Your journey begins in London at one of the world’s most iconic hotels. A private meet & greet at London Airports or Stations whisks you in comfort to the Savoy where memories have been created since 1889. An early check-in has been arranged for guests arriving on inter-continental flights or why not arrive a few days early and take in a show or gallery?
Make sure you have packed your dancing shoes as tonight we meet your Expedition Team and fellow travellers at our Gala Cocktail Reception followed by dinner at Simpson’s in the Strand with live entertainment that sets the tone for our journey as we retrace the routes of the pioneering aviators to and from Africa.
Perhap’s a cheeky nightcap in the famous American Bar or a late-night coffee in the beautiful Beaufort Bar before retiring to your beautiful art-deco style room for the night? We depart for Sicily in the morning!
Please note: This itinerary also operates Northbound in reverse from Cape Town on Tuesday 12 May 2020
Travellers of old would have left the Savoy at dawn to take the boat train. Our Flying Valet Service take’s care of your luggage and we leave at a more sensible time after breakfast for our transfer to our Private Jet Terminal at London’s Stansted Airport.
Our Silver Wing Lunch Service is enjoyed high over France before touching down in Catania early afternoon, not far from where the old BOAC Flying Boats landed for the night at Augusta. We travel north to Taormina, once an integral stop on the traditional “Grand Tour” of Europe!
We pride ourselves in running our Expeditions at a more relaxed pace, after-all, you are on vacation, so enjoy some time to freshen up before we depart for a unique dinner. Our Italian hosts have set up traditional food stalls and tables in the heart of their village square. We’ll enjoy great local food, meet the families who have lived here for generations and be entertained with local music and dancing.
We understand that not everyone is the same. With us, you won’t find large coaches and big groups. You’ll have the ability to Personalize Your Day and enjoy activities and sights that really matter to You.
For the adventurous, we’ll pile into 4x4 Jeeps for an offroad tour up to the peaks of Mount Etna and enjoy great Sicilian wine and food with lunch at a winery. Foodies can enjoy a local Sicilian cooking class in Taormina while history and heritage fans can put on their walking shoes for a Walking Tour with a knowledgeable local guide.
For fans of the silver screen, get behind the wheel of a dinky Fiat 500 and follow your guide through the winding lanes and streets as you discover the history of “La Cosa Nostra”, the Sicilian Mafia.
Tonight we dine al-fresco at the Belmond Villa St Andrea.
We depart after breakfast for the desert sands of Egypt. The sparkling blue Mediterranean Sea gives way underneath the aircraft windows to the rolling sands of the Egyptian desert. We touch down in Cairo early afternoon.
Making our way through the bustling streets of downtown Cairo to our hotel, perched on the Giza Plateau, the Great Pyramids seem almost within arms reach.
After some time to freshen up and as the sun sets, we take horse-drawn carriages out to the Pyramids for dinner. Our Egyptian hosts have created a nomadic camp for us overlooking the monuments at night. Our dinner tonight is in a traditional Bedouin style and we are joined by a number of leading Egyptologists who’s knowledge and experience are fascinating.
After breakfast our guests again design their own travel experiences. For first-time visitors, a Pyramids and Spinx Tour are on the bucket lists. Guests who have perhaps visited Cairo before can take an alternative perspective by discovering Islamic Cairo including the Citadel of Salah El Din and the Khan El-Khalili Bazaars. Alternatively our discovery of Old Cairo proves popular taking in the Hanging Church, the Ben Ezra Synagogue and, to satisfy the shopping urge, the Cairo Bazaars.
As always, if there is something in particular you would like to do, please let us know and we will be only too pleased to co-ordinate a bespoke experience to suit your individual requirements.
We meet up for lunch on the Nile on board a private yacht/dahabeya.
This evening, we travel to the world-famous Egyptian Museum. We experience a tour of this acclaimed facility including the Mummies Room with a leading Egyptologists. After the museum has closed, we dine al fresco in its private gardens. (Please note: alcohol will not be served this evening at the museum)
After breakfast we rejoin our Private Jet Crew for the short flight to Aswan. We transfer straight from the airport to the river and our private motor boats for lunch in a traditional Nubian Village. After lunch, we visit a local school for a short lesson in hieroglyphics before checking in at the Old Cataract Hotel.
In line with our ethos of a leisurely paced Expedition, the remainder of the afternoon and evening are at leisure. Tonight, enjoy some time to dine alone or meet up with new found friends for free-dining at our hotel.
After breakfast this morning, an exciting array of experiences awaits. The High Dam, Unfinished Obelisk & Philae Temple attract our guests with an interest in archaeology or travel out to the unusual double temple of Kom Ombo, constructed during the Ptolomaic Dynasty (180-47BC).
A City tour of Aswan itself by horse-drawn carriage is our more leisurely option today with the walking tour of Aswan and it’s Souq’s and active but fascinating insight into the city and its peoples.
