SANTA CRUZ, is a very quaint town which makes it remarkable, recovering from an earthquake that they suffered in 2010. The museum which was thoroughly enjoyed by everybody, also provided a march back in history.
In a focal point, in the Colchagua Valley we visited the Santa Cruz winery. We sampled the different grapes and had a spectacular view of the amazing autumn colors of the valley. As for our every day life experience, we had an unforgettable home hosted lunch.
SANTIAGO
Sophisticated capital with interesting architecture and friendly atmosphere.
Visiting Valparaiso was a pleasant experience of seeing a UNESCO site. Getting to know its history walking through its steep streets and trying to imagine the stories of all those old buildings/ houses which are now in continuos process of becoming alive again through restoration.
URUGUAY
A small jewel which provides an interesting experience as you are being walked through the city by our local guide.
The visit to the ranch was a good chance to explore life in the country side, learning about culture and meeting a real gaucho was awesome.
BUENOS AIRES
A huge cosmopolitan area with a European flavor, palaces and Tango.
Its Plaza de Mayo and Casa Rosada, captures many historic events from yesterday and today. This provides a forum for todays way of democratic expression.
IT TAKES 2 tango you and Buenos Aires
Tigre optional tour.
The region is vast. At 5,405 square miles, the Tigre Delta is among the world’s largest, and it is one of the only major deltas in the world that does not empty into a sea or ocean. It flows instead into the Río de la Plata, which separates Argentina and Uruguay, after the Río Paraná splits into several smaller rivers and forms a multitude of sedimentary islands covered in forest and grasslands. With its islands and canals.
We had the chance to visit the first of five sections and it felt great. to be surrounded by nature, even though we were so near to the city of Buenos Aires. It allowed us to comprehend another way of life. And the controversial topic: local inhabitants vs. weekend new owners, todays reality : modern and old houses are to be seen.
IGUASSU
One of the new natural wonders of the world with its 279 falls.
A possibility to explore many falls from both countries. It has also showed how two countries are well organized and interact in providing access to an amazing natural wonder.
Macuco boat ride Optional tour
Had the chance of experience the falls from another perspective but more so felt young again, laughing getting wet and yes !! It was fun! True highlight.
RIO DE JANEIRO
Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city in Brazil, on the South Atlantic coast. Rio is famous for its breathtaking landscape, its laid-back beach culture and its annual carnival. It is surrounded by spectacular icons including Sugar Loaf Mountain, Corcovado or the statue of Christ the Redeemer , and the Tijuca hills.
Brazilian music is full of passion, of sentiment, of joy. It is the result of a long simmering mix of heritage from Amerindian, Portuguese and African sources meeting global influences that creates their soul.
It is was an opportunity to taste a little bit of their music through the Rio by night optional tour.
Music is part of the Brazilian soul, and rhythm is in the way people speak, in the way they walk, and as our guide said ….in the way they play football/soccer.
Favela optional tour, gave us the chance to see the reality of Rio, where do the working class live? A town within a city!
This has been an excellent travel experience!
Vantage Program Manager
Nadia Gibson
Come face to face with the impressive Pont du Gard on our French Waterways river cruise! This Roman aqueduct and UNESCO World Heritage Site is 50 km-long (31 mi) and crosses the Gardon near Remoulins, France.
See its three tiers and arches for yourself on our French Waterways: Highlights of Burgundy & Provence river cruise!
It's not everyday that you come face to face with Africa's "Big Five." Or snorkel amid the Great Barrier Reef. Not many Americans have the chance to stand in front of the Taj Mahal at dawn, when the white marble glistens from the sun's reflection. For many, it takes a lifetime. For 16 privileged Vantage travelers, it takes just 35 days on Around the World: the Ultimate Journey.
"We are so pleased with the attention to every detail Vantage has taken to assure the finest trip we have ever had in our many years of travel... There have been so many positive additions to our already wonderful itinerary... Many thanks to Vantage for making this great opportunity available and so successful."
Robert Tall, Glendale, CA
Around the World 2012
Name: Rene R.
Job Title: Supervisor Airport Services
# of Years with Vantage: 14
What do you like most about your job? Why:
Working at Vantage Travel has allowed me to experience working for a company that owns and operates their own ships. This has been a valuable working experience to learn more about different aspects of the travel business. But what I like most about my job is the people that I work with from the people in the Boston headquarters to all the worldwide offices.
What is your favorite part about working for Vantage:
My favorite part of working for Vantage is the ability to travel on many of the Vantage tours. I’ve traveled extensively throughout Europe. I’ve stayed in beautiful hotels, ships, and even got to experience travel throughout North America on Via Rail. Most of the trips that were offered to me were complimentary, and if I was required to pay for the trip it was for taxes and fees. Even my family has traveled on the Vantage Travel river boats with our company discounts.
