HOMETOWN - NEW YORK
A chauffeured limousine picks you up from your home and whisks you to the airport for your first-class flight to New York. On arrival, you are escorted to our private lounge to be welcomed by your tour escort and introduced to fellow tour members.
Our luxurious wide-bodied L-1011 private jet is just steps away, and after our champagne reception, we board our flight to Tunisia. Settle into the sumptuous surroundings, enjoy gourmet meals, cocktails, wines, liqueurs of your personal choice and a popular film enroute to Tunis.
TUNIS - CARTHAGE
Arrive in Tunis Sunday morning and on arrival transfer to your luxury hotel. The remainder of the day is at leisure. Sunday evening will be highlighted with a gala welcome party to meet the other tour members and hear about the wonderful events ahead. Tunis offers the visitor the wonderful contrast between an elegant city and an age-old Oriental village.
On Monday visit the souks, known for their artisans who specialize in perfumes, leather, gold and silver. Seven miles away is the site of ancient Carthage, once one of the world's wealthiest cities where you will view the statues, baths, temples and amphitheaters. Before returning to Tunis, you will visit the nearby artists' Village of Sidi Bou Said.
THE RESIDENCE TUNIS
DOUGGA EXCURSION
With the conquest of Carthage in 146 B.C., Tunisia became the granary of Rome. Many inland cities sprang up, and one of the most important was Dougga. Due to its hillside location, the Romans were able to control all of the surrounding valleys. The temples, mosques, theatres, village structures and Punic Mausoleum offer an unusual glimpse into the life of that period. Return to Tunis for overnight.
Egypt, the cradle of history and culture, can trace its beginning to the remote civilizations that developed along the banks of the Nile River.
It was the Nile that molded the character of the people, made them the most prosperous, the most famous and the most civilized among any nation of ancient times. From time immemorial, the lure of ancient Egypt has exerted an irresistible fascination.
LUXOR - THEBES
Wednesday morning board your Private jet for departure to Egypt. After a short flight, arrive in Luxor and transfer to your hotel.
SONESTA ST. GEORGE
Late Wednesday afternoon visit the famous Luxor Temple in the heart of the city. Rediscovered less than a century ago, the Luxor Temple was excavated to reveal excellently preserved ruins. In the evening you will enjoy a performance of Sound and Light at the Temple of Karnak.
Luxor lies on the site of Thebes, the capital of Egypt at its height. Thursday tour the Valley of the Kings, which includes the Tomb of Tutankhamen; and the Valley of the Queens, including the Temples of Queen Hatshepsut and Nefertari.
In the afternoon explore the Temple of Karnak, which was once decorated with gold, silver, alabaster and marble. The gate of the Temple of Karnak, which was built by Ptolemy III, is still in almost perfect condition. See the incredible stone forest of pillars in the Hypostyle Hall of Karnak, then view the Avenue of Sphinxes.
Thursday evening a festive Arabian evening is scheduled at sunset in the Sahara Desert. Local musicians will perform during your cocktail party to be followed by dinner and folkloric dances.
SONESTA ST. GEORGE
Masai dancers - Great Rift Valley, Kenya
NAIROBI
In the morning board your Private jet bound for Kenya. After crossing the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator, arrive in Nairobi.
Travcoa's Private Jet Around Africa guests will be able to choose from three programs offered in East Africa-
1st excursion,Ballooning over the Masai Mara in Kenya;
2nd excursion, Game viewing at the deluxe Finch Hattons safari camp in Tsavo National Park, Kenya;
3rd excursion, exciting safari into the Serengeti in Tanzania for ballooning over this worldfamous wildlife sanctuary.
MASAI MARA
Friday afternoon a chartered aircraft flies you to the Masai Mara, Kenya's most spectacular game reserve, where the great herds of old still thrive. During your stay in the Mara you are accommodated in one of Kenya's finest and most exclusive tented camps. Live in luxury Hemingway-style and dine by candlelight, enjoying the ultimate elegance in the bush.
The Mara is the last place in Kenya where great concentrations of game that existed in the last century can still be seen. Millions of animals are supported by this unending grassland, lying 2000 meters above sea level near the Tanzania border.
