Audley Travel has introduced ‘hybrid trips’ that blend land and sea experiences on journeys spanning Asia to Africa and beyond. Olivia Palamountain reports
Audley Travel has introduced ocean cruising to its portfolio, a move that will allow its clients to combine Audley’s land-based experiences with a range of ocean cruising itineraries.
The addition of ocean cruising complements Audley’s existing river and expedition cruise offerings, providing clients with the opportunity to create “hybrid trips”..
These journeys are designed to “maximise travel time and destination exploration while ensuring comfort, luxury and style”.
Audley Travel’s specialists will apply their personalised approach to itinerary planning across all elements of the trip experience.
This includes assisting clients in choosing the right ship, stateroom or suite, and onboard experiences, as well as crafting bespoke landside activities and excursions.
The new cruise experiences available to Audley’s clients as part of wider, bespoke itineraries offer a diverse range of adventures.
These include sailing on a fully rigged ship in Montenegro’s picturesque Bay of Kotor, gliding between the karsts of Vietnam’s Halong Bay at sunset, exploring the remote ice-scapes of Antarctica, and spotting rare lemurs on Madagascar’s islands.
To facilitate this expansion, Audley has partnered with several well-known ocean cruise lines.
In addition to their existing river and expedition cruise operators, the company will initially collaborate with Aranui, Azamara, Celebrity Cruises, Cunard, Holland America, Paul Gauguin, Ponant, Regent Seven Seas, Seabourn, Silversea Cruises and Star Clippers.
Sean Atton, global cruise manager at Audley Travel says: “Travelling with Audley is about revealing the best of a destination and that often means experiencing it by land and by sea. Our experts are experienced in creating meaningful trips which include a cruising element so the careful expansion of our rich cruise offering to partner with ocean cruise operators is a natural progression as we look to enhance our overall proposition for clients.
“The beauty of cruise being part of a land itinerary too means clients are able to really enjoy the journey as well as the destinations, and all of the places in between. Our Specialists are excited to now be able to push their destination knowledge further to provide not only the level of personalised service and expertise clients of Audley expect, but also take client’s bespoke trip aspirations to the max, to cover all corners of the earth.”
Land highlights – enjoying superb wildlife viewing away from the busier areas of the Masai Mara in a private conservancy within the national reserve, taking a private guided hike up Table Mountain and spending two nights relaxing at the opulent Oberoi on the Mauritius coast.
