MATURE TRAVEL EPIC ASIA DESTINATIONS
Unesco-listed Luang Prabang. But if clients want to take it even easier and sit back watching the southeast Asian world go by for a few days, suggest a Mekong cruise. APT has a 23-day itinerary which includes a week on this iconic river, giving passengers a chance to stop at traditional, rarely-seen rural towns and villages where pottery, silverware and other crafts continue to be the communities’ lifeblood. Beyond Indochina, Premier Holidays
SAMPLE PRODUCT
Saga’s 18-night Trans-Siberian Railway
Adventure costs from £5,999
including 12 hotel nights and six nights aboard the train, some meals, optional travel insurance and additional cancellation rights, UK travel, tour manager, flights, transfers and some activities.
travel.saga.co.uk
Travelsphere’s 22-day A Journey Through South East Asia starts at £2,999 including 18 nights’
accommodation, activities, some meals, overnight cruise, tour manager, domestic flights, transfers and flights from Heathrow.
travelsphere.
co.uk
recommends retirees look to Malaysia. “The beauty of being retired is you have time to experience the whole of Malaysia at once,” says David Carlaw, head of faraway product. Premier can tailor-make a package to suit. He suggests a few nights in Kuala Lumpur and a week soaking up the sun on Penang’s beaches, before flying on to Borneo to see orangutans and other creatures in the wild on this nature-rich, jungle-carpeted island.
w BEYOND EPIC For a truly epic, unforgettable trip that branches out even further, there’s the Silk Road. Stretching more than 4,000 miles through western China, central Asia and Europe, this ancient network of roads was once one of the most important trading routes in the world. For those wanting to explore the
central Asian part, suggest Exodus tour The Five Stans of the Silk Road, which ticks off Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan in one big hit. Taking
The beauty of being retired is you have time to experience the whole of Malaysia at once
guests through desert landscapes, rural villages, dramatic mountains and a giant, still-burning gas pit in Turkmenistan, it veers off the beaten track to show little-known sights in a 23-day journey that’s suited to culture seekers and history lovers as much as
RIGHT:
APT’s AmaLotus on the Mekong
BELOW:
Everest Base Camp
it is to full-on, roving adventurers. It’s not the only once-in-a-lifetime
journey you’ll find in the region, of course. If clients have always dreamt of a trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway and never had the time or money to do it, now’s the time to make it happen. Saga says its small-group tour on board has been selling especially well and it’s not hard to see why, with the route’s iconic status as the world’s longest railway, spanning 5,726 miles, and its roster of world-famous spots, including Moscow; the Gobi Desert, where Saga guests stay in a traditional Mongolian ger camp; and Beijing. Last but not least there are the more
active, outdoorsy adventures, such as Everest Base Camp. Wendy Wu Tours combines this once-in-a-lifetime challenge with other adventures on foot in its 23-day Tibetan Wonders trip, adding immersive experiences like meditation with a Taoist priest and a visit to the real Shangri-La, Zhongdian. But for those worried about doing it in a rush, suggest World Expeditions, which stretches the Base Camp trek out into a three-week trip designed specifically for over-55s, following the classic route with a slower, more relaxed pace that builds in rest days. There’s extra time for acclimatisation, and accommodation is stepped up a notch with comfortable eco-lodges and private eco-campsites with heated dining rooms, making it that bit more appealing for young-at-heart retirees.
15 March 2018
travelweekly.co.uk 55
PICTURES: ISTOCK; TRAVELSPHERE; KEVIN PARROTT; POWEROFFOREVER
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