A perennial favourite. These tours have been running for decades. They are ideal for the passenger that wants to cover the most ground possible with efficiency and without any worry about the details. Experienced guides give you the local knowledge, history, and cultural aspects that make each location on the tour special.

Food & Wine Tours

You don't have to be an aficionado of either food or wine to enjoy this type of travel experience. It is really great fun to be welcomed into a winery and meet the vintners who are happy to introduce you to their wines or to visit a specialty shop or restaurant to learn about some of the many interesting food styles, pairings and how to make delicious dishes. The cheeses, meats, soups, deserts will give you memories that will enrich your travel experience.

Walking Tours

There are different levels of walking tours. Our clients particularly like tours that offer 2 or 3 days where we have a guide take our passengers on a leisurely paced country walk. We've walked along village lanes, through vineyards, through fields of poppies and along Tuscan ridges. In all cases our clients feel they become more in touch with areas they are walking through. Imagine the smell of walking amongst wild rosemary bushes 3 feet high or looking down the ridge along lanes lined with tall, dark cypress trees in Tuscany, higgly-piggly stone fences in the English Lakes district, viewing over fields of red poppies or blue lavender in Provence, or taking a train up into the Swiss Alps to walk amongst the flowers of a cool mountain meadow in the middle of the summer. It's really good for the soul.

Painting Tours

Here is another tour style where you don't have to be anywhere near an expert. For those of you who love to create an image on paper or even to begin a new hobby taking the time to choose a scene whether it is a simple laneway or maybe the view from a spot where one of the Impressionists loved to paint. Our painting tours are lead by qualified art teachers who love to teach participants of all levels and as the group size is always small – up to a maximum of 18 participants both the participant and the instructor can spend time on instructing individuals.

Photography Tours

This is a new area that we will be developing from our Creative Arts brand. We have had several photographers join our painting tours. They like the fact that we stop and take time to study specific locations, lighting, mood, and colour. One client who has done this actually focuses her work on night photography. She has taken some stunning photos of lights bouncing water in canals framed by bridges and café scenes at night. I have always personally wanted to take part in an in-depth photography tour featuring Havana in black and white. I'm even gathering some vintage clothing that I think would complement scenes that incorporate some of the many old cars that are still running around the city.

Garden Tours

Now, I'm a very basic gardener. My garden is full of perennials so I don't have the stress of filling it every spring. I do however just love strolling through the long-standing gardens in Europe. I've been to Claude Monet's flower and water garden at Giverny in the spring and fall and would repeat the experience anytime. I've stumbled on lovely gardens in Normandy and Provence. Our clients have enjoyed the castle gardens of England at Leeds Castle, Sissinghurst, and the lovely kitchen garden of Hever Castle. (the home of Anne Boleyn. Did you know that Rudyard Kipling's home in Sussex also incorporates a lovely garden that you can visit and imagine his inspiration for "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi".

Bicycle Tours

This type of tour does require some experience and just a little more than general fitness. There are some lovely, flat routes along the shores of Lake Constance which by the way has shores in 3 different countries – Switzerland, Austria and Germany. You can sample the food, beauty and hospitality of the delightful inns all along the way. We will soon be organizing a group on a Bicycle and Barge holiday in Holland – won't that be fun!

In-Depth History Tours

Have you ever wanted to immerse yourself in the very spot where famous philosophers penned their revelations, learned about the ancient Greeks while standing in the agora at Delphi, learning about Hannibal from the remains at Carthage, attend a classic performance in the remains of a Greek theatre, study Isaac Newton from under the arches of Westminster cathedral? From my first travels to Europe I referred to 'meeting history face to face'. To bring events that to me were only in books to life has always been an enlightening experience. Hmm.... We must do more of this.

Performing Arts Tours

If you are a culture-vulture and love the performing arts why not consider this type of holiday. Some of my favourite memories are getting all gussied up for a night at the symphony. I have had the privilege to attend a concert in Amsterdam's Concertgebouw directed by Seiji Ozawa. We've enjoyed an evening of Mozart in Salzburg's Festival Hall. I've always wanted to attend an opera at La Scala in Milan and to the grand Vienna State Opera. Be still my heart!