Most of us have a wish list of sights we want to see in our lifetime, but many tourists are put off by the idea that visiting far-flung icons must involve complicated planning and great expense. Not so!
Next time a client looks like they’re going for a safe holiday option, suggest an escorted tour – that way they can fulfil one of their tourism dreams safe in the knowledge they’ll be in good hands. Here’s our lowdown to 10 of the world’s most iconic sights.
The Taj Mahal
The world’s greatest monument to love is high on most travellers’ once-in-a-lifetime lists. The stunning marble palace in Agra won’t disappoint, but some clients may have qualms about tackling India’s bustle and heat alone.
There’s no need, as this region is classic escorted tour territory and there are heaps to choose from. Most focus on the Golden Triangle of Agra, Delhi and Jaipur. Popular extensions include Ranthambore, where clients can spot tigers.
Sample package: Titan Hitours’ eight-day Golden Triangle tour, from £1,495 departing October 15, includes flights, accommodation, most meals, excursions, and VIP home departure transfer service. A 10-day tour including tiger safaris in Ranthambore starts from £1,595.
Book it:titanhitours.co.uk, 0800 988 5858
The Grand Canyon
Five million visitors a year teeter on the rim of the Grand Canyon. The steep-sided gorge is 18 miles wide, 277 miles long and at some points over a mile deep. While many visitors hop over to this Arizona highlight while in Vegas, it’s also the centrepiece of escorted tours that visit the Wild West and the west coast.
Sample package: Jetsave’s Rocky Frontiers 17-day tour visits a host of the most dramatic scenery in US national parks, including Old Faithful, the geyser in Yellowstone, the wilderness and wildlife of Yosemite, and the Utah Canyonlands’ red rock spires. Clients will also see Mount Rushmore and drive the Pacific Coast highway from San Francisco to LA. From £1,995 including Delta flights, departing June 10.
Book it:jetsave.co.uk/agents, 0871 231 2271
The Great Migration
Every year, two million wildebeest and zebra make a 300 mile round trip from Tanzania’s southern Serengeti to the northern edge of the Masai Mara in Kenya in search of water and grazing.
The huge herds are a magnificent spectacle – especially when crossing one of the rivers, or being ambushed by the lions, hyenas, leopards, cheetahs and wild dogs that follow them. Safaris are often regarded as an option best suited to couples travelling alone, but there are escorted tours too – particularly useful for lone travellers who crave game-viewing.
Sample package: Adventure tour specialist Explore offers a Serengeti Lodge Safari trip, with two days in the central Seronera area of the national park, within reach of the Southern plains and the Western corridor for the migration between November and June. It also visits Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater and Tangarire. Departing February 10, the tour costs £2,692 including flights, transport, seven nights’ full-board accommodation and guiding.
Book it:explore.co.uk, 0844 499 0904
The Pyramids
Of the original seven ancient wonders there’s only one left – the Pyramid of Khufu at Giza. While it’s the most famous of Egypt’s sights, there are so many others that an escorted tour is the most sensible way to see them.
Recommend clients combine a trip to Cairo for the Pyramids, the Sphinx and the Egyptian Museum with a Nile cruise. Now is a great time for clients to go as these popular sights will be quieter than usual.
Sample package: Cosmos Tours & Cruises’ eight-day Discover Cairo and the Ancient Nile trip combines a four-day Nile cruise on the four-star Magic 2 with three nights in Cairo at the five-star Ramses Hilton. The trip costs from £1,249 and includes flights, transfers, full board on the cruise, B&B in the hotel and a guide.
Book it:cosmostoursandcruises.co.uk, 0871 423 8695
The Northern Lights
Natural phenomena don’t get much more magical than the aurora borealis. The swooping curtains of light, seen within a 1,600-mile radius of the pole, are caused by charged particles reacting with gases in the atmosphere. Winter 2011-12 promises to be a peak year for viewings so there’s no better time for clients to book a tour visiting Iceland, northern Scandinavia, Canada or Alaska.
Sample package: Travelsphere’s four-day Northern Lights and Ice Hotel tour combines a good chance of lights sightings from Sweden’s Aurora Sky Station with ice-sculpting classes, husky-sledging and even a stay in the Ice Hotel. From £1,549, including flights with departures between February and April 2012.
Book it:travelsphere.co.uk, 0800 112 3313
The Great Barrier Reef
With 3,000 reef systems and coral cays, and hundreds of sun-soaked tropical islands, it’s not hard to see why everyone wants to visit The Great Barrier Reef. As Australia has so many highlights spread across vast distances, an escorted tour can be a great way to pack a lot into a trip.
Sample package: The itinerary for APT’s 14-day Australian Explorer reads like a greatest hits list for Oz, with visits to Sydney, Uluru, Adelaide and Melbourne, plus a ride on the Ghan train, time in Cairns and a cruise on the Great Barrier Reef. From £3,345, including accommodation, many meals and excursions, but excluding international flights.
Book it:aptgroup.travel, 0845 604 0792
The Great Wall of China
Stretching for thousands of miles across northern China, the Great Wall is made up of a series of sections, with the most visited in the Beijing area. Badaling is the most popular, and easy to climb. Mutianya is farther away but quieter, and has a cable car.
China is a daunting prospect for many tourists, with radical differences in language, alphabet, culture and gastronomy. An escorted tour is the easiest way to explore this fascinating land.
Sample package: Wendy Wu’s great-value, 27-day China Highlights tour, which costs from £2,190, including flights, takes in Shanghai, Guilin for a cruise on the Li river, Chengdu for pandas, Xi’an for the Terracotta Army and Beijing for its sights and the wall.
Book it:wendywutours.co.uk, 0844 875 2433
Niagara Falls
The Falls themselves are an easy sell; the vast torrent of water is a breathtaking sight. But Niagara’s location, straddling the US-Canada border, also makes it a focal point for escorted tours visiting both country’s east coasts.
Sample package: Insight Vacations’ 16-day Best of Eastern Canada and USA itinerary covers Toronto, Niagara, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City, before heading over the border to tour Maine, New Hampshire, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington and New York. From £2,775 including flights and transfers.
Book it: insightvacations.com/uk/consultants
Machu Picchu
It’s one hundred years since Hiram Bingham reintroduced Peru’s Lost City of the Incas, built in 1450, to the wider world. Now a highlight of many tours of South America, Machu Picchu is often twinned with the Galapagos, or the highlights of Brazil, while Peru has enough fascinating sights for escorted tours of its own.
Sample package: Collette Worldwide Holidays’ 14-day Peru: Ancient Land of Mysteries tour visits Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley, Lima, Cusco, the Paracas Nature Reserve and the Nazca Lines, from £3,199, including flights, accommodation, many meals and free UK transfers within 100 miles of a UK airport.
Book it:colletteworldwide.com, 0800 804 8700
Rome
Not all the world’s iconic sights are a long-haul flight away. Little can surpass the ancient splendour of Rome. With the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Forum, the Trevi Fountain and the Vatican, you can’t walk more than a few paces without spotting a piece of history.
Sample package: Shearings Holidays’ 10-day Classical Cities of Italy itinerary begins with a train ride to Paris, where clients spend a night before hitting Italy, where in addition to Rome they’ll visit Venice, Pisa, Florence, Assisi, Siena and Milan. From £949.
Book it:shearingsagent.com, 01942 823449