The Great Pyramids and Sphinx at Giza ● the spectacular Grand Egyptian Museum with Tutankhamun's treasures ● pre-dawn excursion to Abu Simbel's colossal rock-cut temples ● three-night Nile cruise from Aswan to Luxor sailing past Kom Ombo and Edfu ● Luxor's magnificent Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings explored with private guides ● camel trek to St. Simeon Monastery and felucca sail on the Nile

Guided walking tours of Palermo, Taormina, Rome ● Ancient Greek Temples at Agrigento ● The Doric Greek temples of Paestum ● Compelling Pompeii ● Rome - The Vatican & the Sistine Chapel

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

Helsinki's Temppeliaukio rock church and Suomenlinna fortress ● Stockholm's Vasa Museum and Nobel Prize halls ● overnight Baltic Sea ferries ● Copenhagen's Rosenborg Castle and canal cruise ● Oslo's Viking Ship Museum ● Flåm Railway and Nærøyfjord cruise ● Bergen's Hanseatic wharf

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

Chagall windows at Fraumünster ● Jungfraujoch at 3,454 metres ● eight-hour Glacier Express journey through UNESCO rail landscapes ● Gornergrat cog railway beneath the Matterhorn ● medieval Bern, Lucerne, and Fribourg ● St. Gallen's baroque library and manuscripts

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

Glitzy Riyadh ● Oasis towns ● Beautiful Shammar Mountain region ● Desert landscapes ● fascinating cultural immersion ● Historic forts & Mosques ● spectacular Wadi Al-Disah ● Nabatean ruins at Madain Saleh ● Historic Jeddah

Lan Ha Bay overnight cruise ● Hanoi city tour ● Rural Vietnam cultural experience ● Hue: Perfume River sampan trip ● Charming, historic Hoi An ● Saigon & Cu Chi tunnel complex ● Mekong Delta boat trip