Asia

Asia

This 17-day expedition cruise aboard Le Lapérouse will take us to explore the wonders and ancestral tribes of New Guinea. Board the ship in Cairns and Le Lapérouse will sail for Papua New Guinea, a fascinating land that is home to more than 700 ethnic groups within a highly diverse yet mainly unexplored ecosystem. Our journey through Tufi will be one of the highlights of our voyage. Dubbed the Scandinavia of the Tropics, you will undoubtedly fall under the charm of this picturesque region, with its deep ‘fjords’ known locally as ‘rias’, which were formed through volcanic activity.

Asia

At just 100,000 square km, South Korea is a small country that is easy to get around, and you can see a lot without spending long days on the road. Seoul is a very modern capital city with a population of around 10 million. While there is much to see and do in Seoul, you need to leave the capital to see this wonderful country; traditional villages, UNESCO temples and Buddhas, large and small cities, gorgeous countryside with hills full of native trees and rice paddies on what appears to be every spare piece of flat land.

Asia

Japan offers a unique mix of the modern and the traditional. From the hi-tech speed and efficiency of the bullet train, to the serenity of Kyoto’s zen gardens and temples, Japan is a treasure trove of unique experiences. The country, which is roughly the size of Germany consists of thousands of islands, of which Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku are the four largest. Japan’s rugged peaks, rocky coastlines, gorges, lakes, waterfalls and dense forests are stunning. This tour includes the best Japan has to offer, and follows a leisurely pace, beginning and ending in Tokyo.

Asia

Japan has so many hidden treasures. With wonderfully preserved traditions, beautiful natural scenery, and cultural experiences it is simply a pleasure to visit. This trip takes you away from the busy, touristed sites to delve deeper into Japanese culture. We’ll visit onsen villages, learn about Samurai culture, hike in pristine forests and visit three UNESCO listed sites. For first time travellers to Japan, this is a wonderful introduction to a country that will keep drawing you back.

Asia

On this tour we visit the historically intertwined countries of Vietnam and Cambodia, taking in bustling metropolis cities, ancient kingdoms, world heritage sites, and spectacular landscapes. With a fascinating history, French-influenced food, and scenic waterways, Vietnam has much to offer the traveller. Vietnam's largest rivers, the Mekong in the south and the Red in the north, end at the South China Sea. On this journey, we will cruise the serene waters of both the Mekong delta and UNESCO World Heritage-listed Halong Bay in northeast Vietnam, which consists of more than 1,600 islands and inlets.

Asia

Bangladesh - The Land of Bengal - is known for its lush tropical forests and network of waterways. The largest mangrove forest in the world, the Sundarbans, is located in the southwest. Dhaka, the capital city, is not a quiet, retiring place. The city is a gloriously noisy and chaotic place, bubbling with energy. The Kingdom of Bhutan, known to the locals as Druk Yul, Land of the Thunder Dragon, is a small landlocked nation in the Himalayas. The Taktsang monastery (known as Tigers Nest) is the country’s best-known icon but there are many more highlights on offer.

Asia

Sri Lanka is an island nation in the Indian Ocean separated from India by the Palk Strait. It is “almost” linked to India by a mostly underwater atoll called Adam’s Bridge. It is a very lush, tropical island sitting just north of the equator. There are many reasons to visit Sri Lanka – there is so much to see and do. Even though it is a relatively small country, each region is quite different. The indigenous and colonial history is fascinating. The food is fabulous. The scenery is spectacular and the abundance of wildlife will take you by surprise.

Asia

India is a study in contrasts; bustling cities that bear the legacies of once-glorious empires, a patchwork of farmlands and hamlets fringing lush forests, destinations steeped in history-making their inexorable way towards modernity.Highlights of this fabulous tour include retracing India’s Mughal and colonial eras on a historic trail through Delhi; reliving Mowgli’s days in the Kanha and Pench forests with glimpses of the incredible wildlife that featured in the Jungle Book films, and viewing Central India’s wildlife on jeep safaris and/or canoeing on the Denwa River on the fringes of Satpura National Park.

Asia

Mongolia is one of the world’s least-developed, least-populated countries. If you want to see a night sky so clear that you’ll be reminded that the galaxy is infinite, or to camp on the edge of a vast steppe covered in chive flowers as far as the eye can see, Mongolia is the place. With a population of only 3 million, roughly half of the country’s population is packed into the capital Ulaanbaatar. Outside of that, the population of Mongolia’s largest “cities” remains in the tens of thousands, with a significant number still living a traditional lifestyle as nomadic herders.