It would help if you left your schedule to the pros for genuinely extraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime destinations. A group tour is the most convenient method to visit the Big Five on an African safari, traverse huge mountains, discover European capitals, or do something even more adventurous.
Choosing the wrong group tour company, on the other hand, is the quickest way to spoil your trip. Make sure to select a tour company that shares your objectives and travel preferences. Do you prefer an intimate group tour or making plenty of new acquaintances in a large group? Is the price in accordance with your preferences (luxury vs. budget)? Is the itinerary taking you to all of the areas you want to go?
We researched and discovered the best group travel tour companies for 2023 for every sort of tourist.
The Best 7 Tour Companies in 2023
- Best Overall: Classic Journeys
- Best for Exclusive Benefits: Prior
- Best for Eco- and Socially-conscious: G Adventures
- Best Budget: Intrepid Travel
- Best for Foodies: Salt & Wind Travel
- Best for Offbeat Travel: Atlas Obscura Trips
- Best Cruise: Lindblad Expeditions
#1. Classic Journeys: Best Overall
Why Did We Pick It?
Classic Journeys is a well-known tour provider with hundreds of itineraries conducted by knowledgeable local guides.
Pros
- Full-time, knowledgeable local guides
- Decades of experience in travel planning
- Family adventure tours and solo travel options
Cons
- Most itineraries last at least six days and are not suitable for weekend getaways.
- There are just a few routes to the African continent.
Overview of the Business
Classic Journeys has been leading small group travel experiences since 1987 and was one of the few tour operators approved to bring Americans to Cuba lawfully beginning in 2010—a process that the company began in 2003. The California-based company works with local guides who often have deep community relationships as well as the flexibility to deviate from the pre-planned daily schedule as they see fit, such as accepting an unexpected dinner invitation to a family’s home or participating in a festival that the group happens to come across.
With over 100 itineraries available to destinations worldwide, including Europe, and North, and South America, you can spend six days in Belize exploring Mayan culture, forests, and marine reserves, or head to Cuba to cook with a local chef, visit a cigar-making factory, speak with a photojournalist who captured Castro’s life, and more.
While the company offers small group trips such as family adventures and tours for solitary travelers, custom-designed tours account for 40% of its business. Discounts are available for adults traveling with children and those traveling in groups of six or more.
#2. Prior: Best for Exclusive Benefits
Why Did We Pick It?
This membership-based company stands out by providing access to exclusive, expert-led culinary, historical, architectural, and other experiences.
Pros
- Itineraries created by a group of experts that includes travel editors, fashion designers, chefs, and other creatives.
- Membership offers access to a marketplace of unique experiences.
- Can plan completely customized, private excursions or travel with other Prior members.
Cons
- The annual membership fee is
- Members can only browse its entire marketplace of curated experiences.
- Not the best option for more frugal tourists.
Company Overview
Prior is a membership-based trip planning company led by a team of travel editors and experts in fields ranging from gastronomy to art, fashion, and history. Prior’s World and Bespoke membership tiers, which cost $850 and $2,500 per year, respectively, provide access to tailored experiences and accommodations.
As a member, you can request a unique itinerary from the Prior team, participate in small group travel with other Prior members, and shop from its marketplace of pre-designed experiences such as a private walking tour of Rome’s Jewish heritage or a curator-led tour of the Vatican’s artworks.
Prior debuted in 2019, with one of its initial small group excursions including a private lunch at chef Massimo Bottura’s home in Modena, Italy, as well as a nearly impossible reservation at Bottura’s restaurant, Osteria Francescana—a 2018 World’s Best Restaurant winner. Upcoming excursions for 2023 and beyond include an eight-day study of Egypt, beginning in Luxor, with designer and author Sibella Court, and a long weekend of local art, wine, and wild-fire cooking in Uruguay with well-known chef Francis Mallman.
#3. G Adventures: Best for Eco- and Socially-conscious
Why Did We Pick It?
In addition to its objective to give back to the community and the environment, it offers affordable multi-day experiences to a variety of sites throughout the world.
Pros
- Affordably priced trips for a variety of travel styles
- Friendly to solo travelers
- Excellent for family vacations.
Cons
- Travelers looking for a more luxurious experience may choose to explore another tour operator.
- various clients have reported irregularities with transportation and lodgings on various itineraries.
Overview of the Business
G excursions is a tour operator that offers low-cost multi-day excursions throughout the world, including Botswana, Tanzania, Cambodia, and Chile. Their tours are popular among solo travelers of all ages, while there are specific itineraries for 18-39 year olds, as well as family excursions for individuals traveling with children ages 6 to 17.
The eight-day “Santorini to Mykonos” sailing vacation, which includes fresh seafood and ocean leisure, and “Cambodia & Vietnam: Bonfires & Banh Mi,” a guided experience through bustling Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and the historic landscapes of Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, are among the tours available. Alternatively, select from hundreds of options catered to a variety of travel preferences, ranging from intense, action-packed exploration to more relaxing hobbies.
As part of G Adventures’ dedication to responsible and sustainable travel practices, the company collaborates with non-profit organizations dedicated to environmental and community outreach activities, and develops programming that directly benefits the communities visitors visit.
#4. Intrepid Travel: Cheapest Budget:
Why Did We Select Intrepid Travel?
Budget-friendly adventures can be found on all seven continents and in 120 countries.
Pros
- Low-cost small-group travel to 120 countries.
