Seeing a desire from travelers to maximize international trips, Avalon Waterways is debuting a collection of itineraries combining land and river.
The river cruise line will launch three cruise and tour journeys next year, combining a Globus land trip with Avalon river cruise. The new itineraries make for seven Cruise & Tour programs with the additions of trips in Britain and Ireland, Italy and Switzerland and Spain and France.
Pam Hoffee, Avalon president, said planning a multi-country tour is complicated for travelers.
"That's exactly what a Cruise & Tour itinerary does brilliantly," she said. "Globus handles every transfer, every hotel and every detail on land while Avalon takes care of everything on the river. What guests are left with is the best part: the freedom to be completely present for every moment of the journey, without a single logistic competing for their attention."
A 17-day itinerary will bring travelers to countries along the Rhine and to Britain and Ireland. The Britain and Ireland portion of the trip will be operated by Globus. Travelers will visit England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland, seeing the iconic Stonehenge, Cardiff Castle and the Bard's Stratford-upon-Avon. While on the Rhine, guests will travel from Amsterdam to Basel, Switzerland.
The company's Best of Spain with Paris & Normandy trip spans 16 days, pairing a Spain land tour with a Seine cruise. Highlights include Barcelona's Sagrada Familia, the Mosque of Cordoba and the Alhambra. Along the Seine, passengers will visit Bizy Castle, Normandy and Notre-Dame.
The 17-day Italy and Rhine itinerary will bring travelers to the land of pizza and pasta, where they will visit the Colosseum, float down the Grand Canal in gondolas and bask in Lake Como's beauty. On the Rhine, guests can hike the Black Forest in Germany; visit storybook Strasbourg, France; and enjoy the scenic Rhine Gorge.