INVITATIONAL JOURNEYS Please call your travel professional or Abercrombie & Kent at 866 252 3836 or visit our web site at akmarcopolo.com. ® Dear Marco Polo Club® traveller, We invite you to join us for a new travel season, with new destinations to experience as only Marco Polo Club Invitational Journeys can reveal them. Browse through the stunning array of programs and decide where your next exotic journey will take you. Your Marco Polo Club experts have prepared a wide range of exciting choices, from train rides through Siberia and along the Silk Road to up-close adventures with African wildlife and our first-ever foray into Colombia. Experience the unparalleled Edinburgh Military Tattoo, a whirling kaleidoscope of music, dance and display featuring performers from all over the world. Embark on a comprehensive journey to South America that features remote Easter Island, Peru, Ecuador and the Galápagos, and attend the famous Palio horse race in Siena, Italy—a tradition since the sixth century. As always, I wish you rewarding journeys and memories to last a lifetime. Geoffrey Kent Founder, Chairman & CEO 2 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS EUROPE & FESTIVALS English Gardens & The Chelsea Flower Show 12 Edinburgh Military Tattoo & Perth Highland Gathering 16 The Flemish Masters 18 Tuscany, Umbria & The Palio 20 Sicilian Sojourn 24 Castles & Wines of France 26 Riding the Rails through Siberia 30 asia Sri Lankan Serendipity 32 China: Tracing the Yangtze 36 Along the Great Silk Road by Private Train 38 From Thailand to Laos on the Mekong 40 AFRICA Southern Africa by River and Rail 44 Tanzania: Ultimate Luxury Safari 48 Uganda: Gorillas & Beyond 50 EGYPT & BEYOND Splendors of Egypt 52 Oman & the Emirates: Pearls of the Persian Gulf 56 latin AMERICA Brazil: Rainforests to Rio 58 Patagonian Paradise 60 Colombia’s Colonial Charm 64 South American Panorama 66 Index of Dates, Destinations & Pricing 74 FRONT COVER Easter Island moai at sunset 2 akmarcopolo.com • 866 252 3836 3 MOARC POLO CLUB JOURNEYS Singular. Intrepid. And unmistakably A&K. Marco Polo Club Invitational Journeys embody the spirit of the pioneering explorer and adventurer. Designed by local A&K experts around far-flung destinations or festivals and events often unseen by outsiders, they appeal to the traveller who craves a truly extraordinary experience. Marco Polo Journeys are open to any traveller with a thirst for adventure and a craving to strike out on a boldly different path. Join A&K’s very finest Tour Directors on a unique itinerary that casts the world’s most captivating destinations in an inspiring new light. Inside the Invitational What goes into making an unforgettable Marco Polo Club Invitational Journey? Exotic Lands. Unparalleled Access. Intimate Groups of Just 18 Guests Marco Polo Club guests are often the first A&K travellers A&K travel is about connecting you to your destination. to visit emerging destinations, including Madagascar, That’s why Marco Polo Club Invitational Journeys are North Korea and Colombia. Wherever you go on a Marco limited to just 18 guests on most programs. Stay in Polo Club journey, count on A&K’s hallmark insider- intimate upscale lodgings and explore sites that are closed access opportunities, including dinner in a Rapa Nui to larger groups, while enjoying more interaction with home on Easter Island and an opportunity to meditate your A&K Tour Director. with a Tibetan master. New for 2013 The Finest Local Experts Internet and Travelling Bell Boy® Your Marco Polo Club Tour Director brings your journey A&K now provides complimentary Internet access to life with one-of-a-kind local insight. While all A&K during hotel stays on select Marco Polo Club journeys. Tour Directors consistently rank near the top of their In addition, some departures include A&K’s exclusive fields, Marco Polo Club guests enjoy the privilege of Travelling Bell Boy luggage handling. Simply leave travelling with the best of the best — individuals such as your packed bags behind in your room as you walk Gerald Hatherly, Simon Butler-Madden, Aki Allam and out the door, and find them waiting inside your room Jeremy Kerrison. at your next accommodation. Contact A&K for details on availability. * * Not available on days with cruises, train rides or internal flights due to security requirements. 