etr tours is pleased to announce that the lucky winner of the January newsletter iPad giveaway is Nancy Hendryx from the American School of Dubai.   Nancy was selected in a blind draw of those who entered the contest and correctly identified the etr destination country depicted in the newsletter photo as Spain.  Congratulations to Nancy!  

etr is pleased to announce our new partnership with Qatar Airways.   With its easy connections through Doha, our partnership will now allow many of our client schools access to great fares to the expanding list of Qatar Airline destinations. 

A glance at the skyline, rising gracefully above the Golden Horn harbor, reveals the layers of Istanbul’s history. Minarets and domed mosques fill the panorama, next to Greek towers and Roman columns. In the harbor, modern catamarans ferry locals and tourists. With etr, you’ll delve into centuries past to discover the culture and commerce that have kept Istanbul humming.

A glance at the skyline, rising gracefully above the Golden Horn harbor, reveals the layers of Istanbul’s history. Minarets and domed mosques fill the panorama, next to Greek towers and Roman columns. In the harbor, modern catamarans ferry locals and tourists. With etr, you’ll delve into centuries past to discover the culture and commerce that have kept Istanbul humming.

Moscow is a city on the rise and on the move; the pulsing heart of a nation that is still seeking to define its true character after years of Soviet rule.  From the soaring domes of St. Basil’s cathedral to the labyrinthine, ornate Metro, Russia’s cosmopolitan capital offers startling beauty, overwhelming history, and rich culture that rivals anything in the West.

Budapest, officially the capital of Hungary and popularly known as the “Queen of the Danube,” has been formed by a truly rich (if slightly turbulent) mix of cultures throughout the past millennia. Since the Celtic Eravisci tribe settled the area in the fourth century B.C., it has been home to the Romans, Mongols, Ottomans, and Habsburgs, among others.

Prague, for decades hidden behind the Iron Curtain, has since been revealed as one of Europe’s most beautiful cities, a dusty jewel awaiting your exploration.  This city on the Vlatava is divided into several parts: old town and new town on one side of the river, the mysterious quarter of Mala Strana on the other, and then the old castle, and St Vitus’s cathedral, from above.  The Charles Bridge connects the two sides, and seethes day and night with activity...

Once the capital city of Poland, Krakow today remains the cultural center of this country. Home to nearly a quarter of Poland’s museum holdings and fine examples of a wide range of architectural styles, this city was understandably named as one of the nine European Cities of Culture in 2000.

Peter the Great built the city as his “window on the west” and most often we arrive in St Petersburg the traditional way, on the train, overnight from Moscow. The sights of this city on the Neva (surprisingly, just over 300 years old) are many and varied, and include the Peter and Paul fortress, St Isaac’s cathedral, the battleship Aurora, and the awesome collections of the Hermitage, a true rival to the Louvre in Paris as Europe’s leading art museum.