will lead two bike adventures to the South Pacific island in August.
The nine-day Coasts, Waterfalls & Mountains tour is priced at $1830 per person, the 11-day End-2-End tour at $2246. The small-group tours leave plenty of time for activities such as snorkelling and kayaking.
A set of Deuter panniers is being offered free to riders who book before May 31 for the Coasts, Waterfalls and Mountains ride.
Visitwww.bike-it.com.au/NCtouring.html
And talking of cycling, the world’s longest off-road cycling track has been officially opened in Western Australia.
The Munda Biddi Trail extends 1000 kilometres from Albany in state’s south to Mundaring in the Perth hills, taking in tall-timber forests, bushland and scenic river valleys featuring a range of unique flora and fauna.
Visitmundabiddi.org.au
Princess Cruises will venture into South-East Asia when it bases Sapphire Princess in Singapore for a four-month season in 2014-15.
The 15 round-trip departures will include 16 ports in seven countries — including major metropolises such as Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and Kuala Lumpur, but also smaller, off-the-beaten-path resort destinations such as Penang, Ko Samui and Langkawi.
Fares start from $499 per person twin-share for a three-night cruise through the Strait of Malacca, while an 11-night Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia Grand Adventure costs from $1299.
Phone 132 488 or visit www.carnivalaustralia.com
Rocky Mountaineer kicked off its 24th season of rail journeys through western Canada with a couple of major new options.
For the first time, the company is venturing into the United States, enabling passengers to join the train in Seattle and travel north into British Columbia.
It has also added Lake Louise — often described as jewel of the Canadian Rockies — to the popular First Passage to the West route.
Visit www.rockymountaineer.com
Spend Christmas in Siberia and celebrate New Year in Moscow’s Red Square on a 28-day Travel Associates journey that starts with a week-long stay in Beijing before riding the Trans Mongolian and Trans Siberian railways to St Petersburg.
Highlights include an excursion to the Great Wall of China, a two-night stay in a traditional Mongolian Ger, a sleigh ride at Lake Baikal in Siberia and sightseeing tours in Moscow and St Petersburg.
The package is priced from $7585 per person twin-share.
Phone 1800 044 066 or visit www.travel-associates.com.au
Pure Tasmania has several attractive autumn and winter accommodation offers in the island state.
Get a deluxe spa roomat Hobart’s Henry Jones Art Hotel for$355, including daily breakfast for two, complimentary parking and wifi and a $50 credit towards dinner in Henry’s Restaurant. Valid for stays until 30 September 2013.
Or stay at Freycinet Lodge for$90 per person twin-share, including one night in a Freycinet or Oyster Bay Cabin, full buffet breakfast for two and a 25 per cent discount when dining in The Bay Restaurant. Valid for stays until August 31.
Phone 1800 420 155 or visit www.puretasmania.com.au
Tauck has unveiled a new 11-day journey to Patagonia as part of its 2014 Exotics program.
Prices start at about $6825 per person twin-share, including two internal flights. Accommodation includes the Singular Patagonia Hotel for exploration of Torres del Paines National Park, and Los Sauces Casa Patagonia, a five-star hotel located in El Calafate, a small, picturesque village on the shores of Lake Argentino and convenient to Glacier National Park.
Also included is a night in Santiago and two nights in Buenos Aires.
Phone Travel the World on 1300 950 622 or visit www.traveltheworld.com.au
Save $180 on Back-Roads Touring’s new 10-day Austrian Winter Wonderland package.
Pay from Pay from $3415 per person twin-share, departing Munich and travelling to Vienna via Innsbruck, Salsburg and Cesky Krumlov.
Features include gala dinner and concert in Vienna, historic Christmas markets, schnapps-tasting and visit to Andech’s Monastery where beer has been brewed since the Middle Ages.
Book by May 31 for travel between December this year and March next.
Phone 1300 100 410 or visit www.backroadstouring.com.au
Enjoy flexible itineraries on Beyond Travel’s escorted tour from Moscow to Vienna.
Pay from $3870 per person twin-share for the entire 19-day itinerary or hop off the bus in Warsaw or Prague after 15 or 17 days.
Full itinerary has sightseeing in Moscow, Novgorod, St Petersburg, Tallin, Riga, Warsaw, Krakow, Prague and Vienna.
Available until October.
Phone 1300 363 554 or visit www.beyondtravel.com.au
Enjoy a Luxury Health Retreat at Tugu Lombok, overlooking Mount Rinjani on the north-west coast of the Indonesian island of Lombok.
Pay from $US3890, including airport transfers, seven nights accommodation, full board and seven-day fitness program.
Fitness program will include morning bootcamps, beach exercises, outdoor yoga classes, treks, educational health seminars and health-oriented cooking classes.
Available June 8-15.
Visit www.secret-retreats.com
