VACATION DETAILS

London is undoubtedly one of the world's finest cities. In addition to numerous monuments from its more glorious past, London is equally well-known for its pageantry and tradition. London has something for everyone - wide boulevards buzzing with excitement far into the night, quiet squares and explorable alleyways. Visit this famous city's parks, museums, galleries, monuments, abbeys and churches, skyscrapers and ruins, Georgian squares. Take in such events as the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower, or the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, or even one of the many theatrical productions. Some of the most exclusive shops are found along Oxford, Bond and Regent Streets. An old favorite and one of the world's premier institutions is Harrods - offering everything from Chanel suits and sliced salmon to caviar and even pets.

The Maasai Mara National Reserve (Masai Mara) is Kenya's finest and most outstanding wildlife sanctuary where gentle rolling grassland ensures animals are never out of sight. The climate is gentle, rarely too hot and well spread rainfall year round. The sensation of the great wildebeest migration between July and October is unparalleled. The wildlife is far from being confined within the Reserve boundaries and an even larger area extends beyond the game Reserve. Centuries of close association with the wildllife has resulted in an almost symbiotic relationship where wildlife and Masai people live in peace with one another. The first sight of this park is breathtaking. There is nowhere else on earth to compare with this wildlife marvel. The combination of a gentle climate, scenic splendour and untold numbers of wildlife makes the Maasai Mara National Reserve Kenya's most popular inland destination.

If the thought of an Antarctic cruise holiday makes your teeth chatter, you might be surprised to know that, during the November-to-March season, temperatures usually range between twenty degrees and forty-five degrees Fahrenheit. Highs in the fifties are not uncommon. As a rule, the Falkland Islands are a bit warmer, with average highs in the fifties and lows in the forties to high thirties. Weather on South Georgia Island is harder to predict. Its rugged topography makes for highly changeable weather patterns, with dull rain followed by fine sunny days. Tie your hat on! Sudden, intense katabatic winds and short-lived squalls known locally as "williwaws" are a fact of life on South Georgia. What will you see on your Antarctic journey? Sights change rapidly during the austral summer season. Local flora and fauna must pack a lot of living into these few warm months, so each cruise departure is, in effect, travelling to a different Antarctica, Falklands, or South Georgia Island. November to early December offers the spectacular courtship rituals of penguins and seabirds, wildflowers on the Falklands and South Georgia, and the highest level of research activity. Mid-December to January see the emergence of penguin chicks and seal pups, escalating whale sightings, and longer days creating incredible light conditions for photography. February to March bring whale sightings at their best, blooming snow algae, and increasingly numerous fur seals on the Antarctic Peninsula. Though it isn't a passive destination, rest assured that travel to the Deep South doesn't require great physical exertion or feats of special fitness.

Cape Town is southern Africa's most beautiful, most romantic and most-visited city. Few urban centers anywhere can match its setting along the Cape Peninsula spine, which slides like the mighty tail of the continent into the Atlantic Ocean. By far the most striking - and famous - of its sights is Table Mountain, frequently mantled by clouds, and rearing up from the middle of the city to provide a constantly changing vista to the suburbs below. Table Mountain is the city's solid core which divides the city into distinct zones with public gardens, wilderness, forests, hiking routes, vineyards and desirable residential areas trailing down it's lower slopes.

Excursions

For many centuries, traders from Europe, India, the Orient and Arabia were lured to these shores. It was from here explorer David Livingstone set off on his last expedition into the heart of the continent. Today, as you walk along the winding streets of the old Stone Town, lined with whitewashed coral rag houses, you can see reminders of this rich history all around you. Visit the Palace museum, former residence of the Omani Sultans, and the cathedral that now stands on the site of the notorious slave market.

Excursions

Aside from visiting the pyramids near Cairo, Luxor and Al Karnak are places not to be missed when in search of ancient Egyptian monuments and artifacts. Luxor is on the southern part of ancient Thebes, Al Karnak on the north. Between the two, visitors can lose themselves for days in the hundreds of temples, chapels, tombs and gardens in the area. Too extensive to list all of them, a few of the tombs not to be missed are the tombs of Nefertari, Amenhotep II & III, several Ramesses and Tutankhamen.

