An extended Canadian train trip sounds both fun and relaxing. What about this one?
The Canadian Adventurer: Westbound | Across Canada Train Tour
Elbows up, eh!
If you’re interested in Europe, you might check out Rick Steves. His books and website https://www.ricksteves.com/ offer tons of ideas and advice. He encourages people to get off the beaten track and discover gems neglected by “big tourism.” His company gives tours, too. And his luggage has served us well.
I’ve been to both islands and would definitely recommend a visit to just about anyone. The flights are expensive but ANZ has some decent prices on the shoulder and off seasons. No getting around the grueling 12+ hour flights of course. But once you arrive there’s no shortage of things to see and do.
The most crowded city I encountered was Auckland, but by US standards it wasn’t bad at all. School holiday times are probably the worst. Once you get away from the metropolitan areas the country is pretty rural. I’d say two weeks is enough for an introduction to the country, you might return home wishing you’d had more time to roam around and explore.
I’ve been to the Hermitage, and it makes the Louvre look like a remote country pasture. I’m from New York, and I’m used to crowds, but it was the most crowded place I’ve ever been. Maybe it is less crowded now we can’t go to it. Lots of great art when you can get a glimpse of it.
Depends on where it goes, though it does help if you’re with some one. We did Viking down the Rhine, from Amsterdam to Basel, and cool stuff at every stop, heavy on architecture. Not at all crowded. We’ve also done the Baltic, which is nice since up there the interesting stuff in cities is walking or public transport distance from the docks.
Someone mentioned Egypt. Viking is practically begging people to take their Egyptian cruise. I suspect it is not very popular given the unrest these days.
If you go to a city, be sure to take a free walking tour (you tip the guide.) I’ve done them all over the world, and they’ve been universally good with emphasis on architecture.
And I would avoid cruises with casinos and kids, but that’s just me.
I am no expert on cruises but I have been on one and researched them a lot (paging @LSLGuy who I think has more experience with cruises).
ISTM there is a cruise for everyone but not sure any cruise does what the OP wants (exploring history and gardens and seeing animals).
Maybe an Alaska cruise or a Norway cruise…or a very expensive Antarctic cruise (and those are dodgy, not kidding).
Cruises are more about leisure than doing stuff. Sure they will stop in places but they are hyper-tourist places which, IMHO, are not great and not what I think the OP wants from a trip.
Still…they can be fun. Worth a look.
I’ll second that.
I should add…
I think New York or San Francisco are great tourist places. The best in the US IMHO. Yes big cities which I am not sure how opposed the OP is to them.
No doubt you can get lots of advice here for those places.
Not to say other US cities can’t offer something but if I were coming from Timbuktu to the US they’d top the list.
I’ve been to the Hermitage, and if you ever get a chance to go, my advice is to avoid the tours and just wander. I actually went twice. I went as part of a tour group, and felt i hadn’t gotten to see much as we were herded around, and i went back the next day with one friend. We said “no” to the large number of people who offered us a private English-language tour, and just roamed. I think it was less crowded than the Louvre, except when tour groups came through.
It was an interesting contrast to the Russian Museum, which was full of monumental art. Vast paintings that filled a wall, in many cases. Almost every piece in the Hermitage would have fit in my living room (and looked great there).
Including my mother – a seasoned world traveler. She loves Road Scholar trips.
Good call.
I want @StGermain to take a Road Scholar trip and then do a daily report/travelogue here for us stay-at-home types. We untraveled Dopers need you! 
I have done some cruises. Mostly to eat, drink, dance in a crowd, and maybe meet fun wimmin. Probably not the OP’s bag.
I have never taken a Road Scholar trip, and have nothing bad to say about them. However…
For some time, my wife has wanted to take a cruise around Hawaii, and she found a Road Scholar trip next February that we nearly signed up for. Then I looked to see what we could arrange for ourselves. In this particular case, RS was booked on the only cruise ship that cruises around Hawaii (not to or from the mainland), Norwegian’s Spirit of America.
I found that we were able to book the exact same sailing, in the same cabin type, as the RS trip for $4,000 less ($2,000 pp). Obviously, we won’t get the benefit of the RS excursions, lecturers, busses, etc. But we were able to find our own comparable excursions, book our own rental car for one or two of the attractions, and still spend a little less than the total Road Scholar trip. (Full disclosure: It helps a little that we have some friends on Kauai who will be showing us around there for two days of the trip.)
In making our plans, it was helpful to have RS’ itineraries as a guide for the major attractions on each island. But our excursions, while similar to RS’, are tailored to our exact interests, are in smaller groups, and avoid trooping on and off coaches with 40-50 other people, which I found on previous trips to be rather tiresome.
If, like my wife and me, you’re the type of traveler who likes finding your own way, researching the various possibilities on your itinerary, and making your own plans, you will probably be able to save some money compared to taking a Road Scholar trip.
But if you’re the kind who would rather have someone else arrange all those details, and don’t mind paying for it, Road Scholar may be just the thing for you. No judgment either way, and I’m not in any way saying that a Road Scholar trip is not a good value for what you get.
Egypt is one of the last items on my wife’s bucket list trips, and while I would also love to go, I have to keep reminding her that it is not very safe right now. I hope one day we’ll go, but last fall the Biden State Department rated Egypt as “reconsider travel plans,” one step above “not recommended,” the lowest safety rating. (I don’t know what the Trump State Department says, and I don’t care.)
Much will depend on the itinerary. On the river cruises some mentioned above, you’ll be in a different city pretty much every day. On a trans-Atlantic crossing, or other long cruise, you’ll be at sea for days at a time. On one of the bigger ships, you might have plenty of things to keep you amused: world-class live shows, the casino, parties, rides, etc., if that’s the kind of thing you like.
One important point about cruising is that if you’re traveling alone you will probably pay a premium roughly equivalent to another full fare for a single-occupancy cabin.
This is what my wife and I like about Viking cruises. Smaller ships (around 1,000 pax), no casino, adults only, no roller coasters/water slides, wild parties, etc.
Viking does not let kids on and has no casinos. Neither particularly bother me (though you couldn’t pay me enough to go on a Disney cruise) but it was relaxing.
I’ve been, though only for a short time. I wouldn’t mind staying longer and seeing more things, but the amount of stuff I get from Viking is quite striking.
As for the State Department, the people who know about Egypt and tourist safety probably got fired, so I agree they can’t be trusted.
Since crowds are an issue for the OP I would say something like the Louvre is crowded in the same way a major airport is crowded on a random (non-holiday) way. Lots of people about but also not a crush.
Of course, YMMV and going during peak holiday times is very different (worse) from non-peak times.
ETA: If going to Egypt or India or many places in Africa consider hiring a local guide. They add to the cost but can keep you out of trouble and aid you on your journey and, ideally, steer you to some cool things Joe Tourist would be unlikely to find.
My brother hired one when in India and said his guide was well worth the cost.