RIVERBOAT cruises will nudge their way through rural Bengal along 400km (250 miles) of the River Hooghly from Calcutta to the Ganges next summer. The river is lined with a hotch-potch of Hindu temples, the ruins of former Dutch, French and Danish trading settlements and peaceful villages that were once major Muslim cities.

The riverboats will carry 24 passengers in en suite, air-conditioned cabins, and the price of a seven-night voyage (without flights) starts at £705. A special package for architecture enthusiasts led by expert Nicholas Thompson, with flights and a second week in India, costs £2,675.

Andrew Brock Travel (01572 821330, www.assambengalnavigation.com).

Time capsules

If you want to travel back in time, visit that pair of Baltic oddities Kaliningrad and Belarus, where there’s still scarcely a rent in the Iron Curtain. Kaliningrad, an isolated island in the middle of the EU, still belongs to Russia, its city “a concrete monstrosity”, according to Sally Chambers, who has launched a specialist tour operation, Baltics and Beyond. “Expect a Soviet throwback with old tanks, submarines, even statues of Lenin,” she says.

Much of Belarus resembles rural England of a century ago with its horses and carts, folk festivals and wooden villages. Its capital, Minsk, is another Soviet-style city, complete with KGB-style headquarters.

Three-night B&B breaks with flights to Kaliningrad start at £370. Three-night B&B breaks to Minsk start at £365, while a week touring the countryside staying in farms and guesthouses starts at £559.

Baltics and Beyond (0845 0942125, www.balticsandbeyond.com).

Grand tour

In the 18th and 19th centuries bluebloods often spent three years or so doing the Grand Tour. The great and the good of today, however, expect to traverse the globe in three weeks. They will travel by private Boeing 757, stay in luxury hotels, and be spoonfed with dollops of instant insight into centuries-old cultures. The concept has flown across the Atlantic from the US and been introduced into the UK by TCS Expeditions, now part of the First Choice group.

On a 22-day Currents of Culture tour in October highlights include: the “vivid” villages along the Niger river, “irresistible” views of the pagodas on the Irrawady river in Burma, and the “poetic” scenery of the Li river in China. They will also visit Uganda, India, Vietnam and the Nile.

At a rough estimate they will travel 20,000 miles through 5,000 years of history, at least half a dozen religions and 46 hours in the air. The price? £22,000 fully inclusive.

TCS Expeditions (020-8871 4214, www.tcs-expeditions.com).