MARA SAFARI CLUB
BALLOONING SAFARI
You rise at dawn this morning to board hot air balloons. Drifting serenely at tree level over the undulating land and rivers of the Mara, you will view the multitude of game below. Later in the day there is an opportunity to see the Masai people, strikingly tall and proudly dressed in brilliant red, adorned with bead and metal jewelry. The Masai have resisted change and continue to live much as their ancestors did for hundreds of years, armed with spears standing guard over their cattle.
In the late afternoon enjoy a safari by land vehicles into the endlessly fascinating Masai Mara.
Tent at Finch Hattons safari camp - Tsavo National Park
FINCH HATTONS SAFARI CAMP
Friday afternoon leave by special flight to Tsavo National Park where you will spend the next three nights at the luxurious Finch Hattons safari camp, situated in the most beautiful area of this famous park. You will experience five-star comfort in the bush with gourmet dining.
From this luxurious camp you will have the most fantastic views of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Finch Hattons lies in a picturesque valley between the Chulu Hills and Mt. Kilimanjaro, making this one of the most beautiful areasin all of Africa. Tsavo National Park covers 8000 square miles of terrain, offering varied and contrasting habitats of savannah bush, acacia woodland, rocky ridges, volcanic Yatta Plateau, palm thickets and semi-desert scrub. The Athi River cuts into the East Park where baboons chatter playfully and crocodiles rest passively like so many logs. The red earth in the park offers clues to the experienced eye of the professional game ranger who leads us in search of the famed giant behemoths, the Tsavo elephants. Their hides caked with dust, these outstanding creatures are a startling color of red-but then, this is a world of the unexpected.
Pillared termite mounds occasionally dot the barren reaches of landscape like a surrealistic interpretation of the moon, while rhinoceros, buffalo, oryx and impala share the more open places of this intriguing park.
SERENGETI
Leave Friday afternoon for the Serengeti by small aircraft and on arrival drive into the world-famous Serengeti sanctuary. For the next three nights you will live at the Serena Lodge. The lodge overlooks the vast plains of the Serengeti and the view from your sitting room is spectacular. Be prepared for exciting game drives in this world-famous sanctuary.
The immensity of the Serengeti park can best be described in numbers. It is recorded that over one million animals live in this area, and more than a third of them are wildebeest. This offers an enormous food supply for the lion and cheetah, as well as the leopard - an animal usually difficult to find in the other reserves.
BALLOONING SAFARI
On Sunday morning experience a unique ballooning safari over the Serengeti plains, floating silently over the multitude of game below. After this thrilling adventure, celebrate with a champagne gourmet breakfast cooked on the balloon burner.
SERENA LODGE
VICTORIA FALLS
Return to Nairobi Monday morning and board your Private Jet flight to Harare. Upon arrival transfer to a smaller aircraft for your short flight to Victoria Falls.
Victoria Falls is the destination for the waters of the Zambezi River, which travels 750 miles to tumble at millions of gallons per minute over the volcanicallyformed precipice. Since its "discovery" by David Livingstone in 1855, Victoria Falls has been the greatest natural attraction to Zimbabwe, indeed to Africa. You will view the falls both on foot from the forest and from the air by helicopter. You will travel by motor launch up the Zambezi River. On the banks of the river grows lush vegetation resounding with the daytime caroling of multitudes of birds.
The evening festivities include an exciting performance of African dancing followed by a candlelight dinner.
VICTORIA FALLS HOTEL
Botswana is a land of contrasts, ranging from the arid desert to the rich game reserves of Chobe National Park. You will feel as though you have gone back a hundred years to share the discovery of a truly virgin Africa as Stanley and Livingstone once did.
CHOBE
Wednesday morning a short drive takes you into Botswana. Your accommodations for the next two days are at a deluxe lodge, situated deep in the bush along the banks of the Chobe River-a tributary of the Zambezi.
Landrovers await your arrival and for two days you will stalk your photographic prey, with the driver ranger searching out lion, leopard, elephant, giraffe and cheetah. Return to your camp in time to marvel at the magnificent sunset for which this area is famous. The game runs in this park are spectacular.
On Thursday evening a sundowner cruise on the Chobe River provides a different view of this area. With the incredible sunset as a background, see elephants drinking and bathing, hippo pools, and animals in the grass.
