Explore parts of Edinburgh that are often overlooked but shouldn’t be, as these revitalized areas have become thriving destinations.

After departing from the pier, you will soon reach Dean Village, a historical area of Edinburgh where grains were milled for 800 years. Once a separate village where many mill workers lived, it still seems vastly different from busier Edinburgh.

Highlights include a 19th-century residential building for the mill workers known as Well Court and Dean Bridge, which spans the Water of Leith. Thomas Telford, the engineer behind the ingenious Caledonian Canal, designed the bridge. While meandering about, you might also see decorative mill stones and stone plaques with carvings of baked breads and pies, a nod to the grains used to make them.

Continuing on, you will next explore Stockbridge, a village on the north edge of Edinburgh that is wonderfully bohemian and artsy. Landmarks include the Roman temple-inspired St. Bernard’s Well, whose waters supposedly have medicinal qualities, and the Stockbridge Colonies, a cluster of 19th-century stone homes that is really a village within a village.

A leisurely walk to Leith follows. A port for more than 1,000 years, Leith has been thoughtfully renovated and revitalized, yet its historical character has remained intact. During the guided portion of your visit, you might see what was once the largest swing bridge in the United Kingdom, a 17th-century signal tower that was originally a windmill, and the statue of Roberts Burns. During free time, you can explore even further.

Experience the joys of two iconic Scottish activities: drinking a wee dram of whisky and playing the bagpipes.

After departing from the pier, you will soon arrive at a downtown venue for a whisky tasting. The Scotch Malt Whisky Society will host the event, in which the whiskies will be served at cask strength. That means the drams will not have been subjected to chill filtration or any other interference that would alter their tastes.

You will be served three drams, a dram being an eighth of a fluid ounce. The tasting will reveal the remarkable variety within the distillation processes and present the complexities that the different oak casks and aging times impart.

Before each dram is sampled, one of the society’s members will describe the whisky’s characteristics. Some whiskies might taste spicy and dry while others may be heavily peated with strong smoky flavors. The experience will be enlightening and entertaining.

Your immersion into the world of bagpipes will be just as fulfilling. Louise Marshall, one of Scotland’s most renowned pipers, will lead your workshop. She has played for Queen Elizabeth II and Pope Benedict XVI, and her instruction will be based on years of experience.

Marshall will teach you basic chanter techniques, show you how bagpipes work and describe the instrument’s history. If you wish to look the part, Scottish attire such as kilts, sporrans and feather bonnets will be available.

Gain a greater understanding of Northern Ireland and its culture by following a foodie guide through Belfast, pausing every so often to sample classic dishes and delicacies.

After departing from the pier, you will soon reach the heart of Belfast, where you will commence a walking tour, accompanied by a local food enthusiast. The exact locations to be visited will be determined the day of the excursion, but they will definitely be establishments that best represent the cuisine of Northern Ireland. These will be the markets, restaurants and cafés that the locals frequent, rather than those typically found in guide books.

You may well start at St. George’s Market, the oldest covered market on the entire island of Ireland. While browsing the stalls and soaking up the atmosphere, you will sample delicacies that are distinctly Irish. You may be offered a chunk of fried eel or a bite of Belfast bap, a hearty sandwich typically loaded with Irish bacon, scrambled eggs and cheddar cheese.

Continuing on to other foodie locales, you might try a few spoonfuls of colcannon, a mixture of mashed potatoes, cabbage, cream and butter. Of course, potatoes appear in all sorts of classic dishes such as Irish stew, Ulster fry and boxty, a tasty potato pancake.

Other Irish staples that you may sample include fluffy soda bread and wheaten farls. The latter is a griddle cake that is served in quarters known as farls.

Bicycle through the Waterland, a classic Dutch landscape that is ideal for bicycling as it is flat and spectacularly scenic. A ferry will take you to the Waterland, where you will begin pedaling at a leisurely pace well suited to the area’s laid-back ambiance. You can expect to see farmers going about their daily lives, brightly painted wooden houses and an impossibly green countryside crisscrossed with canals and dotted with seemingly endless rivers and lakes. Almost half of the Waterland is water, held in check by a series of dikes, and the landscape couldn’t be more beautiful. Expect to pass cows grazing in fields, iconic windmills pumping water out of the lowlands and a number of seaside villages, one of which you will stop in for a drink. The Waterland is also a paradise for water birds, and you will likely see countless swans and geese and perhaps even a godwit, the national bird of the Netherlands.

