Abercrombie & Kent has released a bumper 124-page 2019 Europe program, including luxury private and small group journeys to 28 European countries from Spain and Portugal, to Georgia and Armenia, Iceland and Norway and many places in between.
The compendium is A&K’s largest Europe portfolio yet and is full of ways to give travellers new perspectives on favourite destinations as well as introducing some lesser-known locales. With over-tourism a new challenge in some of the great European cities, A&K helps its guests beat the queues, arranges after-hours access to important monuments and sites and private encounters away from the crowds.
Conscious that many A&K guests like to hand-craft their own journeys and direct their own experiences, the new portfolio provides a wealth of ideas and suggestions of ways to travel and places to combine. For example, the 10-day private journey to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania takes in the captivating capitals of these three countries revealing Europe’s oldest apothecary, the Latvian Opera on a behind-the-scenes visit, War & Peace film locations and more. Prices from $11,665 per person twin share.
New to the collection is a week-long private journey taking in Munich and Salzburg, two of Central Europe’s most vibrant cities. Beer halls, Baroque architecture and a rich market tradition in Munich combine with the unrivalled musical heritage of Salzburg, the city of Mozart. Prices from $7,505 per person twin share.
Also new is a two-week private journey through Spain taking in the country’s most iconic sights from north to south. From the striking architecture of Gaudí in Barcelona to the finest bodegas in Jerez, the priceless galleries of Madrid seen through the eyes of an art connoisseur and an insider’s culinary introduction to San Sebastián and the vineyards of Rioja. Prices from $18,055 per person twin share.
Ireland also features with a number of choices including luxury rail journeys aboard Belmond Grand Hibernian and the 9-day Best of Southern Ireland, which showcases the raw landscapes, the quaint villages and the folk culture of this magical country. Guests explore famous gardens with private guides, take an insider’s tour of the Waterford crystal factory, travel the scenic Ring of Kerry and bed down in country manor houses and a Georgian townhouse hotel. Prices from $10,895 per person twin share.
On private journeys, there are no fixed days, dates or prices, all quotes being managed on a bespoke basis.
There are also a number of River Cruise Journeys featured including the 11-day Paris, Burgundy & A South of France Cruise, which reveals Paris in all its splendour and Burgundy’s wine capital Beaune before a week-long cruise along the Saône and Rhône Rivers. There are three departure dates in 2019, a maximum group size of 24 and prices from $12,565 per person twin share. Other river cruise destinations include Switzerland and the Rhine.
The 2019 portfolio offers a 13-day luxury expedition cruise to Italy aboard brand-new mega-yacht Le Bougainville. This all-encompassing, intimate voyage takes guests along nearly the entire navigable coast of Italy, starting in Florence, the land of the Renaissance, and ending in timeless Venice. Other highlights include Livorno and Corsica (France), the Aeolian Islands, Sicily, Puglia and Ancona. Prices from $17,325 per person twin share.
There are a number of suggested extensions also included in the new collection which are shorter itineraries that can be tacked on to another to add another dimension or round off a stay in the region. They are generally designed for less than a week to one destination. The six-day Stories of Malta, for example, combines well with a visit to Italy revealing the island’s fascinating 7,000-year-old history and more historic sites than any other country. Prices from $4,765 per person twin share.
The 4-day Krakow Extension, which introduces one of Europe’s oldest and most beautiful cities, is a prelude to A&K’s Limited Edition small group journey Beyond the Iron Curtain, which reveals the fascinating history of Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic and Hungary told by local characters and experienced at the major city sites where the turbulent events played out. The 13-day small group journey has two departures in 2019 with prices from $12,895 per person. The 4-day Krakow Extension is priced from $1,995 per person twin share.
More information and content can be found on Abercrombie & Kent’s website which is constantly being updated with new journeys, accommodation information and refinements to existing holiday ideas.
For more information, see abercrombiekent.com.au