Recommend January 2012 - (Page 105)

Opposite page: Globus’ Ireland tours visit the country’s famous cliffs. the highlights and provide just the right combination of sightseeing and leisure time, so there are wonderful opportunities for meeting the locals and absorbing the culture.” And if you think there’s not much to see in Poland, think again. The new program, called Highlights of Poland, includes Krakow with its famous medieval square and Wawel Hill to see the Castle, “Wawel Dragon,” and visit the Cathedral, as well as the old Jewish Quarter, plus a visit to the Oscar Schindler Factory Museum. Next, it’s on to the resort town of Zakopane, followed by a tour of the former Auschwitz concentration camp of Oswiecim. In Wrocław, visitors see the mansions and ﬂower markets of the Plac Solny, the baroque splendor of the Main Market Square, and will be introduced to Wrocław’s famous gnomes. In addition, they’ll tour the colorful Old Town Square in Poznan, and in Torun, discover the outstanding medieval architecture with a local guide. In Gdansk, they’ll enjoy a guided tour of the town, including the Westerplatte and Gdansk shipyards. In the fashionable seaside resort of Sopot they’ll visit the “Crooked House” and Europe’s longest wooden pier, and in Malbork, visit the largest brick gothic castle in the world. In Warsaw, there’s the Palace of Culture, the Chopin Monument in Łazienki Park, as well as the Ghetto Memorial and the Historical Museum, followed by a walk through the Old Town. Prices start at $2,285 pp dbl, land only. ALL AVALON ALL THE TIME Consistency is our calling card. At Avalon, it’s not about how many ships we launch in one particular year. It’s about a commitment to year a er year, a er year, oﬀer your clients the newest, best and most inspired ships in river cruising. At Avalon, new and innovative go hand in hand. Our commitment to being on the cutting edge, oﬀering new ships, new amenities and new features has been in our DNA from the beginning. It’s not about one year. It’s not about a few ships. It’s every year, throughout the entire ﬂeet. brendan vacations Nico Zenner, president of Brendan Vacations, is also looking to Eastern Europe with a variety of new product that he feels could be hot for 2012. “We have added quite a bit of product—escorted—along the Dalmatian Coast. I guess it really depends on what your deﬁnition of hot is. If hot means someplace where you’ll generate the largest number of passengers, my answer would be different. If hot means growing interest, we hope there will be growing interest in what was formally known as Yugoslavia and I’m not just referring to Croatia. We have products that will start in Montenegro; we have some product that will start in some parts of Albania, in northern Albania—that whole region has a lot of appeal. People are curious about it, but don’t really know how to go about it.” At the same time, Zenner adds, “In addition, we’re also launching some tours into the Ukraine, which is one of those destinations that is not really very well known, not really all that well traveled. But people are curious—not in big numbers—about going there. But how do you get around without having to rely on—“My god, I have to get a car and how do I drive around when I can’t even read the signs because they’re all in Cyrillic.” So the combination of Poland with the Ukraine [on an escorted basis] is a sexy new product that will be accepted in the market. So, we think there’s opportunity there.” Brendan Vacations offers the 12-day Crossroads of Cultures and Contrasts: Bosnia, Croatia & Slovenia, which starts off with two nights in Sarajevo, then continues on to Dubrovnik on the Adriatic coast for a 2-night stay. Clients will then head north to Split, and on to Plitvice Lakes National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Next stop is the coastal resort of Opatija, Postojna Cave and Bled for another 2-night stay. A stop in Ljubljana and two nights in Zagreb top off the itinerary. It’s priced from $1,985 dbl, land only. RESERVATIONS GROUPS INSIDE SALES Scan the code to experience Avalon. Learn more about our ﬂeet at AvalonWaterways.com/Inspired globus But there’s also plenty of opportunity in Western Europe, as well, with the ongoing interest in Italy that’s been drawing repeat visitors for years, especially in the areas of experiential travel, january 2012 105 http://www.AvalonWaterways.com/Inspired http://www.AvalonWaterways.com/Inspired

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend January 2012

Editor's Note
Hotel Desk: Hard Rock Hotels and Resorts
Tour Talk: Lindblad Expeditions
Holland America's Veendam
Delta Air Lines' 2012 Caribbean, Mexico and Latin America Travel Guide
The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes
Las Vegas' 2012 Offerings
Hot European Tours for 2012
Hokkaido, Japan
Egypt's Antiquity Attractions are Eternal

Recommend January 2012