Travelling the World With Scenic Cruises and Tours
Our first trip with Scenic was in 2008 when, soon after we retired, we did the iconic Canada/Alaska trip, incorporating stays at the magnificent Fairmont hotels, the Rocky Mountaineer train and a boat through the Inside Passage. Apart from the spectacular scenery, this was a great introduction to the smooth Scenic connections, transfers and friendly, professional staff that make it all possible. We followed this up with another iconic trip – a European river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest (2010) on one of the Scenic river boats, through historic, riverside towns and cities and with ever changing vistas in the Rhine and Danube valleys. Since then, we have had many more memorable Scenic trips, including:
Spain and Portugal (2013)
Spain and Portugal (2013), when we first had reliable Wi-Fi and internet access on our comfortable coaches as we travelled between the magnificent cities of Barcelona, Valencia, Granada, Cordoba, Ronda, Seville, Salamanca, Madrid and Lisbon, with good memories of freshly-made Portuguese tarts.
South America (2015)
South America (2015) when we had 21 internal flights during the tour – imagine the logistics involved in getting us to all our flights on time. Great wildlife experiences in the Galapagos Islands with giant tortoises, frigate birds, boobies and iguanas. In the Amazon Basin, we fished for piranha, handled wild-caught caimans and rainbow boas and saw ocelots, several kinds of monkeys and many colourful birds and insects. There were many other highlights on this trip, including visiting Machu Pichu, Lake Titicaca, a helicopter flight over the Iguazu Falls, Rio de Janeiro and trying on carnival costumes, Buenos Aires and the tango– a kaleidoscope of experiences and colour);
India (2016)
India (2016) where we experienced the sights, sounds and smells of markets in New Delhi and provincial towns, experienced the changing light in the early morning and evening at the Taj Mahal, tried on precious jewelry and got to wear traditional dress, rode an elephant in the Amber Fort at Jaipur, played camel polo, visited ancient temples, travelled through the Kerala wetlands and stayed in some sumptuous hotels
Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos (2017)
Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos (2017) included hiking in the high country around Sapa, boat trips on Halong Bay and the Mekong River (We remember how many islands there are in Halong Bay because it’s the same number as the year in which we got married – 1969!); visited such exotic places as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Luang Prabang, Siem Reap and the ancient temple of Angkor Wat; considering what the Vietnamese people have been through recently, their saying of “closing the window on the past and opening the door to the future” says a lot about their indomitable spirit.
South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Kenya (2018)
South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Kenya (2018) probably our favourite trip because of all the amazing wildlife interactions mixed with spectacular scenery, often having to pinch ourselves to remind us that we were actually doing this. Highlights were many, including close encounters (several from open 4WD vehicles) with lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, giraffes, rhinos, hippos and many grazing antelopes (including the unusual gerenuk which stands on its hind legs to reach vegetation on high bushes), elephants crossing a large river using their trunks as snorkels, a hot-air balloon ride over huge herds of wildebeest in the Masai Mara National Park, a helicopter ride over Victoria Falls, bush breakfasts and sundowners served from our trucks.
Japan and South Korea (2023)
Japan and South Korea (2023) during the cherry blossom season was also spectacular; we visited many temples and shrines, dressed in traditional costume (kimono in Japan, hanbok in South Korea), drank sake, ate lots of fish, experienced traditional Geiko and Maiko entertainment, took part in tea ceremonies and sumo wrestling bouts, made paper cranes at Hiroshima and wondered at the cleanliness of major cities such as Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka in Japan, and Seoul in South Korea. The respect shown for each other and for their environment, both urban and rural, is something we could all aspire to.
So, in summary, Scenic has enabled us to experience many countries and cultures in comfort and without the need to worry about the practicalities involved in travelling in exotic places.
