Audley win Gold in Wanderlust Travel Awards

Excitement and trepidation were the order of the day at Destinations travel show in Earl’s Court yesterday.

Voted by the readers of Wanderlust, the annual travel awards rate various aspects of travel, from preferred airlines and tour operators to the most popular countries visited in the past year.

This year there were eleven categories and Audley walked away with Gold for Top Tour Operator and Silver for Top Website, quite remarkable considering over 700 tour operators were voted for. Managing Director Craig Burkinshaw was on hand to pick up the awards, along with some of our sales specialists looking after the stand at Destinations that day.

Craig with our Gold award for best tour operator

Here are some of the results…to read the full list of winners visit the Wanderlust website.

Top Country

1. Japan
2. Bhutan
3. New Zealand

Top Emerging Destination

1. Sudan
2. Greenland
3. Mongolia

Top City

1. Luang Prabang, Laos
2. Kyoto, Japan
3. Siena, Italy

Top Airline

1. Singapore Arlines
2. Oman Air
3. Air New Zealand

Top World Airport

1. Paro, Bhutan
2. Singapore, Changi
3. Hong Kong International

New Scott exhibition at the Natural History Museum

A new exhibition has opened at the Natural History Museum, marking the centenary of Scott reaching the South Pole and his tragic death. 

The exhibition opened on 20th January and will last until September, exploring the captivating story of Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s last expedition to Antarctica in 1910-1913.

The exhibition features rare artefacts used by Scott’s team and scientific specimans, appearing together for the first time, alongside a life-sized representation of Scott’s hut that survives in Antarctica. The exhibition’s focus is on the everyday stories and activities of the people who took part, their scientific work and the unforgettable human endurance.

Discover more about the exhibition on the Natural History Museum’s website where you can view videos and slideshows and find out more about Antarctic heritage and conservation.

To plan your very own Antarctic adventure call our specialists on 01993 838 615 or view our Antarctica travel guide.

Audley’s ‘share your shirt’ campaign

Hannah (middle) displays some of the T-shirts donated for charity

A project set up by Hotel de la Paix in Siem Reap saw our Responsible Travel rep, Hannah, lead the way in collecting T-shirts for a ‘share your shirt’ campaign. The humidity of Cambodia’s rainy season makes short work of once good clothing, so the shirts and T-shirts we send to the hotel will be distributed to the neediest rural communities in Cambodia.

In the end we managed to fill two large boxes with shirts and T-shirts. The Hotel de la Paix in Cambodia called to say they will shortly be taking the boxes to a school that desperately needs them. They will also be uploading photos to their Facebook page after that so people might be able to spot T-shirts that they donated!

Well done Hannah!

Chinese New Year

Celebrating Chinese New Year with fireworks

Today is the start of the main Chinese festival, the Chinese New Year - also known as the Spring Festival. The Chinese calendar is made up of a cycle of twelve years, with each year representing a different animal. This year marks the start of the year of the Dragon, the only mythical creature in the Chinese calendar, and is looked upon as one of the luckiest of all the animals.

As the Chinese calendar is lunisolar, New Year’s Day can fall anywhere between late January and the middle of February in the Gregorian calendar. Festivities begin with the new moon and last for 15 days, ending on the date of the full moon with the Lantern festival.

New Year customs and traditions vary widely throughout China and around the world, but one of the overriding themes is to remember the family and wish everyone peace and prosperity in the coming year. 

Take a look at other festivals and holiday ideas for January  

To book a tailor-made trip to China, call one of our specialists on 01993 838 220 or contact us online.

New Audley North Africa & the Middle East brochure

The Sphinx at Giza, Egypt

Our new North Africa & the Middle East brochure, which replaces the North Africa & Arabia brochure, is now available. Written by our North African and Middle East specialists it features a selection of popular itineraries, along with information on the best places to visit, favourite accommodation options and practical advice on planning a trip to this region.

Also featured are travel guides for cruises on the Nile in Egypt, Jordan’s beautiful nature reserves and archaeological sites in Tunisia, as well as information on walking in the Moroccan High Atlas Mountains, camping at the heart of the desert dunes in Morocco, Jordan and Oman and diving on Egypt’s Red Sea coast.

For the new 2012 brochure we have also discovered a range of new hotels and excursions, and for the first time we also feature Jerusalem, and showcase self drive holidays in Oman.

