The Antarctic Continent is a land of incomparable beauty, with many unexpected surprises waiting to be discovered. Its distant location and rules against tourism have historically made this wondrous white continent inaccessible to most adventure travel enthusiasts, until now. For those travelers who crave being in the ultimate wilderness, surrounded by breathtaking pristine landscapes, an excursion to the White Continent is ideal. In the upcoming season, take advantage of this unique opportunity to watching wildlife among the extraordinary setting of glaciers and icebergs.

There is a unique new way to see this part of the world. You begin your trip in Punta Arenas, at the southern tip of Chile, where you have a welcoming dinner at a 100-year old mansion, meet your fellow expedition mates and be briefed about the vessel and its guidelines. The next day, a short flight carries you directly to King George Island, jumping over the Drake Passage crossing, where your Antarctic adventure begins! Once aboard the Ocean Nova you’ll discover firsthand how special this air and cruise combination is, as you embark upon the ultimate sailing experience — a pleasant cruise that leaves more time to explore the Antarctic Peninsula. The Ocean Nova is a 62-passenger vessel both equipped and ideally suited for travel in Antarctica.

The voyage makes several stops to the most remarkable sites, each day being very active, yet still having plenty of time to relax on board. Days are filled with sites of unimaginable icebergs, penguins, playful seals, and breaching whales. This is an extraordinary adventure, one you won’t want to miss!

The dates for the Classic Antarctica Air-Cruise are:

December 13- 19, 2010

December 18-24, 2010

December 23-29, 2010

December 28-January 3, 2011

January 2-8, 2011

January 7-13, 2011

January 12-18, 2011

Contact Latin Excursions for your next excursion to one of the most remote places on Earth at http://www.latinexcursions.com/forms/contact_us.asp

“We are thrilled to announce the launch of the world’s second five-star luxury expedition vessel to sail the Amazon,” the CEO exclaimed.  “The M/V Aria will provide the ever-growing number of travelers who wish to explore one of the world’s last great wilderness areas with a one-of-a-kind travel experience.”  No hyperbole there.  The Peruvian Amazon is one of the most beautiful areas of the world’s rainforests, and the Aria promises to be an extraordinary means of viewing and visiting those natural wonders.

The Aria’s sister ship, the M/V Aqua, is already in service, and has been providing guests with a dozen grand air conditioned guest suites boasting 230+ square feet and floor-to-ceiling picture windows.  Four Master suites are located at the bow and include a sitting area in which to view those incredible sights as the Aqua makes her way through the Amazon River.  Her 24-member crew includes 4 world-class naturalists which act as guides for the vessel’s guests.  Amongst the planned pluses is an Amazon Wildlife reference library to help people identify and better appreciate what they’re seeing, and a multimedia room, complete with air conditioning!

Here are some recent reviews from guests who traveled aboard the Aqua recently:

“We loved the guides’ enthusiasm, wealth of knowledge. We enjoyed returning after each adventure to a cool and clean ship with great crew members, good food and drinks. We suggest that you continue giving back to the locals. The Aqua is an excellent ambassador.” — Mr. & Mrs. Fuehrer, March 2010

“My wife had asked me years ago to take her on a cruise of the Amazon, but until I saw the photos and description of the Aqua I never really considered it. The cruise became our 36th wedding anniversary gift to ourselves and was perfect. The ship is even better than we expected. In particular, the wide picture windows of the staterooms that allowed us to lie in bed with coffee and watch the river traffic flow past, and the fast, stable skiffs that enabled your naturalist guides to take us up winding tributaries to visit isolated villages and experience spectacular sunsets really made us smile.” — C. Perleberg, Travel Specialist, September, 2009

