Private & Tailor-made Tours

A tailor-made trip starts with you rather than with a fixed itinerary. You tell us where you would like to go, how you like to travel and what you hope to come home with, and we design the journey around it. It might be a week in Tuscany with one base and a driver for day trips, or three weeks from Amsterdam to Rome with a different city every few nights.

What is included

Each trip is different, so the inclusions are too. A typical tailor-made itinerary combines:

• accommodation chosen for its location and character, at the standard you prefer;
• transport between places, whether a private vehicle and chauffeur, first-class rail, a self-drive car or a combination;
• airport and station transfers at each end;
• private guides for cities and sites where a guide makes a real difference, such as the Vatican Museums, the Alhambra or Prague Castle;
• timed entry tickets for places that sell out;
• experiences that suit you, from a cooking class in Bologna to a boat on Lake Como or a photo shoot in front of the Eiffel Tower.

How it works

1. Your brief

Use the Plan your trip form or send an enquiry. Tell us the dates, who is travelling, the places on your list and anything you would rather avoid. A budget range helps us make realistic suggestions.

2. A first proposal

We send a day-by-day outline with suggested hotels and what is included. If something does not feel right, say so. Most itineraries go through a round or two of changes.

3. Confirmation

When the plan is right, we confirm availability and the price in writing. Once you have paid the deposit stated in your booking confirmation, we secure everything.

4. Travel

Before you leave you receive your documents and contact details. While you are away, you have one point of contact who knows your trip.

Who it is for

Couples, families, friends travelling together, solo travellers and small private groups. It suits people who want independence without the work of planning, and people with particular needs: a grandparent who cannot manage long walks, a child who needs regular breaks, a traveller with a dietary requirement or a wheelchair user who needs step-free hotels.

Typical requests

• A ten-day honeymoon through Paris, the Swiss Alps and Venice, travelling by train.
• A multi-generational family trip to Scotland, with a minibus and driver and a castle stay.
• Two weeks in Spain and Portugal following food, wine and architecture.
• A slow week in Provence with one base, a driver three days out of five and free days in between.
• A first trip to Europe for a family from outside the region, covering London, Paris and Rome without rushing.

Private tours

Many of our published tours can also be booked privately, for your party only. You are collected from your hotel or residence in an air-conditioned vehicle, and the day follows your pace. If a published itinerary is close to what you want, we can adapt it rather than starting from scratch.