Beat the Qantas airfare rise for your Japan ski holiday

If you are considering a Niseko snow adventure this winter be aware Qantas has announced it is increasing its fares to Tokyo and through to Sapporo, the gateway to the very popular Hokkaido resorts, from 21 November.

By booking before the price rise you'll save dollars that can be put towards a SkiJapan.com seven night deal from $987 per person (3 bedroom, six share).

The week-long Niseko package at the deluxe 4 'snowflake' rated Western-style two and three bedroom Kamakura Apartments also includes a six day Niseko United Ski Pass, valid at four interconnected resorts, airport meet & greet, return door to door airport transfers and the services of SkiJapan.com's team at Niseko. The property is well located within minutes walk from popular bars and restaurants and the stop for the free shuttle bus to the lifts is located right outside.

Valid March 2013. Conditions apply.

From more details contact SkiJapan.com 1300 137 411 or view the Kamakura Apartments online

http://www.skijapan.com/Home/Resorts/Niseko/Accommodation/Apartments/Details?&AccommodationID=122&AccommodationName=Kamakura

FREE Diving at Plantation Island Resort

Plantation Island Resort is offering the ultimate 'stay-pay' diving package.

As part of a special accommodation deal based on six nights for the price of five in a garden terrace room - including all meals for six days for two adults - the resort is offering a six-tank dive package completely free of charge.

Priced from AUD2180* for two adults, this offer also includes return sea transfers to Plantation Island on board the 'Malolo Cat'.

Divers looking to take advantage of this fantastic offer take note – the offer is valid for travel from 09 January-31 March 2013 only.

Plantation island Resort's dive shop is operated by five-star rated, PADI qualified Subsurface Fiji which offers a huge menu of dive options ranging from Kids Scuba courses, PADI Discover Scuba Diving programs and for the fully certified, night dives and a fantastic choice of dive trips.

Theseinclude caves, pinnacles, walls, a crashed WW2 B26 Bomber, a shipwreck and even a shark encounter dive at the internationally renowned "Supermarkets'.

*Conditions apply.

For more information on Plantation Island Resort and the special 'Free Dive' deal, visit www.plantationisland.com.

 

All the very best of the Caribbean in 24-day tour

A MAXIMUM of just 15 Far Horizons' guests will enjoy a thoroughly unique 24-day, fully-escorted tour in August of next year embracing the rich mixture of races, religions, foods, architect and scenery of the Caribbean's Curacao, Trinidad, Grenada, Barbados, Martinique, St Lucia, St Martin, Saba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

Two or three nights will be spent on most islands being visited, giving tour members a greater appreciation of the relaxed Caribbean way of life.

And for a finale, a 2-night stay on Florida's famed Key West, including visiting the home-cum-museum where Ernest Hemingway lived and wrote for ten years, an Old Town Trolley Tour, and a Champagne Sunset Cruise.

Highlights of Far Horizons' Caribbean tour range from classic Dutch and French colonial-style buildings to more simple fishermen's villages, botanical gardens and orchid nurseries, rainforests, the oldest Jewish synagogue in the Western Hemisphere, cocoa, citrus and coffee plantations, a British signal station date from the 1880's, the islands' largest sugar-cane windmill and a "pottery art" village.

There's also the small cottage where Napoleon's wife Josephine was born, and which is now a museum with personal affects tracing the lives and loves of the royal couple, and visits to a one-time royal palace and a former baronial castle.

For the sweet-toothed there's a "chocolate excursion," while for those who enjoy a tot of rum, a rum distillery tour and tasting.

Price starts from $24,750pp twin-share ex-Sydney, including all airfares, top quality accommodation, all transport, all meals, extensive sightseeing, local guides, all taxes and gratuities and a Far Horizons escort throughout. Details 1800 083 141, (02) 9955 0444 or info@farhorizons.com.au

 

Bonuses on HAL European Cruise

Holland America Line's luxurious Nieuw Amsterdam

SAVINGS of more than $3700 per person, a US$100 on-board spending credit and an up-grade to a veranda cabin are all available through ecruising.travel on a 34-night cruise/land package across the Atlantic Ocean and through the Mediterranean Sea if you book by November 30.

