ASIA EPIC TOURS DESTINATIONS
T
here are plenty of Victorian traditions better left in the
19th century, but there is one – the Grand Tour – that is still alive and well. It’s no coincidence that many
operators name their most epic itineraries after this one-time rite of passage for Britain’s upper classes. The destinations might be more exotic and the mix of travellers more diverse these days, but the spirit of exploration and cultural enrichment that the name evokes is just the same now as it was then. That’s because longer tours
– anything above a standard fortnight – can be more than just a holiday, especially when it’s somewhere as vast and
varied as Asia. With the luxury of time to explore, travellers can delve deeper into their chosen destination, visit remote regions often bypassed by those on a tight time frame, or link different countries together for a truly epic journey.
w MULTI-CENTRE TOURS The most obvious advantage of a longer tour is being able to visit more than one country: why choose between Vietnam and Cambodia when you can do both, and even throw in Laos for good measure? With durations of more than
two weeks, clients won’t feel cheated at having to devote the odd morning or afternoon to
travelling between destinations, especially with Asia’s short and reasonably priced flights making it easy to combine more than one country in a single trip. Geographically and culturally, Indochina lends itself most easily to multi-centre tours, with good transport links, a shared French colonial history and the mighty Mekong River running through the heart of the region. Most operators offer at least a
Vietnam and Cambodia pairing. Trafalgar’s 15-day Highlights of Vietnam and Cambodia is one such tour, visiting Hanoi, Halong Bay and Ho Chi Minh City, before crossing the border for three nights in Cambodia. But many also add Laos for a
more rounded introduction to the region, such as Insider Journeys’ 19-day Indochina Explorer, or Collette’s 20-day Three Kingdoms of Indochina, which enable clients to visit a third country without having to cut down their time in the other two. There is certainly growing demand for Laos, albeit still mostly as an extension of other tours, which is why Cosmos Tours & Cruises has rolled it into a 22-day Grand Tour of Indochina, launching next year. Product and commercial manager Leila Grochowski says: “The Laos extension was so popular on our tour of the region that we have included it in the main itinerary for 2016. Indochina
8 October 2015
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PICTURES: WENDY WU TOURS
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