Top Destinations to Book in Advance

Top Destinations to Book in Advance

These are the destinations we advise booking at least a year in advance

For some destinations, we advise booking in advance so that our travel experts can make your trip simply perfect. International flights, wildlife experiences, cultural shows, or unique accommodation are some examples of things that need to be factored in and planned well in advance to save disappointment. Whilst you can book experiences on arrival in some destinations (such as sightseeing in European cities), there are some travel experiences that you must book months in advance, such as gorilla trekking permits (Uganda and Rwanda), or luxury train journeys in South Africa.

Unique accommodation also gets booked up pretty quickly – for example, Giraffe Manor in Nairobi needs to be booked at least a year in advance (sometimes more) because of its popularity. To save disappointment, and to help you create your perfect travel itinerary, we have included a couple of destinations that need to be booked in advance, but if in doubt, please do contact our travel experts.

Tanzania

Although you can visit Tanzania throughout the year, the busiest period is between July and October. This is the dry season and all national parks (in northern and southern Tanzania), offer warm weather and reliable game viewing opportunities. If you want to see the wildebeest migration herds, you will need to fly up to the northern plains of the Serengeti National Park on a light aircraft transfer. Compared to the central or southern plains, there are much fewer accommodation options in northern Serengeti – around six or seven permanent safari camps, and the others are mobile tented camps. This means it is imperative to book your Tanzania safari in advance, giving you the best availability for your desired safari accommodation.

Japan

Japan is a country that is on most people’s bucket list for Asia. Since the Olympics, Japan’s popularity has risen dramatically, and continues to do so. It is a country of so much diversity – dramatic landscapes and islands, unique experiences and technology, interesting cultural practices, and exquisite cuisines. Although there is so much to do, the highlights of Japan do get booked up pretty quickly (such as bullet trains, sumo wrestling shows, and tours of Mount Fuji to name a few), so we highly recommend booking your trip in advance. If you have an idea of the type of accommodation you’d like to stay in, please let us know and we can get rooms booked for you as soon as possible, or if you’d like some inspiration, feel free to get in touch with our Asia specialists.

Costa Rica

One of the main reasons we recommend booking Costa Rica in advance is because there is a small window of optimal weather conditions. Between December and April is the driest, warmest, and therefore busiest period to travel to Costa Rica. If you are looking for some winter sun, especially during Christmas or school holidays such as December or early January, then please make sure you book well in advance. If you are looking for specific wildlife destinations then please get in touch with our travel experts so they can advise the best times to go and book your trip – for example, December is when the humpback whales begin to arrive, and April is a good month to spot the green turtles on the beaches.

South Africa

The Christmas period in South Africa is the busiest throughout the year. This is because many travelers want to go away for winter sun, and as the December to April period is South Africa’s warmest months, it is a popular destination. There is so much to do in South Africa including a safari, food and wine tours, hiking, diving, driving the garden route, and visiting cultural and historical sites to name a few. You could spend two weeks in Cape Town alone! As a result, we highly recommend chatting to our Africa specialists about the options in advance, so we can spend a good amount of time perfecting your luxury South Africa holiday.

Croatia Small Ship Cruise

Our 36 guest small ship cruises in Croatia are like no other. With unbeatable service, delicious food and drink and luxury accommodation, this island hopping experience is definitely one to put on your bucket list. Because the ships are relatively small, and in some cases, departure dates are set, it is important to book in advance. The ships we operate all have a limited selection of cabins with private balconies. We are recommending booking your Croatia cruise for 2023 to secure a cabin with a balcony.

Borneo

Borneo is an island shared by Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak), Indonesia (Kalimantan) and Brunei, renowned for its idyllic beaches and dense tropical rainforest inhabited by abundant wildlife. If you’ve always wanted to experience an equatorial rainforest, the jungles of Borneo conjure up a vision of both adventure and remoteness. Winding rivers flow through dense foliage while lowland forest is dotted with orchids and pitcher plants. We recommend booking in advance because logistics and accommodation can be a little trickier than other destinations in Asia. It is worth speaking to our travel experts about the type of accommodation you can stay in – for example a longhouse stay offers basic accommodation but an unforgettable cultural interaction.

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