Small and Traditional

Visit a selection of countries that still remain untouched by large scale tourism and discover remote areas, true nature, rich culture and wonderful history with the help of a knowledgeable local guide. Our first Small & Traditional tour visited rural Romania in 2009 and the success and popularity of the tour encouraged us to expand this holiday range to include other destinations such as Romania's Danube Delta, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Albania, Armenia and Krygyzstan. All tours in our Small & Traditional programme are limitd to a maximum of 20 persons and, i many cases, much less, affording maximum personal attention and flexibility.

These tours provide an opportunity to explore these wonderful countries while still untouched by tourism.

Important Information about these Tours:

• Devised and administered by the same small team which has organised our Romanian holidays so successfully since 2009 and to the same high standard and with the same personal supervision.
• Rail travel is still important but is not an over-riding factor when arranging the itinerary. In more remote countries, some of the most interesting locations cannot be reached by rail.
• We attach a greater importance to getting a feel for the true nature, history and culture of a country.
• All tours in our “Small and Traditional” programme have a tour leader from the UK and a local tour guide throughout, important, not only to explain the local history, culture and other details but also to act as interpreter. The ability to converse with the local people is an important part of the experience.
• All tours in this programme are limited to small groups – a maximum of 20 persons and, in many cases, much less.
• Small groups afford the maximum personal attention and opportunity for customers to request minor deviations to suit their special interests. On recent Romanian holidays we have, for example been able to arrange meetings with a bee-keeper and a shepherd, not to mention opportunities to see local artisans at work in their homes.
• Accommodation varies according to the tour and location but an over-riding objective is to avoid large chain high-rise hotels. Even in cities our “Small and Traditional” programme uses small boutique hotels with character, whenever possible, whilst in the villages (which we prefer), we may use guesthouses or family-run pensions. All this accommodation is fully checked and comes with amenities as expected by the 21st Century visitor (e.g. en suite bedrooms). Please note however that this type of accommodation often has no lift.
• Our preference for village accommodation, where appropriate, allows us to immerse ourselves in local life. It also means that much of the food served in village accommodation is locally sourced using traditional organic farming methods.
• Accommodation, restaurants, local transport and so on are owned and operated locally to the benefit of the local economy.