This six day /five night private tour starts and ends in Naples. On the way you will get three cooking lessons (with an interpreter on hand) with three different chefs.

In between cooking lessons take a boat trip along the Amalfi coast, visit the 2000 year old ruins at Pompeii, visit the sights and history of Amalfi and spend time at the Vineyards of Tenuta San Francesco. Accommodation is in a 4-star hotel in Praiano, central to all the day trips, and overlooking the bay.  

Departures are year round:  $AU2215 per person/twin share.

Call or email us for details and availability on this trip.  

Ooh la la – if you have a few hours, or a few days, to spare in Paris you could join one of these fabulous gourmet foodie tours.

4 Day / 3 night Parisian Gourmet Tour

Described as a ‘food-lovers tour of Paris’ you get three nights accommodation in a city hotel, with breakfast and lunch, a half day gastronomic tour of gourmet food stores in the Latin Quarter, followed by a picnic, a half day cooking course and market visit to Montmartre, and a few extra goodies. This tour runs all year, starting on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. From $AU966 p/p twin share.

Montmartre Wine Tour

A three hour wine tasting tour through Montmartre – starts Sunday at 3.30pm. From $AU123 p/p

Montmartre Cooking & Market Visit

A four hour cooking class and local market visit where you’ll learn some French cooking secrets.from your expert chef. Starts 9.20am on Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays. From $AU295 p/p  

Gourmet Insider Tour

This short tour visits some gourmet stores in the Latin Quarter before stopping for a picnic of your wares. Nice local touches. Runs Tuesday to Saturday at 10am. From $AU202 for 2 people. 

Paris Gourmet Pastries and Desserts

Here’s a real sweetie – join a cooking class with a French chef who loves perfect pastries and desserts, And who doesn’t? This 2 1/2 hour tour is in the 12th arrondissement and runs Tuesday and Saturday at 2pm. From $AU202 p/p

Call or email us to join any, or all, of these fabulous tours. Make your French holiday last until after you get back and try your new ideas in your own kitchen.

Russia is a vast country with an equally vast network of rail travel. The trans-Siberian line runs from Moscow to Vladivostok (and v.v) and takes just under 2 weeks without side trips.

The Golden Eagle Trans-Siberia Express provides a stylish way to do this amazing trip with Gold, Silver and Heritage class options, the first two with private ensuite facilities. The cuisine makes the most of the areas it passes through, there is on-board entertainment including music, lectures and language classes, and there’s an on-board doctor on every trip as well.

Other options include deluxe rail trips and add-ons into Mongolia, the Arctic Circle (to Arkhangel and Murmansk) and the Silk Road (from Moscow down through Kazakstan, Uzbekistan and on to Beijing). Other trips head west and south from Moscow, through Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to Vilnius.

The Czar’s Gold has four classes of cabin from their Standard Plus up to Bolshoi Platinum and runs from Moscow, east to Irkutsk and Ulan Ude, before heading south into Mongolia and on to Beijing. This 16 day trip includes time in Moscow, Beijing, and stops in Mongolia, Irkutsk, Ekaterinburg and Novosibirsk. There is a change of train to travel through China.

All these tours are put together by Beyond Travel and are available by contacting us here.

We will get back with departures and availability.

On a Trans-Siberian tour there’s a great option to add a 2-dive side trip to Lake Baikal.

Lake Baikal is near Irkutsk in Russia, to the north of Mongolia, and was founded by the Russians as a major fort in 1651. This is the world’s deepest lake, at 1.6km, so you don’t want to drop your weight belt. Known as the “Pearl of Siberia’ it is a globally significant piece of water, measuring 600 km long and 80 km wide, and contains 20% of the planet’s fresh water. From December to April the lake freezes over with ice thick enough to drive a car on. So, the diving is only available during the northen summer.

This trip is an add-on to an On The Go Trans-Siberian tour.

All dive gear and meals are provided but you’ll need a PADI dive certificate. The 2 day trip is $NZ619

Call or email us for details

The ‘Paul Gauguin’ is a luxurious small ship, carrying just 332 guests. With all-oceanview suites, feather duvets and a full-size bath in the bathroom it leaves nothing to be desired. Visit remote beaches, quiet atolls, verdant rainforests, experience Polynesian culture and memorable dive opportunities. 

They have three stunning cruises, each starting and finishing in Papeete, Tahiti.

• Tahiti and the Society Islands – 7 night cruise that visits Raiatea, Taha’a, Bora Bora and Moorea in the Society Islands.
• Cook Islands & Society Islands – 12 days cruising from Tahiti to Huahine in the Society Islands, before crossing to Aitutaki and Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. Then it’s back to Bora Bora, Taha’a and Moorea in the Society Islands before returning to Tahiti
• the ultimate trip is a 14-night cruise from Tahiti to Fakarava in the Tuamotus, north to Omoa, Atuona, Tahuata and Tiaohae in the Marquesas, before heading to the Society Islands as above, and back to Papeete 

There are regular sailings throughout the year with prices starting from $NZ7099 per person/twin share. Airfares from Auckland to Papeete included and all gratuities, shipboard meals and most beverages also included.

Call or email us for details and availability

A 15 day tour from Beijing to Xian, Shanghai, Chengdu, Yangshuo, Gaungzhou and Hong Kong, exploring the exotic cuisines along the way.

