Jetsettersblog

Brendan Vacations is offering several new itineraries for Europe in 2012, including the 12-day Crossroads of Cultures and Contrasts: Bosnia, Croatia & Slovenia; the 11-day Discovering the Balkans; the 17-day From Greece to Dalmatia; the eight-day Highlights of Slovenia; and the 15-day Fabled Cities of Europe: Zagreb to Venice. All are being offers as Definite Departures. They include first class accommodations, breakfast daily and some lunches and dinners.

Also new, but not offered as definite departures are The Best of Russia, Baltic States and Warsaw, 14, 16 or 18 days; Dalmatian Sunshine, Dubrovnik to Zagreb, 10 days; Imperial Cities Showcase, Vienna to Warsaw, 10 days; From Bohemia to Transylvania, Prague to Bucharest, 14 days; The Best of Ukraine, Poland and Hungary, 12 days; Belgrade to Zagreb, 12 days; and Glimpse of Italy, nine or 12 days.

General Tours World Traveler is offering two new Small Group Journeys to Eastern Europe. The Small Group Journey product line is distinguished by having never more than 16 guests to a group, with boutique hotel stays, quality meals and activities not possible in a larger group. They are designed to provide a deeper and more authentic look into the culturally diverse destinations.

New for 2012, Grand Capitals of Eastern Europe is a 10-day trip to Berlin, Warsaw, Krakow and Budapest featuring distinguished hotels like the Regent Berlin, deemed one of the best places to stay in the world by Condé Nast Traveler, and the Sofitel Chain Bridge overlooking the Danube in the heart of Budapest. Activities include a visit to the Schindler Factory Museum in Krakow, dinner with a Polish family in the charming town of Lowicz and a countryside excursion to Szentendre, an ancient Hungarian town and now-thriving artists’ colony in the Danube Bend. A pre-trip extension to Prague and Dresden features five-star city-center hotels, complete sightseeing and all on-tour transportation including first class rail from Dresden to Berlin to join the Grand Capitals tour.

Also new in 2012, Journey through Austria, Slovenia and Croatia, features landmark hotels and resorts such as the Grand Hotel Toplice, overlooking Lake Bled, and Zagreb’s Regent Esplanade, originally built for passengers of the Orient-Express train. The itinerary includes Munich, Salzburg and Vienna, as well as destinations rarely featured on traditional large-group escorted tours, such as the Salzburg Lake District; Graz, Ljubljana, often called “Little Prague,” and the sixteen cascading lakes of Plitvice National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Through Dec 30, General Tours is offering savings of $500 per person on bookings paid in full at the time of booking for either of the new trips to Eastern Europe.

Now in its 65th year, General Tours World Traveler offers Small Group, Privately Guided and Small Ship journeys to Asia, Europe, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Specifically designed for never more than 16 guests, the company’s programs promise immersive cultural encounters and authentic travel experiences not possible in a larger group. For more information, call 800-221-2216 or visit www.generaltours.com

Cook East is a new company that has been founded with the basic philosophy that food can provide an interesting medium through which to engage with your surroundings, beyond simply being a flavoursome addition to a nice evening. Providing interesting itineraries in their own right, you will be visiting some of the most desirable locations and impressive sights in the world. Where Cook East differs from other travel providers however is the concurrent series of cooking classes that allow you to see precisely how those restaurants at home cook your favourite dishes. These are not aimed at chefs or those with exceptional cooking abilities, but anyone who wants to gain a grassroots understanding of how food cultivation, purchase, preparation and consumption fits into the lifestyle of local people.

A typical day might involve breakfast, a late morning cooking class including the consumption of your prepared dish and then the afternoon spent on a guided tour of the city, at leisure or visiting a local temple of monument.

As the name suggests, the destinations visited by Cook East cover South East and Central Asia, but also include South America and we are always looking to add new destinations.

For up-to-date information on any of our itineraries or destinations please check our website, or get in contact. With prices starting from £735 including international flights we’re sure we have something for everyone.

Website: http://www.cook-east.com

Email: info@cook-east.com

Phone: 01276 682968

A survey from Skyscanner, released this month (May) highlights the Balkans as one of the fastest growing holiday regions in the world. Kosovo, Serbia, Macedonia, Albania, Slovenia, Montenegro, Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina are all now in the top 100 Skyscanner holiday destinations. Regent Holidays, who offer holidays to all of the Balkan countries in the top 100, have a range of great deals right across the region.

