Getting up close to the ice … kayaking in the Antarctic. Pic: World Expeditions.
Travellers’ Good Buys for the week beginning December 2.
Australian adventure travel specialist World Expeditions has launched its 2014-15 Polar brochure, featuring new voyages to Antarctica, The Arctic and Russia, including cruising, kayaking, diving, snowshoeing, mountaineering and, for the first time, polar snorkelling.
The 12-day Antarctic Peninsula Basecamp itinerary is normally priced from US$7300 per person quad-share but has been reduced to US$5840 for the March 4 departure on board Ortelius.
The vessel becomes a floating basecamp, with its fleet of zodiacs available to explore the rich diversity of wildlife that flourishes in the sheltered bays, clustered castles of icebergs and steep glaciers that characterise the shoreline.
Phone 1300 720 000 or visit http://www.worldexpeditions.com
New fully escorted tours from African experts Bench International include Sultan, Safari and Spice, an 18-day itinerary that combines Oman on the Arabian Gulf, Tanzania’s renowned wildlife parks and the exotic Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar.
Departing Sydney on February 11, the tour includes a range of excursions in Muscat and its surrounding desert regions, guided game-viewing drives in the amazing Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti National Park and three nights relaxing in Stone Town’s Serena Inn on Zanzibar.
Prices start at $13,950 per person twin-share, including return air fares, regional air fares in Africa, all accommodation with breakfast, all meals on safari, plus excursions, game-viewing drives and all entrance fees with professional guides.
Phone 1300AFRICA or visit http://www.benchinternational.com.au
Enjoy Japanese cuisine, culture, architecture, gardens, castles, spa resorts and traditional inns at cherry-blossom time on a 13-day escorted tour with Toursgallery.
The small group tour features authentic ryokan accommodation, where guests can relax in volcanic spa baths and feast on banquets of local taste sensations.
Japanese culinary delights are included at six banquet dinners.
Visits to Mikimoto’s Pearl Island and the historic canal area of Kurashiki add even more interest to the tour, which departs March 31 and is priced from $8250 per person twin-share.
Phone 1300 307 317 or visit http://www.toursgallery.com
Le Boat has established a fleet of rental vessels in Poland’s Masurian region — the land of a thousand lakes.
Many of the lakes are interconnected by rivers and canals, so it is possible to cruise hundreds of miles, stretching fromPisz in the south to Węgorzewo in the north.
Le Boat’s first base in Poland is located in Giżycko, which has a population of 30,000and is dubbed the country’s inland summer capital.
Visit http://www.leboat.com.au
Savings of $200 per couple are available on eight-day whale-swim holidays in Tonga, with nature lovers able to frolic with giant humpbacks which migrate to the warm tropical waters every year to mate and give birth.
Majestic Whale Encounters runs a range of whale-swim holidays in Tonga from July to October, with small groups staying in casual beachside fales on the idyllic coral island of Foa in Tonga’s Ha’apai group of islands, 40 minutes north by air from the kingdom’s capital, Nuku’alofa.
Packages include seven nights accommodation at the beach-front Sandy Beach Resort, one night at the Scenic Hotel near Nuku’alofa’s international airport, a welcome dinner, daily breakfast and lunch, five days of guided, boat-based, whale swimming, snorkelling gear, inter-island flights and transfers.
Prices are from $3500 per person twin-share.
Phone 0405 594 253 or visit http://www.majesticwhaleencounters.com
Explore fjords with towering mountains, glaciers and sparkling lakes plus cosmopolitan cities rich in history on Back-Roads Touring’s new 13-day Wild & Wonderful Scandinavia package.
Cost is from $7595 per person twin-share, a saving of $400 when booked by December 15.
Enjoy a culinary walking tour of Copenhagen, a guided tour of Oslo, a journey to the spectacular fjords stopping at Norway’s most famous waterfall Voringsfossen, and ride the Flam Railway — one of the world’s steepest railway lines — and a cruise along the Geirangerfjord, passing by the famous Seven Sisters Waterfall.
Phone 1300 100 410 or visit http://www.backroadstouring.com.au
Queenstown’s newest tourism attraction, the150-passenger Spirit of Queenstown,has taken to the waters of Lake Wakatiputhis week [Dec 3].
Spirit of Queenstown’s scenic cruises will travel across the lake towards Mt Nicholas and Glenorchy, with The Remarkablesas a stunning backdrop.
The boat has large windows and three outside decks, with a fully licensed onboard café.
Visit http://www.southerndiscoveries.co.nz
Gypsian Tours’ Tapas and Tagines, an 18-day exploration of the culinary delights of Morocco and Southern Spain, will depart October 4.
Guests will discover the labyrinthine alleyways of the ancient medinas of Fez and Marrakech, the bright blue houses and red-tiled roofs of charming Chefchaouen and the picturesque villages of Andalucia.
Prices are from $7459 per person twin-share. Book by December 31 and save 10 per cent.
Phone (07) 3372 4833 or visithttp://gypsiantours.com.au
Save on packages to Berlin with Mega Holidays.
Pay from $2086, including full-service return airfares with Air France and five nights accommodation at the three-star Ivbergs Hotel Berlin Messe.
Includes a guided day tour of Berlin by bike, taking in local landmarks such as the Brandenburg Gate, the remains of the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie and Deathstrip Watchtower and infamous sites of the capital’s dark days under Nazi control.
Book by December 20 for departures April 1 to October 31.
Phone 1300 234 909 or visit http://www.megaholidays.com.au
Save 38 per cent at the three-star Hotel Continental Venice.
Pay from $118 per night per couple, three-night minimum stay mid-week.
Overlooking Canal Grande, includes breakfast and wifi.
Until late February.
Visithttp://Wotif.com
Business Plus Package at Darwin’s Travelodge Mirambeena Resort.
Pay from $149 per night per couple, with complimentary upgrade to an Executive Room.
Includes free in-room broadband internet, a $30 food-and-beverage voucher for Treetops Restaurant and a complimentary newspaper daily.
Valid to March 31, excluding peak periods.
Visit http://www.travelodge.com.au
Summer packages at Allure Stradbroke Resort on Queensland’s North Stradbroke Island.
Pay from $825 for three nights in a one-bedroom cottage.
Includes return ferry transfer, midday check out and breakfast at the onsite Tiller’s Café.
Valid January 8-24.
Phone (07) 3415 0000 or visit http://stradbrokeresorts.com
