Tours
Escorted coach tours, small groups, rail journeys and private touring, from the cities of Italy to India's Golden Triangle, Japan, Peru and the Canadian Rockies.
Photo by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen on Unsplash
- Typical length
- 8 to 16 days, longer for grand tours
- Group size
- Small groups usually 16 or fewer; coach tours larger
- Included
- Hotels, transport, a tour manager or guide, most breakfasts and many visits
- Best booked
- 9 to 12 months ahead for popular dates
A tour takes the hard part out of a big trip. The hotels are booked, the bags are moved, the timings work, and someone who knows the place is there to explain what you're looking at.
Tours are not all alike. A coach tour of Italy with a tour manager, a small group trekking in Peru and a private driver-guide in Rajasthan are very different holidays. The pace, the size of the group, the hotels and how much free time you get all change from one company to the next.
We start with how you like to travel: how far you want to walk, how early you like to start, whether you want company or privacy. Then we find the tour that fits, and take care of the flights, transfers and any extra nights before or after.
Ways to tour
Touring covers everything from a week on a coach to a month with your own guide. These are the main kinds.
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Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash Escorted coach tours
A tour manager travels with you from start to finish, with a comfortable coach, a set itinerary, good central hotels and local guides in the big sights. Ideal for a first visit to Europe, the USA or Canada.
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Photo by Toomas Tartes on Unsplash Small-group tours
Groups of around 10 to 16 with a local leader, smaller hotels and guesthouses, and more time on foot. Some use local transport and include homestays, cooking classes or a few days' walking.
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Photo by Mark on Unsplash Rail journeys
Scenic trains do the travelling, from the Glacier Express across the Swiss Alps to the Rocky Mountaineer through western Canada, with hotels and sightseeing along the way.
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Photo by Rahul Soni on Unsplash Private touring
Your own driver and guide, your own dates and your own pace, with the itinerary built around you. It works especially well in India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and South Africa.
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Photo by Shai Pal on Unsplash Special interest
Tours built around one passion: gardens, history, art, music, food and wine. Often smaller groups, with expert guides and visits you couldn't easily arrange yourself.
Life on tour
A day on tour
Most days start with breakfast at the hotel and a morning of guided sightseeing, often with the afternoon free to explore, rest or join an optional excursion. Travel days move you on to the next stop, usually with a break for lunch somewhere worth seeing. We'll tell you how many early starts and one-night stays a tour has before you choose it.
Your tour manager and guides
On escorted tours a tour manager stays with the group throughout, handling hotels, timings and any problems, while expert local guides lead the visits to places like the Vatican, the Taj Mahal or the Forbidden City. On small-group tours one local leader usually does both jobs.
Pace and hotels
Companies grade their tours by how active they are, so you'll know about long walks, steps and uneven ground in advance. Two or three nights in each hotel make a gentler trip than a new bed every night. We look at the hotels, the walking and the free time with you, so the tour suits you before it suits the brochure.
Where to tour
Some places are simply easier with a guide and the logistics taken care of. These are the favourites, and the months they're at their best.
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April to June, September to October
Photo by Fadi Al Shami on Unsplash Italy
Rome, Florence and Venice by coach or train, with the lakes, Tuscany, the Amalfi Coast and Sicily on longer tours.
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May to October
Photo by Patrick Robert Doyle on Unsplash Switzerland by rail
Lucerne, the Jungfrau region and Zermatt, joined by the Glacier Express and the Bernina Express over the Alps.
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October to March
Photo by Siddharth Sabron on Unsplash India's Golden Triangle
Delhi, the Taj Mahal at Agra and Jaipur's palaces, often with Rajasthan's desert forts or the backwaters of Kerala added.
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April to May, September to October
Photo by Kevin Engelke on Unsplash China
Beijing and the Great Wall, the Terracotta Warriors at Xi'an, Guilin's karst hills and modern Shanghai, sometimes with a Yangtze cruise.