Which one of Vantage’s Memorable Journeys is your dream trip, and why?
My Vantage Memorable Journey dream trip would be to sail on the Paul Gauguin. I haven’t been on this ship yet, and look forward to sailing on the Paul Gauguin.
What is your greatest travel memory?
My greatest travel memory is traveling thru France on our Riverboat tour. It was wonderful!
Name: Stephen W.
Job Title: Product Admin
# of Years with Vantage: 7 years
What do you like most about your job? Why:
Vantage is a very professional Deluxe Worldwide Travel company, and we use very good systems to maintain all data for all the departments. I enjoy the standardization during my work. Also Vantage provides all kinds of tours from every corner of the world. I enjoy being a part of the group of designers and accomplishing some of the extraordinary programs.
What is your favorite part about working for Vantage:
My favorite part about working with Vantage is I am always facing new problems, changes and challenges from all aspects, which I resolve by the end of the day.
Which one of Vantage’s Memorable Journeys is your dream trip, and why?
My dream trip is go to South Africa, where I can be close to nature and animals.
What is your greatest travel memory?
I attended a Vantage European River Cruise in Germany with some of colleagues in 2008. I enjoyed every moment I spent on the Rhine River. I hope I will have more opportunities to join Vantage Groups.
The ship was great in all respects. Wonderful cabin, superb dining and attentive staff. The sights and sounds of Holland and Belgium will provide us with memories for years to come. Finally, it just doesn't get any better than a Vantage river cruise.
Name: Bob & Pat Regan
City: Mechanicsburg
State: Pennsylvania
Trip: European River Cruises/ Waterways of Holland & Belgium: Tulips, Windmills & Canals
Rating: 5 Stars ★★★★★
What could be better than endless delights on a grand excursion through historic Normandy, Burgundy, and Provence? And let's not forget Paris! Disover centuries of history and beauty are as you cruise the Seine from Paris to the coast and back aboard the Deluxe ms River Navigator. On the Normandy coast, follow the heroic journey of Allied soldiers who stormed the beaches on D-Day, then sail back to the Paris, the “City of Light.” Continue your voyage to the Mediterranean on the Saône and Rhône rivers aboard the Deluxe ms River Discovery II, passing through landscapes where the magical light inspired van Gogh. Along the way, you'll encounter ancient towns, lush vineyards and historic wine estates, great châteaux, and countless architectural treasures. As you cruise, indulge your palate with wine and chocolate tastings, and many more samplings of regional specialties. Throughout this one-of-a-kind river voyage, you’ll experience the richly satisfying culture, cuisine, and joie de vivre that make France such an inspiring destination. Enjoy all France has to offer on our Treasures of France: A Grand River Journey from Normandy to Provence European river cruise!
Witness the contrasts between northern and southern Norway on our Grand Norwegian Coastal Voyage small ship cruise!. Depending on your departure date, you may revel in the delights of spring as Arctic landscapes begin to thaw or observe the landscapes come alive with rich color in the fall. Awaken your senses to the unfolding beauty of nature while your Hurtigruten ship sails along the 1,250 miles of coastline.
Wish to witness the unique migratory bird life, and sea life is also most active during this time? Spring and fall are the best times for you. Travel to unspoiled fishing villages and historic towns, including Ålesund, Trondheim, and Tromso, and the spectacular Lofoten Islands, experiencing a true milestone as your ship sails across the Arctic Circle to the very top of Europe. Your cruisetour includes two nights in Bergen — one before your cruise and one after. You can also enhance your Norwegian journey with our four-day Copenhagen, Denmark, post-trip extension.
Enjoy the best of Deluxe river cruising on our Grand European River Cruise. Experience the spires of Cologne and the spectacular Rhine Gorge with the Austrian-Hungarian Empire cities of Eastern Europe. This journey combines our Majestic Rivers of Europe and Gateway to the Black Sea, our two popular river journeys that have been newly enhanced for 2014, this voyage is specifically made to dive into the full pageant of European history and culture in the best way possible — by unpacking just once aboard a state-of-the-art Vantage river ship. You’ll explore seven countries via the continent’s great river “highways” — the Rhine, the Main, and the Danube. Along the way, get to know Vienna and Budapest, meet local people and visit homes, and stroll off your boat into the winding lanes of medieval towns and villages. You simply won’t find a better, more in-depth Deluxe European river cruise ... or a better value!
See our latest South Africa Botswana, Namibia & Victoria Falls video!
What is your favorite part about working for Vantage:
The opportunity to travel and experience the quality product that Vantage offers! Also, I love having an onsite gym, especially having access to Beantown Bootcamp, complete with a special discount as a Vantage Associate.
