CONTIKI ENHANCES 2020 EUROPE PROGRAM

Contiki Holidays has launched six Europe trips, including three new train trips, new boutique accommodation, and new conscious, wellness and active experiences.
In its biggest product release of the year for Europe 2020, the new trips hit up some of the major trends in Gen-Z and Millennial travel. Travellers looking forward to their epic summer 2020 adventures can save up to 25% off Europe Summer 2020 Discoverer, In-Depth Explorer and Iconic Essentials itineraries when booking by Oct. 31, as well as 15% off Sailing, Ski and Snowboard, Short Trips and Festivals, and select Winter departures when booked before Feb. 27.

Contiki’s 2020-21 Europe program provides more choice than ever before, featuring new accommodation in partnership with leading youth brands like Jo&Joe, Selina and Moxy. It’s also introducing new “Special Stays,” including Noah Surf House in Santa Cruz, Portugal and a traditional Moroccan riad with an indoor pool and cooking classes in Marrakech, alongside the newly renovated Contiki-owned Gasthof Schoneck. It also includes new smaller group sizes of 24 on train trips, optional start and end locations and a range of new cultural, local, food, wellness/active and conscious experiences designed especially for travellers aged 18-35.

New local experiences
New cultural experiences include an E-Scooter guided tour of Paris, a Kick-Bike guided tour in Vienna and an E-Bike tour in Porto, a day trip to Windsor and Stonehenge in the UK, and a guided visit to the Montmartre district of Paris. New local experiences include learning to row like a gondolier in Venice, an evening seminar at the Prostitute Information Centre in Amsterdam and a Venetian mask-painting workshop with aperitivo in Venice.

New food experiences include learning to make Pastel de Nata in Lisbon, perfecting homemade pesto in Cinque Terre, a Catalan cooking class
in Barcelona and an Icelandic farm-to-table meal in Efstidalur.

New wellness and active experiences include Base “flying” off a building in Berlin, surf lessons and yoga classes in Portugal’s Santa Cruz, stand-up paddleboarding in Santa Cruz, Dubrovnik and Nice, and a glacier adventure in Iceland. New conscious experiences include an “Unseen tour” of Covent Garden hosted by and supporting formerly homeless people in London, and a Refugee Voices tour of Berlin guided by Syrian refugees.
www.contiki.com

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EXPLORING THE COUNTRYSIDE OF DOWNTON ABBEY

Travellers inspired by the recent hit film, Downton Abbey, can walk the beautiful countryside of the Yorkshire Dales – where the film is set and partially filmed – on a self-guided, inn-to-inn walking tour offered by On Foot Holidays.

The period drama is set in the fictional Yorkshire country house of Downton Abbey, among the beautifully green hills and dales which the county is famous for. While the castle used as Downton Abbey is actually in the south of England, some of the film was shot in Yorkshire in northern England – including at Harewood House, an elaborate estate which guests could visit before commencing the self-guided walk, just 40 minutes away.
Unique to On Foot Holidays, the seven-day Yorkshire Dales walk takes in pretty villages, market towns, country meadows with drystone walls, babbling brooks and moorlands.
www.onfootholidays.co.uk

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ACV LAUNCHES 2020 EUROPE COLLECTION

Air Canada Vacations (ACV) has unveiled its 2020 Europe Collection which features a total of 145 vacation packages in 21 countries – including 30 new itineraries tailored to better meet agents’ clients’ travel styles.

Nino Montagnese, managing director at Air Canada Vacations, commented, “Filled with packaged vacations to countless vibrant European cities steeped in history and culture, our 2020 Europe Collection has a dream escape for every type of traveller.”
Montagnese added. “With various travel experiences, partnerships and collaborations, our newest collection positions us as a significant player for leisure travel to Europe.”

ACV has enhanced its 2020 program with more options to choose from like offering two new Seaside Escapes in Paestum, Italy, as well as a new Indepen-dent Escape called Portugal Explorer.

The tour operator also boosted its Costa del Sol program, along with a selection of hotels featuring options for long stays up to 28 days.
As well, it has added a new Guided Rail tour to explore the charming region of Puglia in Italy, and much more authentic travel moments in Barcelona, Matera, and Saint-Émillion in France.

The 2020 collection also features new non-stop flights, including year-round service between Montreal and Toulouse starting June 4 and a non-stop route from Toronto to Brussels starting May 1.

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AIR TRANSAT LOOKS AHEAD TO WINTER

Air Transat’s winter 2019-2020 Europe program is highlighted by numerous new flights.

From Toronto, along with its daily flight to London, Air Transat will offer two direct flights a week all year long to Glasgow and Manchester, UK. Plus, the airline will extend to mid-January its flights to Barcelona and Rome, with two direct flights a week to each city. Travellers will be able to fly to Portugal from Toronto, with two weekly direct flights to Lisbon, and one direct flight to Porto.

Air Transat is the only airline offering a direct flight from Toronto to Faro, in the Algarve, during the winter (one flight a week).

On the Europe front, the carrier will serve Spain’s Costa del Sol year-round, with direct service to Malaga from Montreal (two flights a week), and will also fly to Madrid starting in December (two direct flights weekly).

From Vancouver, several of Canadians’ favourite European Sun destinations – such as Faro and Lisbon in Portugal and Madrid, Barcelona and Malaga in Spain – will be readily accessible via Montreal and Toronto.

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