Touring and Escorted
Touring and Escorted Holidays, Made Simple
A touring holiday lets you see far more of a country than you could from a single base. The route, the hotels and the transport are planned for you, so each day brings somewhere new without the work of organising it.
On an escorted tour you also travel with a tour manager or guide, who looks after the arrangements and brings the places you visit to life. Tours range from large coach holidays to small groups, rail journeys and private itineraries, and the differences between them matter, which is where an independent UK travel agency like Auria can help.
See more, organise less
The appeal of a tour is that the complicated parts are taken care of. Someone else has worked out the route, booked the hotels, arranged the entrance tickets and knows where to stop for the best view.
That leaves you free to enjoy it. A good guide adds the stories, history and local knowledge that are easy to miss on your own, and travelling with a group brings company along the way, which many people find is half the pleasure.
Types of touring holiday
- Escorted coach tours
- The classic choice: a comfortable coach, a tour manager and a planned itinerary with hotels and many excursions included.
- Small-group tours
- Fewer travellers, often a dozen or so, with more flexibility, smaller hotels and time for less-visited places.
- Rail journeys
- Scenic train travel through the Alps, the Canadian Rockies or across Europe, with hotels and sightseeing along the route.
- Private tours
- Your own driver and guide, travelling on dates you choose and at a pace that suits you.
- Self-drive tours
- A planned route with a hire car and hotels reserved in advance, for those who like to travel independently.
- Tour and cruise
- A land tour combined with an ocean or river cruise, popular in Alaska, Egypt and the Far East.
Where touring works best
Touring suits destinations where the sights are spread out and the journey is part of the experience.
- Italy
- Rome, Florence and Venice, the hill towns of Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast, linked by rail or road.
- Japan
- Tokyo, Kyoto and Mount Fuji, joined by bullet train, where a guide helps with language and customs.
- India
- The Golden Triangle of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, with the Taj Mahal at its heart.
- The USA and Canada
- National parks, great cities and the Rocky Mountains, on distances that reward careful planning.
- Peru
- Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu, where altitude and logistics make an organised tour a sensible choice.
- Closer to home
- Scotland, Ireland and much of Europe are well suited to shorter tours by coach or rail.
What to check before you book
- The pace
- Look at how many nights you spend in each place and how early the mornings start. Some tours move every day, while others have longer stays.
- Group size
- A coach tour may have forty or more travellers, a small-group tour far fewer.
- What is included
- Meals, excursions, entrance fees and tips vary a good deal from one tour to another.
- Free time
- The best itineraries balance guided visits with time to explore on your own.
- Activity level
- Check how much walking is involved and whether there are steps, hills or long days.
- Travelling solo
- Many tours welcome solo travellers, and some offer rooms with a reduced single supplement or none at all.
How Auria can help
Two tours of the same country can be very different holidays. An escorted tour is planned and run by a tour operator, and our travel professionals can help you compare itineraries, group sizes and what each price includes before you choose one. We can also build on it, adding the flights that suit you or a few extra nights before or after the tour. And if you would rather not travel with a group at all, tell us the places you want to see and we can plan a tailor-made route of your own.
We look after the booking and are there to answer questions before you travel.
Current Touring and Escorted Offers
Below is a selection of current touring and escorted holidays from Auria. It is not every tour we can arrange, so if you have a particular country, route or date in mind, tell us and we will help you find something suitable.
Not sure which tour is right for you?
Tell us what you have in mind, even if it is only a rough idea, and one of our travel professionals will talk it through with you.
