*********************************************************** August 24, 2010
New tour - West Africa’s Hidden Gems Departing on 27th December 2011 this new 40-day tour travels through Nigeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Cape Verde islands, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau More information
The first two weeks of West Africa’s Hidden Gems are spent travelling through Nigeria - and for people with limited time at their disposal we offer the opportunity to take this as a short-duration 17-day tour. More Information
The Horn of Africa - Omo Option Our pioneering tour to this remote region departing on 22 January is proving to be very popular and we already have sufficient passengers to justify its operation. As several of our regular clients who are taking this tour have already visited Ethiopia’s Historic Route (Lalibela, Gondar and Lake Tana) on a previous tour, we have arranged for their benefit an alternative tour to the country’s south - the fascinating Omo Valley, a remote area inhabited by more than twenty distinctive tribes.
Day 1 Tuesday: Sydney - Longreach - Morning flight from Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport to Longreach. Afternoon visit to the Qantas Founders Museum with a reception at the airline’s original base, followed by a cruise on the Thomson River and a drover’s extravaganza dinner at a waterhole. Overnight at Albert Park Motel.
Day 2 Wednesday: Longreach - Darwin - Morning visit to Stockman’s Hall of Fame. Midday flight via Tennant Creek to Darwin. Afternoon visit to the National Aviation Museum. Overnight Crowne Plaza Hotel.
Day 3 Thursday: Darwin-Lombok Island - Morning visit Darwin’s East Point Military Precinct. Midday flight to Mataram, on the Indonesian island of Lombok, Stay for two nights at the Pool Villa Club.
Day 4 Friday: On Lombok Island - Full day tour visiting Narmada Royal Water Gardens, a traditional blacksmiths' village, a native weaving village, and a Sasak village with its distinctive thatched huts.
Day 5 Saturday: Lombok-Yogyakarta - Morning departure for Yogyakarta for a visit to the Sultan’s Palace and an excursion to the great Temple of Borobudur. Overnight at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Day 6 Sunday: Yogyakarta-Singapore - Morning flight to Singapore’s Selatar Airport. Afternoon at leisure. Overnight at Raffles Hotel in Courtyard suites.
Day 7 Monday: Singapore-Bangkok - Morning flight to Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport. From the airport we take a luncheon cruise by converted rice barge on the Chao Phya River to the Oriental Hotel’s private dock. Afternoon at leisure. Dinner this evening is at the hotel’s exclusive Le Normandie Grill. Overnight at the Oriental Hotel in de-luxe river-view rooms.
Day 8 Tuesday: Bangkok-Rangoon - Morning at leisure. Afternoon flight to Rangoon for two nights at the Strand Hotel.
Day 9 Wednesday: In Rangoon - Full day sightseeing tour visiting the Sule Pagoda, Chinatown, Bogyoke (Scott) Market, Karaweik Hall Royal Floating Barge and the Shwedagon Pagoda.
Day 10 Thursday: Rangoon-Mandalay - Morning flight to Mandalay, where we take a luncheon cruise on the Irrawaddy River, followed by a sightseeing tour visiting Mahamuni Pagoda, Kuthodaw Pagoda, Shwenandaw Monastery and Mandalay Hill. Overnight at the Sedona Hotel.
Day 11 Friday: Mandalay-Kolkata - Morning flight to Kolkata. Afternoon sightseeing tour visiting the Victoria Monument and the Pareshnath Jain temple. Overnight at Oberoi Grand Hotel.
Day 12 Saturday: Kolkata-Varanasi - Morning flight to Varanasi, formerly known as Benares, and India’s holiest city. Afternoon sightseeing tour visiting the Golden Temple, Temple of the Bull and Sarnath, where Buddha preached his first sermon. Overnight at Hotel Radisson.
Day 13 Sunday: Varanasi-Khajuraho-Agra - Early morning cruise on the Holy River Ganges, passing the bathing ghats and the burning ghats where corpses wrapped in white linen or silk are borne on bamboo stretchers to the smoking pyres. Mid-morning flight to Khajuraho for a visit to the famous temples decorated with intricate and fine sculptures. In the afternoon we continue our flight to Agra for a stay of two nights at the Oberoi Amarvilas Hotel. Our visit has been timed to coincide with full moon, and after dinner we make a visit to see the Taj Mahal by moonlight.
Day 14 Monday: In Agra - Full day sightseeing tour including a second visit to the Taj Mahal and the 16th-century Mughal Red Fort of Agra with its many fairy-tale palaces built by Shah Jahan and two very beautiful mosques. We also visit the Jasmine Tower and the Itmad-ud Daula famous for its intricate inlay work.
Day 15 Tuesday: Agra-Muscat - Morning flight via Ahmedabad to Muscat, capital of the Sultanate of Oman. Afternoon sightseeing tour visiting the Grand mosque and Bait Al Zubair Museum. We then drive along the waterfront cornice to the colourful Mattrah souq and see the magnificent Al Alam Palace, official palace of his Majesty Sultan Qaboos. We stay overnight at the Shangri La Al Husn Hotel
Day 16 Wednesday: Muscat-Damascus - Midday flight via Kuwait to Damascus. We stay two nights at the Four Seasons Hotel.
Day 17 Thursday: In Damascus - Morning visit St. Paul's "Street called Straight", the House of Ananias, Omayyad Mosque, Temple of Jupiter and Saladin's tomb. Afternoon visit to the National Museum, Hammadiye Bazaar, St. Paul's Window and Azem Palace museum.
Day 18 Friday: Damascus - Ephesus - Morning flight to Ephesus. Afternoon sightseeing tour including the Sacred Street, Great Theatre, Library of Celcius, Temple of Hadran and the museum. Overnight at Korumar Hotel
Day 19 Saturday: Ephesus-Cannes - Morning flight via Split to Cannes. Afternoon sightseeing visiting the colourful La Boca district and the picturesque old town known as Le Suchet. Overnight at the Carlton Intercontinental Hotel.
Day 20 Sunday: Cannes-London - Morning flight to Biggin Hill Airport near London . We drive to nearby Croydon Airport Visitors Centre for a guided tour of the museum and lunch at the Aerodrome Hotel. Afternoon drive into central London for our farewell dinner and overnight stay at the Ritz Hotel.
Day 21 Monday 19 September: London - Our journey terminates after breakfast.
TARIFFS PER PERSON (share-twin)
One-way Sydney to London $ 42,500
Single room supplement $ 3,900
Two-way journey returning by Qantas A380 flight London to Sydney:
Premium Economy Class $ 44,300 Business Class $ 47,400 First Class $ 49,100
