Six lesser-visited Dodecanese islands via ferry ● Nisyros' active volcanic crater ● medieval Rhodes & neoclassical Symi ● Athens' marble Acropolis & Parthenon ● Ancient Agora & Archaeological Museum ● modern Exarhia neighbourhood & Central Market

Rhodes' UNESCO-protected medieval city ● Symi's neoclassical harbour & monastery ● Nisyros volcano & hydrothermal crater ● Kalymnos sponge museums & island traditions ● Leros' unique Italian rationalist architecture ● local tavernas & island specialties

John Rylands Library, Manchester's neo-Gothic masterpiece ● the Roman frontier at Vindolanda and Hadrian's Wall ● Durham Cathedral, the finest Norman interior in England ● crossing the tidal causeway to Holy Island, Lindisfarne ● York's medieval walls, Viking underworld and soaring Minster ● the Mersey waterfront and a farewell ferry crossing at Liverpool

Two days at Pitcairn Island—one of Earth's most remote inhabited places, home to fewer than 50 descendants of the HMS Bounty mutineers ● 11 nights on board the custom-built expedition vessel MV Aranoa—an all-inclusive expedition cruising experience ● Explore Pitcairn's Adamstown, the Bounty Museum, and Fletcher Christian's tomb ● Discover the stunning Gambier Islands and navigate the vast Tuamotu Archipelago, the world's largest chain of atolls ● Bora Bora's legendary lagoon—swim with rays and reef sharks and explore WWII relics ● Moorea 4x4 touring and afternoon dolphin expedition

Ladakh's Buddhist monasteries including Hemis and Thiksey ● traditional village cultural immersion ● Darjeeling's UNESCO Toy Train journey ● tea estate tours with tastings ● four-night Brahmaputra River cruise ● Assamese silk-weaving workshops ● Kamakhya tantric temple ● Kaziranga safaris for one-horned rhinos and tigers.

'Imperial cities', Meknes, Fes, Marrakech ● Volubilis, Morocco's only Roman site ● Atlas Mountain vistas and charming villages ● Merzouga dunes - Sahara experience ● Dramatic Todra Gorge ● Relaxed seaside town of Essaouira

Two full days among the temples of Angkor, including Banteay Srei's extraordinary rose-pink carvings ● an overnight cruise on the karst-studded waters of Lan Ha Bay ● three evenings in Hoi An's UNESCO-listed Ancient Town ● the Cham Dynasty's remote spiritual centre at My Son ● Cambodia's history confronted honestly at Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek ● a Thai cooking class in Chiang Mai, from market to table.

Sapporo city touring ● Ainu cultural experiences at Kawamura Kaneto Ainu Museum and hands-on cuisine ● Scenic countryside touring in Furano and Biei ● Relaxing at an onsen resort ● Exploring Jigokudani's geothermal wonders ● Riding the bullet train and visiting historic Hirosaki Castle

Vienna bookend experience: ship introduction plus two immersive nights for museums, opera, and coffeehouse culture ● Schonbrunn Palace baroque gardens with time beyond cruise-day visits ● Exclusive Oktoberfest celebration aboard ship with Bavarian music ● UNESCO Wachau Valley scenic cruising past terraced vineyards ● Melk Abbey's baroque masterpiece and medieval manuscripts ● Budapest's Szechenyi thermal baths where locals play chess in steaming pools ● Jewish Quarter including Europe's largest synagogue and ruin-pub architecture ● Belvedere Palace and Klimt's "The Kiss" with unhurried gallery time.