This evening we have a very special and unique experience in store for our guests. We depart for a private dinner inside the ruins of the Philae Temple with a sound and light show and a once-in-a-lifetime performance of Opera in this amazing location.
Please note: all meals in Egypt, with the exception of hotel in-house dining, will only offer non-alcoholic beverages, all of which are included in your Expedition fare.
We say goodbye to Egypt and travel over the source of the Nile to Kenya and East Africa. The flying boats of old touched down on Lake Naivaisha, we travel instead to Nairobi where we transfer to a fleet of specially chartered light aircraft for our hop into the magical Maasai Mara.
For a truly special Safari Experience, we seperate into smaller, more intimate groups, allowing us to absorb the atmosphere of the smaller, less commercial bush camps.
This evening, snuggle under a blanket by a camp fire as you dine al-fresco under a spectacular African night sky.
Two full days of African bliss at your Camp. While the program at each camp will differ slightly, you can expect a highly tailored game experience, an opportunity to interact with local communities, experience the smaller animals and birdlife on walking safaris and culminate with a stunning early morning balloon safari over the Maasai Mara.
Due to luggage restrictions on the smaller aircraft, Colonial will supply you with bespoke soft safari bags before we depart from Aswan allowing you to pack in your daily requirements without the need to “economize” on luggage for the remainder of the Expedition. Your luggage will be kept in secure storage for the duration of our stay in Kenya.
This truly is a highlight of our Expedition.
Your Camp will communicate your programme daily but feel free to highlight any special requests during your stay.
Full day on Safari in the Maasai Mara
We return to Nairobi by light aircraft and the familiar comfort of our Private Jet for the flight down to the Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. We serve lunch en-route as we travel overhead Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia to the mighty Victoria Falls, an awe-inspiring sight of beauty and grandeur on the Zambezi River.
Named as “Mosi-oa-Tunya” by the local communities, our leisurely itinerary continues as we enjoy 3 nights at the Falls. We transfer to the iconic Victoria Falls Hotel, where Imperial Airways and BOAC passengers stayed after touching down on the river above the falls en-route to and from South Africa.
Afternoon tea on the terrace is a civilized affair and awaits our arrival. The remainder of the afternoon and the evening are at your leisure after a long day with free-dining at the hotel this evening. The hotel was built in 1904 and exudes its original Edwardian charm and is within walking distance of the Falls
After breakfast this morning we embark upon a walking tour of the Falls with a local historian, giving an interesting perspective into the history of the Falls and the role that it plays in tourism in modern Zimbabwe. We return to our hotel for an al-fresco lunch on the terrace over-looking the Falls and the famous bridge. Enjoy some free time this afternoon or wander in the nearby town to visit the market. Mid-afternoon we depart for the jetty for a very special sundowner cruise on the Zambezi River followed by a truly African outdoor dining experience in the Boma.
We are spoilt for choice today with a range of activities. Bring your paints along for an art-safari with elephants, for the adventurous, a half-day white-water inflatable rafting on the mightly Zambezi, a quiet days fishing for tiger fish or explore local villages by quad bike or the riverbank from horseback.
This evening we board the historic Livingstone Express, a vintage train set for dinner, stopping on the Victoria Falls Bridge.
After breakfast, we depart for the airport and our final flight to Cape Town, South Africa. We land after lunch and transfer to the spectacular Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel - “The Nellie” as she is known and a deserved Cape Town institution. Originally constructed to service the discerning passengers from the mailships from England, the Mount Nelson is one of the world’s iconic hotels.
This evening, weather-permitting, we travel up to nearby Signal Hill where sundowners and canape’s have been laid on allowing us to take in the sweeping views of Table Mountain, Table Bay, the City Bowl and Atlantic Seaboard.
Breaking from tradition, we head to the trendy seaside suburb of Camps Bay for dinner at one of the buzzing cosmpolitan restuarants located on the beachfront strip.
After breakfast, your time to discover the Mother City of South Africa. For guests wanting some free time, why not choose our half day City orientation tour with heritage walk and also taking in the District Six Museum and its thought provoking insights into the forced evictions that took place in the city during the Apartheid era. Travel down to the tip of the Cape Peninsula and Cape Point, stopping off in the peaceful fishing harbour of Hout Bay and returning via the quirky penguins at Boulders Beach. For the foodies, we havent forgotten you with our full day visit to the Cape Winelands with a private lunch with an award-winning Chef at his acclaimed Franschoek eatery.
This evening, put on your glad rags for our Gala Dinner with a local flavour at the Mount Nelson Hotel.
After breakfast, time to say good bye to our team and new found friends with a transfer to Cape Town Airport this afternoon. Alternatively, why not extend your stay in South Africa or visit neighbouring Namibia, Botswana or Mozambique or travel out to the sun in Mauritius or the Seychelles. Your Colonial Travel Team will be happy to assist with extending your stay.