Travel by panoramic coach on a tour that offers fascinating insights on the lives of those who make the sometimes-harsh landscape of Iceland’s Westfjords their home. Beginning from the pier, you’ll drive through the streets of Isafjordur and out along the coastal road for a tour of wondrously remote Bolungarvik, a fishing village towered over by its surrounding mountains. Nearby, you’ll stop at the outdoor Ósvör Museum, where a century-old fisherman’s hut has been restored, complete with the tools of the trade – and the fisherman.

On another leg of the journey, you’ll find yourself up amidst breathtaking views of the magnificent mountains of the Djup, largest of the West Fjords and the Buna River. Not far from that spot, you’ll stop to admire a beautiful stepped waterfall in Tunguskogur and take an opportunity to taste the freshest, clearest mountain water you may ever have encountered. Back in Isafjordur, you’ll stop in at the Maritime and Folk Museum, which calls one of the town’s oldest and best-preserved houses its home. The museum presents an excellent collection of artifacts related to the region’s maritime history – as well as a sizable accordion collection. Gotta have something to do during those long winters.

The exquisitely preserved medieval town of Bruges is a veritable jewel. Step back in time as you begin your guided walk through Bruges, often called 'Die Scone' or 'the beautiful'. The charm of this lovely medieval city will capture you immediately. As you walk through the narrow streets, passing by picturesque scenes of ancient buildings, tree-lined canals and gabled facades, you’ll see the bustling marketplace, The Belfry Tower, the Town Hall and the Chapel of the Holy Blood.

The highlight of this walking tour will undoubtedly be a 30-minute canal tour. While sitting back in a small boat, you’ll enjoy the serene waterways of this romantic historical city. Since Bruges is full of lace and chocolate shops, you’ll certainly find the perfect souvenir as you explore the area on your own. To end this perfect tour, your guide will lead you by the romantic 'Lake of Love' on the return drive to your ship.

Enjoy an insider’s look at life in Edam by visiting a local family and touring a cheese-making facility to see how Edam’s famed cheese is produced. An enlightening walking tour will introduce you to the city. Here, you will see from the outside, St. Nicholas Church and the Edam Museum; which occupies an 18th-century sea captain’s house. For a deeper understanding of life in Edam, you will stop by a centuries-old residence and enjoy coffee and cake with the owners. They will elaborate on the long history of their home, how Edam has changed just in their lifetimes and what the future may hold. Still, it is impossible to escape the draw of cheese in Edam. More than a quarter of the cheese produced in the Netherlands is the city’s namesake cheese, a soft variety made with less milk fat than most other cheeses. While touring a cheese-making facility in town, you will watch the process and then taste samples.

Learn about the famous explorer Captain Cook during this informative tour that traces the coastal route he explored over 250 years ago. Before going on to discover New Zealand, Australia, and Hawaii, Captain Cook learned his skills as a navigator and captain in Newfoundland. The route you will follow today includes delightful fishing villages inhabited by people of English, French, and Aboriginal ancestry. Among the highlights you will enjoy are the rugged coastal scenery and inland forests, along with the possibility of sighting some seals and other wildlife.

A stop will be made at Lark Harbor where you will be treated to a sampling of Newfoundland flavors with a coffee/tea break served by the friendly locals. This visit in the small community of Lark Harbor always proves to be a high point of the tour and gives participants a chance to meet the genial residents.

Before returning to the pier, you will stop at the dramatic lookout site of Cook's Look-out National Historic Site.

OVERVIEW

Reap the benefits of Nordic walking on a delightful hike across the Storhaug peninsula to the beaches on its southern shore. Nordic walking uses a specially designed pole that helps to maximize the benefits of the movements. It can tone the body, burn nearly 50% more calories and put less pressure on the knees and joints. Best of all, Nordic walking is easy to do. You will follow a historical, around 6.5 miles route through the city center of Stavanger, across the Storhaug peninsula and on to Godalen. The walk is only about 6.5 miles, but it is extraordinarily picturesque. Chances are, you will see bicyclists, other Nordic walkers and joggers, as the trail is as popular as it is scenic. In time, you will pause for a quintessential Norwegian snack of brunost, a brown cheese that is surprisingly sweet because the milk whey is cooked until the lactose sugars caramelize. The route back will be different but equally breathtaking./p>

HIGHLIGHTS

•
•
•

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.

