From striking mountain scenery and villages nestled deep in the Dolomites to stays in converted historic Japanese buildings and exclusive, VIP behind the scenes access to the Verona Opera Festival, custom travel company Audley Travel has expanded its offering in its program spanning the globe.

Audley prides itself on arranging authentic experiences for clients, which take them off-the-beaten-track to discover what a destination is truly like, and these new additions for 2025 are no different.

Italy – lesser-visited Dolomites and VIP Verona Opera experiences

With new international gateways opening up thanks to American Airlines and Delta's new planned routes, exploring Italy from the US has never been easier. Audley is therefore expanding its offering in the Dolomites for 2025, including villages and activities around the Sella Massive, plus Bolzano as an overnight location where the landscape is truly unique. Highlights of the itinerary include exploring the provincial capital of the South Tyrol, Bolzano and visiting the 'Man from the Ice' in the Archaeological Museum. Foodies will love meeting with a local beer expert to discover the beer scene of Bolzano (beer has been produced here for over 1,000 years) and visiting three of the region's eight craft beer breweries as well as visiting a traditional cheese workshop to learn about centuries-old cheesemaking techniques and creating a small wheel of cheese from fresh alpine milk amongst the stunning landscape of Seiser Alm.

A 10-day custom Best of the Dolomites trip to Italy with Audley Travel including stays in Verona, Bolzano, Val Gardena and Alta Badia costs from $7,420 per person (based on two sharing) and includes vehicle hire, accommodations and privately guided excursions. 855-435-1768 / www.audleytravel.com/us/italy

Also in Italy, Audley has developed a new VIP itinerary focusing on the Verona Opera Festival which takes place between June and September each year. Availability is limited to a very small number of visitors making for an exclusive experience for clients with a Michelin Star dinner on one of the oldest terraces in Verona, feeling the excitement of the performers before the opera begins and learning about the history of the theatre with an exclusive backstage pass and enjoying the best views in the house from the Royal Box for two performances.

A six-day custom Verona Opera Festival trip to Italy with Audley Travel costs from $7,595 per person (based on two sharing) and includes private transfers, accommodations and privately guided excursions. 855-435-1768 / www.audleytravel.com/us/italy

New Zealand – hiking the latest Great Walk

New for Audley in New Zealand is the Hump Ridge Track, which opened in October. This three-day loop walk takes hikers through a part of Fjordland not normally visited by tourists, traveling along the south coast of New Zealand, up to the Hump Ridge's sub-alpine zone, and over historic viaducts in the native forest. The Hump Ridge Track is the ideal choice for visitors to New Zealand who relish exploring away from the crowds but want to stay in comfortable facilities in the backcountry lodges – each in a unique stopping point along the walk. The walk can be taken independently or with a guide, and helicopter tours can be added for clients keen to see the scenery from a different vantage point.

A 21-day custom trip to New Zealand, including the three-day Hump Ridge Track, costs from $10,170 per person (based on two sharing) and also includes time in Auckland, Coromandel, Rotorua, Wellington, Kaikoura, Christchurch, Dunedin, Queenstown and Mount Cook. The price includes transfers, car hire, ferry crossing, accommodations and excursions. 855-435-1768 / www.audleytravel.com/new-zealand .

Japan – stays in historic buildings

Audley's team has selected five of its favorites from the Nipponia portfolio of hotels to add to the program for 2025, each housed in a luxuriously renovated historic Japanese building.

Hotel Takehara Saltworks Inn in Hiroshima prefecture is a former residence of salt farm owners, Sawara Merchant Town Hotel in Chiba, near Tokyo, is an entire 600-year-old Edo Merchant Town and Hotel Cultia Dazaifu in Fukuoka is a series of restored buildings from the Meiji Era. Hotel VMG Resort Kyoto is a decentralized hotel that spans cultural properties along the Kamo River, mansions in Higashiyama's and Heian Jingu Shrine in Okazaki, and Hotel Nara Naramachi is the former sake brewery of Toyosawa Shuzou company.

Alex Bentley, Head of Product at Audley Travel said: “Taking inspiration from client requests, these new and ultra-authentic experiences and accommodations in Italy, Japan and New Zealand have seen our destination experts pulling on their deep knowledge of their specialist countries. As well as exploring away from the crowds, offering something truly authentic can also mean having exclusive access or experiences that very few others get to see – the Verona Opera Festival itinerary delivers exactly this as it is super limited to a very small number of visitors.”

