Kenya Safari
Going on safari conjures images of trekking in rugged terrain, sweating under a glaring sun and batting away unthinkable bugs. But Talbot Tours’ Kenya Safari Adventure is “one of the more relaxing vacations you’ll ever take,” said president and TAP founder Serge Talbot.
The itinerary includes five game reserves: Amboseli, Samburu, Mount Kenya, Lake Nakuru and Maasai Mara national parks. There, travelers stay in African lodges that rival American resorts and spend their days relaxing between twice-daily game drives in the early morning and the late afternoon.
During each outing, travelers will see an “incredible variety of animals,” Talbot said. Guides, many of whom Talbot Tours has been using for more than 10 years, navigate safari vehicles through reserves where guests will spot lions, cheetahs, giraffes, gazelles, antelope, elephants, baboons, wildebeest, zebras and more.
Talbot limits outings to six people per vehicle, so the passengers all get their own window and can easily take photos from the vehicle’s pop-top. The company also limits each departure to four safari vans, for a maximum of 24 travelers. Between game drives, guests eat lunch and enjoy free time to read, swim, take a nap or walk the grounds.
In addition to experiencing the vastness of Kenya and its varied topography, from mountainous terrain to arid desert, travelers also get to meet some of the country’s most interesting people. The tour stops at a Maasai Mara village, where guests can interact with the tribe, including the children.
“If you bring them a pencil with an eraser, that’s a thrill to these kids,” Talbot said.
Talbot Tours typically offers the 13-day itinerary in May and November and can provide customized departures as well.
Malta with Maxima Tours
New to TAP this year, Maxima Tours started going to Malta in 2013, but company founder Gemma Allan is from Malta, and her son and Maxima’s experience director, Damon Allan, is a citizen of the small island country, “so it’s not like we’re rookies,” he said.
Maxima spent more than two years putting together the itinerary, often calling on — and sometimes incorporating — relatives, such as Damon Allan’s great aunt, a nun who greets the group during a village feast to celebrate a patron saint.
Malta is an island in the Mediterranean 50 miles south of Sicily, but it isn’t Italy. It is an independent country with two official languages: Maltese and English. Over the centuries, the Greeks, Romans, Muslims, Normans, Spanish, French and British have occupied the island, creating a rich and intricate history that awes visitors.
“We’ve got 7,000 years of civilization, so it’s a big wow factor,” Damon Allan said. “We have, arguably, some of the oldest temples in the world. We have temples that are 1,000 years older than the pyramids.”
Maxima limits the group to 17 to allow access to small sites. The trip includes a boat tour of Grand Harbor on traditional Maltese fishing vessels and a demonstration by a Phoenician-style carpet weaver. Travelers visit a man known as “the godfather of olive oil in Malta” for an olive oil tour and tasting, and go to a master cheesemaker’s farm, where they learn about the craft and even milk some animals.
The group spends time in the walled capital city of Valletta, which the Knights of St. John founded in the 1500s. In the silent city of Mdina — silent because the number of vehicles is limited — Maxima arranges for a drummer and two torchbearers to greet travelers at the city gates and lead them through the winding streets to cocktails and dinner.
New Zealand
New Zealand is home to erupting geysers and bubbling mud springs, snow-covered mountains and tropical beaches — and even active volcanoes — but its allure goes beyond its epic geography.
“For clients, it’s always been a destination in the back of their mind that they want to get there, but it always seemed unreachable,” said Vasil Vladinski, operations manager for TAP partner Anderson Vacations. “Now it’s more reachable than ever.”
Daily flights are available from the North American market direct to Auckland; some of them can be less expensive than flying to Europe, especially those leaving from the West Coast. Anderson Vacations offers a wide range of planned group tours to New Zealand but also tailors individual trips to travelers’ interests. Most North American travelers spend about two weeks in the country.
Nearly all of Anderson’s itineraries include Maori cultural experiences. At the Mitai Maori Village north of Rotorua, guests learn about Maori “ta moko” tattoo art and eat a traditional hangi meal, which is cooked in the thermal mud.
“Lord of the Rings” fans can visit the Shire when they stop at the Hobbiton Movie Set near Matamata. Activities such as bungee jumping, jet boating and “zorbing” — rolling down a hill in a giant inflatable bubble — will keep adrenaline junkies busy.
The country’s North Island offers Waitomo Caves and the mud pools, sulfur pools and geysers in the Rotorua and Taupo regions. On South Island, visitors can hike in Abel Tasman National Park and kayak in its crystal-clear turquoise waters. Kayaking in the remote Milford Sound allows travelers to watch the sunset and discover waterfalls as seals jump all around their boats.
“There’s no one else around; you’re in this majestic place,” Vladinski said. “It’s almost like an ‘Am I really doing this?’ feel.”