4 akmarcopolo.com • 866 252 3836 5 2013 MARCO POLO CLUB DESTINATIONS RUSSIA Ekaterinburg Edinburgh Moscow Novosibirsk UNITED KINGDOM Amsterdam Irkutsk Ulan-Ude London Brussels NETHERLANDS BELGIUM Paris KAZAKHSTAN Ulaan Baatar FRANCE MONGOLIA Toulouse Florence UZBEKISTAN Turkestan ITALY Tashkent Ashgabat Bukhara Beijing Palermo TURKMENISTAN SICILY CHINA Shanghai Cairo UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Lijiang EGYPT Dubai Abu Muscat Dhabi Luang Prabang OMAN Chiang Mai LAOS THAILAND Bangkok SRI LANKA COLOMBIA Colombo The Bogatá Galápagos UGANDA Quito Kampala ECUADOR Manaus Iquitos Arusha TANZANIA PERU BRAZIL Lima Brasilia ZAMBIA Victoria Falls Okavango Delta ZIMBABWE Rio de Janeiro BOTSWANA Iguassu Falls Johannesburg SOUTH AFRICA Santiago Buenos Aires ARGENTINA CHILE Ushuaia 6 AKMARCOPOLO.COM • 866 252 3836 7 m arco polo club tour directors Abercrombie & Kent Tour Directors know their destinations intimately, having spent years—if not their whole lives—living and working there. Because of this, they know the ins and outs of the michael digby destination and can offer you their expertise as only a local can. With your Tour Director’s help, every SICILIAN SOJOURN Marco Polo Club journey becomes a voyage of individual discovery and one-of-a-kind inspiration. born and educated in northern england, michael digby’s intercultural experiences started when he received an aFs scholarship to attend high school in new york. michael earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and recreational management, but his true passion was travel. his love for mediterranean cultures led him to live in spain and tuscany. michael has led a&k tours to spain, italy, morocco and France. janet cameRON ladislas ciechanowski english gardens & the chelsea Flower show c astles & wines oF France Janet cameron spent much of her childhood in lagos, nigeria, where her father was a born to Franco-polish parents in london, ladislas began his working life as an colonial administrator. a chance meeting with the great explorer sir ranulph Fiennes agriculturalist and estate manager in France and england; he still manages the piqued her interest in travel, bringing her to a&k in 1988. since then, Janet has family farm on a part-time basis. now a popular a&k tour director, ladislas’ led numerous horticultural tours through the lush gardens in the united kingdom. linguistic gifts (he has english, polish, italian, French and german to his credit) and his informed pan-european outlook make him an ideal travelling companion. KAREN mac coRMICK badral yondon edinburgh military tattoo & perth highland gathering riding the rails through siberia a former clinical nurse specialist in wisconsin, karen mac cormick married a b adral yondon began his career in tourism in 1990. a graduate of the Foreign scot and moved to scotland in 1989. she began guiding as a volunteer at st. giles language institute in ulaan baatar and the klessheim institute of tourism and hotel church and was selected to train as a blue badge guide. karen now is a guardian management in salzburg, austria, badral serves on the board of the mongolian angel and tour director for a&k. she also teaches scottish history to local tourism association and the arts council of mongolia. he is a recipient of the edinburgh residents through walks and tours of the city and its museums. outstanding tour specialist award in mongolia. simon butler-madden miguel cunat THE FLEMISH MasteRS s ri lankan serendipity a diplomat specializing in east-west relations before joining abercrombie & kent miguel cunat grew up as the son of a diplomat crisscrossing the globe between in 1989, simon butler-madden has accompanied groups throughout europe and spain and australia. lured by the beauty of the country and further travel and russia. his involvement in the arts, politics and culture of europe gives him a unique adventure opportunities, he relocated with his family to sri lanka in 2002. miguel insight that he shares with his travellers. simon is a connoisseur of european wines developed extensive knowledge of sri lanka by walking and mountain biking and and cuisine, even producing his own olive oil on a small farm in spain. has led journeys by helicopter, walking, cycling, train and camping. JEREMY KERRison gerald hatherly tuscany, umbria & the palio china: tracing the yangtze born in england, Jeremy kerrison studied european romance languages before a &k’s china specialist since 1986, gerald hatherly travels 150 days a year honing becoming a tour director, leading travellers through europe and on a&k Journeys his expertise in both china’s busiest cities and off-the-beaten-path locales. gerald by private Jet. a qualified translator, Jeremy specializes in travel literature and has has been named by Condé Nast Traveler as one of the “greatest travel pros on edited michelin green guides to spain and portugal and co-authored a guidebook earth” for china every year since 2003 and is among the “135 travel experts who about toulouse, France. can change your life.” 8 AKMARCOPOLO.COM • 866 252 3836 9 m arco polo club tour directors ines abalova akram “aki” allam along the great silk road by private train splendors oF egypt ines abalova’s expertise in leading tours within the ex-USSR states and a keen aki allam is a lifelong resident of egypt and has shared his passion for his home interest in history help her to relate easily with people of other cultures. ines proudly country with visitors from all walks of life, from richard gere and mick Jagger to led the first luxury train tour of the uzbek portion of the silk road, as well as the numerous a&k guests.