Explore has launched its new Discovery & Wildlife program for 2020, featuring four exciting new trips – El Salvador, Lebanon, Iceland and the Silk Road.
“Today’s travellers are looking for authentic experiences over fly-and-flop holidays and they’re becoming more adventurous in the destinations they’re choosing to go to, from the Middle East to lesser-travelled Europe,” said Joe Ponte, Managing Director of Explore. “We’re seeing huge interest in experiential travel across the board, and our new Discovery and Wildlife programme has been tailored to fit the needs of these travellers and their growing thirst for adventure.”
New for 2020 Highlights of El Salvador
This trip takes its travellers to Central America’s least-travelled and most interesting countries. Join a local biologist on a boat trip to monitor hawksbill turtle, meet the ex-guerrilla community of La Cinquera and visit the ancient site of Joya de Ceren, known as Central America’s Pompeii. Climb the Santa Ana volcano, peering into the Llamatepec crater lake at its summit, and spend the night camping between three volcanoes. Prices for the 11-day trip start from $2,310 per person including transfers, accommodation with breakfast, some meals and an Explore leader.
New for 2020 Highlights of Lebanon
Explore is the first brand to launch trips to Lebanon since its travel restrictions was lifted earlier this year, putting the destination firmly back on the map for 2020. Explore’s Highlights of Lebanon trip starts in the Beirut with a walking tour around the capital. Guests can stay overnight in the grounds of a working monastery in the Qadisha Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, experiencing rural Lebanese life and homemade food. Visit the iconic Roman ruins at Baalbek, marvel at a 1,000-year-old cedar forest and see a 12th Century castle in Byblos. Prices for the 8-day trip start from $2,290 per person including transfers, accommodation with breakfast, and an Explore leader.
New for 2020 Iceland Yurt Adventure
Designed exclusively for Explore, guests can stay in the brand-new private collection of yurts set in the heart of the Golden Circle. Guests can sleep under the stars in complete comfort, as the yurts come with en-suite facilities, underfloor heating and communal yurts for relaxing in. Visit Iceland’s breath-taking big three waterfalls – Skogafoss, Seljalandsfoss and Gullfoss, and the black basalt cliffs at Vik I Mydral. Guests will also spend time in Reykjavik with its mix traditional corrugated iron homes and modern architecture. Prices for this 4-day trip start from $1,630 per person, including transfers, accommodation with breakfast, and an Explore leader.
New for 2020 The Five Stans of the Silk Road
With interest in the Stans increasing 135% year on year in 2019, Explore’s new trip combines the Five Stans – Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Walk through the well-preserved UNESCO city of Khiva, known as an ‘open-air museum’ and travel to the desert outpost of Nukus to share a meal with a family of musicians. Peer into the ‘Door to Hell’, a natural gas cavern that’s been aflame since 1971. Prices for this 22-day trip start from $7,720 per person including accommodation, some meals and an Explore leader.