ENDS

Audley prides itself on arranging authentic experiences for clients, which take them off-the-beaten-track to discover what a destination is truly like, and these new additions for 2025 are no different.

Italy – lesser-visited Dolomites and VIP Verona Opera experiences

With new international gateways opening up thanks to American Airlines and Delta's new planned routes, exploring Italy from the US has never been easier. Audley is therefore expanding its offering in the Dolomites for 2025, including villages and activities around the Sella Massive, plus Bolzano as an overnight location where the landscape is truly unique. Highlights of the itinerary include exploring the provincial capital of the South Tyrol, Bolzano and visiting the 'Man from the Ice' in the Archaeological Museum. Foodies will love meeting with a local beer expert to discover the beer scene of Bolzano (beer has been produced here for over 1,000 years) and visiting three of the region's eight craft beer breweries as well as visiting a traditional cheese workshop to learn about centuries-old cheesemaking techniques and creating a small wheel of cheese from fresh alpine milk amongst the stunning landscape of Seiser Alm.

A 10-day custom Best of the Dolomites trip to Italy with Audley Travel including stays in Verona, Bolzano, Val Gardena and Alta Badia costs from $7,420 per person (based on two sharing) and includes vehicle hire, accommodations and privately guided excursions. 855-435-1768 / www.audleytravel.com/us/italy

Also in Italy, Audley has developed a new VIP itinerary focusing on the Verona Opera Festival which takes place between June and September each year. Availability is limited to a very small number of visitors making for an exclusive experience for clients with a Michelin Star dinner on one of the oldest terraces in Verona, feeling the excitement of the performers before the opera begins and learning about the history of the theatre with an exclusive backstage pass and enjoying the best views in the house from the Royal Box for two performances.

A six-day custom Verona Opera Festival trip to Italy with Audley Travel costs from $7,595 per person (based on two sharing) and includes private transfers, accommodations and privately guided excursions. 855-435-1768 / www.audleytravel.com/us/italy

New Zealand – hiking the latest Great Walk

New for Audley in New Zealand is the Hump Ridge Track, which opened in October. This three-day loop walk takes hikers through a part of Fjordland not normally visited by tourists, traveling along the south coast of New Zealand, up to the Hump Ridge's sub-alpine zone, and over historic viaducts in the native forest. The Hump Ridge Track is the ideal choice for visitors to New Zealand who relish exploring away from the crowds but want to stay in comfortable facilities in the backcountry lodges – each in a unique stopping point along the walk. The walk can be taken independently or with a guide, and helicopter tours can be added for clients keen to see the scenery from a different vantage point.

A 21-day custom trip to New Zealand, including the three-day Hump Ridge Track, costs from $10,170 per person (based on two sharing) and also includes time in Auckland, Coromandel, Rotorua, Wellington, Kaikoura, Christchurch, Dunedin, Queenstown and Mount Cook. The price includes transfers, car hire, ferry crossing, accommodations and excursions. 855-435-1768 / www.audleytravel.com/new-zealand .

Japan – stays in historic buildings

Audley's team has selected five of its favorites from the Nipponia portfolio of hotels to add to the program for 2025, each housed in a luxuriously renovated historic Japanese building.

Hotel Takehara Saltworks Inn in Hiroshima prefecture is a former residence of salt farm owners, Sawara Merchant Town Hotel in Chiba, near Tokyo, is an entire 600-year-old Edo Merchant Town and Hotel Cultia Dazaifu in Fukuoka is a series of restored buildings from the Meiji Era. Hotel VMG Resort Kyoto is a decentralized hotel that spans cultural properties along the Kamo River, mansions in Higashiyama's and Heian Jingu Shrine in Okazaki, and Hotel Nara Naramachi is the former sake brewery of Toyosawa Shuzou company.

Alex Bentley, Head of Product at Audley Travel said: “Taking inspiration from client requests, these new and ultra-authentic experiences and accommodations in Italy, Japan and New Zealand have seen our destination experts pulling on their deep knowledge of their specialist countries. As well as exploring away from the crowds, offering something truly authentic can also mean having exclusive access or experiences that very few others get to see – the Verona Opera Festival itinerary delivers exactly this as it is super limited to a very small number of visitors.”

ENDS