Constructed centuries ago, the temples of Angkor Wat, the altars of Machu Picchu, the mysterious moai of Easter Island and the splendid perfection of the Taj Mahal all stand as timeless tributes to human aspiration and achievement.

Aboard our private Boeing 757 jet, peel away the layers of time and distance to reveal compelling cultural icons around the world: Egypt's Great Pyramid at Giza - last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing…China's underground army of life-size terra cotta soldiers…Uluru (Ayers Rock), the most sacred Aboriginal site.

Some of mankind's finest achievements are also the hardest to reach, tucked away in the world's remote corners. We lay them at your feet: Albania's ancient Roman theaters, Petra's rock-carved treasury, the massive temple complex of Angkor, Bhutan's cliff-hugging dzongs.

Private Jet Travel is Safe, Comfortable and Convenient

Our private Boeing 757 offers unmatched safety, long-range capabilities, access to smaller airports, and an interior customized for maximum comfort. Not limited by regular commercial routes or schedules, we fly direct, bypass busy airports and avoid layovers, crisscrossing continents and countries with ease. We enjoy special privileges, including expedited boarding, luggage handling, and Customs and Immigration formalities. Because we set our own schedules, we fly during the day, arriving refreshed and ready to explore.

NEW, Spacious Leather Seats Fit Like a Glove
We have reconfigured our Boeing 757 jetliner to accommodate just 74 guests in new VIP leather seats. Made with a patented, dense foam core, the seats automatically adjust to a wide range of body types and provide heightened comfort, flexibility and improved circulation. Each seat has an individual power source for laptops, digital cameras and other equipment. The cabin has 24 flat-screen monitors.

We Control the Quality and Safety of Our Transportation
The Boeing 757 is unsurpassed among today's jetliners for safety and has a 99 percent reliability rate for operating without mechanical delays. Our private jet is operated and maintained by First Choice Airways, founded in the United Kingdom in 1987. Carrying more than seven million passengers on more than 30,000 flights a year, First Choice Airways is one of the U.K.'s largest airlines and is consistently recognized for its high level of safety, performance and service.

First Choice Airways monitors access to the jet and baggage at all times. Every piece of luggage is screened and identified with a security tag and remains under the watchful eyes of our staff and security officers. Find out more about our safety and security program.

An Expedition Physician Travels With Us
An experienced expedition physician accompanies each journey and is on-call to passengers 24 hours a day.

An International Crew and Fine Create a First-Class Expedition Experience
Accompanying our journey is an experienced, international crew, including eight cabin attendants, three pilots, two engineers, an airport liaison officer, and two chefs. The flight crew remains with us throughout the trip. Experienced expedition leaders also accompany the group.

In-flight meals are graciously served on china and linen. Carefully chosen menus and wine lists accommodate a range of tastes. Dishes are prepared with the freshest ingredients and special emphasis is placed on food safety by our chef and catering assistant.

Seminars in the Sky Prepare Us for Adventures on Land
Our lecturers deliver in-flight presentations, using a public address system and conveniently placed overhead monitors. An on-board library of books and publications relating to each destination is available during flight.

Travel with superb lecturers and leaders.
Expert lecturers help create a rich context for your journey, increasing your awareness and knowledge of areas like art, history, geography and politics.

Professional expedition leaders take care of every detail, leaving you free to immerse yourself in every amazing destination.

World Heritage Sites
UNESCO World Heritage Sites visited on Around the World Wonders 2009

UNESCO World Heritage sites are places of extraordinary and universal cultural and/or natural value that have been chosen for special protection from damage and destruction. When a site is selected by UNESCO's World Heritage Committee, it is inscribed onto the official World Heritage Site List and receives ongoing aid and technical support from the World Heritage Fund.

Accommodations
Hotels featured on Around the World 2009 - Wonders

United States
The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Florida
Each guest room in this lavish new resort features a spacious and elegant bathroom, hand painted Italian furniture, flat-screen Web TV, and a five-foot private balcony with panoramic views of lakes, pool, and gardens. Public areas are richly treated in marble, antiques, fresh flowers, and plush fabrics. The grounds include a 40,000-square-foot spa and wellness center, and an 18-hole Greg Norman-designed championship golf course.

Guatemala
Hotel Camino Real, Tikal
This resort is located in the lush Petén jungle, adjoining the famed Tikal archaeological site, and is part of the Cerro Cahui protected wildlife area. Guests stay in thatched-roof bungalows with modern comforts and balconies overlooking Lake Petén Itzá. Extensive recreational facilities include swimming pools, tennis courts, and a private yacht.

Chile
Hanga Roa Hotel, Easter Island
The Hanga Roa enjoys an enviable seaside location, and its tiled bungalow rooms are the best-appointed on Easter Island. The dining room serves mostly fish fresh from the ocean beyond its window-walls. The grounds include a pool on the hotel lawn.

OR

Taha Tai Hotel, Easter Island
This modern, comfortable hotel opened in 2000. The guest rooms offer basic amenities and terraces. The Taha Tai, which features a pool and seafood restaurant with sweeping ocean views, is conveniently located within walking distance of the museum and handicrafts market.

