Tours

An unhurried ocean of calm in a crowded continent, Bhutan is scenically magnificent. Centuries of Buddhist tradition inherited from Tibet, have shaped this land with art, dance, music, and even medicine shaped by religion. The Bhutanese will welcome you to share their distinctive culture, unpolluted environment, and colourful festivals.

On this small group Paris tour, we take the time to get to know the Paris beyond the tourist centres. Staying in apartments, we  immerse ourselves in the city’s history, art, and culture, with a mixture of guided tours, day trips, and time to enjoy the city at leisure

For centuries Malta, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica held the key to the Mediterranean. Malta secured the Mediterranean for Britain and made it the world’s major maritime power. Possession of Sicily brought similar benefits to Rome, as did Corsica for France. However today the inhabitants retain their way of life for us to explore. Our program compares and contrasts the geography, history, culture and peoples of these 4 islands.

The centre of the island offers rolling hills, year round cool climate and former British colonial hill stations complete with Tudor hotels, rose gardens and the oldest golf course in Asia.  Scattered around the country are National Parks filled with game. The world’s first game reserves were founded in Sri Lanka over 2,000 years ago.

During this program we encounter history from ancient periods; religions such as Buddhism and Shintoism; the philosophy of the people through visits to world renowned temples and shrines; and old towns full of ancient legends. Together we will share some traditions which the Japanese have inherited. A variety of sites including UNESCO World Heritages, has been chosen for this tour, all filled with clues to understand the essence of Japan.

Unlike its neighbours to the west and northwest, Iran had not adopted Christianity and it was the explosive spread of Islam and its ready adoption, without the Arabic language or customs, which helped unite the culture and greatly enrich Persian heritage. Our program includes the great cities of Iran, historic sites, mosques, gardens, bazaars and teahouses.

During our Dinosaur Odyssey study program, we will visit two of the most exciting dinosaur sites in China – Zigong Dinosaur Museum. Your program leader will take us to behind-the-scenes places, field studies in the Sichuan Province and Dinosaur Valley, and in the Yunnan Province. Go behind-the-scenes places, field studies at the dig sites, with first-hand experience at  palaeontological dinosaur digs.

Experience the beautiful landscapes and the unique wildlife at places such as Kruger National Park, Cape Town, Victoria Falls and Chobe Game Reserve. During the program participants will have the opportunity to learn about the culture, the politics and the social issues facing African people and how the natural resource managers are caring for their wildlife reserves in the face of land enclosure, climate change and poaching.

A fascinating tour, with an intoxicating mix of culture and history – the islands of Greece, the cradle of Western civilization, where traces of a centuries-old history exists. Visit Santorini, a remnant of a volcanic era; Crete, the home of the Minoan civilization with important archaeological finds at Knossos and Phaistos. Rhodes, inhabited since the Stone Age; and venture further to the island of Cyprus, where east meets west.

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.

This educational tour combines visits to France, Belgium, Luxemborg, the Netherlands, and Germany.

Our program in the Netherlands provides us with a delicious taste of its delights. We view the main sights of old Amsterdam, a World Heritage Site, first on foot and then from the comfort of a cruise along its 17th century canals. Our exploration of Dutch gardens includes the Hortus Botanicus, an impressive university garden. Timed to enjoy what is perhaps the highlight of the program – a visit to Keukenhof’s bulb gardens. They contain more than 7 million tulips, daffodils and hyacinths which fill over 32 hectares.

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.

Our tour features the best of the Italian countryside as well as the great cities and icons of Italy. We will see the Renaissance cities of Florence, Pisa, and Lucca as well as the Umbrian medieval cities of Perugia.

The small group tour will see the opera performed in the city of Richard Wagner’s birth, Leipzig. We will not only experience his music in these 4 operas, but also be shown the influences of culture and family on the extraordinary composer’s life.

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.

Paris’ insistence that its rural villages and towns resist the dual siege of the automobile and the property developer has long protected France from the incursions that laid waste to so many provincial centres in many other European nations. The result is that France’s villages and towns remain untouched by the depredations of the last century and within their walls the villagers conduct their daily lives much as they have done since Napoleonic times.

Our tour features the best of the Italian countryside as well as the great cities and icons of Italy. We will see the Renaissance cities of Florence, Pisa, and Lucca as well as the Umbrian medieval cities of Perugia.

Rome, the world’s first superpower, lasted for almost a thousand years, leaving in its wake its amphitheatres, temples, viaducts, aqueducts, roads and forums. In this journey we thread our way through the Rome of the Kings, the Consuls, and the Emperors, then through the Italy of the Renaissance, Michelangelo, the Medici, and the Borgia. In the south, we visit the cosmopolitan city of Naples as well as Pompeii and the island retreat of Capri.

Our program explores the lands of Spain and Portugal, two countries bound by many centuries of history reflected in their modern cultures. Divided by history and language, contiguous neighbours Spain and Portugal were once host to gigantic empires that still bear their languages and lifestyles.

Berlin is a city rich in history,  a past plagued by conflict, and stories of powerful resistance. The Berlin Wall stood in place from 1961 to 1989. This 12 day walking tour explores the  beauty and culture in the present day.