No budget? Lucky you – check out these no-holds-barred luxury trips to the furthest reaches and most sumptuous destinations on the planet
1. POLAR FARES
Follow in the footsteps of Ireland’s polar explorers Ernest Shackleton and Tom Crean with a trip to Antarctica. Polar specialist Dr Gudrun Bucher talks you through the sights. Zodiac landings get you up close and personal with elephants seals, fur seals and penguins on Elephant Island – the very island on which Shackleton’s men endured for 128 days before finally being rescued.
Flights are ex-Dublin. Prices vary from €8,569 to €14,000 per person. Tel: 01-207 6555 or see jgt.ie
2. PRODIGAL SUN
Sun seekers fly business class with Classic Resorts direct to Dubai to the five-star One and Only Royal Mirage Residence and Spa on the city’s beachfront. Enjoy complimentary half-board in a prestige room before departing to the Seychelles, where you spend five nights in an ocean-view hillside villa on a half-board basis at the five-star Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort and Spa.
Prices from €5,557pp. Travel is between June 3rd and August 31st. Tel: 01-874 5000 or see classicresorts.ie
3. MAGNETIC NORTH
Done Antarctica? Follow your compass to the North Pole. From the port of Murmansk, inside Russia’s Arctic Circle, sail on a 14-day trip aboard 50 Years of Victory, a nuclear-powered Russian ice breaker. Though all cabins have private facilities, this is not luxury of the traditional cruise liner variety – the thrill is in spotting polar bears, whales, seals and a lot of bird life along the way.
Prices from €17,645 (does not include flights to Murmansk). Tel: 01-207 6555 or see jgt.ie
4. CHRISTMAS CRUISE OF SOUTH AMERICA
Explore Peru and Argentina in comfort aboard Celebrity Infinity on a 15-night excursion. The ship sails from Valparaiso, Chile. Take in the stunning scenery from the private balcony of your stateroom as you cruise around Cape Horn to Ushuaia, the most southerly capital in the world and on to Uruguay’s bling resort Punta Del Este before disembarking in Buenos Aires.
Prices from €2,906 per person sharing with a December 22nd 2012 departure. Flights to Valparaiso not included. Tel: 1800 932 619 or see celebritycruises.ie
5. ESCAPE TO MILLIONAIRE’S PLAYGROUND
Cuixmala is a millionaire’s Moorish playground in Jalisco Mexico. Once the Pacific-coast home of mega-millionaire and latter-day eco-warrior James Goldsmith, the estate has entertained Kissinger, Reagan and Nixon who have all holidayed here at Goldsmith’s invitation. Two hours from Puerto Vallarta, this Costa Alegre boutique hotel attracts A-listers like butterflies to bonfires.
Ten days' B&B costs €4,010 per room. Price does not include fights. Tel: 0044-208 987 4312, mrandmrssmith.com
6. FIVE STAR OZ ODYSSEY
Take the family (two adults and two children under 16) on the trip of a lifetime to Australia. Highlights include ballooning over the Australian bush, snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef and helicoptering home, climbing the Harbour Bridge, sailing the city’s harbour, a VIP evening at the opera and a flight over the 12 Apostles.
Cost approximately €36,100 including all international and domestic flights, private escorted tours and five-star accommodation. Tel: 01-804 7100, abbeytravel.ie
7. HIS MASTER’S CHOICE
Take a trip to the US Masters 2013. A tournament package with B&B accommodation at the Baymont West Hotel, just minutes from the prestigious Augusta National Golf Club, home of the annual PGA Masters Tournament, gives you entry to the tournament with the use of a patron’s badge Thursday through Sunday. The offer includes daily round-trip transfers from the hotel to the tournament. Arrive Wednesday April 10th. Depart Monday, April 15th.
Price €4,630 per person. Tel: 0818-332 535, cassidygolf.ie
8. TIGER TIGER BURNING BRIGHT
Seen Africa’s Big Five? Try an Indian safari fit for a maharaja. Trailfinders suggests starting in Delhi. In Agra wake up in Oberoi Amarvilas to the wonder of the Taj Mahal; take the overnight train to Mahua Kothi in Bandhavgarh National Park. Travel to a tented suite in Banjaar Tola in Kanha National Park before returning to Delhi.
The 12-day trip, all flights and transfers and many of your meals costs from €5,399 per person. Tel: 01-677 7888/021-464 8800, trailfinders.ie
9. BIG IN JAPAN
The 16-day luxury Essence of Japan tour starts in Osaka and finishes in Tokyo while visiting everywhere from Hiroshima to Kyoto and taking an overnight ryokan style stay in Wakuru Onsen in between. The trip uses the best hotels available in each location and includes airport transfers plus many meals.
Based on a September 13th departure from Dublin flying with Cathay Pacific it costs €7,899 per person. Book by May 31st. Tel: 01-677 7888/021-464 8800, trailfinders.ie
10. OLD STYLE ROMANCE
Want to propose? Whisk them to London to the recently refurbished St Pancreas Renaissance hotel, where a junior suite overlooking the Eurostar platform is the ultimate in peoplewatching. After breakfast, surprise them by training as VIPs to Paris with lLunch at Renaissance Vendome. Afterwards, shop for jewellery on Place Vendome. Fly home to give everyone the good news.
B&B in a junior suite from €671 at St Pancreas; €758 at Vendome per night. tel: 0044-207 841 3540, Marriott.co.uk