This tour represents good value as all the following are included in the price:

• Air fares with Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and Qantas from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane into Copenhagen and out of Berlin.

• A 16 day tour of Scandinavia, Russia, Belarus, Poland and Berlin by coach, boat and train. 

• A 2 day stopover in Singapore on the way over. 

• A 2 day stopover in Hong Kong on the way home.
  

• Good accommodation, mainly 3 to 4 star. 

• Many meals.

• Entrance fees to many attractions. 

• Services of local tour guides, and if there are 12 or more tour participants there will be an Australian tour leader. 

For a single room there is an extra cost of $1575.

This is a fabulous tour visiting these beautiful north European countries in late spring.

Booking Form

Terms and Conditions

Tour Itinerary

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	Itinerary for Cossack Explorer Tour - May 2009
	Included meals are indicated as SB = Scandinavian Breakfast, BB = Buffet Breakfast, CB = Continental Breakfast, L =Lunch, D = Dinner
06.05.09	Depart Brisbane at 9.30am on SQ 256, arriving in Singapore at 3.30pm. Depart Melbourne at 10.10am on SQ 238, arriving in Singapore at 4.05pm. Depart Sydney at 11.30am on SQ 232, arriving in Singapore at 5.45pm. Upon arrival all passengers will be transferred to the Bayview Hotel or equivalent.
07.05.09	Singapore This morning there will be an included SIngapore City Tour. This tour gives you an excellent introduction to the city of Singapore. Drive through the colonial heart and view some of the famous buildings. Highlights include: Merlion, Thian Hock Keng Temple, Little India, Botanical Gardens and the Orchid Garden.
08.05.09	Singapore - Frankfurt A free day in Singapore to do your own thing. Late 6.00pm check-out from your hotel. Transfer to Singapore Airport, departing at 11.05pm on LH 779, arriving in Frankfurt at 5.25am the next morning. (09.05.09)
09.05.09	Frankfurt - Copenhagen Depart Frankfurt at 8.20am on LH 3070, arriving in Copenhagen at 9.40am. Welcome to Copenhagen, capital of Denmark. After check-in, time to relax and unwind. Accommodation: Scandic Hvidovre.
10.05.09 (SB)	Copenhagen We will see the Little Mermaid, the Renaissance Stock Exchange, the Royal Amalienborg Palace and Christiansborg Palace on our morning sightseeing tour. The rest of the day is free to explore the city. Accommodation: Scandic Hvidovre.
11.05.09 (SB)	Copenhagen - Stockholm First we cross the Oresund into Sweden. Then we continue our journey travelling north through lush forests and meadows to the resort of Granna at the head of Lake Vattern. Then northwards to beautiful island ringed Stockholm, Sweden's capital. Accommodation: Scandic Kungens Kurva
12.05.09 (SB/D)	Stockholm - At Sea This morning's sightseeing tour with a local guide shows us the Royal Palace and City Hall. Stockholm is constructed on a maze of islands and criss-crossed by many bridges, so it is a pleasant city to wander through, which you can do before we board the ship for our mini cruise to Finland in a two berth cabin. Accommodation: On board Ship
13.05.09 (CB)	At Sea - Helsinki An early arrival in Finland's capital allows us time for a guided tour showing us Finlandia Hall, the Senate and market squares, broad boulevards and the domed Russian Church. Then free time to shop and sightsee further before checking in to our hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure. Accommodation: Sokos Tapiola Garden
14.05.09 (SB/D)	Helsinki - St Petersburg Today we drive to the border with Russia, passing the timber centre of Kotka and on through the town of Vyborg. Then we continue across the forests of Karelia to St Petersburg for our three night stay. Enjoy complimentary champagne with dinner tonight. Accommodation:  St Petersburg Hotel.
15.05.09 (BB)	St Petersburg Featured on our sightseeing tour this morning are the Tsar's Winter Palace, Nevsky Prospekt, St Isaac's Cathedral, the Statue of Peter the Great and a visit of the St Peter and Paul Fortress. The remainder of the day is at leisure. You may wish to see the Summer Palace of Empress Catherine the Great or maybe visit the residence of Peter the Great in Petrodvorets.
16.05.09 (BB/D)	St Petersburg Today there's time to relax in St Petersburg. Why not visit one of the greatest collections of paintings and art treasures in the world at the Hermitage Museum in the Tsar's Winter Palace? This evening we enjoy dinner with our fellow travellers and Tour Director in a local restaurant.
17.05.09 (BB/L)	St Petersburg - Train to Moscow Time to maybe lose yourself in the Gostiny Dvour, the city's largest and absolutely huge department store. After lunch in the afternoon, we take the five hour train trip to Moscow. Accommodation: Alfa Ismailovo Hotel.
18.05.09 (BB)	Moscow Our sightseeing tour features many highlights such as Red Square, the Kremlin Walls and the domed St Basil's Cathedral. During your stay, why not visit the Treasure Chamber of the Tasars or take a trip to nearby Zagorsk - a centre of Russian art and architecture?
19.05.09 (BB/L/D)	Moscow - Smolensk - Minsk An early departure takes us past Borodino, site of Napolean's great defeat. We stop for lunch near Smolensk before we cross the border and enter the independent state of Belarus and continue to Minsk, rebuilt in supreme Soviet syle after the Second World War. Here an orientation takes us along wide avenues and past gargantuan concrete buildings - a legacy of the city's Soviet past. Tonight we enjoy a dinner of traditional cuisine at our hotel. Accommodation:  Orbita Hotel.
20.05.09 (BB/L/D)	Minsk - Brest - Warsaw Today's drive takes us via the vast plains of White Russia and the Pripet Marches to the Polish frontier at Brest Litovsk where we stop for lunch. From here we cross the River Vistula before arriving in Warsaw, capital of Poland, for our two night stay. Accommodation:  Courtyard by Marriott
21.05.09 (BB)	Warsaw Our morning sightseeing features the old town, reconstructed after wartime destruction and the site of the Warsaw Ghetto. This evening after dinner, why not listen to Chopin piano recital. Accommodation: Courtyard by Marriott.
22.05.09 (BB)	Warsaw - Berlin Today we travel across the central plains of Poland to Poznan, with its charming City Hall and Gothic churches. Then we continue to the border town of Frankfurt-an-der-Oder and into Germany, where we are soon back in Berlin. Accommodation: Best Western Spittelmarkt.
23.05.09 (BB/D)	Berlin Our morning sightseeing features highlights of a united Berlin including the Reichstag Building, Tiergarten, the Brandenburg Gate, Unter den Lindin Bouevard and the German State Opera House. Later there's time at leisure to perhaps join an optional excursion exploring Berlin's secret past.
24.05.09 (BB)	Berlin - Frankfurt  Free morning in Berlin. Transfer to Berlin Airport. Departing at 3.20pm on LH 187, arriving in Frankfurt at 4.30pm. Depart Frankfurt at 5.55pm on LH 738, arriving in Hong Kong at 10.40am the next morning (25.05.09).
25.05.09	Hong Kong On arrival in Hong Kong you will be transferred to the Kimberly Hotel or equivalent in the Kowloon area for a 2 night stay.
26.05.09	Hong Kong Today there will be a half day Hong Kong Island Tour which includes a visit to some of Hong Kong's famous scenic attractions. You will see the floating community at Aberdeen Fishing Village and enjoy some serious bargaining at Stanley markets. A highlight of any  Hong Kong visit is Victoria Peak accessible by the famous Peak Tram. Take time to absorb the panorama of one of the most famous harbours in the world.
27.05.09	Hong Kong Free time in Hong Kong with airport transfers included. Melbourne passengers depart Hong Kong at 9.00am on QF 030, arriving in Melbourne at 7.55pm. Sydney passengers depart Hong Kong at 9.10pm on QF 128, arriving in Sydney at 7.55am on (28.05.09). Brisbane passengers depart Hong Kong at 11.15pm on QF 098, arriving in Brisbane at 9.50am on (28.05.09).
Note:	Airport taxes and levies at present total an additional amount of approximately $940. We have no control over this price and it is subject to change.

