Escorted Tours

Escorted Tours were really the first ever ‘package holiday’ to evolve in the 1800s and are still hugely popular today.  Lead by experienced tour leaders and often with local guides, escorted tours cater for a variety of travellers. Coach tours around Europe and in long haul destinations such as Canada and The United States are a great way to meet new people, see some fabulous sights and pack in an awful lot of places along the way! Some places where there is a lot to see and do and a complex local culture, such as China are much better experienced on an escorted tour than doing things independently as your local guide will translate and make sure you get the most of your time there. Many escorted tours include a cruise element in the holiday, travelling part by coach and part by ship or river boat.

These holidays operate on set departures and will have a minimum and maximum number of participants.  Most small group escorted tours are limited to around 16 people, but often there is more capacity on coach tours where the average number in the group is more like 30-40 and on escorted tours such as River Cruises, with some cruise ships accommodating hundreds of passengers.

Escorted tours to Europe usually include a fair amount of sightseeing, entry fees to museums, rail passes and a number of meals and plenty of tours include lots of walking around rural towns and villages.  Many tours have seperate optional excursions where there is a choice of things to see and do in any one location. If you would like a more active escorted group tour, take a look at the adventure holiday pages, for small group holidays. Looking for a city break but want to be headed in the right direction of the main sights and markets?  Then book an escorted city break tour.

Tour guides bring an extra dimension to escorted tours and are carefully trained and selected for their expertise, personality and local knowledge. They will take care of all the details of your tour so you can enjoy the sights and make the most of your holiday. On tours where there is leisure time built in, your tour guide will be able to suggest optional excursions or things to see and do in that area. Some tours are lead by naturalists with particular knowledge in their field such as botany, birdwatching or sea mammals for example.  See Natural History Holidays for escorted wildlife tours.

Many escorted tours have a special interest, such as architecture, history, gardens, wine tasting, sampling local cuisine or attending music festivals and operas. There are some tours which are geared specifically for one thing and have a leader who is an expert in that field.  For example, there are tours to see the Northern Lights where you have an astronomer guide and River Nile Cruises where you have a resident Egyptologist on board.

If you see an escorted tour you like the look of in a brochure or with a particular operator, ask me to book it for you (it won’t cost you any more but you get my personal service!) and I can compare and contrast other similar tours to make sure you pick the right departure.  I can also add in extras such as extensions to the group tour with extra hotel nights, different flight options, or it could simply be that the tour you have found doesn’t operate on the right dates or in the right month and I can find you an alternative to suit what you would like to do.

If you want to join an escorted tour or cruise but don’t know where to start, please get in touch with your requirements and I will come up with some suggestions for you!