Latest News from our Partners

Why not have a “Winter Escape Cruise” in the New year with prices starting from just £1,422.
In January, Azamara will be sailing to Hawaii and the smaller islands of French Polynesia. The following month travel around South America and in March, Quest will be sailing around the Middle East where we have a Dubai round-trip sailing giving you an overnight stay in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Muscat with more time for shore excursions and exploring.

Our friends at Cycling for Softies – the gentle way to explore beautiful locations by bike – have just introduced the South Tyrol as a new destination.
Their week-long Valleys of the Dolomites is an incredibly scenic tour through the dramatic mountain landscapes in the South Tyrolean Alps. This tour helps you to get a feel for rural Italian life. You can either stick to the cycle paths that are mostly downhill or challenge yourself on uphill routes. Pedal through the Caldaro vineyards, stopping for a wine tasting as well as leisurely lunches in mountain restaurants. We highly recommend taking your bikes on the funicular for beautiful views over the valley and traditional villages below.
Their 7-night Cycling the South Tyrol and Lake Garda takes you through dramatic mountain terrain and the shimmering flat waters of Lake Garda. You’ll discover old-world villages in the hills and vibrant cities brimming with culture, history and great gastronomy. The cycle route is mainly along valley bike paths, but as there are a few inclines, we suggest using an e-bike if you want to keep it easy all the way.

There is still time to save up to £1,000 per person when you book a 2020 luxury river cruise with AmaWaterways. Free flights and transfers are also being offered.
All European cruises departing in 2020 are offered with savings of between £400 and £1,000 per person, plus free return flights from a choice of six UK departure airports and overseas transfers. The level of saving varies from month to month with the maximum £1,000 available for departures in March, April, November and December 2020.
Meanwhile, guests booking a Mekong cruise will enjoy savings of £400 or £800 per person, depending on the time of year (flights and transfers not included).
The promotion is available for bookings made until 31st December 2019.

A very warm welcome to our latest partner Traveleyes who offer award-winning small and sociable group holidays to destinations worldwide. But these are no ordinary group holidays. Traveleyes groups are a mixture of both blind and sighted travellers.
As a sighted traveller, they simply ask that you share your sight by describing the wonderful world around you. You won’t need any experience of blindness and, as an added benefit, they subsidise the cost of your holiday by up to 50%. Solos, couples and groups of freinds are all welcome.
As a blind traveller, you’re able to book a holiday with the same freedom and independence that sighted people have always enjoyed. What’s more, you don’t have to bring anyone with you, as you will be joining a group of like-minded explorers.

In the next year Shearings Holidays are travelling to more places than ever before on river cruises. With more unique experiences and beautiful towns, cities and landscapes than ever before as well as a new range of 5-star cruises and worldwide destinations.
With cruises throughout the year, whether you want to see the Rhine or the Danube in full festive spirit, or you fancy experiencing the beauty of the Iberian peninsula in the gorgeous spring sun.
They travel on 13 of Europe’s grandest and most popular rivers and six across Africa, Asia and South America. With more than 60 different river voyages, there’s plenty to choose from enabling you to find the right itinerary to let you see everything you want during your time away.

In addition to taking people to everyday appointments and day trips, our partner Driving Miss Daisy offers a whole range of holiday services including chauffeur-driven tours in the UK with a safe and reliable companion driver.
Driver Suzy recently accompanied Peter on a tour of Cornwall that included the Eden Project, the Tank Museum and Mevagissey. Peter says,
“The Eden Project was super, we spent nearly six hours there including eating, there is something amazing round every corner, very up and down though, you descend into the base of the quarry, then enter the Bio-domes and slowly make your way up inside to the very top, passing waterfalls and sculptures… my scooter saved the day for me, I certainly couldn’t have managed without it”. Peter is a regular user of Driving Miss Daisy. In this video he expains how their services have transformed his life:

 

Join Masterchef’s John Torode in Australia’s the Kimberley with our partner APT in May next year. John has a week’s residency at the wonderfully named Bungle Bungle Wilderness Lodge. Guests will learn about and experience local, seasonal food such as barramundi fish and Australian bread called damper.