Now costing from $5989 the package also includes return air fares from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, 27 nights' accommodation with all meals aboard Holland America Line's luxurious Nieuw Amsterdam, an 86000 tonne ship which is just two years old and carries 2100 passengers.

The price also includes two nights hotel accommodation in Dallas, Texas, two nights in Fort Lauderdale, two nights at Raffles in Dubai and a night in Venice, where additional nights are available for $190 per person twin share before the flight home via Dubai.

The voyage commences on April 30 and crosses from Florida to Horta in Portugal. The ship also calls at four ports in Spain, including Barcelona, Marseilles in France, Monte Carlo in Monaco, five cities in Italy including Naples, two in Greece and Dubrovnik in Croatia before arriving in Venice.

Nieuw Amsterdam has three restaurants, swimming pools, tennis and basketball courts, health spa, cinema, library, casino and Internet Cafe.

More information from ecruising.travel on 1300 369 848 or check-out www.ecruising.travel

Win a Trip to New Zealand with Grand Pacific Tours

Like Grand Pacific Tours on Facebook and tell us in 30 words or less why you give coach touring in New Zealand the thumbs up for your chance to WIN two places on the 16 Day Highlights of New Zealand Tour valued at up to $8898*.

Courtesy of Grand Pacific Tours, the luxury coach specialists, this fully inclusive holiday offers unbeatable value and allows you to explore both the North and South Islands. It includes 22 of the iconic attractions of New Zealand combined with quality accommodation, airfares, four two night stays and 30 superb meals with breakfast daily.

This amazing prize is also transferrable, which allows the winner to treat their parents or grandparents to a New Zealand holiday, if they choose to do so.

Please note this competition is open to the Australian travel industry only.

Entries close 30 November 2012.

To enter this competition go to:
http://www.grandpacifictours.com/thumbsup.asp

Conditions apply.

Save hours on your travel research. Get brochures delivered to your door for free. Digital option too.

UTracks Photo Comp Winner

(c) Ray Wilkinson

Congratulations to Ray Wilkinson who'se "What a day!" image taken on the Saxon Ridge on the Tour Du Mont Blanc won our 2012 Photo Competition.

The competition was closer than the US election, but after much deliberation our team decided on Ray's image as it truly captures the essence of the UTracks style of travel.

Ray's photo was so good we placed it on page 30 of our Active Europe brochure. We'd like to also highly commend Virginia on her photos, which won the popular vote, and appear on pages 40 and 43 of our brochure.

Other fantastic entries are scattered throughout our new Active Europe 2013 brochure. Order your copy now to view some amazing images and gain inspiration for your next walking or cycling holiday in Europe.

 
Save hours on your travel research. Get brochures delivered to your door for free. Digital option too.

Celebrity Solstice sale

Australia's most luxurious and stylish ship Celebrity Solstice arrives in just under a month, and to celebrate Celebrity Cruises is launching an exceptional one-week sale on Sunday 11 November offering free flights*, half price deposits and onboard credit.

WHAT: Up to US$200 onboard credit, dependent on stateroom type, half price deposits, and free Economy flights to and from Australia and New Zealand on selected sailings.

ITINERARIES: The sale is on all Celebrity Solstice cruises five nights or longer departing between January – April 2013.  Choose from a 12 or 18 night Australia to New Zealand or New Zealand to Australia sailings, and an 11-night Tropical Queensland Easter Cruise.

COST: Prices start from $1995*for a 12-night Sydney to Auckland cruise departing 16 January 2013.  Ports of call include Milford, Doubtful and Dusky Sound, Dunedin and Tauranga.  Cruises must be booked by 17 November, and deposits must be received by Celebrity Cruises by 5:00pm on 23 November.

