Virtuoso: 2008 Insider’s Guide to Food & Wine of Australia

Contact your Virtuoso travel advisor

Gourmet Australia

15 Nights • Departures Mar 1 – Sep 30, 2008

Virtuoso Exclusive Experience Includes:

Internal coach class air within Australia
Deluxe accommodations in Sydney, Melbourne, Hayman, Mornington Peninsula, Blue Mountains and Hunter Valley
Mornington Peninsula Cellar Door Journey
Savannah Walkabout Nature Tour
Luxury launch service from Hamilton Island to Hayman
Eco Walk with Gourmet Lunch
Horse Drawn Carriage Wine Tour
Ten breakfasts, Five lunches & Eight dinners

Virtuoso fares USD$9,950 per person

Swain Tours

Natural Beauty

This luxe two-week tour has all the ingredients of a delicious vacation: meals in acclaimed restaurants, stays in renowned hotels, enlightening nature tours and plenty of wine-tasting. Seek out Australia’s tallest kangaroo at Serendip Sanctuary and wild koalas at Brisbane Ranges National Park. Sip award-winning Pinot Gris on a cellar door journey of the Mornington Peninsula, Australia’s fastestgrowing boutique wine district.

EXPERT TIP

The unique Guillaume at Bennelong restaurant in the Sydney Opera House requires reservations months in advance. But you can enjoy a drink at the bar at sunset without reservations.

Prices are per person/twin share in USD and exclude international airfare. Call for best available airfare for your travel dates. Pricing is valid for travel between 3/1/08 and 3/31/08. Add $349 per person for travel 4/1/08-9/30/08. Surcharges may apply to holiday and local special event periods. Cancellation penalties and other booking or alteration restrictions may exist. Subject to availability. Conditions apply. CST#2012413-20

Spotlight Australia

12 Nights • Departures Feb 3 – Dec 17, 2008

Virtuoso Exclusive Experience Includes:

Three nights accommodation in Sydney
Two nights accommodation Melbourne
Three nights accommodations on Hayman Island
Private cocktail Sydney Harbor cruise
“Dreamtime” tour in Alice Springs and a visit Queenslands’s Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park

Virtuoso fares from USD$5,690 per person

Tauck World Discovery

Tauck About Grand!

The “golden triangle” of Australia: Sydney, Ayers Rock and the Great Barrier Reef. You’ll visit all three must-see destinations on Tauck’s 12-day Grand Australia tour. Highlights include a three-night stay on Hayman Island, a posh resort on the Great Barrier Reef; a private Sydney Harbour cruise; and a visit to the Outback. In Sydney and Melbourne, you’ll stay right in the heart of the city to maximize sightseeing. Fare includes most meals.

EXPERT TIP

Looking for a good book to read on the plane? Bill Bryson’s Australia travel narrative In a Sunburned Country offers equal doses of history and humor.

Contact your Virtuoso travel advisor for complete details.

Kimberly Coastline

MV Orion • 10 Nights
Departures Apr 30, 2008 – Sep 30 2009

Darwin • King Georges River and Falls • Vansittart Bay • Bigge Island • Hunter River (Mitchell Falls) • Montgomery Reef • Talbot Bay • Cape Leveque & The Lacepedes • Broome overnight

Complimentary Virtuoso Exclusive: Invitation to a private cocktail reception with the Captain

Virtuoso fares from AUD$7,995 (approx USD$7,010) per person

Orion Expedition Cruises

Colorful Kimberley Coastline

Take the path less traveled: a soft-adventure expedition cruise along northwestern Australia’s Kimberley Coastline, a region world-famous for its endless blue skies and red towering cliffs as well as its pink Argyle diamonds and south sea pearls. More mega-yacht than cruise ship, the MV Orion offers 53 ocean-view staterooms and a state-of-theart lecture theatre where naturalists, marine biologists, geologists and historians enlighten guests on board before leading them ashore in small groups on interpretive walks and guided Zodiac safaris.

EXPERT TIP

This offer is for new bookings only from January 1 to May 15, 2008 for sailings from April 30, 2008 to September 30, 2009 (2009 dates TBA Jan 08)

Australian Escapade

12 Nights • Departures throughout 2008

Experience Includes:

12 nights’ accommodation in superior first class and first class hotels
Eleven breakfasts, two lunches, three dinners per person
Services of a professional travel director
Sightseeing at Fitzroy Gardens, Ayers Rock, the Olgas, Great Barrier Reef and Sydney Opera House

Complimentary Virtuoso Exclusive: Your choice of Yarra Valley Wine Tour or Kangaroos, Koalas & the Penguin Parade Tour

Contact your Virtuoso travel advisor for up to the minute pricing.

Brendan Worldwide Vacations

Feasting on the Unique

Have you ever eaten dinner in the midst of a rainforest, illuminated by flame-lit torches? Or in the Outback, under the stars? On Brendan Worldwide Vacations’ Australian Escapade tour, you can opt for such singular dining experiences. Among the many itinerary highlights: dinner aboard the elegant 1927 Colonial Tramcar Restaurant which cruises the scenic streets of Melbourne as guests dine on such specialties as kangaroo loin brushed with lemon myrtle, thyme and honey.

EXPERT TIP

Brendan thinks of everything – including pre-registering your hotel room in Melbourne so you can check in right away upon your arrival from the airport.

Contact your Virtuoso travel advisor for complete details.

Bill Peach Journeys	Big Five Tours & Expeditions	Abercrombie & Kent Australia
Great Australian Aircruise You’ll be flying high on this 12-day aircruise, traveling throughout Australia by private aircraft. The experienced crew will bring the aircraft down to 1,000 feet for a birds-eye perspective of Australia’s highlights. Sample local delicacies like crocodile and barramundi, dine under the stars while gazing at the world’s largest monolith and savor a traditional bush barbecue. Includes accommodations, meals and touring. Virtuoso Exclusive: complimentary night at a Sydney hotel with airport transfers and breakfast.	Australia Wine & Country This 16-day tour offers plenty of “firsts” and out-of-the-ordinary experiences. Savor the beautiful wine estates of the Barossa Valley. Visit Philllip Island where penguins waddle past you on their way to their burrows. Cruise to Kangaroo Island and meet a breeding colony of sea lions. Embark on a camel safari. Take a walkabout with an Aboriginal guide. Practice throwing a spear. Ogle the dramatic Olgas. The itinerary includes visits to Melbourne, Alice Springs, Ayers Rocks and Sydney.	Culinary Journey Through Australia From an Outback silver-service dinner under the stars and memorable repasts at some of the finest restaurants in Melbourne and Sydney, to unique “insider access” experiences including cooking in the private home of cookbook author Beverly Sutherland Smith, and the opportunity to ‘blend your own’ in the Barossa Valley, this 12-night culinary journey is not to be missed. Enjoy sailing along Sydney’s harbor, an Aboriginal heritage walk and touring the Great Barrier Reef by private seaplane.
Virtuoso fares from AUD$12,595 per person	Virtuoso fares from USD$6,995 per person	Virtuoso fares from USD$12,987 per person