John says, he would like this relatively unknown, undiscovered area to be "opened up to the whole world, so when people come back from this remarkable island there are stories of not just opera houses, but of wildlife – dolphins and dugongs, turtles and sharks – and of seeing stars without any light pollution. And cruising to remote coastal areas to see ancient indigenous rock art dating back 20,000 years.” Learn more about the Kimberley and special discounts on tours and cruises here:

Cruising the Nile!!!!
Orbital Travel are experts in providing small ship Nile cruises that visit all the major sites and their English-speaking qualified Egyptologists accompany you, bringing the past to life with their knowledge and passion.
A classic 7-night Nile Cruise including flights, transfers, 12 excursions and full board with middle/upper deck cabins will never be forgotten! The MS Orbital Royal Esadora is a 5* boat with modern interior and a spacious sundeck with bar and swimming pool.
Their website is always worth checking for offers.

Any keen Strictly Come Dancing fan will love our partner Shearings Holidays brand new collection of 2020 short breaks including tickets to see the 2020 Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour in Birmingham, Manchester or Glasgow.
Book with Shearings to enjoy a visit to the spectacular dance show, with everything you love about the ever-popular BBC TV series, plus overnight accommodation in a comfortable hotel, included meals and additional excursions onselected breaks.
With all the glitz and glamour of Strictly to enjoy and a break away in a great hotel, we’re sure you’ll give this amazing break a 10 out of 10!

The scent of glühwein, cinnamon and spices. Stalls in ancient town squares overflowing with continental yuletide treats all surrounded by tall medieval buildings and cathedrals bathed in magical lighting displays.
Avalon Waterways have whole page dedicated to Chrismas markets river cruises.
Get into the holiday spirit on these winter cruises, which explore the festive traditions of Europe. Discover the highlights of each destination, decorated in fairy-tale splendour. Shop for exquisite glass baubles, carved wooden clocks and nativity scenes in the pretty Christmas market stalls, while nibbling on gingerbread and warming up with a spicy mulled wine.

Welcome to Sky Princess, Princess Cruises newest ship. Luxury and style abound here and if you want some December sun in the Caribbean this could be for you.
With distinctive, contemporary design and luxurious attractions you can look forward to exciting entertainment venues, new dining choices and award-winning chef partnerships, as well as more staterooms than ever to relax in.
Here’s an amazing video and page dedicated to this wonderful vessel with some special offers and cruise deals too!

Book your 2020 European rail holiday with Great Rail Journeys by 15 October and save up to £100. Offers include these no-fly tours that depart from Great Rail Journeys’ exclusive departure office at St Pancras Station in London. Visit Carcassonne & Cathar Castles of France on a remarkable 7-day tour showcasing the best of Languedoc. From £1,595 pp.
Travel through dramatic Alpine scenery on thre 8-day Traditional Glacier Express from £1,395 pp.
Explore rural Tuscany and Renaissance Splendour during a 10-day Highlights of Tuscany Tour from £1,795 pp.
Prices include accommodation, selected meals and luggage transfers. Many rail tours have no single supplement.

If you’re fascinated and impressed by Simon Reeves Alaska programme why not explore the coastline of this amazing place with Holland America Line?
Regarded by many as the Alaskan experts they feature the famed Inside Passage and more options for cruising Glacier Bay National Park.
You can even combine your cruise with venturing deep into the Yukon National Parks and bear country on the Alaskan cruise deals page
On the MV Maasdam the company offers Zodiac excursions on its 14-night Great Land Explorer cruise round-trip from Vancouver.

Trafalgar have launched their new Worldwide Tours collection for 2020 and are offering early bird savings on selected new bookings. Save up to £265 pp on an 11 -day Treasures of Thailand tour including a city tour of Bangkok and Chiang Mai, the Bridge over the River Kwai in Kanchanaburi, the Grand Palace, the temples of Wat Phra Kaew and Wat Pho in Bangkok, Damnoen Saduak floating market, the ancient city of Ayutthaya, and Sukhothai Heritage Park. Now from £2,530 pp.
Save up to £407 pp on a 14-day Alaska & the Yukon trip visiting several National Parks, including Denali, taking a cruise past glaciers on the Prince William Sound and a train journey through Alaska’s wilderness.