- Itineraries based on travel type, ranging from more leisurely to more vigorous activities.
- Itineraries for families are available.
Cons
- It might not be the best option for individuals looking for high-end accommodations.
- Must choose one of its Premium itineraries for additional included meals.
- Premium itineraries are required for upgraded services such as 24/7 ground assistance.
Overview of the Business
Intrepid Travel, founded in 1988, runs over 1,000 trips throughout all seven continents and 120 countries. The company focuses in low-cost small-group trips with themed itinerary options for energetic explorers, wildlife enthusiasts, retreat seekers, and family tours.
Intrepid’s 13-day Vietnam Family Tour, for example, includes sailing around Halong Bay, a traditional paper flower making session with local community members in Hue, and a homestay with a local family throughout the Mekong Delta. Itineraries for short breaks and retreats are five days or less and include places like England’s Cornish coast, Turkey’s beaches, or four days between Utah’s Zion and Bryce National Parks.
The company also insists on environmentally friendly travel, taking into account factors such as climate change, animal welfare, diversity, and inclusiveness. Tour guides concentrate on local history and discovering hidden jewels in each area, such as a felucca (traditional wooden sailboat) cruise on the Nile or a cycling tour through Provence in southern France. Trips average 10 people per tour, with low-cost yet pleasant lodging and transportation arranged through family-owned enterprises.
#5. Salt & Wind Travel: Best for Foodies:
Why Did We Pick It?
When you travel with Salt & Wind, you can expect food-focused activities, luxurious lodgings, and itineraries planned with the founders’ firsthand knowledge.
Pros
- Ideal for foodies on the road.
- All itineraries are created by the company’s cuisine and travel experts.
- Private itinerary creation is also accessible.
Cons
- There will be no travel outside of Mexico, Spain, Italy, and France.
- For individuals with less flexible schedules, a few departures each year may be challenging to arrange.
- To engage in custom travel planning services, a 50% payment is required.
Overview of the Business
Looking for a taste of the world? A small group travel trip focused on food with Salt & Wind Travel could be the way to go. This boutique travel planning company specializes in itineraries to Mexico, Italy, France, Spain, California, and Hawaii (as well as one-off, private excursions).
A guided food, fashion, and wine trip to Northern Italy, for example, involves staying in premium boutique hotels, participating in a cocktail crawl, an interactive cooking class, a truffle hunt, boating around Lake Como, a 3-star Michelin lunch, and other activities. A group vacation to Mexico City, on the other hand, may include visits to design studios, dinner at Pujol (where reservations are required months in advance), and a street food tour.
Day excursion planning is also accessible on a private basis.
#6. Atlas Obscura Trips: Best for Offbeat Travel
Why Did We Pick It?
Immerse yourself in the history, arts, culture, and hidden stories of your next destination, whether it’s a short walk through a historical monument or a trip through the rainforest.
Pros
- Itineraries that are unusual or specialty
- Local experts provide access to one-of-a-kind experiences.
- Emphasize responsible travel.
Cons
- Probably not suited for visitors searching for a classic leisure experience.
- There are currently no dedicated family trips available.
- Custom trips are not currently available.
Overview of the Business
Atlas Oscura’s group tours across the world allow you to follow your curiosity, no matter what it is. Choose from themed vacations centered on history, arts & culture, photography, and other topics. For example, its maximum capacity is 12 people. The Sado Island Artisans & Exiles program includes a visit with metalworking artisans, a history lecture about Sado’s exile and gold rush past, an electric bike tour through the island’s rice fields, and an overnight stay at a traditional onsen (hot springs).
Other activities ranging from moderate to tough include following wolves in Sweden’s forests, exploring Romania’s castles and medieval villages, and trekking through India’s distant jungles (categorized as “challenging” by Atlas Obscura). Itineraries also specify whether or not meals and transportation are included.
Approximately half of Atlas Obscura trip guests travel alone, and each route includes 24-hour access to the emergency support agency Global Rescue.
Read Also: TRAVEL COMPANIES: 11+ Best Travel Companies 2023
#7. Linblad Expeditions: Best Cruise
Why Did We Pick It?
Itineraries to remote locations that are both luxurious and fascinating are great for curious minds.
Pros
- One of the few cruise companies that offers itineraries to some of the world’s most isolated destinations.
- Experts in wildlife, history, photography, and other fields are on board.
- Photo instructor certified on Lindblad-National Geographic ships
Cons
- Itineraries may be too long for some.
- Not for those looking for a good time.
Company Overview
Lindblad Expeditions partners with National Geographic to provide sea-based adventure experiences that offer guests up-close wildlife and sealife encounters in the midst of rarely-seen natural surroundings. Lindblad Expeditions has over five decades of expert cruising tours to remote locations around the world, including the Falkland Islands and the Marquesas Islands.
Their carbon-neutral fleet includes anything from enormous sailing yachts to expedition ships designed specifically for arctic trips. Each Lindblad ship is designed to meet a specific need: The Egyptian Oberoi Philae is meant for luxury and relaxation on the Nile, whereas the National Geographic Explorer visits the Arctic, Antarctica, and Patagonia.
Depending on the ship, groups range from 28 to 148 passengers. Two additional Alaska itineraries will debut in 2024, including a 15-day trip around British Columbia’s coast and the fjords and villages of the Inside Passage, which is only accessible by the swift National Geographic Orion.
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