For additional information or to make reservations, contact your travel agent or visit www.celebritycruises.com.au.

*All fares are per person in Australian Dollars, inclusive of all taxes fees and onboard gratuities. Free flights included on selected sailings only.

Sofitel Sydney Wentworth brings home the (Francis) Bacon with Cultural Stay Package

 

 

Thursday 8 November 2012: As the city's Hotel of the Arts, Sofitel Sydney Wentworth has a special Cultural Stay package that includes overnight accommodation, full breakfast for two, and a complimentary double pass to the Francis Bacon exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW – all from just $325 per room per night.

The first major exhibition in Australia of rare works by the master of post-war British Art, Francis Bacon: Five Decades includes over 50 paintings as well as archival material, films and photographs and covers every decade of his career from the shocking paintings of the 1940s to the huge visceral works of the 1970s and 80s. The exhibition runs from 17th November 2012 until 24 February 2013.

As well as the sensual enjoyment of paint, Bacon's work speaks of violence, from depictions of a screaming pope to crucifixions, animals and carcasses, ancient Greek figures and distorted, emotionally charged portraits of his close friends and lovers.

Four years in the making, the exhibition features works drawn from private collections and institutions including the Museum of Modern Art, Tate Britain and the Pompidou Centre in Paris. It is accompanied by daily documentary screenings and an extensive program of events and educational talks.

Sofitel Sydney Wentworth has built a strong reputation for bringing the most exciting art and cultural experiences to its guests and this package is just another example of the hotel's continued program of Cultural Stays.

Located just a short walk from the Art Gallery of NSW, the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth boasts a prime CBD location and provides easy access to the best Sydney attractions, shopping and dining.

For bookings phone 1300 65 65 65 or go to www.sofitel.com

This offer  is subject to availability and is valid from 17 Nov 2012 – 24 Feb 2013.

 www.accorhotels.com

 

BEYOND TRAVEL TO THE BALTIC SEA

BEYOND Travel have expanded their deluxe small ship cruising options by introducing new cruises in the Baltic Sea for 2013, which if you book and deposit by January 31, you will receive a 25 per cent discount off the cruise price.

The 11-day Sweden, Russia and Finland itinerary is a round-trip from Stockholm on board the modern tall ship, SPV Star Flyer. These ships offer all the modern facilities and amenities mixed with the elegance and traditions of private yacht sailing.

With only 85 cabins, the ship provides an intimate atmosphere for guests, with plenty of space to relax at sea, whilst its size also allows entry to smaller more local ports that are not accessible by larger ships.

The program includes port visits to Visby on Gotland Island, Tallinn in Estonia, St Petersburg in Russia and Hanko in Finland and to Marieham.

Now priced from $3,360 per person twin share, the package includes 10 nights cruise accommodation with all meals on-board, on-board entertainment and water sports program (excluding SCUBA) and port charges.

There are guaranteed departures in May, June and July and Beyond Travel can also arrange privately exclusive day tours in St Petersburg and transfers in Stockholm.

For full cruise details please contact Beyond Travel on 1300-363-554 or email info@beyondtravel.com.au

Get Back to Bokissa

We've made a few changes at Bokissa, but we haven't changed everything... the essence that is Bokissa Island Resort is still the same.... we're still the same barefoot, casual Bokissa we've always been.

5 Night Offer
Beachfront Fale. Includes accommodation for 2 persons (double), breakfast, lunch and dinner daily and transfers from Santo airport to Bokissa Island and return. $1350.00 per couple.

Deluxe Spa Beachfront Fale. Includes accommdation for 2 persons (double), breakfast, lunch and dinner daily and transfers from Santo airport to Bokissa Island and return. $1658.00 per couple.

Villa A. Includes accommodation for 2 persons (double), breakfast lunch and dinner daily and transfers from Santo airport to Bokissa Island and return. $2178.00 per couple.

We also have a Seven Night Offer. Read the full offer.

Save hours on your travel research. Get brochures delivered to your door for free. Digital option too.