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APT vs Scenic
Compare the travel styles, pricing, destinations and popularity of APT and Scenic.The Low Down
Initially providing coach touring around Australia and NZ to the local market, APT have grown exponentially over the last decade to now offer trips around the world, and are well known for their European river cruises. Over the last few years APT have introduced small ship expeditions that cruise the waters through Asia, Europe, Canada and off the coast of Kimberley. Catering primarily for the retired market, their trips aren't cheap, but in APT's case - you get what you pay for. Look out for their great Fly Free offers, and Earlybird Savings. The team here at Global Journeys have travelled multiple times by coach, cruise & river with APT, and we definitely recommend them as a quality, consistent, reliable Operator, and our past client reviews back that up.
Scenic's 5 star luxury river cruises are well known and popular in Australia (not so much in NZ). Scenic were the first to introduce balconies on their Scenic Space-Ships, which many clients love, but this comes at a cost to interior cabin space. Like many of the other premium river cruise Operators, look out for their great Fly Free offers, and Earlybird Savings. All inclusive, with Freechoice activities that allow you to choose what you want to do in each port, Scenic also offer a range of luxury additions (like your own Butler) depending on the cabin type select. Launching in 2018 and with another ship in 2020, the Scenic Eclipse is Scenic's first foray into luxury all inclusive ocean cruising. From the Arctic to Antarctica and everywhere in between, these Discovery Yachts, are all inclusive with shore excursions involving Zodiacs, kayaks and e-bikes as well as the option (for an additional charge) to adventure out by helicopter and submarine!
Stats
No. of Trips
344
No. of Departures
1,437
Avg. Trip Length
16 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$737
Accommodation
4 - 5 Star
Budget
Premium & Luxury
No. of Trips
762
No. of Departures
2,044
Avg. Trip Length
18 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$902
Accommodation
4 - 5 Star
Budget
Premium & Luxury
In Their Own Words
We asked the travel companies themselves why you should travel with them
APT is an Australian family-owned company whose essence began in Melbourne in the 1920s. More than 90 years on, APT offers life-enriching trips to every continent, and through the company’s vast industry experience, meticulous planning and unquestionable passion it's earned a place among the world’s most well-regarded travel companies.
From boutique river cruising to small-group 4WD adventures; traditional coach touring with a decadent twist; epic rail journeys to small-ship expeditions; classic ocean cruising to safaris of discovery by both land and air – there’s little APT are unwilling to consider in pursuit of creating the finest holiday experience for its valued guests.
Timeless luxury, exclusive experiences, life enriching moments and true personalisation. APT offers all-inclusive holidays so everything is taken care of. We invite you to join us; you won’t be disappointed.
Scenic is proudly an Australian founded company setting the global standard for all inclusive luxury travel. We have delighted guests for more than 36 years with memorable journeys to fascinating locations across the world, delivering unsurpassed excellence in service, product quality and exclusive experiences. The guest is at the heart of everything we do, as we strive to provide continual innovation to enhance the guest experience in luxury river cruising, land tours and our state of the art expedition ocean cruising with Scenic Eclipse.
The Scenic difference is the details, the unwavering commitment to anticipate our guests every need, from butler services, quality dining, wellness, Scenic Enrich and Scenic FreeChoice experiences. That is why so many of our past guests choose to travel with Scenic many times, to destinations around the globe with family and friends, trusting Scenic to create memories that will last a lifetime. We welcome you to enjoy the portfolio of Scenic luxury products and feel the difference of Scenic’s dedicated staff, who will look after you to the nth degree.
Recent Reviews
4.7
This tour was from Uluru to Alice Springs over 7 days. Our tour guide/driver, Geery was an amazing guy whose knowledge and lifetime experience in the area gave us an insight into life in the region. Uluru was one place I have always wanted to visit and getting up close to the rock was a great experience. Accommodation and the meals at Sails was superb. read more We then had a couple of days at Kings Canyon before moving onto Alice and spending the day walking through the MacDonnell Ranges. Great experience walking into Simpson's Gap and Standley Chasm. Our last night was spent at the Outback Bush BBQ, a great way to end the tour. Thank you to Hannah from Global Journeys for organising this tour for me.
Thanks APT for supporting us navigate the difficulties caused by the outbreak of war in the middle east.We were able to change our flights and undertake our planned trip from Budapest to Amsterdam. Special thanks to Global Journeys staff for their guidance and patient reassurance. The cruise was all we had hoped for and the ship, staff, meals and organisation read more were excellent. We met a diverse range of fellow travelers whose company we enjoyed. We would have no hesitation in recommending APT to others.
Pretty awesome trip overall. We took the extended option which included Mai Chau. Definitely worth a visit! The trip was well organised, and in general the tour guides we had at each section were great. Although, we thought the Vietnam guides were of a higher quality than those in Cambodia. It was a little disappointing to be led into Siem Reap read more to see sunrise over Angkor Wat, and not be told the best position to take the sunrise photos from. Many of our tour missed the best photo opportunities. We were extremely lucky to have an initial group of 11 people who undertook the extended tour together (known as the Epic 11), and clicked really well. Added bonus for the trip really.
