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Staff Travels Costa Rica The Central America country of Costa Rica, located between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, has much to recommend it to the discerning traveller, especially those with a true love of nature. This small country, considered to be the happiest place to live in the world, has the most forward thinking approach to conservation in Latin America and encapsulates dense jungles, rugged beaches, coral reefs, mangrove swamps, active volcanoes and eerie cloud forests. It is home to 5% of the world’s total biodiversity and more than 800 species of bird. Amidst the rich, lush landscape visitors will find boutique retreats, eco lodges, family-run properties and luxurious hotels - there is something for everyone. The nature also provides the setting for a host of activities Why choose a Saga Cruise? Saga has chosen Hyde Barker as one of their preferred travel agents. Wayne Beard, their cruise expert, visited the agency in June. We were amazed at the exceptional high quality of their new cruising holidays, the great value prices and exciting itineraries with so many inclusions. • A return chauffeur service to Southampton or Dover included • Travel Insurance included • All meals, snacks, wine and entertainment included • 24 hour room service included • Daily Afternoon tea and unlimited tea and coffee included • WiFi included • Tips included • Shuttle bus at ports included • Travel Visas included India and Beyond with TransIndus Whether you are tempted by a trip through the romantic desert palaces of Rajasthan, a relaxing stay on Kerala’s lush backwaters, the temple towns of South India, a cruise up the Brahmaputra River in Assam or a glimpse of the elusive tiger, we along with TransIndus can create your perfect bespoke itinerary or find the right small group tour for you to join. TransIndus is an award winning specialist tour operator, offering tailor-made itineraries and small group tours to the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Far East and Central Asia. With over 28 years of experience in India, TransIndus is a well-established tour operator in the UK, synonymous with excellence in service and attention to details. Great pride is taken in their destination knowledge and expertise, so each itinerary is carefully planned to thread together the highlights and off-track gems, as well as the most inspirational places to stay. Explore India – “The Land of Dreams and Romance”, with an expert from Transindus on 29th November, 7.30 at the Old Theatre Deli. For a short-haul holiday with a mix of beach, walking and culture, Portugal ticks all the boxes; we went in June, known locally as the “month of festivities”! Flights take under 3 hours, and with no time change or jetlag, you can start sightseeing as soon as you step off the plane. Lisbon has plenty of museums and galleries, and we also spent time day-tripping to local beaches, and exploring the palaces and forests of Sintra – a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as taking in a Fado show (traditional Portuguese music) – a must-do whilst visiting. including zip-lining, white water rafting, bird watching, hiking, whale watching and more. Sue John from Sunvil will be at the Old Theatre Deli on 27th September at 7.30 to help you to explore Cost Rica. City Breaks have never been this good This Autumn look out for two new companies that can offer great city breaks. The first is Fred Holidays. With a real expertise in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Fred have now developed a huge amount of exciting new holidays, this means that we can combine unique accommodations in all the cities or Europe with rail and flights in inspiring cities breaks. The second company, Cities Direct is dynamic and inspiring and offer interesting and unusual city itineraries. One of their holidays in Portugal, flies direct to Lisbon includes rail travel to Coimbra, onto Aviero and Porto and flies back directly to the Uk. Choose from three, four and five star accommodation. All transfers included. We hope to see both companies at Southwell Travel Show on 20th January 2018. Why Do People Want to Travel to New Zealand? New Zealand is now one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. It’s packed with everything that you could wish for from a dream holiday; the landscape is varied and beautiful, the wildlife is delightfully weird and wonderful, the weather is favourable and the people are some of the friendliest you’ll ever meet. There’s a huge amount of culture to appreciate, but you won’t need to overcome a language barrier to do so. For nearly thirty years Silver Fern Holidays has been operating as a Specialist Tour Operator to New Zealand and is now becoming known as one of the prominent experts for travellers to New Zealand in the UK. From independent travel to travelling with a handful of like-minded traveller on unique small group tours, Silver Fern have something to suit every timeframe, budget, and travel style. (Silver Fern is the sister company of Hyde Barker Travel and is based in Southwell) Don’t miss the next New Zealand presentation at the Old Theatre Deli on 1st November, 7.30 “The Best Time to Travel to New Zealand” (You may be surprised). Hyde Barker Travel have received a Top Titan Agent Award 2016/17. Robert at the Lincolnshire Show. The Carlton International in Sorrento is great value, central and quiet. Sarah walking The Pathway of The Gods between Amalfi and Positano. Next we travelled to the majestic Douro Valley. This is Portugal’s best- known wine region, and the source of the grapes for the majority of the port produced in nearby Porto. Porto is Portugal’s second city and we spent a couple of days there, strolling around the character-laden buildings, and of course, sampling a port or two. Direct flights are available from Porto back to the UK. Laura Ling Lisbon, Porto and the Douro Valley Australia and the “Indian Pacific” We wanted to travel to Australia to visit our daughter and her family who live in Brisbane. Australia is such a long way to travel that we decided we ought to extend our stay and see more of this vast continent. Within two hours of visiting Hyde Barker we had had a conversation with Robert, our holiday was planned and were booked to go. Every aspect of our trip was arranged to perfection. The hotels were superb and the service provided by Singapore Airlines was exceptional, however our outstanding memory of our trip was the journey on the “Indian Pacific” train. Robert persuaded us to travel in platinum class and it is the height of luxury, food accommodation and service was marvellous. By day our cabin had a comfortable sofa allowing us to view the passing scenery through the window and when we returned after dinner it had been converted to a double bed complete with chocolates on the pillow. The meals were a culinary delight with accompanying wines. The only problem being that we left the train a little heavier than when we joined it! The off train excursions included a visit to the Kalgoorlie gold mine, exploring the ghost town of Cook, a drag show in Broken Hill and breakfast on Mount Lofty in Adelaide. It was wonderful to spend time with our family in Brisbane and it was really sad to say goodbye. We want to return in the not too distant future and seem more of this wonderful continent and we have heard there is another train called “The Ghan” that runs between Darwin and Adelaide. Guess we better start saving. Mary and Geoff The Indian Pacific rail journey can be booked through Travel2. We spent 3 wonderful weeks exploring South Africa on a self drive holiday organised through African Pride. Everything from start to finish was superb. We started our trip in Cape Town, a fabulous city and great introduction to this wonderfully diverse country of stunning scenery, welcoming friendly people, excellent and high quality meals accompanied by some delicious wines. After Cape Town we made our way to Stellenbosch in the heart of the winelands – rows and rows of immaculate vines set against the stunning backdrop of the mountains. From Stellenbosch we had a long drive through the Klein Karoo to Oudsthoorn, famous for its caves and ostrich farms. From there a short but stunning drive through the Outeniqua pass to Wilderness Beach on the Indian Ocean – reportedly one of the best beaches in the world – our hotel overlooking the ocean. Then on to Plettenberg, visiting Knysna en route – more stunning and dramatic scenery. Stunning South Africa with African Pride Our final stop on this amazing trip was Kichaka game reserve near Grahamstown – 5* luxury amidst the most spectacular wildlife seen close up on our game drives – elephants, cheetahs, lions, giraffe, rhino, hippos, zebras and water buffalo all seen as well as monkeys and numerous antelope. An unforgettable experience and a fitting end to our amazing holiday. We’re already planning a return visit to this amazing country! Two words to sum up our trip – SIMPLY STUNNING. Sarah and Antony African Pride will be at the Southwell Travel Show on 20th January 2018. Travellers Tales