Variety Cruises is committed to eliminate single-use plastic bottles on all of their vessels by the end of 2020

The onboard process has already started and several of their Mega yachts are now single-use plastic free.
What’s more, the crew in Indonesia has started taking matters into its own hands and taking to the beaches with bin bags to clean-up plastic, flotsam, jetsam and other sundry detritus.
Amazingly, or perhaps not, passengers keen to maintain this idyllic environment have been joining them – to the extent that it’s now become a feature of the week and the company are printing and handing out t-shirts as a reward!
You don’t have to be on beach patrol to enjoy the Indonesian Islands cruise – but if you want to do your bit for the environment whilst enjoying some amazing natural beauty you can find out more about the cruise on Panorama II on the Variety website.

From now until 11 October you can save £75 pp when you book holidays with our Partner Travel Department of 8 or more nights. They span the globe with holidays of a lifetime to Japan, India, China, Russia and more.
Explore India’s Golden Triangle? on a 10-night adventure taking in ancient palaces and monuments, proud fortresses, mosques and bustling cities including a rickshaw ride in Old Delhi’s bustling streets, the famous monument to love – the Taj Mahal in Agra and thember Fort in the aptly named Pink City of Jaipur. Was £1449pp, now £1374pp, including return flights, half board hotel accommodation, excursions with locals guides and transfers.

Experience a 10-night holiday to Prague, Vienna & Budapest exploring the capital city of the Czech Republic with its magical city of bridges, cathedrals, gold tipped towers, church spires and gardens; some of the finest palaces in Europe, including Schönbrunn Palace and Hofburg in Austria; and the ‘Pearl of the Danube’, one of Europe’s most magnificent cities. Was £1099pp, now £1024pp, including return flights from Edinburgh, B&B 4 star hotel accommodation, excursions with locals guides and transfers.

The Ella Train Journey and Elephant Safari luxury tour to Sri Lanka takes you to the heart of the Cultural Triangle, where you’ll enjoy breakfast overlooking the UNESCO World Heritage Sigiriya Lions Rock and a thrilling elephant jeep safari in Minneriya National Park. You’ll also head to the UNESCO city of Kandy before embarking on the world’s most beautiful train journey to Ella.
In Ella you’ll experience picking your own Ceylon Tea and visiting a working tea factory, all before heading down to Jetwing Yala to experience the best of Yala’s amazing national park. After all of that excitement, you’ll finally relax at Anantara Kalutara, a beautiful 5-star resort nestled between a lagoon and the sea.
Price from £2,059 pp including flights and transfers.

Hebridean Island Cruises are looking forward to next year and their first walking adventure in the spring, Footloose through the Inner Sound. Join their experienced walking guides as they explore the stunning scenery of the Inner Isles of Rum, Raasay and Skye, together with the mainland gems of Gairloch and Shieldaig.
No visit to Holland in the spring would be complete without a visit to the world-famous Keukenhof Gardens to experience the sights and scents of over seven million bulbs in bloom. The company’s Tulip Time in the Low Lands, or Flavours of the Low Countries cruise on board Royal Crown will transport you through the delightful Dutch and Belgian waterways to the largest flower garden in the world.

Stay at the same parc as your children on selected dates in 2020 and Eurocamp will give you 50% discount. Book separate accommodation and make sure the majoirty of your travel dates overlap. Applies to travel between 2 April and 26 June 2020. Offer expires 5 November. They also have up to 35% discount for other guests booking their 2020 Eurocamp break by 5th November and offer a Brexit-safe guarantee. With more than 180 parcs in wonderful locations throughout Europe offering active adventures, peaceful moments and soothing treats, there is bound to be an ideal place for you. See their website for full T&Cs.

Noble Caledonia have announced their latest brochure releases for land and cruise tours. If you are interested in a cultural river voyage for example there are details of their new cruises along the Nile aboard the wonderful SS Misr for 2021.
Closer to home you will find some brochures pertaining to new tours in the British Isles. ‘Small Ship Cruising around the British Isles’ offers three new expedition cruises aboard the MS Caledonian Sky focusing on some of the beautiful, remote islands of Britain and Ireland.
The company have two new voyages on the spectacular sailing ship Sea Cloud II with Guest Speaker Dr. Steve Kershaw. ‘La Dolce Vita’ from Malta to Bari, focusing on the history and culture of Southern Italy and ‘Voyage to the Land of Gods and Heroes’ from Bari to Athens stopping at some of Greece’s most fascinating historical sites, beautiful towns and charming harbours.