New Orleans is a happy, high-spirited city with the pulsing beat of Dixieland jazz. It delights visitors with its riverboats, Creole cuisine, quaint antique shops and narrow streets of the French Quarter. While here, be sure to take a ride on one of the picturesque trolley cars. Eccentric, elegant New Orleans is strongly connected to both the Mississippi River and the South, but its identity remains aloof from any regional or even national affiliation. It reminds some visitors of European cities, in part because French and Spanish colonial architecture adds an Old World backdrop to some streets. But the feeling of foreignness goes deeper: The celebrated New Orleans atmosphere, cuisine, music, traditions and lifestyle are rooted in an embrace of the decadent and assimilation of the unconventional. New Orleans welcomes all, but is familiar to none, and the result is a city which attracts the romantic, the spiritual, the wild and the inquisitive—all while successfully promoting itself as corporate America’s playground. No matter what is expected from a visit to New Orleans, no one goes home disappointed.

Papeete, the modern and bustling capital of Tahiti and Her Islands, contains government offices, Gendarmerie, hospitals and clinics, banks and many other services dedicated to serving the population of the islands as well as tourists who come for a life-enriching experience to these magical islands.

Machu Picchu is a fortress city of the ancient Incas, in a high saddle between two peaks 50 miles NW of Cuzco, Peru. The extraordinary pre-Columbian ruin consists of five sq. miles of terraced stonework link by 3,000 steps; it was virtually intact when discovered by Hiram Bibghan in 1911.

The Great Barrier Reef is pure enchantment casting a spell over all. Stretching through sapphire blue waters of Queensland for over 1,242 miles, the Great Barrier Reef is the world’s most extensive coral reef system. It is also the largest World Heritage area, and the largest structure made completely by living organisms. The warm waters off Queensland offer some of the best boating and diving in the world. Diving the Reef is an introduction to a fathomless underwater world and thousands of brilliantly colored species of marine life. This diversity creates a kaleidoscope of color for divers, snorkellers, and people viewing from underwater observatories and glass-bottomed boats. Humpback whales swim up from the Antarctic to give birth to their young in reef waters. Six of the world's seven species of sea turtle breed on the Reef. High-speed catamarans take visitors to isolated areas which were previously only seen by a privileged few. Whether you sail, snorkel, dive or swim, the Reef is a marvelous place for recreation.

Easter Island is over 2,000 miles from the nearest population center, (Tahiti and Chile), making it one of the most isolated places on Earth. A triangle of volcanic rock in the South Pacific - it is best known for the giant stone monoliths, known as Moai, that dot the coastline. The early settlers called the island "Te Pito O Te Henua" (Navel of The World). Admiral Roggeveen, who came upon the island on Easter Day in 1722, named it Easter Island. Today, the land, people and language are all referred to locally as Rapa Nui.

The Cuzco (Cusco) region of Peru combines Inca legacy with Spanish colonial architecture in an atmosphere at once provincial and sublime. The chaotic marketplaces where campesinos barter grain or potatoes for multi-colored fabric belie the mute spirituality of the Lost Cities, where Inca stonework conveys order and balance. Such diversity enhances this inspiring nine-day adventure. The blue sky radiates with an intensity achieved only at high altitudes (the city of Cuzco lies 11,150 feet above sea level), while the landscape offers its unique pattern of exacting agricultural grids and tangled jungle masses.

Cairo and the ancient monuments of the Egyptian empire have fascinated visitors throughout the centuries. The mystifying Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza, over four thousand years old, stand majestically on the outskirts of the city at the edge of the desert. Cairo's Museum of Antiquities holds one of the finest collections of artifacts in the world, including the astounding treasures of King Tutankhamen's tomb.

Located in Northwestern Cambodia, Angkor, the Capital of the Ancient Khmer Empire was possibly founded around the Ninth Century AD by King Jayavarman II. However, the city reached its peak glory in the 12th Century under Kings Suryavarman II and Jayavarman VII. The most beautiful and most famous monument in the city, Angkor Wat, lies about one kilometer south of the Royal town of Angkor Thom which was founded by Jayavarman VII.

In the mid 16th century and early 17th century, Agra witnessed a frenzied building activity and it was during this time when the symbol of love Taj Mahal was built. The buildings made during this era were purely in the contemporary Mughal style and of very high quality which is still reflected in what ever monuments remain in Agra. The narrow lanes of Agra filled with aroma of Mughlai cuisine, the craftsman who are busy creating masterpieces with their skill all remind of the Mughal royalty which this city had once experienced. Today whatever remains, has become a major tourist attraction which has taken Agra again to the heights of glory but this time as a major tourist destination of India. Main shopping areas include Taj Mahal complex, Kinari Bazaar, Raja Mandi, Sadar Bazaar. the Gangotri at Taj Mahal Complex and the Up Handlooms, UPICA at the Sanjay place are two UP Government emporiums.