With nearly 40 years of experience creating, tailor-made holidays to long-haul destinations worldwide, the experts at Travelbag always have their finger on the pulse of what’s next in travel.
From blockbuster breaks, party pilgrimages and ‘skip-gen’ holidays, here are Travelbag’s top seven predictions for 2018 travel:
Into the Blue (Planet II)
David Attenborough’s masterpiece Blue Planet II is doing anything but floundering. Travelbag is seeing an increase in bookings to Borneo to encounter gentle green turtles and to Tanzania for a jaw-dropping look at whale sharks in their natural habitat. Since the programme aired, Travelbag experienced a zing in website traffic to its Australia packages from holidaymakers keen to explore Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral reef on the planet.
Travelbag is offering three nights in Sydney and five nights at Port Douglas, the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef from £1,499pp including flights from London Heathrow, all accommodation and an Outer Barrier Reef day trip cruise. Based on selected October and November 2018 departure dates, book by 15th January 2018. (www.travelbag.co.uk, 0207 001 5870).
Foodies Go Four Wheels
Travelbag reports a growing interest in tailor-made self-drive tours to South Africa, Australia and the USA, especially for the more discerning foodie looking to travel to all ends to taste the next culinary craze. These travellers know exactly where they want to travel, and what they want to eat, but they want the expertise of a Travel Expert to handle the logistics, such as flights, car hire and multiple hotel bookings, and to also provide the all-important support and booking protections.
Travelbag recommends America’s Deep South where the culinary curious can hit the open road to sample all sorts of delights, such as fried okra, honey baked ham, pecan pie and seasoned fried chicken.
Travelbag is offering a 15-day Deep South & Carolina Explorer tour to discover the culinary delights of the Southern States from £1,799pp including flights from London Heathrow, 4* hotel accommodation and 15-day car hire. Based on selected March 2018 departure dates, book by 15th January 2018. (www.travelbag.co.uk, 0207 001 5870).
Blockbuster Breaks
2018 is set to be another blockbuster year in film and will once again motivate holidaymakers to walk in the footsteps of their favourite on-screen characters. Travelbag predicts the Tomb Raider reboot, starring Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft, will see cinema buffs booking a ticket to South Africa where the film was shot. The spotlight shines on India’s tangled jungles for the second year in a row with the new live-action remake of The Jungle Book, directed by Andy Serkis and starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Cate Blanchett, Rohand Chan, Matthew Rhys, Christian Bale and Tom Hollander.
Travelbag is offering three nights in Cape Town, two nights on the Garden Route and two nights at the Shamwari game reserve from £1,599pp including flights from London Heathrow, 4* and 5* accommodation and six-day car hire. Based on selected May and June 2018 departure dates, book by 15th January 2018. (www.travelbag.co.uk, 0207 001 5870).
Skip-gen Travel
Marcel Proust said, ‘The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.’ Active and adventurous grandparents with extra cash and endless free time are taking the grandkids along for the ride in 2018. Travelbag predicts that Vancouver, South Africa and Queensland will be the top long-haul destinations for skip-gen holidays because they are easy to explore independently, there is no language barrier and they offer abundant wildlife viewing to make memories that last a lifetime.
Travelbag is offering a 10-day Whales, Bears & Vancouver Island package to spot the amazing wildlife in the region from £2,259pp including flights from London Gatwick, 4* hotel stays and 10-day car hire. Based on selected May and June 2018 departure dates, book by 15th January 2018. (www.travelbag.co.uk, 0207 001 5870).
Party Pilgrimages
With Chile’s 200th year of independence, New Orleans’ tricentennial, the Winter Olympics in South Korea and Mauritius’s 50-year anniversary, 2018 will be the year of epic world parties. Voted the best place to go in 2018 by Lonely Planet, Chile has so much to offer intrepid adventurers. After experiencing Santiago’s roaring food and arts scene, Travelbag recommends a night in the Atacama Desert, famed as a stargazing mecca, a winery tour to taste some of the world’s best Cabernet Sauvignon, and an outdoor adventure in remote Torres del Paine National Park.
Travelbag is offering a 12-day tour of Chile, including a revelry filled stay in Santiago to celebrate the 200th anniversary throughout September 2018. Prices start from £1,999pp including flights from London Heathrow and 4* accommodation. Based on selected September 2018 departure dates, book by 15th January 2018. (www.travelbag.co.uk, 0207 001 5870).
Long Haul City Breaks
Culture vultures are avoiding Europe’s overcrowded and frenzied capitals in the summer months and heading further afield. Travelbag’s Travel Experts say larger and newer planes have made the long journey more comfortable for travellers, while new low-cost airlines are making long-haul city breaks more affordable than ever. World wanderers can coffee-shop crawl in New York, get their art fix at the new Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town and shop ‘till they drop in Toronto’s trendy Queen West neighbourhood.
Travelbag is offering three nights at the 4* Chelsea Hotel, in downtown Toronto and within walking distance of the CN tower, the Royal Ontario Museum and the Eaton Centre Shopping Mall. Prices start from £539pp including flights from London Gatwick. Based on selected January to March 2018 departures dates, book by 15th January 2018. (www.travelbag.co.uk, 0207 001 5870).
Cheap Thrills
With never-ending changes to exchange rates across the globe, money saving, savvy travellers want to find a destination where they will be guaranteed the most bang for their buck. In a surprise take-over, Tokyo was voted the cheapest destination in this year’s Post Office Long-Haul Holiday Report, in partnership with Travelbag. There has never been a better time to visit the Japanese capital.
Travelbag is offering seven nights staying in central Tokyo from £989pp including flights from London Heathrow and accommodation. Based on selected March 2018 departure dates, book by 15th January 2018. (www.travelbag.co.uk, 0207 001 5870).
Travelbag packages can be tailored to suit a variety of interests, budgets, dates and length of stay. For more information, visit: www.travelbag.co.uk