4 ways to tour differently with Trafalgar

At the heart of any form of travel is the feeling of a new experience – a food you’ve never tried, a culture you might not know about, a heritage you’re keen to delve into and explore. And it’s no less true for touring. Trafalgar puts this emphasis on new, one-of-a-kind experiences at the core of all its tours, giving you the chance to properly experience the destination and its culture.  

It might be dinner with a local family on one of its Be My Guest experiences, a visit to a community project under its Make Travel Matter™ Experiences (both featured on almost every tour), or a night at a unique heritage spot under its Stays with Stories banner. You might find yourself supporting critically endangered species at a conservancy in Kenya, cooking with a local in Kerala, staying at an eco-lodge in Costa Rica, or foraging with a First Nations host in Canada.   

What unites these experiences is a focus on immersive, meaningful travel that gets you under the skin of a place. Sharing memories with like-minded travellers, you’ll gain insider insights from a local guide, uncover the secrets of the destination you’re visiting, and hear stories from the people that call its landscapes home. Here are four ways to tour differently with Trafalgar.

Trafalgar’s Make Travel Matter ™ Experiences span everything from sampling biodynamic wines at a Portuguese vineyard to visiting a salt farm in Hawai’i, with a focus on experiences that support local communities and the environment. 

On its Best of Greece tour, guests have the chance to support a beekeeping initiative in Delphi. You’ll visit a local honey farm, where Nikiforos and his family are helping to revive the region’s declining bee population, which has suffered due to a fall in beekeeping activity. Sample the family’s special thyme honey – considered one of the most nutritious in the world – and explore the farm, while learning more about how the family are contributing to the regeneration of the land and its biodiversity. 

From the jazz scene to Mardi Gras, New Orleans is a vibrant melting pot of cultures, and nowhere is that better seen than in its cuisine. On Trafalgar’s 10-day Tastes and Sounds of the South tour through Tennessee and Louisiana, you’ll glean the secrets behind the recipes with an evening at a cookery school. Learn how to make gumbo, dirty rice, étouffée, red beans and a creole bread pudding as you rustle up some of the south’s best dishes in the company of a local chef, then tuck into your creations and enjoy an evening to remember.  

Trafalgar’s Be My Guest Experiences are all about offering guests unique hosted experiences they likely wouldn’t have if going it alone. On the 13-day Iconic Rockies and Western Canada itinerary, you’ll join First Nations host Matricia Bauer in Jasper to forage for ingredients as you learn all about their natural properties. Use the foraged flora to make an indigenous drink under the guidance of Matricia, before tucking into dinner; expect storytelling and drumming as you take in the atmosphere.  

As well as putting you in touch with local people, Trafalgar prides itself on offering early access tours, skip-the-line passes and other exclusive perks.  

On its Italian Holiday and Italian Discovery tours, you’ll get fast-track access to the Vatican, exploring its elaborate museums with a local specialist. Admire the striking, Michelangelo-painted frescoes of the Sistine Chapel and the Renaissance treasures of its surrounding museums as you explore this extraordinary feat of art and architecture. See works by the likes of Raphael, Caravaggio, Leonardo da Vinci and others, then visit St Peter’s Basilica to glimpse Michelangelo’s Pietà statue, sculpted from Carrera marble – all without the queues you’d otherwise face. 

One-of-a-kind experiences

Trafalgar’s Be My Guest Experiences mean more than 100 locals from over 50 countries have opened up their homes, wineries and farms exclusively for Trafalgar guests, with at least one hosted experience featured on every itinerary. From dining under the stars in the Outback to dining at a castle in Italy, you’ll get a rare chance to go behind-the-scenes, sample local cuisine and hear tales from the people that call the region home. 

Tours put the emphasis on unique, meaningful accommodation, too; many itineraries feature Stays with Stories, using properties with a unique heritage – think an Italian monastery, a Japanese Ryokan, a Costa Rican lodge accessed only by boat and a chateau in the Loire that was once a favourite spot for King Louis XIII. 

Responsible Travel

Trafalgar supports environmental and community development projects across the world. Guests on almost every tour take part in at least one of Trafalgar’s Make Travel Matter™ Experiences.   

Standout experiences include visiting the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, home to the last two remaining northern white rhinos in the world; learning how geothermal energy is produced in Iceland; and staying at an Aboriginal-owned resort in Australia’s remote Flinders Ranges. Alongside the chance to have a positive impact on the places you’re visiting, these unique experiences take you another step closer to their real heart and soul. 

Inspired to tour differently with Trafalgar? Visit Trafalgar.com, call 0800 533 5619 or contact your local Travel Agent.