The 10 Best Country Highlights Tours

Classical guided tours - giving a general introduction to a country or territory - have been a long time since the days of "Tuesday we will do Brussels".
The best tour operators think carefully through the routes, thus achieving a good balance between the available leisure time and the need to include the best of the most important sights. They work particularly well for unknown destinations and those who navigate independently, either by the size of the visited area or because of the complexity of travel between the highlights.



Popular destinations include China, India, Russia and South America and countries with very distinctive cultures such as Burma and Iran, which have long been difficult to visit, but now open to tourism.

Below is my selection of the best introductory tours of this year, from an eight-day trip to Russia to a month-long exploration of Australia and New Zealand.


1. Moscow and St. Petersburg

The ruble is currently very weak and this eight-day classic Russian tour exploring the two cultural epicenters of the country, Moscow and St. Petersburg is particularly well worth it. In Moscow, sights are in the vicinity of the Red Square (stop at Lenin's mausoleum, the Basilica of Saint Basilica and the GUM department store) and the Gorky Park.

In St. Petersburg there are guided tours of the Winter Palace (Hermitage Museum house) and the spectacular summer palace in Tsarskoye Selo and the Peterhof.

2. Tour of Sicily

This 13-day serious Sicilian tour organized by Saga combines the most beloved stops of the island with a few less-explored cities.
It takes in Noto, Scicli, Ragusa, Palermo, Mazara del Vallo, Marsala, Acireale and Catania and includes a visit to Caltagirone, a baroque city famous for its ceramics; and a walk of Acireale. There are also activities to choose from, such as visiting one of Marsala's largest wineries, the Florio winery, for a guided tour or tasting or an excursion to Etna.



3. Passage to India

Voyages Jules Verne's new India Route Pictures are a classic introduction to this vast and varied country, in the Golden Triangle - Delhi, Agra and Jaipur and Mumbai, as well as lesser-known parts of India such as Shimla, Pragpur, Dharamsala and Amritsar.
Main attractions in this 17-day tour are the Amber Fort; the City Palace Museum, which is home to a collection of carpets and miniature paintings; the Taj Mahal; Gandhi's house; the golden temple, the holiest sanctuary of the sikhs; and the Kangra Fort, the largest fort in the Himalayas.

There are also game tours by Ranthambore, a Rajasthani Wildlife Park and a trip on board the Himalayan Queen Express to Solan.

4. China with Kate Adie

A new 15-day highlights of China takes place in classical places, including the Great Wall, the Three Gorges Dam, the Terracotta Warriors and the Forbidden City of Beijing and Tiananmen Square where you are called by the famous BBC journalist Kate Adie for a walk through the place where some of her most memorable reports were centered.

Other highlights on this tour include the Islamic Quarter in Xi'an, the Reed Flute Caves in Guilin and Chongqing, the house of giant pandas. There is also a cruise along Li River to Yangshuo and two days in Shanghai with Neil Connor, China correspondent of the Daily Telegraph, which will be your personal guide through one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Asia.


5. Japan in bloom

Titan's new Essence of Japan tour has a theme - visiting the country in its most attractive way: or in spring when cherry blossoms and hydrangeas are in full bloom or in the fall when maple leaves with burning red tones unfold.

But it also gives an overview: The 14-day route follows Tokyo, Matsumoto, Takayama, Kanazawa, Nara, Kyoto and Hakone. Highlights include the built-up empire palace; the meiji sanctuary; Mt Fuji; Hida Folk Village, and Shirakawago Village, with its Samurai and Geisha districts.
There are also train trips on the lightning-fast Shinkansen, and a walk around the Peace Memorial Park to see the Flame of Peace in Hiroshima.

6. The US: Coast to Coast

The 21st-day US Coast Coast-Coast tour draws through some of America's largest attractions, kynghidongduong.vn from the Statue of Liberty, through the White House, the Wild West, the Rockies, the Grand Canyon, Hollywood Boulevard to the Golden Gate Bridge In San Francsico.

It includes a ride on the Grand Canyon Railway and a night aboard RMS Queen Mary.

7. Hidden Burma

As Burma enters a new era, it's a fascinating time to visit.
Audley offers a classic Myanmar tour du lịch quế lâm that visits Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan and the dotted Inle Lake, with a cruise along the Irrawaddy River. Highlights on the 17-day tour include Shwedagon Pagoda, the gilded stupa decorated with gold leaf and diamonds; the colonial hill station of Pyin Oo Lwin; and the elephant camp of the Green Hill Valley, home to birdwatchers, butterflies, orchids and bamboo forests.

There is also an optional air balloon flight over Bagan at dawn to see the shining temples and pagoda of this ancient city.

8. South America highlights

This 22-day tour of APT visits Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Peru. Highlights are the Plaza de Armas, the historic central square of Santiago; the Italian influenced barrio of La Boca in Buenos Aires; Sugarloaf Mountain and Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro; Chincheros, a city in Peru in the Andes highlands; and the Titicaca Lake, where the first Inca king Manco Capac was born. There is a train ride aboard PeruRail's Vistadome to Machu Picchu and a cruise along the reed island of Titicaca Lake.



9. Introduction to Iran

Iran becomes a popular destination, especially now that the foreign office considers the majority of the country safe for travelers. starting from Yazd, a city full of traditional houses and Zoroastrian funeral towers, before continuing to Shiraz with its striking sanctuaries, gardens and homes followed by the ancient Persian capital of Persepolis.

Then it is on Isfahan, home to one of the most beautiful Islamic architecture of the region and the old bridges that cross the Zayandeh River. David Blair, the main foreign correspondent of The Telegraph, gives a pre-departure lecture about the nation you're about to visit.
Other highlights include the Bagh-e-Dolat Abad Gardens, the Jameh Mosque, the Water Museum, the tombs belonging to Achaemenid kings and a visit to the National Museum of Art in Tehran, Iran's vibrant capital.

10. Best of Australia and New Zealand

Scenic's Very Best of Australia and New Zealand tour is an epic 30-day route from Melbourne to Auckland, via Brisbane, Cairns, Uluru, Sydney, Christchurch, Franz Josef, Queenstown and Rotorua.

It includes a helicopter flight over the Great Barrier Reef, dinner aboard a colonial tram in Melbourne and a cruise on board the TSS Earnslaw vintage steamship. The price includes 31 excursions to choose from: in Sydney you can sail on an America's Cup hunt in the harbor, or tour the Sydney Opera House.



Weather

Remember the timing of the trip. There can be multiple departures throughout the year, and it's worth checking the climate (try weather2travel.com) so you can get along with the best weather.

Group size

Check Group Size - General tours may involve larger groups than more specialized people, which are usually limited to up to 24 people.



Solos

Solos - Some supplements are often high, but these trips attract a large number of individual travelers and are a good way to meet other people with similar interests.
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