Train travel isn’t the typical way to see Africa, and doing it in vintage, luxurious rail cars makes it even more unusual. Frontiers International Travel is offering two departures this year via Rovos Rail to travel across South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Tanzania. Accommodation aboard the wood-paneled coaches can be in a Pullman suite ($11,850 per person, double occupancy), deluxe suite ($15,300) or royal suite ($20,550). The 15-day tour starts in Cape Town on July 2 and ends in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The reverse itinerary leaves Dar es Salaam on July 19. Tour highlights include a two-night stay in South Africa’s Madikwe Game Reserve, with three game drives. A visit to Victoria Falls is on the itinerary, along with descending into the Great Rift Valley and traveling across Tanzania’s Selous Game Reserve, the largest on the continent. Info: 800-245-1950, http://tinyurl.com/hpuftcd
Get a taste of Italy
Explore! is a company that specializes in small-group adventure travel, with its adventures generally being of the soft variety rather than for the hard-core adventurer. This year it’s offering four trips in Italy that combine hiking and exploring the country’s cuisine. Trips take place in the Amalfi Coast, Puglia, Cinque Terre and Emilia-Romagna, a new addition to Explore!’s lineup. That trip, for instance, visits Bologna, Modena, Ravenna and the canals of Comacchio. Daily walking distances are modest, with the longest days consisting of just over 4 miles. Guests will visit a cheese-producing facility where Parmigiano-Reggiano is made and a wine estate that uses the local Lambrusco grapes. Pricing for the tour is as low as $1,330 per person, double occupancy, including some meals, seven nights’ lodging in modest accommodations and travel by bus with a tour leader. For information on all four Taste of Italy trips: 800-715-1746, http://tinyurl.com/zcq3w3f
Fantasy trip for the deep-pocketed
The world’s going to hell in a handbasket, the economy has an unpredictable future, your boss has been busting your chops and the only time the kids call you is when they want money. You know what that means, right? Time to blow your life savings and your retirement income on an around-the-world trip. Abercrombie & Kent has just the ticket, with its new for 2017 Around the World by Private Jet: The Tropics to the Arctic. You and 49 others who will become your closest friends will spend nearly a month flying to Cartagena and Bogota, Colombia; Easter Island; Rangiroa, French Polynesia; Honiara, Solomon Islands; Cebu, Philippines; Gobi Desert, Mongolia; Samarkand, Uzbekistan; St. Petersburg, Russia; and Reykjavik, Iceland. Your lie-flat, first-class seats will help you sleep well after you indulge in the fully stocked open bar and the personal meals prepared by the onboard chef. Once at your destination, you won’t have to mingle with the rabble, instead engaging in events planned just for you. You’d better have a nice nest egg because this trip is priced at $129,000 per person, double occupancy. Info: 800-554-7016, http://tinyurl.com/j5wbbdz
Phil Marty is a freelance reporter.
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