Which one of Vantage’s Memorable Journeys is your dream trip, and why?
French Waterways; I love the Riverboat product concept and I’ve travelled to France several times (and loved it), but have never been to Southern France.
Start your Switzerland & the Heart of the Rhine & Moselle river cruise off with an optional extension to historic Bruges! Get to know this well-preserved medieval city with an included canal boat cruise beneath its graceful bridges, as well as a walking tour along its cobbled streets. You'll admire the juxtaposition of historic Burg Square, City Hall, and the Church of Our Lady with the new Concertgebouw concert building in 'tZand Square, which opened in 2002. This extension also includes a Welcome Dinner at your hotel, and free time to explore as you wish.
Your Price Includes:
3 nights at the Deluxe Kempinski Dukes Palace hotel
3 breakfasts, and 1 dinner
Walking tour of Bruges including the Church of Our Lady, Burg Square, and the Market, plus a canal ride
Vantage Program Manager, transfers, and baggage handling (except in customs)
HURTIGRUTEN (the fast route) is an institution in Norway, celebrating its 120th anniversary this year. 11 ships sail up and down the coast from Bergen to Kirkenes close to the Russian border, docking 34 times each way day and night. The ships are a unique combination: ferry, freighter, cruise ship carrying cargo, local passengers, cars and tourists. They are the lifeline of many small towns along the coast, and especially in the winter with bad weather and closed roads and airports the ships may be the only possibility to get from one place to another. On any ship you will find a mix of Norwegian families, students, conference groups and tourists from all over the world. Some of them will be there for only a couple of hours between two ports, some for a couple of days and others like us for all 12 days from Bergen and back to Bergen.
The towns where we dock vary in size from 800 inhabitants to 165.000 (Trondheim, Norway’s 3rd largest city) and the length of the ports of call vary from 10 minutes to 6 hours. In towns where there is a short stop only, there is enough time to watch the loading/offloading of foodstuff, fishing gear, fish fodder, building material, garden soil, snowmobiles, beer/wine etc. In towns where there is a longer stop, Hurtigruten offers a number of shore excursions. Depending of the time of the year there are snow adventures, tours by boat, RIB and kayak, bird watching tours and the whole year around city tours and landscape tours by bus. Vantage offers 5 included excursions in various cities. In April it is still winter north of the Arctic Circle and the dog sledding tours are popular. The puppies were almost more popular than the sledding experience and many were tempted to bring one of the puppies home…
The highlights of the Vantage excursions are the North Cape and the Vesterålen tour. In April the North Cape was fantastic. The drive to the North Cape across the barren, flat plateau of Mageroya island is always spectacular. In some areas there was still so much snow that we could barely see the top of the 6 feet tall orange snow poles lining the road. At the Cape itself you really feel that you are at the end of the world when looking out over the Arctic Ocean, and the cold weather added to that feeling. The wind makes it feel like Siberia, although the thermometer may say that it’s just below freezing point. It’s the closest to the North Pole most people will ever get.
The Vesterålen tour goes through some of Norway’s prettiest areas. It has everything: mountains, fjords, fields and meadows and wooden farm houses here and there along the winding narrow roads. It’s good to get ashore and see what it looks like behind the mountain ridges that we admire from the ship.
The scenery, the incredible mountainous coastline of Norway is the “entertainment” on the tour. It changes constantly and is spectacular, no matter what season or what kind of weather. The weather changes too, often completely and several times within an hour. The sky can be filled with clouds in countless sizes and shapes in hundreds of different colours, varying from threatening dark steel grey to white and fluffy cotton like. Snow and hail in one direction and sunshine in another. Each season has its charm and in the spring and in the fall you often experience 3 different seasons in 6 days, as Norway is such a long country. In May everything will be green in Bergen while there will still be plenty of snow in the north.
A TV crew followed one of the ships, MS Nordnorge, in the summer 2011and filmed day and night on and off the ship for 134 hours, broadcast live continuously on Norwegian TV. That has been turned into a 2 hour program and recently broadcast on PBS stations throughout America. It really shows what HURTIGRUTEN and the Coastal Steamer is. It is called “A Norway Passage: The Most Beautiful Voyage”. If you missed it, you can watch it online on Hurtigruten’s website: www.hurtigruten.us. It will make you want to come, and we will be happy to show you a very beautiful part of the world.
Karin Jans
Vantage Travel Program Manager
The Grand Norwegian Coastal Voyage
We loved our Australia/New Zealand trip in 2013. The travel mates, tour guides, bus drivers accommodations and food were exceptional. We took all the optional trips and pre-trip extension, and all were very good. So much beautiful scenery, so little time! I would advise you to travel light and bring your fly netting for Uluru.