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Deposits and Payments - A non-refundable deposit of $400.00 per person is payable within 7 days of booking. This deposit is not refundable should you later cancel. The balance is payable in full 10 weeks prior to departure. The $400.00 deposit will be used immediately as the ticket for within Russia will need to be issued upon booking. 

Refunds and Cancellations - Cancellations after final payment will result in a refund limited to whatever we can recoup from the airline.

Insurance - Adequate travel insurance is essential. We can arrange this for you if desired.

Passports - All travellers require a current passport with at least 6 months left on it at the end of the tour. Non-Australian passport holders require a re-entry visa for Australia.
Visas are required for Russia and the cost is $85 plus $30 processing.
Visas are required for Belarus at the cost of $62 US and you will need 3 recent passport photos. This visa is obtained on arrival.

Not  Included in the Cost - All items of a personal nature such as telephone calls, drinks, excess baggage, tips, meals, (except those specified in the itinerary), etc.
Also travel insurance and airport taxes. Airport tax must now be paid with your ticket, and totals $940 at present. ****Please note that these taxes are subject to change.****

Health and Fitness - Macleay Valley Travel recommends that the passenger is reasonably healthy and/or fit to participate in this tour. Persons with a disability requiring special assistance must be accompanied by a companion. Macleay Valley Travel and their representatives cannot provide this service. Macleay Valley Travel reserves the right to accept/decline or terminate a passenger's participation in the tour under certain circumstances.

Booking through other Agents - As we keep the cost of out tours as low as possible, there is insufficient margin for us to be able to pay commission to other travel agents, so some bookings can only be accepted if the client pays the other agent's commission. 
Macleay Valley Travel is a fully licensed travel agent and as such any monies paid to us are fully insured by the Travel Compensation Fund. We are happy for any prospective traveller with us to check us out with your local Consumer Affiars (fair trading) department.
Similarly, credit card payments can only be accepted if 2% is added to the price to help defray the heavy merchant fees charged to us by the credit card companies.

Limitation of Liability - As Macleay Valley Travel acts only as agent for the Airlines, Hotels, Coach Companies etc., providing accommodation, transportation and other services, Macleay Valley Travel shall not be liable or responsible for death or injury to any person or loss or damage to any property including baggage arising out of or connection with any transportation, accommodation or other services, or resulting directly or indirectly from acts of God, fire, breakdown in machinery or equipment, acts of Government or other authorities, de jure or defacto wars, whether declared or not, hostilities, civil disturbances, strikes, riots, thefts, epidemics, quarantines, medical or customs regulations, delays or cancellations caused by changes in schedules or itinerary, or over bookings or defaults or for any causes beyond Macleay Valley Travel's control or any loss or damage resulting from improper or insufficient passports, visas or other documents and neither Macleay Valley Travel, and its servants or employees shall be or become liable or responsible for any additional expenses or liability sustained or incurred by the tour member as a result of the foregoing causes.
Macleay Valley Travel reserves the right to modify the itinerary or the accommodation if circumstances make this necessary, provided that the amended itinerary is of equal value or greater value than that of the original program.
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