Light up dark months on a trip beyond the Arctic Circle

The Northern Lights season in Norway has got off to such a spectacular start that new line Havila Voyages is making a bold promise: if you book one of its 12-day coastal voyages, departing between October 1 and March 31, 2023, and the aurora borealis does not appear, you’ll get a free one-week voyage next winter.

Book by October 31 for €479 on-board credit per cabin.

The round trip from Bergen to Kirkenes beyond the Arctic Circle costs from €1,704pp for departures in January 2023, including flights and pre- and post-cruise hotel stays with Best Served Scandinavia (best-served.co.uk).

For a warmer break, consider Viking Osiris, accommodating just 82 passengers and recently launched on the Nile. On an 11night Pharaohs & Pyramids trip (year-round except June and July), a one-week cruise to the temples and tombs between Luxor and Aswan is bookended with hotel stays in Cairo for the Pyramids and Grand Egyptian Museum. From €5,187pp, including flights (viking.com).

Austria’s Wachau Valley is gorgeous when its slopes show off their golden autumn tints. And you can experience it – with a tempting €1,026pp discount – on a week’s cruise on the Danube aboard Amadeus Silver III. It departs Passau on September 30, heading for Budapest and calling also at Vienna and Bratislava. From €1,590pp, including wine with meals and use of bicycles but flights cost extra (amadeusrivercruises.co.uk).