Best Tour Companies Small Group Tours & Trips

Highlights

• Visit the home of a Roman nobleman during an Exclusive Experience. Your aristocratic host will show you around the opulent interiors and explain the rich history of the residence, before sitting down for lunch in his dining room.
• Get a taste for Italy’s incredible cuisine and viticulture during a trip to celebrated wine-growing region, San Gimignano, plus enjoy a traditional cooking class in Palermo, a genovesi tasting in Erice and mouth-watering cheese and chocolate tastings (yes, please) on your way to Siracusa
• Stay in awe-inspiring accommodation nestled in the rolling vineyards of Tuscany and in the Sicilian countryside.
• Discover Palermo’s most symbolic places of rebellion and meet the local people who are taking a stance against the Mafia on an Anti-Mafia Movement tour.
• Discover incredible landscapes across Sicily including Europe’s largest active volcano, Mount Etna, as you walk into the centre of an extinct crater and visit a lava cave.

Highlights

• Explore all the highlights of Japan in just over a week! This is a cultural and culinary whirlwind from the streets of Tokyo to the eats of Osaka.
• Experience the many sides of Shibuya in Tokyo, from busy intersections to the tranquility of the ancient Meiji Shrine and the quirky fashion of Harajuku.
• Visit a local tea farm and learn about harvesting tea leaves and making Japanese green tea, then settle into your farm stay, pick some fresh ingredients from the farm and prepare a home-cooked, farm-to-table feast with your hosts for the perfect blend of Japanese hospitality and country life.
• Ride the rails like the locals, from lightning-fast bullet trains to scenic mountain rails offering seasonal views of cherry blossoms and autumn leaves.
• Veer off the busy tourist track with a visit to Mishima – a small town built on the old lava flow of Mt Fuji – then head to the cultural heart of Kyoto, where you can dive into local history and traditions among shrines, geishas and a 300-year-old sake brewery.

Highlights

• Glide through the lily-filled waterways of the Okavango Delta on a mokoro (a small dugout canoe) and escape civilisation with an overnight stay at your island camp.
• Be mesmerised by the staggering force and beauty of Victoria Falls, and experience firsthand why it’s known as the ‘smoke that thunders’ – a natural wonder that must be seen to be believed.
• Chill out on the northern beaches of Zanzibar, enjoying the white sands and the sparkling blue of the Indian Ocean, and consider learning about the island's spice trade on a guided visit to the local plantations.
• Listen to the songs and stories of Namibia’s San people, the oldest inhabitants of southern Africa, and gain an insight into their traditional customs and beliefs.
• Discover the magic of South Luangwa National Park on a dawn and afternoon 4WD safari game drive. This park is a highly concentrated arena of noble African beasts and exotic wildflowers.

Highlights

• Feast on authentic Chinese cuisine during Exclusive Experiences, including a homecooked lunch with a local family in Huizhou and a delicious duck dinner in a Beijing courtyard.
• Take in the scenery of Yangshuo – with karst hills dotted along Li River, you’ll be surrounded by mountain views, sip on perfectly brewed green tea and take part in a traditional countryside cooking class.
• Get a sense of the scale of China’s epic history when you come face to face with the Terracotta warriors and visit a lesser-known section of the Great Wall during an Exclusive Experience – this is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, after all!
• Journey to the peaceful Huizhou villages, home to the quintessential image of white walled, black tiled traditional houses, and enjoy a Feature Stay in a heritage hotel converted from the mansion home of a famous Ming Dynasty poet.
• Discover the bright lights of modern China in Shanghai and uncover a different side of Beijing as you wander through the city’s hutongs, followed by a homecooked lunch in an authentic hutong house.

Highlights

• Jump in a jeep to safari with an expert guide and see buffalo up close, along with pronghorns and elk, in Custer State Park.
• Marvel at the iconic monument of Mount Rushmore, where a short walk will take you up close to this famous mountain sculpture.
• Join an expert naturalist guide on a wolf-tracking expedition at Yellowstone National Park in the wee hours of the morning – home to Old Faithful Geyser and the Grand Prismatic Spring.
• Get a taste of the wild west during visits to Deadwood and Cody, two towns famous for their role in the USA’s Gold Rush era.
• By travelling on this trip, you’ll learn about our Intrepid Foundation partner, the Cultural Heritage Economic Alliance. Donations help them create inclusive and equitable opportunities for Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) tourism businesses. Intrepid will double the impact by dollar-matching all post-trip donations made to The Intrepid Foundation.

Highlights

• With your gorilla permit included in the price of the trip, spend a day through Bwindi Impenetrable Forest to get close to Uganda's rare mountain gorillas for an unforgettable hour. There’s also a chance to do a second trek that can be booked on request at an additional cost. Please refer to the itinerary for more details.
• Get close to nature with two fantastic Feature Stays – a gorilla lodge in in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and a safari camp with easy access to the Masai Mara Game Reserve.
• Join an intimate fireside chat with a field veterinarian from The Gorilla Doctors and discover how they are saving the species one gorilla patient at a time.
• Visit a local Maasai community known for championing Maasai women’s health and education. During this Exclusive Experience, you’ll be welcomed by traditional Maasai warrior song and dance and learn about this remarkable and ancient culture.
• Enjoy Exclusive Experiences as you visit Elsamere Conservation Centre to learn the story of Elsa and their conservation trust over a high tea lunch, then spot hippos and unique birdlife on a boat trip on Lake Naivasha.

Highlights

• Spend two nights at a working estancia (farm) in Uruguay, where you can spend your time getting involved in farm work, learning about gauchos, riding horses or simply relaxing in the sun.
• The mighty Iguazu Falls straddles the border between Argentina and Brazil, and you’ll cross the border to see its incredible cascades from both sides.
• Soak up the sights of Buenos Aires – explore the historic city centre, sample Argentinian BBQ and watch the city turn into a nightlife hotspot.
• You’ll have plenty of time to choose your own adventure at Ilha Grande with a full day on the island. If hiking, boating, kayaking or lazing on a beach is your thing, you’ll be well and truly covered.
• Finish off your travels in the bright lights of Rio de Janeiro – a unique combination of city, beach and mountains famed for its party scene and rhythmic music.

Highlights

• Sip the famous Croatian Traminac Premium wine at a wine tasting at a 15th century family-run vineyard in quaint Ilok
• Witness Mostar's famous bridge divers hurl themselves from the stones of a bridge that has spanned the river here for centuries
• Sarajevo is one of the most scenically located cities in Europe. See the sights on a guided walking tour and learn about its recent history as a city under siege
• Spend a full day exploring the green island of Mljet – with its small seaside villages, lush national park trails, shimmering waters and largely untouched environment, you’ll never want to leave!
• Stroll through Plitvice Lakes National Park, marvelling at luminous lakes and waterfalls that seem to have been sketched by an artist