“We boarded the Aqua in Iquitos, Peru, for seven days on the Amazon & its tributaries. Most of our time was spent on 8-passenger skiffs exploring the rain forest, but when we returned to the Aqua, we were pampered in air-conditioned comfort. Yummy Peruvian food. So what was it like? It was magical. Hundreds of pink dolphin & lots of gray ones. We held baby caimen, caught piranhas, fed baby manatees with a milk bottle. Monkeys — five different kinds — entertained us each day and sloths slept high in cecropia trees. The rare sighting of an Amazon porcupine (they have prehensile tails!) even surprised our guides. Birds there are incredible. Splashes of primary colors and sounds that defy imagination. Some of us identified over 140 different species and even I had well over 100. We spent a few hours in a random village along a river. Impossibly simple lives. We brought gifts to hand out to the children. They sang and we did a rousing “You are my sunshine…” in return. When you are together for a week, you expect a little mediocrity to emerge. Absolutely none here. In the end, I told the crew in my shaky Spanish that the river lives in our hearts. It certainly does.” –  Mr. & Mrs. Churcher, February 2010

The Aqua Expeditions vessels and excursions are a rare treat in the Amazon.  This combination of luxurious accommodations and adventurous exploration makes for an incomparable journey.  Peru tours take people to remote, untouched regions within the Pacaya-Samiria reserve, ferretting out the unseen within the upper Amazon and her tributaries.  Those who take this path less chosen are richly rewarded every moment of each day.  You’ll see the unusual and decidedly beautiful birds, animals, plants, and lush vistas, perhaps even discover something no one has ever seen before!  What’s more, you’ll take the journey in comfort and style, aboard the Aqua or Aria.

If you’ve ever dreamed of seeing the Amazon with your own eyes, smelling and feeling and tasting, taking it all in with your own senses, there’s no better way to experience this unique natural treasure than aboard the Aria or Aqua.  The Peruvian Amazon is a truly life-changing experience!  Contact Latin Excursions to find out how you can gain passage aboard this extraordinary fleet.

Most people think of the Amazon as a jungle that begins on the eastern slopes of the Andes and continues to the east across Brazil to the Atlantic Ocean. Fact is, some of the most breathtakingly beautiful parts of the Amazon are found in Peru, on the western slopes’ rivers, including the amazing Pacaya Samiria Reserve. Latin Excursions is pleased to be able to offer exceptional Peru tours that includes both the incomparable Amazon rainforest and the wonders of Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley, Cusco, and so much more!

Your custom luxury excursion begins when you get to Lima. As those who have booked with this company before already know, nothing is the usual fare with Latin Excursions. Your itinerary includes well-educated professional bilingual guides and hosts will greet you in places that are off limits to most tourists. That special service begins at the airport, a trip to the hotel to settle in, and a tour of lovely Lima. The sights, sounds, tastes and smells of this exciting metropolitan city will have a lasting place in your memory — and that’s just your first day in Peru!

Latin Excursion tours are designed to allow you to choose what you prefer, customizing the vacation as you like best, from beginning to end. To be sure you get the accommodations, features and destinations you want, we suggest booking this tour now. Cabins are being reserved for the first two weeks of August, September 21-25th, and December 28th through the first day of the new year. But let’s get back to the trip.

Peru is…. the majestic Amazon River, surrounded by walls of green with almost 60% of Peru lying in the Amazon rainforest. Peru is Cuzco and the towering Incan ruins of Machu Picchu from the great Inca Empire, the largest state in pre-Columbian America. Peru is the vast Pampa Colorada, home to the mysterious Nazca Lines and the towering canyons of the Colca River near Arequipa. It is Lake Titicaca, where natives still live on islands made of reeds. Peru is miles of Pacific beaches, vast desert areas, the sheer towering Andes Mountains, lush green cloud forest and the high country of the Altiplano. Peru is the Amazon jungle with its wealth of wildlife, birds and plants and the Pacaya Samiria Reserve deep in the Amazon rainforest. Peru is the rural haciendas and elegant churches built by the Spaniards, who conquered this rugged land of mountains, rivers, and valleys in the 16th century. It is the small villages and markets of Peru’s indigenous people–the women clad in rainbow-colored clothing topped by serious-looking bowler hats

Your first week is dedicated to visiting the amazing land-based highlights. On day eight, you’ll enjoy a 2.5 hour flight to Iquitos, where you’ll board the Aqua for a sailing trip through the Amazon of Peru. Over the next four days, you’ll see all manner of colors, the brilliant vibrant, amazing Amazon! Then it’s back to Lima for a day before returning home with stories to tell, pictures to share, and memories to last a lifetime!

