British Isles

Our 18 night program takes us on a journey through England’s timeless countryside and picturesque villages. A visitor to England’s villages is a time-traveller encircling the semi-tropical fishing villages of Cornwall, then across Dartmoor, now more desolate than ever. Then to the Cotswolds, the storybook villages now busier than ever. On the English-Welsh border the villages and towns have found new importance as repositories and exchanges for the artefacts of England’s past.

This tour allows us to explore the life and times of the royal families responsible for making England and Spain so significant in the 16th century. We spend 10 days in England visiting sites made famous by Henry VIII and his daughters Mary and his Elizabeth. From there we fly to Spain to spend the final 10 days looking at towns and palaces established by the Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, and their Habsburg descendants.

Learn about the history of Liverpool, Newcastle & Glasgow by studying the history, culture & people who created these incredible cities. Spend one week in each place with local  guides who share their knowledge with you.

Few people think of Scotland as an island archipelago. These islands all have one thing in common – they all contain living history. The people who dwell on them, for the most part, live their daily lives now as they did centuries ago. These isles are among the world’s great repositories of archaeological treasures including villages preserved almost in their entirety.

This 20-day walking tour will take us through Britain’s ancient towns and walkways, steeped in over 5,000 years of human history. We will walk through the region surrounding Salisbury, Bath, and Stroud in the southwest of England and along the border with Wales.

An era of enormous change, change which occurred in almost all areas of life. Developments in technology, science, medicine, politics, art and architecture. Enjoy talks and short lectures from a collection of knowledgeable guides on Victorian Britain in a small group.

This is a round–the-world, 23 day program that visits two continents, staying in the major arts centres of Vienna, Paris, London and New York. For Odyssey Travellers, we have sought to assemble entry and show tickets to what many will consider the best arts experiences available in those cities during each program.

The Industrial Revolution brought great change to Britain with the linking of major rivers with canals and the development of railways. During our program we learn how engineers overcame geographical obstacles through the use of viaducts, bridges, aqueducts, tunnels and locks. Fortunately for us many of these impressive structures have been restored and now carry recreational boating with branch railways through spectacular landscapes.

Nowhere else are these historic trials, tribulations and triumphs such a part of contemporary events and so integrated via song and words into daily life. In Ireland the past is the present and the present is the past. In this tour we step out into this evocative island of Ireland and quite simply absorb the most poignant place on Earth.

Short tour of London of up to 5 days. Designed as a short tour for those who wish to spend additional time in places at the conclusion of their tour.

Continental invaders brought with them many components that added to the mix of what makes Britain today, including their genetic characteristics, the roots of the English language, various spiritual and religious beliefs, models of land ownership, place names and technologies that began with the Stone Age Celts. We explore the places and events that created this mélange.

Short tour of Belfast of up to 5 days. Designed as a short tour for those who wish to spend additional time in places at the conclusion of their tour.

This fully escorted, small group walking tour, takes the active senior on a journey of discovery through the fascinating small Channel Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark and Herm.

Our 21 night program explores the north-west corner of France before hopping across the English Channel to the tiny autonomous islands of Jersey, Guernsey and Sark as well as the historic Isle of Wight. The tour combines the dramatic scenery of Normandy and Brittany with the quirky history and natural beauty of the Channel Islands together with the natural and historic splendour of the Isle of Wight in the English Channel.

Reserve your tickets to Odyssey’s 9 day Discover Shakespeare tour. Be entertained by the Royal Shakespeare Company, viewing performances in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Ireland is a lush green island full of thatched cottages, friendly pubs, music, poetry, ebullient people and dramatically diverse rugged countryside. It is also a land of diverse and rich gardens from the dramatic Powerscourt to the impressive kitchen Garden of Kylemore Abbey and the secretive Anne’s Grove. Our program ranges from the bustling capital of Dublin with its historic Botanic Garden to the greenness of Killarney with its rugged Kerry peninsula and charming Muckross House as well as to the natural beauty of the Connemara.

This is an upgraded walking program with new paths including the Brecon-Monmouthshire canal walk and tracks on Arran in Scotland. The program is designed for participants who enjoy seeing the countryside on foot and is appropriate for active walkers. We stay at comfortable hotels with two days of walks followed by a day of travel to the next site.

Experience two of Scotland’s Great Trails on this walking tour with Odyssey Traveller: the Formartine and Buchan Way and Rob Roy Way. Discover the country on these long-distance walks that will take you through scenic glens, rolling farmlands, and beautiful lochs.

From medieval Knot Gardens to the English landscapes of Capability Brown, to the modern incarnations of Sackville-West and the Duchess of Northumberland, our 22-night tour traces and explores garden styles through the ages. We explore the gardens of Kent, England’s South West, Oxfordshire, Wales, The Borders and Edinburgh, Northumbria and the Peak and Lake Districts.

Short tour of Edinburgh and a day trip to Glasgow of up to 5 days. Designed as a short tour for those who wish to spend additional time in places at the conclusion of their tour.

This small group tour allows the traveller to come to a greater appreciation of the long history of art and literature in England. We visit many of the places which inspired the great English writers and painters through the ages. With such an enormous field to choose from, our tour concentrates on the period before the Second World War and concentrates on just some of the many people significant in these fields. H