The highest new entry was Kosovo which rocketed into the top 100 at number 67. The survey indicated that interest in the Balkans has increased across the board, with neighbouring Serbia climbing 11 places, Macedonia entering the Top 100 at number 95, and Bosnia & Herzegovina also just squeezing in at number 100. The hugely popular hotspot of Croatia is in the top 10 for the first time, and, perhaps less predictably, lesser known Albania is in the top 50 at number 38.

Regent Holidays, who were the first to offer holidays to Albania over 40 years ago, say that the survey reflects their own sales to the region, which are up 25% on the same time last year. The company was also the first to feature Kosovo in 2009, following its independence from neighbouring Serbia.

Regent’s programme of holidays to the Balkan countries includes :

Tailor-made tours of Kosovo or combination Kosovo/Albania/Montenegro (11 days starting from £1,015 per person).

12 Day Classic Albania Group tour departing 16 Sept from £1,440 pp.

A 6 day Sarajevo & Mostar itinerary from £550 per person
A 7 day tour combining Serbia with Bosnia-Herzegovina in a train journey from Sarajevo to Belgrade from £655 pp

14 day Highlights of the Balkans Tour from £995 pp.

For further information and reservations visit http://www.regent-holidays.co.uk or call 0845 277 3317.

Walks Worldwide has introduced three departures for its unique Accursed Mountains, small group trekking holiday to Albania, following a hugely successful ‘reccee’ trip with a group of intrepid explorers last year.

The trips depart on 18 June, 9 July and 10 September and cost from £565 pp.

Whether you’re more inspired by the well documented and somewhat debauched adventures of Lord Byron, or the more recent antics of the BBC Top Gear presenters, this trip provides you with a chance to discover the remote north of the largely un-trekked mountains and passes of Albania.

The trekking is graded as ‘demanding’, walking between four and eight hours a day at altitudes of up to 2000m.

The small group trip (maximum 8 people) is accompanied by an expert local guide, to explore the wild mountains, where life has barely changed over hundreds of years and the closest shop is a mere 5 hours’ drive away.

The 8-day itinerary (click here for full details) costs from £565 pp which includes 7 nights’ accommodation, most meals, expert guide, maps and baggage transfers whilst walking.

Call 0845 301 4737 (www.walksworlwide.com).

Flights with BA to Tirana cost from approximately £250 pp. However Walks Worldwide is a fully-bonded, financially protected tour operator and can book international flights on request.

MSC Cruises is offering winter cruises to the temperate Mediterranean with rates starting from $499 per person.

The cruises are eight, nine, 10 and 11 nights long.

The MSC Magnifica offers eight-night Western Mediterranean cruises roundtrip from Venice, calling in Bari, Italy; Rhodes, Greece; Alexandria, Egypt; Katakolon, Greece; and Dubrovnik, Croatia. Departures on Feb. 28 and March 8 are priced from $499 per person plus $58.80 in taxes and fees.

MSC Splendida’s 11-night Western Mediterranean cruise roundtrip from Civitavecchia or Genoa calls in Barcelona, Spain; Casablanca, Morocco; S. Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands), Spain; Funchal, Portugal; and Malaga, Spain.

The Feb. 5 and 6 departures are priced from $889 per person plus $47 or $55.90 in government taxes and fees respectively. Other available dates include March 9 and 10.

MSC Splendida’s 11-night Eastern Mediterranean cruise roundtrip from Genoa or Civitavecchia calls in Katakolon, Heraklion and Piraeus, Greece; Marmarmis, Turkey; Alexandria, Egypt; and Palermo, Italy.

The Feb. 16 and 17 departures rates are priced from $889 per person plus $44.25 or $33.30 in government taxes and fees, respectively.

MSC Splendida’s nine-night Eastern Mediterranean cruise from Genoa or Civitavecchia calls in Katakolon, Heraklion and Piraeus, Greece; and Alexandria, Egypt.

The Feb. 27 and 28 departures are priced from $599 per person, plus $36.85 or $27.09 in government taxes and fees, respectively.

MSC Fantasia’s 11-night Western Mediterranean cruise from Genoa calls in Barcelona, Spain; Gibraltar, U.K.; Funchal, Portugal; S. Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands); Arrecife de Lanzarote, Spain; Malaga, Spain; and Civitavecchia.

