You may have read about how Japan’s population is aging fast, creating challenges for older people in rural towns and villages. So it’s refreshing to hear how G Adventures is creating Homestay opportunities where travellers can meet older Japanese people in a traditional farming area, gaining insights into their culture, cooking and community, and helping the local economy.

Alfa Travel have a great range of UK getaways by coach this Spring with no single supplements for solo travellers in Leisureplex hotels up til April – and tidy savings too. From Blackpool to Bognor Regis, from Fort William to Weston Super Mare, with regional pick-up points, Alfa offers fabulous value.

Uber-luxury, truly all-inclusive European river sailings with Scenic are being offered at up to 40% off, with door/to-door private chauffeur transfers, for a limited time. The brand new 11-night South of France cruise, sailing to acclaimed vineyards and traditional olive farms along the Saône and Rhône rivers and including a private classical concert in the grandiose Palau’s de Papes, starts from £3,185pp on 12 October 2020.

Book with Celebrity Cruises by 3 March 2020 and you could receive up to an additional $700 to spend onboard on selected 2020 sailings – including those departing from Southampton onboard Celebrity Silhouette following her multi-million pound refurbishment. How about a fabulous 7-night sailing to Norway’s fjords on 9 May from just £1,026pp for an ocean-view room – and there are further on-board benefits available too.

Pink river dolphins – aren’t they incredibly rare? On this wonderful Viking sailing from the Caribbean all the way up the navigable Amazon, it was possible to get in the water and interact with these extraordinary creatures, which are almost blind and navigate by sonar housed in a bulbous projection on their heads. As this reviewer notes “it’s fantastic how they’ve trained the humans to feed them!”.

If you saw the spoof mockumentary ‘Borat’, you’ll be in for a big surprise on a Jules Verne tour of Kazakhstan. Once part of the Soviet Union, this is the largest land-locked country in the world and the reality is nothing like the film. This is a land of fabulous mountain peaks, dramatic canyons and ancient petroglyphs, while over the border in Kyrgyzstan there’s a fascinating wilderness of glaciers and wildlife trails.

The Anglo-Australian couple who run Hedonistic Hiking are passionate about three things: food, wine and walking. And over the last ten years they have built up an enviable reputation for small group (max 16) guided gourmet hiking holidays in Italy, Slovenia, France and Austria. Genuinely all-inclusive, these expertly-led tours feature boutique accommodation and exceptional food and wine.