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November to April
Photo by digitalarbyter :) on Unsplash Vietnam and Cambodia
Hanoi, a night on Halong Bay, Hoi An's old town and the Mekong Delta, finishing at the temples of Angkor Wat.
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March to May, October to November
Photo by Steven Su on Unsplash Japan
Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima and the bullet train, with cherry blossom in spring and red maples in autumn.
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May to September
Photo by Vlad D on Unsplash Peru
Lima, Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu, with Lake Titicaca on longer tours. The Inca Trail closes every February.
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June to September
Photo by Chris Czermak on Unsplash The Canadian Rockies
Banff, Lake Louise, the Icefields Parkway and Jasper, often with Vancouver and the Rocky Mountaineer.
Destinations we'd suggest
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Egypt Winter sun on the Red Sea and the temples of the Nile, a short flight from home.
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Thailand Temples and street food in Bangkok, hills in the north, then islands to finish.
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Croatia Walled cities, island harbours and clear Adriatic water along the Dalmatian coast.
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Rome Two thousand years of history on every corner, best seen with a fork in hand.
How we help
- The right tour
- Matched to your pace and interests, comparing group size, hotels, walking and free time across the companies.
- The right departure
- Dates that work for you, and whether a departure is guaranteed to run.
- Before and after
- Flights, transfers and extra nights before the tour starts or after it ends, so you can arrive rested.
- Paperwork
- Passports, visas and entry forms for places like India and China, so nothing is left to the last minute.
- Protected
- ABTA protected, and ATOL protected when your tour includes flights.
Questions about tours
What's the difference between an escorted tour and a small-group tour?
Escorted tours usually travel by coach with a tour manager throughout and stay in larger, central hotels. Small-group tours have fewer people, a local leader, smaller places to stay and often a more active pace. Both have a set itinerary and fixed departure dates.
How active are tours?
It varies a lot. Most companies give each tour an activity grade, so you'll know about long walks, steps, hills and early starts. We'll go through it with you if you have any concerns about mobility.
What's included, and what isn't?
Usually your hotels, transport between stops, a tour manager or leader, breakfast most days and the main guided visits. Some meals, optional excursions, drinks and tips for guides and drivers are often extra. We'll show you exactly what your tour includes.
Are flights included?
Many tours sold in the UK include flights, usually from London and sometimes from regional airports. Most can also be booked without flights, and we can arrange flights from the airport that suits you.
Can I go on a tour on my own?
Yes, and many people do. A room to yourself usually costs more. Some companies have single rooms or departures just for solo travellers, and some small-group companies will pair you with another solo traveller to share a room.
What if a tour doesn't run?
If a departure doesn't reach its minimum numbers, the tour company can cancel it, normally well in advance, and offer another date or a refund. Many departures are guaranteed to run, and we'll tell you which.
Can I add extra days?
Yes. Extra nights before or after a tour are easy to arrange, as are a few days on a beach at the end, which works well after a busy tour of Asia.
What insurance do I need?
A travel insurance policy that covers the whole trip, including any activities on the itinerary. We can point you to a provider.
Where should we take you?
Tell the team what you have in mind and we'll come back with ideas, usually the same day. The team reads every request.
- 01WhereA place, a few ideas, or a hotel you love
- 02WhenA month or exact dates, and how flexible you are
- 03FlightsWhich airport suits you, or none at all
- 04WhoEveryone going, with children's ages
- 05SpendA rough idea for the whole trip
- 06The detailsBoard, hotel rating, facilities, the kind of place
Photos by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen, Annie Spratt, Toomas Tartes, Mark, Rahul Soni, Shai Pal, Chris Linnett, Nick Agee, Zach Gilseth, Fadi Al Shami, Patrick Robert Doyle, Siddharth Sabron, Kevin Engelke, digitalarbyter :), Steven Su, Vlad D and Chris Czermak on Unsplash.