Travel Styles

Our Active trips are designed for travelers who want to see lots of places in one tour and are comfortable with the faster itinerary pace and increased travel this brings. Expect a busy schedule with lots of sightseeing, together with more traveling by air, road, or train—or other transport—and significant amounts of walking over short and long distances, sometimes for several hours. Importantly, there’s still free time on each day for you to relax and recharge.

We’ve eased back on the activity levels on our Moderate tours for travelers who want a slightly more relaxed tempo. While the itineraries can still be fast-paced and involve some degree of physical activity, you can look forward to more free time than on our Active trips. Enjoy free days here and there throughout the schedule, as well as some free evenings for you to spend as you wish.

We’ve created our Leisurely trips to provide maximum freedom, so they’re ideal if you want the space and opportunity to do your own thing. With a Leisurely experience, you get plenty of free time to experience your destination as you want—whether it’s sightseeing, cultural discoveries or relaxing at your hotel or the beach. Each trip also offers a choice of optional tours, so you can opt to book organized excursions that interest you to balance your free time.

With our Escorted tours, you’ll enjoy the services of guides throughout your vacation to show you around the sights and provide commentary and information on what you see. You’ll benefit from a local guide in each place you travel to—with some trips providing the same local guide throughout and others a different local guide for each city. The guides will be there to answer your questions and provide local insight about your destination during the city orientation and optional tours. When free time is specified on an Escorted itinerary, it means you’ll be left alone to relax and explore as you wish.

Semi-Independent trips are generally medium-paced and often offer more free time than Escorted tours: cue free days and evenings earmarked for you to explore alone or join optional tours. The trips include local guides who offer local recommendations and guiding services on city orientation and optional tours—with some featuring the same guide and others guides who vary across cities, days, and activities. Airport-hotel transfers may be handled by different representatives, while in other cases, you may need to take airport shuttles and short cab rides independently. With these tours, you won’t be provided with porter services or assistance with getting on and off any included ferry journeys.

Our Independent tours are designed with your freedom and independence in mind, essentially leaving you to your own devices while you’re in your destination. The tours include all your travel and vacation essentials—return flights, round-trip airport transfers and accommodations—but exclude the services of guides. The only guides will come as part of any optional tours you book with us during your vacation.