Take a look at the brochure:

• View the online version (you will need Adobe Flash Player). 
• If you would like to download any of our brochures as a PDF, view online versions of them, or request a free physical copy, simply go to our brochures page.

To book a tailor-made trip to North Africa & the Middle East, call one of our specialists on 01993 838 400 or contact us online.

View Uluru/Ayers Rock from a new perspective

Uluru/Ayers Rock in the heart of Australia’s Red Centre

In the heart of Australia’s Red Centre lies the rock formation of Uluru/Ayers Rock, on the sacred lands of the Anangu people.

If you’re planning a trip to Australia, you might want to add a hot air balloon ride to see this iconic landmark in a whole new light. With support and assistance of the Uluru family, the traditional owners of the land, ‘Outback Ballooning’ will be offering this new experience in March of this year.

The balloon flights will depart at dawn over the natural desert and bush land of the Patji region, and last around 30 minutes. Flights will take place between 10 and 25 km to the south of Uluru/Ayers Rock and not enter the Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park, but will still offer the traveller new and unique views of this incredible landmark and its surrounding landscape at sunrise.

Visit the Outlook Ballooning website to find out more.

To book a tailor-made trip to Australia, call one of our specialists on 01993 838 810 or contact us online.

UNESCO recognises Vietnam’s Xoan singing

Phu Tho is located about 50 miles north-west of Hanoi in Vietnam. It’s a small, unremarkable region except for one unique aspect – its singing.

It originated as a homage to the Hung kings, the ancestral kings of the Viet people who ruled the country from 2879 to 258 BC. Nowadays, during springtime village festivals each year, Xoan singing (pronounced “zwan”) is performed in front of communal houses throughout Phu Tho.

UNESCO already recognises Halong Bay, Hoi An, Hue and My Son as sites of being of such unique interest to the world that they have been afforded special preservation status, but they’ve now also voted to include Xoan singing as an “intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent protection”.

To book a tailor-made trip to Vietnam, call one of our country specialists on 01993 838 140 or contact us online.

Audley’s Christmas Quiz 2011 – the answers

Those of you who saw our Christmas Quiz email will no doubt be wondering what the answers were! Sorry for the delay in getting these posted on to our blog.

We received over 1,000 entries to the quiz – thank you so much if you took part. It was all for a bit of fun really, but ten names will be drawn out of the hat to win a copy of Mark Carwardine’s “Ultimate Wildlife Experiences” book published by Wanderlust. We will be contacting the winners shortly.

So here are the questions and the answers. Did you get them all right?

Continue reading »

Visit Kuala Lumpur and enjoy free Wi-Fi access

Visitors to Kuala Lumpur are set to enjoy free Wi-Fi access

Malaysia has for some time been one of Audley’s most popular destinations and it’s easy to see why. From its rich culture and recent colonial history, to quiet tea plantations blanketing the cool highland regions as well as stunning national parks, Malaysia packs a lot into a relatively small area.

Kuala Lumpur is often the first sight that greets most visitors to the country. With its amazing food, huge shopping malls and modern, high-rise skyline - dominated by the world-famous Petronas Towers - it’s a spectacular urban web showcasing the very best of modern Asia. Highlights include Chinatown’s busy markets, Little India and the elegant colonial buildings of Merdeka Square. There are also great views from the revolving restaurant at the top of the KL Sky Tower.

If you’re someone who likes to travel with your laptop or other mobile devices you should soon be able to enjoy free Wi-Fi in parts of the city. These places will include tourist attractions, restaurants and eateries, as well as countless other public areas. This isn’t a pipe dream either as the Malaysian government has passed a new law ordering its installation. It might be available to travellers as soon as April this year.

New species of monkey discovered in Burma

The alien-looking snub-nosed monkey is new to science

Burma has been in the news quite a lot lately, mostly with regard to the ongoing political situation, but news of a recent new wildlife discovery has certainly got the world’s primatologists very excited.

Looking like something from a science-fiction movie, photographs of the newly discovered snub-nosed monkey were taken remotely and at night using camera’s which were activated by infra-red sensors – hence them being black and white. These were placed high up in the remote mountains of Burma’s northern Kachin state, which borders China.

Although it’s very unlikely you will ever see the Burmese snub-nosed monkey in person there is still plenty to see and experience in this delightful country, much of which continues largely untouched by mainstream tourism.

Read Audley’s Policy on Burma

To book a tailor-made trip to Burma, call one of our country specialists on 01993 838 105 or contact us online.