Issue 38: Saturday, 31 May 2019
Luxury Spanish rail journeys
Just over three decades ago saw the birth of what is today the oldest tourist train in Spain: El Transcantábrico. Synonymous with elegance and comfort from its beginning, El Transcantábrico Clasico takes travellers back to the golden age of the great railway journeys. Timeless Tours & Travel has a special for luxury loving travelers over 55 – the 8 day Santiago de Compostela-Leon (or V.V.) Saturday Departures until October. You will save $675. Other journeys are available. More details here
Overwater luxury in Tahiti
Want to really get away from it all? On the west coast of Tahiti Island, the Sofitel’s luxury overwater bungalows at Tahiti Ia Ora Beach Resort have reopened after a multi-million dollar rejuvenation project. The floor features a glass panel allowing guests to admire the underwater flora and multi-coloured fish passing by. Each bungalow has a private terrace complete with deckchairs to take in the breathtaking Tahiti sunsets. Details here
Secret Retreats care for the environment
If you worry about the environment Secret Retreats is a name to remember. This company believes in responsible, sustainable tourism offering pioneering tours designed to give back to local communities. Examples include WOW Borneo’s Orangutan and Dayak Village River Cruises. By modifying traditional Dayak riverboats, the founders have enabled guests to visit flora and fauna of this pristine rainforest up close. Details here
Explore the best of Africa
Africa is a magnet for all travellers but there is a bewildering array of tour ideas on the market. Rhino Tours is a specialist –the company’s expert consultants use their first-hand knowledge on a variety of locations when creating personalised itineraries for over 15,000 travellers every year. The 13 day Cape Town, Kruger, Victoria Falls & Okavango Tour for instance allows you to explore the best destinations. Details here
Culinary tour of Morocco
If you love the idea of exploring Morocco – one name stands head and shoulders above the others. Carol Prior through her company By Prior Arrangement has been taking Australians there for many years. Food is an important part of the journey and next year travelers will enjoy a special treat – a tour in April featuring much-loved food and wine luminary Lyndey Milan OAM. More details here
Or, how about a pie back home?
The Southern Highlands of NSW is the place to be next month – if you love pies. There’s Dine with a Pie signature pie experiences at over 50 restaurants, cafes, cellar doors, pubs and hotels, the new Pies & Pinot and Sweety Pie & Bubbles trails around the Highlands, pie teas, pie-cycle tours – even a pie theme train trip from Sydney to Robertson and Moss Vale. More details here
Buckingham Palace welcomes you
From July 22 until September 29 you are invited to Buckingham Palace. Explore the lavishly furnished State Rooms and look out for some of the Royal Collection’s greatest treasures on display. This year marks 200 years since Queen Victoria’s birth so a special exhibition will tell the story of how the young queen transformed the Palace from a private house into a working royal residence. Book your tickets here
Russia, Dalmatian coast popular
Cruising the waterways of Russia and the Dalmatian coast are proving to be very popular choices for Australian travellers in 2020 according to Evergreen Cruises & Tours. In demand are two products – a 20 Day Imperial Charms of Russia and Enchantment of Eastern Europe River Cruise and a new 8 Day Islands of Dalmatia Cruise along the coast of Croatia with stops at Split, Hvar, Korcula and Dubrovnik among others. More details here
Toast Ulysses with a pint or two
From 11-16 June 2019, Dublin will hold its annual Bloomsday celebrations celebrating James Joyce’s modernist epic Ulysses, the events of which take place in Dublin on June 16, 1904. Not just confined to books readings and lectures, the festival spills out onto the streets of Dublin with Walking Tours and pub crawls to some of the watering holes he frequented in the city.
Details, http://www.bloomsdayfestival.ie/
Or, celebrate D Day in Normandy
All eyes will be on Normandy on 6th June, for the 75th anniversary of D-Day and the beginning of the end of World War II. European active holiday specialist UTracks’ new walking trip in northern France traces the historic sites of World War II’s Battle of Normandy. It joins in Arromanches, where the Allied forces established the artificial Mulberry harbour, and finishes in Bayeux, close to the Commonwealth Memorial and Bayeux War Cemetery. More details here
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