Amazing Christmas Markets and Magnificent Europe Tour with APT 1
Festive Christmas Markets with Magnificent Europe
Michael and Elise Smith , WA, Australia, Nov 2025
This is the 5th time we have used Hannah at Global Journeys for a travel booking, and it won’t be our last. She is responsive, efficient, and very easy to deal with. Same with APT. Luxury accommodation, great food, free-flowing drink and amazing staff. A well organised tour with excellent information provided by our Tour Director and Cruise Director read more which was outstanding. Excellent selection of Christmas markets for us to visit and there was something in the Christmas markets for everyone, be it hot food and drinks or any one of a thousand Christmas mementos or ornaments. Loved the Christmas markets in Venna, and we were very lucky with weather, no snow unfortunately but still a fantastic itinerary. Highly recommended. We have booked another APT adventure next year!
Another great trip where GJ's organisation took a lot of the complexity and hassle out of things. The local guides were truly awesome, and the Mekong Serenity is lovely.
We have just been on our 8th APT tour and they have delivered again. The itinerary was comprehensive without being over taxing, the accomodation was first class and well located, the meals diverse and generally above expectation and the organisation near perfect. Any such tour is dependant on the Tour Director and we had the best in Asami Komachi. Her read more passion for her country was evident and she never stopped working to make sure we enjoyed every aspect of our tour.
We’d also like to thank Tracey from Global Journeys for the work she did to organise our tour. We have given her some hard times over the Covid period and she always delivers in the most friendly way. We highly recommend her.
We’d also like to thank Tracey from Global Journeys for the work she did to organise our tour. We have given her some hard times over the Covid period and she always delivers in the most friendly way. We highly recommend her.
4.6
Fabulous river cruise from Budapest to Bucharest 0
Eastern Europe & Balkans Unveiled with Transylvania
Chris and Donald, QLD, Australia, Apr 2026
This Scenic river cruise "Eastern Europe & Balkans Unveiled with Transylvania" was fantastic .... the meals and staff were wonderful, would recommend it to anyone.
We also really enjoyed the 4 night extension bus journey around Transylvania.
Hannah from Global Journeys organized everything, so friendly and easy to talk too, was a pleasure booking with her.
We also really enjoyed the 4 night extension bus journey around Transylvania.
Hannah from Global Journeys organized everything, so friendly and easy to talk too, was a pleasure booking with her.
We loved our trip! Easy from start to finish thanks to Tracey at Global Journeys. The Scenic team were amazing - the tours, food, beverages & service was all top class. Totally recommend this holiday - however maybe a week or two later for better weather!
Luxury Cruise around New Zealand 0
New Zealand Delights
Graham and Caroline, SA, Australia, Feb 2026
We had a wonderful time cruising around New Zealand on Scenic Eclipse 2. The staff and service were excellent, and the food in all the restaurants was very good. Captain Torry Sakkariassen was brilliant and very accommodating with his time. He was very happy to welcome and talk to all guests on the Bridge. We booked this cruise very late after it had read more been booked out and someone cancelled. We got Suite 702 which sits on its own next to the Bridge. We did wonder if it might be noisy with all the activity around the Bridge, but it was completely silent. We also thought it was slightly larger than the average Deluxe Veranda Suite. We would definitely book this suite again. The cruise ran seamlessly with smooth sailing other than a couple of rough nights sailing around the bottom of the South Island. Definitely take your sea sickness medication for this area. Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed this cruise, and we will definitely cruise on Scenic Eclipse 2 again.
Exceptional Danube Tour Germany to Hungary 0
Danube Christmas Markets with Nuremberg
Maree, SA, Australia, Dec 2025
Our booking with Hannah at Global Journeys was seamless. There isn't a single thing I would've changed on our Danube Cruise with Scenic Waterways. We felt spoilt from the first day until the last. Just the right amount of free time and the tours were very good. We cruised in December & it was Christmas Market magic.
Hannah Campbell handled our enquiries very well as always. We are delighted that we are able to communicate with her whenever we need answers. We joined this trip with friends who were marking a significant date in their lives. Sadly one of them got very ill throughout and fortunately made it back to a hospital in his home town. As usual the ship was read more magnificent but the visits to Solomon Islands and Vanuatu islands were very much the same and the journey back from Fiji to Perth via plane changes in Sydney made it an exhausting end covering from 5am Friday Perth time to 02.am Perth time on Saturday. We would not contemplate a cruise of that nature again. However we will be looking forward to the other trips which we have arranged for the next year or so. The overall rating below relates only to the time at sea, the quality of the visits and the travel time to get home.
I enjoyed our voyage up tte Mekong River in October (25th onwards). The weather was perfect, the Scenic boat sensational and we had no hints of issues. I really have nothing to say as everything was perfect.
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