Name: Peggy
City: Georgetown
State: Tx
Trip: Australia & New Zealand Escorted Land Tours / The Best of Australia & New Zealand
Rating: 4 Stars ★★★★★
What do you like most about your job? Why:
I enjoy working with the products, learning about the destinations, and watching all of the hard work done in the background come to fruition. Ultimately, we are making travel dreams come true and that is very rewarding.
Which one of Vantage’s Memorable Journeys is your dream trip, and why?
After visiting Asia for the first time last year, I now want to go and see more. I would love to travel to Myanmar on our Burma and the Irrawaddy River cruise. I love to explore new cultures and to see the ancient temples of Bagan would be incredible.
What is your greatest travel memory?
Last year I traveled with my Mother and another Vantage colleague to Vietnam and Cambodia, and cruised the Mekong River. It was my first time traveling to Asia and visiting the sprawling Angkor Wat temple was truly one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life. Wandering through the ancient buildings and seeing the history and beauty of such a magnificent place is something I will always remember. The true highlight was riding an elephant around one of the temples.
Buenos Aires is a city full of culture, lights, history and contrasts. Being the capital of Argentina is big cosmopolitan metropolis with almost 3 million inhabitants and 13 million total in the conurbation placing this city among the 20 largest cities in the world. What is interesting is that the whole population or Argentina is 40 milion in habitants so as you can see it is heavily concentrated in the capital area.
Buenos Aires is considered to be the Paris of South America due to its French influence in the architecture. Many cafes with tables al fresco will be filled up with busy portenos (native of Buenos Aires) sipping on small espresso cafes trying to solve the problems of the world. You will discover the city and will have time on your own to explore it.
Like Indians, Argentines consider cows to be sacred, but their worship takes a different path. Rather than strolling along major highways and lounging on street corners, cows are most likely to be found sizzling on the parrilla (grill), at one of the numerous local restaurants famous for their asado (grilled meat). And of course you will be able to find at many of the stores in town the leather products that Argentina is famous for.
Tango is a sensual dance described by many as “vertical expression of a horizontal desire”. You will get a chance not only to enjoy what is considered the best tango show in town but also to learn the 8 basic steps on a private lesson.
The Tigre delta is one of the largest deltas in the world and you will have the chance of taking a fantastic boat ride exploring the islands and seeing the locals living there. It looks like Venice before development, full of trees, small canals and a lot of boats coming and going since there are no roads there. A visit to Buenos Aires must include a visit to the Tigre and the northern suburbs.
Evita made Argentina famous with the musical from Andrew Lloyd Weber, one thing is for sure she never said or sung “don’t cry for me Argentina”, discovering the museum and cemetery where she is entombed is a great way of learning about this controversial character that is still loved and hated with no in between by the Argentines.
Those who love the “Paris of South America” know that although its broad avenues, stylish inhabitants, and mouthwatering cuisine may look to Europe for inspiration, its unique charm can only be described as 100% Argentine.
Start packing and come to South America, an array of colors, flavors and unique experiences are awaiting for you here.
Nacho Eiras
South America and Antarctica Program Manager
South America: Chile, Argentina, Uruguay & Brazil
More images of this tour @ http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.529355203752932.114167.268822029806252&type=1
Extend your Gateway to the Black Sea river cruise experience with a pre-trip extension to Prague, "City of 100 Spires," and Bratislava, the "Coronation City!"
Prague
Spend a half-day tour of the Old Town, and the Jewish Quarter. Plus, you'll be treated to a Prague Castle tour. Then, on your way to Bratislava, you'll stop in Brno, Czech Republic for a walking tour, where your Vantage Program Manager will provide you with money for lunch where you'll be able to choose any restaurant you'd like.
Bratislava
You'll be captivated by Bratislava's many historic treasures as you explore on a walking tour. And, you'll take a mini train ride to Bratislava Castle for spectacular city views. When lunchtime comes you'll enjoy an authentic meal in the home of a local family! Last but not least, you'll stop in the village of Dunaalmas, Hungary for a community hosted lunch, where you can help prepare the meal with guidance from your friendly hosts.
Your Price Includes:
Tack on four extra days to your Best of Africa: Botswana, Namibia & Victoria Falls and explore one of South Africa’s finest private game reserves. When you're not busy seeking out Africa’s elusive “Big Five” on game drives in open-air safari vehicles, you'll be relaxing at the elegant Mabula Game Lodge, situated inside the gates of the reserve. And don't worry, all rooms have air conditioning, en suite bathrooms, and ethnic African decor. Let's not forget about the food! The lodge features world-class cuisine at a variety of unusual dining venues.
Your Price Includes:
Powered by Compendium