The March 3 and March 25 departures are priced from $599 per person plus $63.40 in taxes and fees.

For more information, visit www.MSCCruisesUSA.com

Compagnie Du Ponant has released is 2011 summer brochure, featuring spring and summer voyages for its four yachts.

The world’s newest mega yacht, the 264-guest L’Austral, will debut in April and cruise through the western and eastern Mediterranean exploring the Dalmatian Coast, the Greek Islands and Turkey in-depth.
Its sister ship, Le Boréal, which was launched in May of this year, will sail from Scandinavia to Nunavut in Canada.

The Le Levant, which carries 90 guests, will cruise in the eastern Mediterranean, and the three-masted Le Ponant sailing yacht, which accommodates 64 guests, will explore the western Mediterranean.

To order the “Summer Cruises 2011” brochure, call 888-400-1082 or email usreservations@ponant.com

A separate brochure for the line’s 226-guest Le Diamant, detailing its summer season cruising around the British Isles, is also available.

For general information, visit www.ponant.com

A hot spot for travellers, customers can now tour Eastern Europe with Wicked Campers.

Perfect for those who prefer to venture off-the-beaten-track, the budget campervan company offers the required car insurance and relevant documents to cross the borders into the more remote parts of Europe.

What’s more, Wicked Campers have depots in Austria and Italy, only a short drive or ferry trip to Eastern Europe, where customers can pick-up and drop-off their campervan. It couldn’t be easier.

So for those who have always wanted to explore Croatia’s beautiful hidden beaches along the Adriatic coast, then Wicked Campers offers a budget option to travel and camp in style and comfort.

Or for intrepid travellers wishing to explore pastures new, try Slovenia and discover its lush green landscape with stunning national parks, awe-inspiring mountains, deep river gorges, enchanting waterfalls, thermal springs and dense forests, all interwoven with a rich cultural heritage.

Customers are covered in the following Eastern European countries: Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey.

Prices for seven day’s round-trip hire in a two-seater van starts from £253. Valid for travel from 1 October 2010, the price includes pick-up and drop-off in either San Benedetto (Italy) or Verditz (Austria), insurance for one driver aged 25 and over, unlimited mileage and 24-hour roadside assistance. Prices in summer start from £453.

For more information, visit www.wickedcampers.co.uk  or call 0808 234 8461.

Compagnie du Ponant’s 264-guest Le Boréal has sailed out of Fincantieri shipyard and embarked on its maiden voyage from Marseilles. Through Sept. 27, the $150 million vessel will sail in the western Mediterranean, and then head to northern Europe for a series of Baltic cruises.

From there, it will continue west for two Iceland itineraries, and then return to the Mediterranean, visiting ports in the Black Sea, Greece, Turkey and Croatia.

On Nov. 1, the yacht will depart Nice for Rio, and then sail down the coast of South America to Ushuaia, arriving Dec. 10 to kick off its series of Antarctica cruises.

Le Boréal’s itineraries (all but one are seven-day cruises) include unusual ports and out-of-the way islands not accessible to larger cruise ships. “Mediterranean Escapades” (departing May 13 and Oct. 25) takes guests around Italy from Nice to Venice with calls in Corsica, Sicily and Croatia.

The June 8 “Cruising to the Rhythms of Jazz and Gospel” cruise will offer a similar itinerary, plus entertainment by the Alain Rattier Jazz band and French singer Segan, whose repertoire ranges from Ella Fitzgerald to Mahalia Jackson.

“Secrets of the Adriatic” (May 20 and 27 and Oct. 4, 11 and 18) will sail to and from Venice along the Dalmatian Coast, stopping at eight ports and islands in Croatia and Montenegro.

Stops include fishing ports and four UNESCO World Heritage sites, including Krka, founded in the 9th century by Croatian princes. On the June 18 “Marine Harmony” cruise from Nice-to-Honfleur, guests can practice yoga and Pilates, receive bodywork and beauty treatments and partake in healthy culinary options and nutritional counseling.