OVERVIEW

Escorted around town by a local, you’ll be introduced to life in Greenland’s eighth-largest fishing village. Suffice it to say, rush hour is no big challenge in this burg. But living in Paamiut has its rewards for the 1,500-or-so souls who call it home. Their scattered skyline is colorful, their blue-black mountain backdrop is stunning – they even have a handsome stave church, one hotel and a supermarket. The fishing is excellent, the mitten-makers are busy, and the wildlife is contented. Minke and humpback whales swim by in the fjord, while white-tailed sea eagles (Greenlanders call them “Nattoralik”) guard the sky and bring good luck to those who spot them.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Stroll the streets of tiny Paamiut with a local who knows its story and residents personally.
• Keep an eye out for exciting wildlife—like majestic sea eagles soaring above or whales surfacing in the fjord.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.

OVERVIEW

Experience the thrill of visiting Reykjavik’s “Big Three” scenic wonders – Gullfoss Waterfall, Geysir Geothermal Area and Thingvellir National Park – all on one excursion. Arrayed along a route known as the Golden Circle, this trio pretty much singlehandedly fills the bucket list of Icelandic natural phenomena. Rolling along via comfortable panoramic coach, you’ll encounter vast lava fields, a greenhouse community warmed by hot springs and fertile South Iceland farmland – and that’s just en route to your first stop of the day. Two-tiered Gullfoss Waterfall is one of Iceland’s most beautiful and iconic sights, its vast water volume plummeting down over 100 feet into a river gorge. It’s a tough act to follow, but the hyperactive star geyser at aptly named Geysir Geothermal Area spouting off 65-foot jets of boiling hot water every few minutes might just do the trick. You’ll see other geysers here too, though the granddaddy of them all, Geysir itself, has been resting of late. Appetite sated after a two-course lunch with the soup of the day and salmon at a local restaurant, you’ll make your way to UNESCO-listed Thingvellir National Park, a dramatic rift valley where the Earth’s North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet – and where the Icelandic parliament first met over a 1,000 years ago.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Travel the Golden Circle and visit three of Iceland’s most revered natural wonders in a single day.
• See and hear the roar of magnificent Gullfoss Waterfall as it plunges over 100 feet into its river gorge.
• Watch Strokkur geyser erupt in a 7-story steaming jet like clockwork at Geysir Geothermal Area.
• Visit Thingvellir National Park, where two continents collide and the world’s longest running parliament convened for over 800 years.
• Enjoy a nourishing break from all these landmarks over buffet lunch at an Icelandic restaurant.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Flat, comfortable walking shoes are recommended.
• Bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen as needed.

Discover the allure of the UNESCO World Heritage Site city of Santiago de Compostela on this full day tour.

Traveling by coach, it's a comfortable ride of just over 1 hour to this charming town that offers visitors a magical glimpse into the past. Upon arrival, you will disembark your coach for a ten-minute walk to the center of the city where you will find the famous cathedral at Plaza del Obradoiro. Here, you can appreciate the great Romanesque architecture of the Cathedral and surrounding buildings. Positioned to one side of the Cathedral is the well-known Hostal de Los Reyes Catolicos, a former hospital which is now a luxurious hotel. Directly opposite the Cathedral is the Palacio de Rajoy. Built in the 18th century, the Palace today serves as the Town Hall and also the parliament building for the regional government.

Making your way to the Hostal de Los Reyes Católicos, you will be treated to a leisurely lunch of local favorites accompanied by a glass of rosé wine. Following lunch, your guide will provide you with plenty of information from the exterior of the Cathedral. Afterwards, those who wish may enter the Cathedral independently during the free time you will be provided. For those who choose to enter, you will find a unique gamut of architectural styles. Romanesque, Baroque and Ogival Gothic styles are all combined with the most elegant Plateresque throughout the vast confines of the cathedral. There is also a silver urn containing the ashes of St. James, the Apostle of Santiago. The urn is kept in a small crypt situated immediately under the ornate high altar dominated by the carved image of the Patron Saint of Spain.

Your guided tour resumes with a walk through the Old Town of Santiago de Compostela. Before rejoining your coach for the transfer back to the ship, free time will be provided to explore on your own or do some souvenir shopping.