The adventure tour operator Explore has launched its new brochure of Unforgettable Adventures for 2022, showcasing its range of Classic Discovery, Walking and Cycling adventures. Hot off the press, the new brochure highlights the operator’s bestselling trips along with some brand new tours including Pakistan, Oman Trekking, and Saudi Arabia to Jordan overland.
Explore’s Managing Director Michael Edwards says:
“We’re super excited to launch our latest brochure, which looks absolutely fantastic. It’s just brilliant to be back out exploring again, and to be able to introduce new tours and new destinations – including breath-taking Pakistan and overland rail journeys through Europe – is the icing on the cake. Adventure is back!”
Explore has reintroduced Pakistan for 2022, where the operator hasn’t travelled since 2001. The Karakoram Highway is a two-week overland tour that travels through Pakistan’s lush valleys and dramatic mountain passes, and alongside soaring creaking glaciers. Stunning scenery aside, you’ll experience warm, welcoming people and a rich history. 13 nights from £2,299 per person including accommodation with breakfast, all transport and excursions, and a tour leader throughout. Flights are not included, but cost from £663 per person.
Travelling overland from Saudi Arabia to Jordan, the new 11-night Journey Through Arabia tour travels from the Red Sea hub of Jeddah through desert and ancient cities into Jordan. Discover the magnificent ancient Nabatean cities of Hegra and Petra, camp out in the Wadi Rum desert, and take a boat trip to the 100 islands off Umluj, the ‘Maldives of Saudi Arabia’. The 11-night tour costs from £2,599 per person including 11 nights’ accommodation (three in a desert camp) with breakfast plus some additional meals, all transport and excursions and a tour leader throughout. Flights are not included but cost from £600 per person.
Explore’s new ten-day Oman Trekking walking holiday is a trip of two halves, combining the spectacular peaks and canyons of the Hajar Mountains with the remote desert landscape of the Wahiba Sands. The trip combines four nights in a comfortable hotel with five nights’ simple camping as you trek through remote village oases in the oldest independent state in the Arab World. Graded moderate-to-challenging, the trip costs from £1,999 per person including accommodation with most meals, all excursions and transport and a local Explore tour leader throughout. Flights are not included, but cost from £590 per person.
Also new to the programme is a collection of London2 rail journeys, which travel overland through Europe. The six new journeys include iconic journeys between London and Istanbul and London and Athens, and a three-week cross-Europe rail journey to Morocco. Travelling in a small group, with an Explore tour leader, the new tours have the same ingredients of an Explore tour. They all start in London, and travel by train to each destination, visiting multiple European countries along the way. On arrival at your final stop, you can return by flight (or back by train!), extend your visit there, or continue to your next destination.
“This is a truly immersive way to travel – not a race to get to your destination so the holiday can start, but rather an appreciation of the journey” says Edwards. “These new trips address all the senses, and really reignite that passion for slower, overland travel.”
The eight-night London2 Poland and Ukraine by Train tour begins, fittingly, in Berlin – setting the scene where west meets east. Journeying across Eastern Europe, discover picture-postcard medieval market squares; contrast Jewish history and culture in war-torn Poland with the socialist utopian ‘town’ of Nowa Huta; and take an old Soviet-style night train into Lviv, Ukraine. From £1,599 per person, including accommodation with breakfast, 7 nights’ in a comfortable hotel and one night on a simple overnight train, and an Explore tour leader throughout. Return flight not included, but costs from £148 per person.
London2 Istanbul Rail Adventure is perhaps the most iconic of all rail journeys. This fast-paced take on the classic Orient Express tour traverses Central Europe over two weeks, passing through the iconic cities of Venice, Zagreb and Belgrade, but also the lesser-known, off-the-beaten-path attractions of Croatia and Serbia. Highlights include crossing the Venetian Lagoon, a steam train through the Serbian mountains, and going to sleep in Bulgaria to wake up in Turkey. 14 nights from £2,245 per person including 13 nights’ accommodation in a comfortable hotel with breakfast, one night on a simple overnight train, all excursions and a tour leader throughout. Return flight not included, but costs from £172 per person.
Started in 1981, Explore celebrates 40 year as a leading specialist operator in 2021. The company has been praised for its handling of the Coronavirus pandemic and was recently named a Which? Recommended Provider in the Tour Operator category for 2021. New policies include a Covid-19 refund promise and ten-day no-fee flexibility as part of its Book with Confidence pledge and a new and improved loyalty programme.
www.explore.co.uk / 01252 884 709