Cook Islands
The Rarotongan Beach Resort & Spa, Rarotonga
Rarotonga's best large resort has a host of recreational choices including a swimming pool with a waterfall, tennis courts, water sports, large lagoon-side deck beside the beach, and full-service spa. Several restaurants and bars are also onsite. Guest rooms feature tropical woods and mat walls, and either a patio or a balcony.

Australia
Sails in the Desert Hotel, Ayers Rock
This premier hotel derives its name from sail-inspired roofs that keep interiors cool in summer and warm in winter. Public areas are distinguished by polished red granite floors, picture windows, and a reflection pond. Guest rooms are spacious and comfortable. The restaurant serves local specialties like crocodile, barramundi, and kangaroo.

Thailand
Four Seasons Resort, Chiang Mai
Set on a hillside overlooking rice paddies, this resort offers breathtaking scenery from its open-air buildings and pavilion suites. Guests can enjoy an infinity pool, exquisite spa, steam room, sauna, whirlpool, gym, aerobics classes, lap pool surrounded by frangipani, and a Thai cooking school. Lavish accommodations incorporate large, open-air relaxation rooms, vast bedrooms, and sumptuous baths that include stall showers and glassed-in soaking tubs overlooking private gardens. Elegant Thai fabrics, rugs, and handicrafts warm each room.

China
Shangri La Golden Flower Hotel, Xi'an
This hotel is the most comfortable in Xi'an, with large guest rooms, sitting areas set into bay windows and quality furnishings. An elegant lobby, excellent dining options, well-equipped health club, large indoor pool and whirlpool are just a few of the amenities available to guests.

India
Rambagh Palace Hotel, Jaipur
This former maharaja's palace spreads out over impeccably landscaped grounds. Receive a "royal welcome" on the formal front garden, greeted by painted elephants and festooned camels. Spacious guest rooms feature roomy closets, marble baths, high ceilings and plenty of period furnishings and architectural detail. The tennis and squash courts are well maintained, and the original pool with stained-glass windows evokes an ornate bathhouse.

Jordan
Mövenpick Hotel, Petra
Located a two-minute walk from the Petra entrance gate, the Mövenpick blends Middle Eastern craftsmanship with Western design in one of the country's most luxurious hotels. Notable features include an excellent gym and hammam (Arabic steam bath), opulent restaurant, well-stocked library and spacious, contemporary guest rooms.

AND

Mövenpick Resort, Aqaba
Jordan's largest resort, the Mövenpick Aqaba embellishes its public areas with luxurious, North African-inspired inlaid marble floors, stained-glass windows, carved wood and brasswork. Spacious guest rooms feature plush carpeting, fabrics, spreads, and window treatments in rich earth tones, as well as high-quality desks, tables, and nightstands and wonderfully plump armchairs.

OR

Mövenpick Dead Sea Resort & Spa
This resort sits on a tranquil spot at the Dead Sea shore, the lowest point on earth. Treatments at the spa, the largest and most advanced in the Middle East, feature mineral-rich seawater. The resort combines natural local stone, handcrafted wood, luxurious fabrics and textures with an impressive collection of antiques and artwork.

Egypt
Four Seasons Nile Plaza, Cairo
Rising from the Corniche on the banks of the Nile, this elegant property features three lushly landscaped rooftop pools, expansive spa, and state-of-the-art health club with whirlpool, sauna, and steam room. Guest rooms are large and bright, with panoramic views of the Nile or the 12th-century Citadel. Natural wood finishes, contemporary furnishings, and baths with soaking tub and separate shower encourage guests to relax.

Turkey
Four Seasons Hotel, Istanbul
Created from a century-old neoclassic Turkish prison, this intimate hotel is close to the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace. Guest rooms frame an enclosed courtyard and feature full marble baths, oversized towels and thick terry-cloth robes. Recreational facilities include a health club, spa and sauna.

Price of the Expedition Includes

• All hotel accommodations, meals, group transportation, excursions and other group activities from arrival in Orlando on October 29, 2009, through departure from Istanbul following breakfast on November 21, 2009
  
• Airport transfers at beginning and end of trip
• Transportation by private jet (or other conveyance) according to the itinerary, including meals, beverages, wine, beer and liquor on board our private jet
• Complete program of special events and activities
• Enrichment program of lectures and presentations by a team of experts
• Professional expedition staff and physician to assist you throughout the trip
• Bottled water throughout the expedition
• Baggage handling abroad
• All gratuities
• Amenities package
• Comprehensive medical evacuation insurance.

Price of the Expedition Does Not Include

• Roundtrip airfare and taxes between home cities and London (see airfare section below)
• Passport fees and visa charges
• Accident/baggage/cancellation insurance
• Personal expenses such as immunizations, laundry, telephone, fax charges, taxis
• Liquor except as noted above.

Airfare
Because travelers originate from a variety of home cities, airfares will vary. We are happy to reserve flights in the class of service you prefer, and to arrange for your airport transfers and pre- or post-trip hotel accommodations.

Expectation of Travelers
We consider this a fast-paced, strenuous program. Walking and climbing stairs are required to board and disembark the jet at most airports, to get around in hotels and to participate in many excursions. Riding in four-wheel-drive vehicles on rough terrain or unpaved paths can aggravate back conditions.

All members of the trip are expected to be in good mental and physical health.