Seoul’s Namdaemun Gate … part of the city’s fortress wall.
Travellers’ Good Buys for the week beginning December 9 …
Immerse yourself in Korean cultural life by staying with a Korean family and experiencing student life at Kyung Hee University in Seoul.
The six-night Fun Korean Language Trip — organised by the Korea Tourism Organization and Kyunghee University’s Institute of International Education — includes a language-training program which teaches Korean through popular culture and accommodation with Korean families through the Koreastay program.
The package is available next January and February and again during July and August.
Prices are about $600. Email [email protected]
or visit http://www.visitkorea.or.kr
I’ve stayed in Melbourne’s classy, arty Adelphi Hotel several times and was saddened to hear about its potential demise.
I’m now joyed to hear that it will be refurbished under new ownership in time for its 21st birthday next year — and that it will retain its somewhat infamous glass-bottomed swimming pool that just out over Flinders Lane.
The new-look Adelphi will feature 34 rooms including the 90-square-metre Palatial Suite, complete with a main bedroom, lounge area and additional powder room overlooking Flinders Lane.
Phone 03 8080 8888 or visit http://www.adelphi.com.au
Abercrombie & Kent has combined luxury rail travel with a visit to Scotland next August for the ceremonial splendour and pageantry of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
It’s offering a weekend excursion out of London on the Northern Belle, with its individually designed carriages fashioned by marquetry experts, muralists and mosaic artists.
Prices start at $1420 per person twin-share, including accommodation in Edinburgh at the Caledonian Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
Phone 1300 590 317 or visit http://www.abercrombiekent.com.au
And talking of rail travel, Eastern European holiday experts Beyond Travel have introduced a selection of independent rail packages through countries such as Austria, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Russia.
The tailor-made holidays include first-class rail tickets, stays at boutique hotels, excursions and sightseeing options to suit individual travellers’ needs and platform greetings on arrival at each rail station if required.
The 10-day Three Imperial Capitals, for instance, begins in Prague and travels on to Vienna and Budapest. It is available from $1395 per person twin-share.
Phone 1300 363 554 or visit http://www.beyondtravel.com.au
Anantara Bophut Koh Samui Resort & Spa, long one of the most popular destinations on Thailand’s island of Koh Samui, has reopened after a major six-month refurbishment.
The 106 guest rooms are surrounded by tropical gardens, with some allowing direct access to the white beach at Bophut Bay.
Casual Asian fusion snacks and sushi are served poolside at a new cocktail bar, complete with bean bags, shisha pipes and sweeping views across to Phangan Island.
Dining on the catch of the day gets more personal, with guests meeting local fishermen at the end of the day and chatting with them about what the best choice is.
Phone + 66 (0) 5378 4084 or http://www.anantara.com
Discover Hawaii and French Polynesia — and enjoy a taste of New Zealand — on a fly-stay-and-cruise package from Honolulu to Sydney.
The Cruise1st deal includes a flight to Honolulu, a two-night stay at the Aqua Palms Waikiki and a 17-night cruise back to Sydney aboard Celebrity Solstice.
Ports of call include Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui, Tahiti and Bora Bora, Auckland and the spectacular Bay of Islands.
The itinerary departs Australia on October 3, with prices beginning at $3299 per person twin-share ex Sydney.
Phone 1300 596 345 or visit http://www.cruise1st.com.au
A joint venture between Expedition X and Goldfields Jet offers guests a combination of packrafting down Central Otago’s mighty Kawarau River and a thrilling jet boat ride back to base at the Goldfields Mining Centre.
The tours use 2.5-kilogram packrafts —inflatable wilderness boats that are carried into remote areas in a backpack, giving guests the freedom to explore and control their own adventure levels.
All transport to and from Queenstown, a gourmet lunch, full training and equipment is provided.
Visit http://www.expeditionx.co.nz
Four Seasons Hotel Sydney has introduced a new Full Harbour View Junior Suite as part of its range of accommodation options.
In addition to spectacular harbour views, the suites include complimentary Executive Club access for guests and up to three friends.
The suites features an open-concept living area that includes a lounge area, oversized sleeping and relaxation spaces, and an executive business station.
The suite is available from $595 per night.
Phone 02 9250 3100 or visit http://www.fourseasons.com
Package deals at Adina Apartment Hotel Canberra James Court for Gold and the Incas—Lost Worlds of Peru exhibition at the National Gallery.
Pay from $270 per night per couple, including accommodation, exhibition tickets, parking and catalogue.
Located in the heart of Canberra, close to the CBD and major landmarks including Capital Hill and Parliament House.
Valid to April 21.
Visit http://adinahotels.com.au
Discount fares to China with China Southern Airlines.
Pay from $728 return to 20 Chinese destinations.
Destinations include Xiamen, Nanjing and Qingdao, known as the Switzerland of China and home to the world’s longest sea bridge.
Book by December 24 for travel from February 10 to March 31.
Phone 1300 889 628 or visit http://www.csair.com.au
Summer holiday specials at The Retreat Port Stephens.
Pay from $600 per couple for four nights in a self-catering cabin.
Nestled in natural bushland 10 minutes from Nelson Bay and backing onto the biggest sand dunes in the southern hemisphere.
Valid January 6-31.
Phone 02 4982 1244 or visit http://www.theretreatportstephens.com.au
Book one passenger on Tempo Holidays’ 11-night Wonders of Egypt package and the second travels for free.
Pay from $3280 per couple ex Cairo, including a four-night Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan.
A traditional sailboat ride around Kitchener Island, visit the Catacombs, Pompey’s Pillar and Alexandria Museum in Alexandria, and a spend a full day touring El Alamein’s World War II battlefields and cemeteries.
Book by December 31 for travel before April 30.
Phone 1300 558 987 or visit http://www.tempoholidays.com