• join a culinary market tour and cooking class in Beijing
• dumpling dinner feast in Xian
• taste the French-Chinese fusion cuisine of Shanghai
• take a Sichuan cooking class in Chengdu
• also visit the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base at Chengdu
• and a cooking class in Yao minority food at Yangshuo
• enjoy yum cha before flying out of Hong Kong

plus you’ll have time to see the sights along the way like the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Terracotta Warriors and some cute pandas

You’ll also have a dedicated tour leader and local guides, a cruise along the Yangtse and two overnight sleeper train journeys

This tour runs regularly throughout the year and starts at $3595 plus flights

Call or email us for details and availability

This Trafalgar tour has several foodie highlights as part of a 10-day trip from Rome to Venice. With time to sightsee and shop in Florence, Pisa, Parma, Tuscany, Umbria and Venice along the way.

• Stop off at Greve to visit a wine and olive oil outlet for tastings of chianti and beautiful local oils
• Spend a day in Tuscany shopping for ingredients at a local market before a cooking lesson at a restaurant . Prepare lunch and enjoy. Learn about the basics of Italian cooking
• More about olive oil in Tuscany
• Spend time in Bologna, savouring their cured meats, the prosciutto, mortadella and salami. Visit a local winery
• plus several highlight dinners with local specialties and wines

‘There are numerous added attractions on this exciting Italian Regional Plus holiday. Participate in simple language lessons, visit food markets to buy local produce and wines for dinner, “meet the chef” cooking experiences with demonstrations and culinary tips, visits to important gastronomic and wine producing areas, plus many more special features.’

This trip departs weekly from April to October, starting from $NZ3399  per person/twin share

Includes accommodation, most meals (but not lunch),  tours and airport transfers if suitable. Does not include gratuities, which can be pre-paid

Call or email for more info on this very easy tour

Here’s another fantastic food opportunity with Silversea, the luxury cruise company.

Silversea have brought the Slow Food concept in to all their La Terrazza restaurants – there’s one on each ship. If you’re into food you will already know about the Slow Food movement, which encompasses the holistic aspect of food from its growing and harvest to its preparation and appreciation – fresh, sustainable and locally grown. Born out of Italy the concept has grown a strong following and Silversea have embraced it as well.  

To further enhance the Slow Food experience they have developed a three-night pre- or post-cruise program, staying at one of Tuscany’s beautiful small hotels and exploring the culinary and cultural traditions of the area through its food, wine and oil growing. 

The ship’s culinary team will be along as well to learn and interact alongside the guests.

“From Rome, travelers will enjoy a scenic drive into the heart of the Brunello region of Tuscany, leading to the vineyard estate of Castello Banfi, producer of some of the region’s best-known wines, including several selected for La Banca del Vino, the Slow Food-inspired wine bank of the University of Gastronomy in Pollenzo (Bra), Italy. The program includes three nights at Il Borgo, Castello Banfi’s elegant hotel nestled amid the vineyards and olive groves of Montalcino. Highlights include a cooking class, where participants will learn to prepare typical Tuscan specialties with the help of Silversea’s own culinary team and the estate’s professional staff; an in-depth tour of the Castello Banfi winery; and a full-day tour of Slow Food-recommended vineyards, olive groves, farms or other traditional food-producing operations in and around Bolgheri, escorted by Silversea’s culinary team, giving participants insider access to producers whose operations normally are not open to the public.”

The trip is only available three times in 2012 – as a pre-cruise option on an April and October cruise, and a post-cruise option on an April sailing. Cost is $US3599 per person t/s.

We can provide more details and check availability and travel options for you.

11 day coach tour through Paris and Provence

Start with three days in Paris where you will have plenty of time to explore the city sights. Paris also has a big list of local markets in various arrondissements on varying days. Start your food indulgence wandering the streets of the Left Bank. Then catch the TGV train right through to Aix-en-Provence.

Foodie highlights in Provence include

• drive through the Menerbe countryside made famous in Peter Mayle’s ‘Year in Provence’ books
• winery visit and lunch in the Lluberon
• cooking day in Nimes, starting with a visit to the St Remy de Provence market to buy your ingredients
• then join a cooking class at a local restaurant to prepare your lunch
• farewell dinner in Nice 

There is plenty of time on this Trafalgar coach tour to see the sights and there’s also plenty to interest a non-foodie travelling companion.

The pace is easy, with time in Paris, Aix-en-Provence, Nimes, Avignon, Arles, Cassis, Monaco and Nice. Tour ends at Nice.

Departs May to Sept 2012  -  from $4250 per person twin share

Contact us for details and availability

This fabulous, classic rail journey harks back to the romantic days of elegant train travel. The grand old train still runs its original 1920s Wagon Lits carriages with Lalique glass panels, old wood-burning stoves and beautiful Art Deco trim.

The initerary is broken into separate, manageable sections. Travel from London to Venice through Paris and maybe Prague or Budapest (there are several 2 day options to choose from); a 6 day trip from Paris to Istanbul, or Venice to Istanbul; or a 2 day trip from Venice to Vienna.

On-board French chefs prepare beautiful food with fresh ingredients gathered along the trip, and the Bar Car is the place to sample the cocktail menu.

The cabins sleep 1 or 2 people and cabin suites are also available – essentially 2 adjoining cabins that can be used as a large suite by day, to become either 2 sleeping areas at night, or a separate lounge and sleeping area.

Demand for this trip is always high so call or email us for details

.