PIC: —Touring French Polynesia by freighter … Aranui 3 in Bora Bora. Image: Lionel Gouverneur.
Travellers’ good buys for week beginning October 7
Tahiti’s freighter cruise line, Aranui, will make its first scheduled calls to Bora Bora next year including a special Christmas visit.
Aranui is best known for its 14-day cruise adventures to French Polynesia’s mysterious Marquesas and the pristine Tuamotus but will also add two visits to Bora Bora’s famed blue lagoon during April and December 2014, with fares from $8799 per person twin-share.
Phone Ultimate Cruising on 1300 485 846 or visit http://www.ultimatecruising.com.au
Canberra district wineries will host their Wine, Roses and All That Jazz Festival on November 2 and 3.
More than 20 cellar doors will be participating in the festival and the weekend program will feature wine tastings, guided vineyard tours, feasting temptations and live jazz music.
A program of special lunches and dinners throughout the region’s numerous dining hot-spots will also be on offer, featuring locally produced classic and contemporary wines matched to fresh regional produce.
Visit http://www.canberrawines.com.au
Join the luxurious Crystal Symphony next March for a 14-day round-trip cruise out of Singapore.
Prices start at $7577 per person twin-share ex Sydney, including accommodation in a deluxe stateroom with larhe window.
The itinerary includes Penang, Phuket, Yangon, the Andaman Islands, Kuala Lumpur, and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Malacca City.
There’s also a one-night stay at Capella Singapore, set in lush rainforest on Sentosa.
Visit http://www.crystalcruises.com
Explore Cuba’s revolutionary history, including Fidel Castro’s headquarters and Che Guevara’s mausoleum, swim under waterfalls and trek to the summit of the highest peak on a 15-day adventure holiday from Explore Worldwide.
From just over $125 a day, the Revolutionary Trails package will take you from the faded colonial splendour of Havana and the UNESCO-listed central Cuban town of Trinidad to a trek through the lush jungles of the Sierra Maestra Mountains to Fidel’s 1950s rebel headquarters.
Prices start from $1888* per person twin-share.
Phone 1300 439 756, or visit http://www.exploreworldwide.com.au
Excursions that immerse snorkellers in moving pods of wild, oceanic dolphins have started for the summer season off Port Stephens, with live web broadcasts of the swims planned for early 2014.
Snorkelling swimmers are harnessed to a cable between the front bows of the moving catamaran.
Joining the dawn dolphin swims are marine scientists who help guide the tours and conduct research on dolphin behaviour and populations.
The cost is $269 for swimmers, including wetsuit and snorkel hire and a light breakfast, and $60 for observers.
Phone 1300 721 358 or visit http://www.dolphinswimaustralia.com.au
Princess Cruises’ Diamond Princess will offer three new round-trip cruises out of Sydney during the summer of 2014-15.
They are a five-night cruise to Melbourne priced from $869 per person twin-share, an eight-night cruise to Tasmania, including calls at Hobart, Port Arthur and Wineglass Bay, and a 14-night round-trip cruise to New Zealand over Christmas and New Year.
Prices for the latter start at $2779 per person twin-share.
Phone 13 24 88 or visit http://www.princess.com
A tour of the Kremlin, a visit to the Hermitage Museum, a traditional Russian lunch with a local family in Suzdal and a cruise along the canals of St Petersburg are all part of a small-group 10-day Highlights of Russia tour by Beyond Travel.
Prices start at $3795 per person twin-share, with five guaranteed departures between June and September next year.
Three days are devoted to touring the ancient Golden Ring cities of Vladimir, Suzdal and Sergiev Posad and there are comprehensive sightseeing activities in Moscow and St Petersburg.
Phone 1300 363 554 or visit http://www.beyondtravel.com.au
Discover some of Australia’s best fresh produce on a new market tour and cooking class by Kangaroo Island Source.
Join chef Kate Summer to wander through the market, where you will meet local farmers, growers, bakers, home gardeners and artisan producers, enjoy tastings and choose the ingredients for your cooking class.
You will then prepare lunch, while learning about gourmet food production with fine regional produce. After your hard work, relax and enjoy your lunch, overlooking picturesque Penneshaw with a local wine or cider.
Visit http://www.kangarooislandsource.com.au
Save up to $250 per person on a selection of Wendy Wu Tours’ fully inclusive group tours in China, Vietnam and India.
Pay, for instance, from $4170 per person twin-share for the 18-day Vietnam Panorama, including airfares. It travels from Saigon to Hanoi and also explores highlights such as the Mekong Delta, Hoi An, Hue and Halong Bay.
Includes accommodation with all meals.
Book by October 24 for travel between February 1 and June 30
Phone 1300 727 998 or visit http://www.wendywutours.com.au
WHAT & WHERE: “Shop till you drop” weekend getaways at Metro Hotel Perth.
THE DEAL: Pay from $220 per room per night, buffet breakfast for two and late checkout.
FEATURES: Bonus taxi vouchers to the value of $30 to take on your shopping trip.
WHEN: Fri-Sun nights until December 30.
DETAILS: Phone 1800 004 321 or visit http://www.metrohotels.com.au
WHAT & WHERE: Earlybird savings on European and American car rentals for 2014 and 2015.
THE DEAL: Save, for instance, up to 25 per cent in France and 30 per cent in Italy.
FEATURES: Bonuses include a choice of free GPS when renting a full-size sedan, or free upgrades from a compact to intermediate-size.
WHEN: Dates vary between countries.
DETAILS: Phone 1300 363 500 or visit http://www.driveaway.com.au
WHAT & WHERE: Discount flights to Rome with Singapore Airlines, plus accommodation.
THE DEAL: Pay from $2157 per person twin-share ex Sydney, including five nights at the three-star Hotel Marco Polo.
FEATURES: Bonus city hop-on, hop-off bus tour.
WHEN: Book by November 15 for travel from March 1 to October 31 next year.
DETAILS: Visit http://www.directflights.com.au
