Sistine Chapel contemplation ● Michelangelo's David and the Uffizi without summer's crush ● Ravenna's Byzantine mosaics — the Western world's most spectacular outside Istanbul ● Giotto's revolutionary frescoes from Assisi to Padova — the arc of Western art's greatest turning point ● Cinque Terre by boat and on foot ● Siena's medieval lanes and San Gimignano's towers, unchanged since the 13th century ● Venice by vaporetto, on foot, and at the pace the city rewards

World-class whale watching in nutrient-rich Atlantic waters ● Emerald crater lakes and geothermal springs in volcanic calderas ● Madeira's ingeniously terraced mountainsides and subtropical "floating garden" ● Unique Guanche heritage blending with Spanish island culture ● Endemic flora and fauna found nowhere else on Earth ● Dramatic volcanic panoramas from Teide's peaks to Lanzarote's lunar landscapes

Immerse yourself in Japanese culture and society ● visit major sites and monuments and special places out of the way ● Ryokan and temple stays ● strong culinary aspect - fun and educational cooking class ● travel via famed Bullet Train

Opulent Buenos Aires: "Paris of the South" ● Ushuaia - world's southernmost city ● Beagle Channel Cruise ● Perito Moreno & Uppsala Glaciers ● Ruggedly beautiful Patagonia

Dian Fossey's Parc National des Volcans ● Maasai Mara's endless plains ● Meeting local tribal groups ● Karen Blixen "Out of Africa" Museum

Watch dawn turn the Taj Mahal's marble from soft pink to brilliant white ● cross the Thar Desert by jeep to a Rajasthani campfire of music and dance ● wander Amber Fort's Sheesh Mahal, a mirror palace built to glow by a single candle ● explore Ranakpur's Jain temple and its 1,444 uniquely carved pillars ● stand before Mehrangarh Fort's seven unconquered gates above Jodhpur ● walk the abandoned red sandstone streets of Fatehpur Sikri, Akbar's capital for just fourteen years

Cosmopolitan Yerevan: City tour ● Armenian Christian sites ● Spectacular views of Mt Ararat (weather permitting) ● Tbilisi: City Tour & Mtskhetai, ancient capital ● Travelling the Georgian Military Highway to the high Caucasus ● Legacies: Russian, Arab, Mongol, early Christian and many more!

Rila Monastery's mountain sanctuary ● four days exploring Istanbul's Byzantine and Ottoman heritage ● Georgian supra feast with qvevri wines and polyphonic song ● overland Caucasus journey crossing into Armenia ● Geghard Monastery carved into mountain cliffs ● Khor Virap beneath Mount Ararat's biblical peaks.

Guided Amazon adventure ● Guided colonial Quito tour ● Otavalo Valley-cultural centre ● Famed 'Avenue of Volcanos' ● Overnight at historic hacienda ● Cotopaxi Forest Reserve