Tel. +44 (0)1273 600030 (UK)
With 594 experiences to choose from, our small group cultural tours offer you the chance to explore your destination in a small group of 4-20 fellow travellers. Whether you’re passionate about Petra and the Pyramids of Egypt or fancy polishing your photography skills in China, want to cycle around French vineyards or explore the remote villages and spot orang-utans in Borneo, we have a range of small group cultural tours that put you in touch with the sights and sounds of your destination.
These full and frank independent Small group cultural holidays reviews are from travellers who have booked directly through responsibletravel.com. They are not edited by us or any of the companies we work with. Find the real story, from real travellers below.
The whole trip was unforgettable - especially loved the rural parts we visited and stayed in and the various transport and accommodation - much fun and very unique! Every day waking up was like Christmas morning, so exciting.
(more)
Most memorable werer the Jungle walks, sleeping in a temple on a sacred mountain and travelling by boat past floating villages... (more)
The trek in the Simien Mountains was truly memorable. It felt like we had the whole Mountain range, a world heritage site, to ourselves. (more)
Most memorable was trekking in Chang Mai, without a doubt. The itinerary was amazing and we'll never forget the bamboo rafts being made right in front of us, the elephant trek and the hospitality of the hill tribes. (more)
It's impossible to state the most memorable part of this holiday as it really was superb in all aspects. The holiday was everything and more than we could have imagined. (more)
I loved the train journey, chatting to the locals, making food, using the hot
water urns at the end of the carriage and having the wheels changed on the
Mongolia/China border was a fantastic experience. (more)Bhopal Singh is undoubtedly the best guide I have had on trips to India. He actually knows the history as well as the culture, habits, etc...Excellent.
(more)
The most memorable part of the holiday was getting a bit of an insight into the people and culture of everyday Japan by travelling on local trains and buses and staying in local inns in rural areas rather than faceless hotels. (more)
Excellent - the country lived up to expectations, we had some terrific wildlife sightings, the organised activities were great fun - but what really made it special were the friendships we all - adults and children - made. (more)
The most memorable part was to meet the friendly Burmese people in the street and talk with them. Shwedagon pagoda and Inle lake were highlights as well.
(more)
Being in Ethiopia for Timkat (at Axum) was an unforgettable experience. Discovering the extraordinary cultural history of Ethiopia with the help of experienced and delightful guides was stimulating and enriching. (more)
The visit to the tea plantation was the most memorable part of the holiday...A good chance to meet local people. (more)From simply sitting on a sand bank on the side of Ganges watching the birdlife after enjoying a sumptuous meal prepared by a local man with nothing more than the ingredients and utensils that he had on his boat to dressing up and being treated like Kings in the Maharajas palace it was just all fantastic. (more)
Sailing around Halong bay, Motor cycling through the back streets of Hue, dancing with the children in the villages were the highlights. (more)
I had such a good time, the size of the group was just right and the age band was not too wide. Our guide was very competent and really made the trip work, it was so stress free.
(more)
Excellent. The places are really worth seeing, people are all very kind, the guides were all absolutely wonderful. The young guide in Bhutan and the driver really did all that they could to get the most and the best out of the time we had.
(more)
There were several memorable parts. Seeing Petra, climbing up to the Crusader's castle with just my son and feeling as if we owned the world: seeing the Milky way for the first time as we lay on a sand dune in the desert blackness while at Wadi Rum. (more)We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!
Few of us enjoy the feeling of sticking out like a sore thumb when we are on holiday. We giggle about the strange habits of overseas tourists here in the UK, but maybe it’s them laughing at us when we are away on holiday? However sometimes cultural faux pas are no laughing matter. Although our intentions might be good some of our behaviour can inadvertently cause great offence in destinations. For example, that little pink mini skirt which looks great in Brighton or Miami can, when worn away from the beach in Muslim countries, cause offence. The same types of culture clashes happen in conservative Christian communities in Polynesia, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. Beyond causing offence to individual people tourism can impact on the culture in entire destinations. The tourism industry packages up and sanitises religious rituals, dress, ethnic rites and festivals to conform to tourist expectations. Once a destination begins to see itself through the eyes of tourists it begins to lose its sense of itself and its identity (and pretty quickly the reason why tourists came in the first place). Read more about cultural holidays in this small group cultural holidays article.