CHOBE GAME LODGE
Boat safari
CAPE TOWN
Leave Victoria Falls this morning by special aircraft, and return to Harare and board your Private jet bound for South Africa. Following a gourmet meal, arrive in Cape Town and transfer to your luxury hotel. This unique city by the sea is South Africa's oldest and most cosmopoli tan settlement.
TABLE BAY HOTEL
CAPE TOWN
Cape Town, South Africa's idyllic city, is flanked by Table Mountain which provides a most glorious view of the Cape of Good Hope. The city itself offers a multitude of historical attractions including Koopmans de Wet Museum which dates from 1701 and houses the finest collection of Dutch colonial furniture and antiques.
Also visit the Castle, the oldest building in South Africa which dates from 1666, and the South African Museum with its fascinating Bushman cave paintings and artifacts, including lifelike casts of the stone age man in his natural surroundings. The residential district offers a look at present-day life in Cape Town as a prelude to the scenic drive through the Cape Province. Return to your hotel where the remainder of the day is at leisure.
TABLE BAY HOTEL
CAPE TOWN
Traveling southward, your scenic drive to the Cape Peninsula takes you along the Atlantic coast through Constantia Valley to Groot Constantia, famed for its Cape Dutch architecture. Passing the fishing harbor of Hout Bay, you arrive at the Cape of Good Hope where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet at Cape Point.
A special South African "braaivleis" (barbecue) has been set up for us on the beautiful beach overlooking this famous cape. Return to Cape Town for overnight.
Festival - Marrakech, Morocco
MARRAKECH
Transfer to the airport and board your Private jet bound for Morocco. After a gourmet meal and a film, arrive in Marrakech, the oasis city of Morocco and crossroads of Arab, Berber and Sudanese civilizations. It is a city where the mountains and the desert marry. It is the romantic, historical, unique, crossroads of caravans bound to the endless Sahara carrying gold, silver, salt and stones.
Marrakech is a beautiful city with the tallest, sheerest peaks of the Atlas rising up behind the town. One of the world's most mysterious and fascinating cities, Marrakech is a traveler's delight. For 900 years the Berber and Sudanese cultures intermingled in Marrakech. Your accommodations await at the opulent Hotel La Mamounia, situated within the ancient ramparts of the Old City and overlooking the hotel's seventeen-acre gardens. Your room will be overlooking this lovely garden with your own private balcony.
HOTEL LA MAMOUNIA
MARRAKECH
Visit the city's palaces, lush gardens, fountains, handicraft guilds, ancient souks and towering minarets. Visit Djemaa el F'Na Square to view local natives, music, snake charmers, acrobats, fortune tellers, food stalls, horse carriages and the endless parade of people.
Sightseeing takes you into the small byways and back streets of Marrakech to discover a way of life that has vanished from more modernized cities. Here you visit the Koutoubia Minaret, the Kasbah, the Saadian Tombs and Bahia Palace with its five exquisite gardens. Browse through the teaming markets of Marrakech, visiting the various sections of coppersmiths, Oriental slipper-makers and iron workers. Shop in the colorful bazaars lining the Kasbah.
HOTEL LA MAMOUNIA
MARRAKECH
Today will be at leisure for personal activities. A special folklore evening has been arranged in a palm grove outside the city where you enjoy exotic foods and entertainment by singers and belly dancers. This will be followed by a Fantasia, a show of horsemanship and extravaganza, a thrilling end to an exciting African adventure.
HOMEWARD BOUND
Late this morning board the Private jet for your flight to New York. During the last gala flight from Marrakech, a sumptuous cocktail and lunch celebration is planned aloft. Arrive in New York early afternoon.
As you complete this adventure of a lifetime, bid farewell to your new-found friends and return to your hometown city via a first-class flight. Upon arrival, a private chauffeured limousine will transfer you to your home.
20 - Days $37,900... Single supplement $2,950.
Reservations and Deposits: An initial deposit of $2,500. per person is required at the time of registration. An additional $7,500. deposit is due six months prior to departure. Final payment is due 90 days prior to departure. All payments must be made payable to Bank One, the escrow holder for Travel Corporation of America (TRAVCOA).
Call Signature Travel, Inc. 215-483-3080 to Book Your Private Jet Around Africa Tour.