Ports in France, Spain and Portugal are featured, including: Barcelona, Malaga and the Alhambra of Granada, Cádiz, the oldest city in Western Europe and Porto’s Ribeira district, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The yacht also offers several Northern Europe/Baltic sailing. “From Norman Shores to the Baltic: The Kiel Canal” (June 27) departs Honfleur, traveling to Bruges, the Venice of the North, by way of Zeebrugge, Amsterdam and Hamburg before passing through the locks of the Kiel Canal on its way to Copenhagen. “St. Petersburg and the Great Baltic Capitals” (July 4 and 11), from Copenhagen to Stockholm and vice versa, calls in Helsinki and Tallinn, a World Heritage site, with three nights in St. Petersburg.

“Iceland’s Viking Country: At the Heart of the Geysers and Glaciers” (July 22 and 29) sails roundtrip from Reykjavik and features fjords and the Snaefellsjokull volcano (of “Voyage to the Center of the Earth” fame).

The cruise will also include a visit to Grimsey Island on the Arctic Circle for its colonies of seabirds, puffins and penguins and a call at Heimaey, the only inhabited of the Vestman Islands, home to seals and killer whales.

Le Boréal will return to the Mediterranean with three Greek Island and Turkey itineraries. “Ottoman Reveries” (Aug. 23) explores the western coast of Turkey (Bodrum, Dikili and Marmaris) and the Greek Islands of Rhodes; Chios, with its 11th century Byzantine monastery; and Patmos, where St. John wrote the Book of Revelations. “Symphony at Sea” (Aug. 30) follows a similar itinerary, plus a stop at Kusadasi to visit Ephesus.

This cruise also will feature classical musicians, many from Paris’ National Music Academy. “Pearls of the Aegean Sea,” from Athens to Istanbul (Sept. 13), visits famed sites in Turkey such as Ephesus and Pergamum, as well as five Greek Islands — Rhodes, Symi, Delos, Mykonos and Santorini.

“Leading Lights of the Black Sea” (Aug. 16 and Sept. 20) explore ports in Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine, like the UNESCO World Heritage site of Nessebur, “city of 40 Byzantine churches”; Romania’s largest port, Constanta and its Orthodox cathedral; and historic sites in Odessa, Sevastopol and Yalta.

On Sept. 27, Le Boréal makes its way from Istanbul to Venice. “From the Grand Mosque to the Grand Canal” visits ports in Greece (transiting the Corinth Canal), Croatia and Italy.

On Nov. 1, the yacht departs Nice for Rio on a 15-day repositioning voyage for its first season in Antarctica, where it will remain until the end of February.

The 466-foot Le Boréal features a French-design nautical ambience and offers technological amenities.

Among its public spaces are the Theatre, the Main Lounge, the Panoramic Lounge, the Library, two open-air bars and two restaurants.

The yacht also provides 24-hour room service.

The Carita spa offers a range of therapies and beauty treatments, as well as a hammam and a hydrotherapy room. There are also a fitness center with views the Sun Deck, with a pool, and the Panoramic Terrace.

All but eight of Le Boréal‘s 132 suites and staterooms have verandas. Measuring 484 to 200 square feet, the suites and staterooms are designed in a contemporary style with king or twin beds; bathtubs or showers with L’Occitane amenities; flat-screen TVs; DVD, CD and IPod players; satellite direct-dial telephones; and Wi-Fi. Suites also have Nespresso machines and Carita amenities. Le Boréal has the flexibility to reconfigure 40 staterooms into 20 suites, making a total of 24 suites and 88 staterooms.

Le Boréal has the Green Ship label for its advanced waste water treatment, reduced fuel consumption and lower exhaust emissions.

The electric propulsion system is quiet and economic, and the diesel engines use a lighter, less-polluting bio fuel.

Starting at $2,885 per person, double, for a seven-day cruise, prices include all wine, beer, mineral water, soft drinks and specialty coffees served with meals.

For more information, call 888-400-1082 or visit

www.ponant.com

Auto Europe has launched a full-service car rental reservation mobile website.

Travelers can reserve car rental services, look up their current reservations or jump over to their main website for additional services on a web-enabled phone or PC.

With one click, car rental services can be arranged at over 4,000 locations worldwide including airport, hotel and downtown locations.

Simply select your rental country, pick up city, dates of travel, transmission and car category and from there, choose the car rental that best suits your needs.

If you already have a reservation but need to change or review your services, visit Reservation Look Up on the mobile site and enter your voucher number, and driver’s first and last name.

There is also a full FAQ section and information to contact Auto Europe if you have any questions about your reservation or using the site.

For additional services, select Full Site.

For more information,

visit www.autoeurope.com/mobile