If you’d like, you can extend your trip. Add high-altitude destinations, or enjoy a bit of relaxing time along the pacific Peruvian coast. Perhaps while you’re in the southern hemisphere you’d like to fly on up to Equador and experience the famous Galapagos Islands aboard a luxury cruise? At Latin Excursions, we’re honored to be able to make your voyage is everything you want it to be.

VIEW DETAILS: Delfin Luxury Amazon Cruise

There’s nothing quite like exploring the wonders of Peru on a custom luxury tour from Latin Excursions. Contact them now, so that they can make the necessary arrangements and reservations for your customized fantastic journey.

Begin your trip in Quito, the capital city, lset in a valley between snow-capped Andean peaks. Quito is divided into an old and new quarter, and we work with a variety of hotel styles in the city. It’s worth a stay of two nights so you have a chance to explore the monuments and visit the Equator Monument.

Then, take a short flight to the Amazon jungle, where you can spend four or five days exploring trails through the forest with your naturalist guide, fishing for piranhas (or swimming with them!), visiting local communities, visiting parrot clay licks, and watching for wildlife from observation towers and canopy walks. Lodges are comfortable, and have amenities like private terraces with hammocks, electricity, fans, and running water, and work with sustainable principles to preserve the environment.

After the Amazon, continue to the Galapagos Islands for an exciting cruise of four, five or eight days. Each day you’ll have an early start, and then two island visits with your naturalist guide. You’ll often have the chance to snorkel after the land visit, where you’ll see the colorful marine life of the Enchanted Isles, and have the chance to swim with white-tipped reef sharks and playful sea lions. Because there are few natural predators in the Galapagos, animals are startlingly unafraid of humans, and you can get up close and personal with a blue-footed booby doing a mating dance, huge colonies of marine iguanas, or to ancient giant tortoises.

We work with a wide variety of Galapagos yachts, all visited by our Travel Consultants, and all adhering to the highest levels of safety and environmental standards, as well as working with top guides.

Ask us about customizing this trip with a Galapagos yacht to match your travel preferences, and the best Amazon program.

You’ll begin the trip in Puerto Montt, where you’ll board the boat and begin cruising around some of the most beautiful regions of Patagonia Chile. Each itinerary is different, and takes into account weather conditions and guests’ particular interests. Activities can include whale-watching, eco tourism, bird watching, jet boating, kayaking, trekking and horseback riding. Natural wonders are in abundance here, and there is plenty of wildlife.

There are dedicated nature and fly fishing departures throughout the fall, winter and spring (northern hemisphere), although travelers on nature cruises can add a handful of fly fishing excursions.

Cabins are spacious, with large picture windows to enjoy the view as you cruise along. The Atmosphere has large passenger areas, gourmet meals paired with Chilean wines, and spa treatments available.

Contact us for 2009 and 2010 special rates for the exciting Nomads of the Seas adventure!

The five day cruise begins in Punta Arenas, Chile, where you’ll board your expedition vessel, specially outfitted for Arctic cruising, and sail through the Strait of Magellan. Continue the cruise with stops at places like Tucker Islet to see colonies of Magellanic penguins and cormorants, Cape Horn National Park, and more. You’ll sail through Glacier Alley, through six imposing glaciers, and disembark on the Pia Glacier for panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and forests.

The four day itinerary still visits glacier, penguin and forest highlights, and is great for those shorter on time. The four day itinerary departs from Ushuaia, Argentina; the five day itinerary departs from Punta Arenas, Chile.

Ask us about availability, and combining this trip with land adventures throughout Chile and Argentina.

For the special November 7-14 departure all Galapagos extras are free of charge – these include roundtrip flights to the Galapagos Islands from mainland Ecuador, park fees, and fuel surcharge! Contact us for more details on this amazing opportunity to cruise the Galapagos Islands with one of the most adventurous nature travelers around – Paul Rose.