What to pack for a nine-day tour, in one suitcase
Our planners' list for a spring tour: layers, one good pair of shoes and less than you think (sample).
Featured tour, Portugal, 9 days (sample)
Lisbon to the Algarve coast
Three cities, three hotels, never more than three hours on the road in a day. A small group of up to twelve with one guide from Lisbon to Faro.
From $2,680 per person sharing. Example prices.
Day 1
Lisbon
3 nights
Day 4
Évora
2 nights
Day 6
Lagos
3 nights
Day 9
Faro
Fly home
One tick per night. Next departure Saturday 8 May, 4 places left (sample).
Next departures
Every tour runs with at least four travellers. When a date shows Confirmed, it goes ahead whatever happens to the numbers.
Departs
Tour
Nights
From
Places
Fri 2 Apr
Japan by rail
Japan
11 nights
$4,950
Waiting list
Sat 8 May
Lisbon to the Algarve coast
Portugal
8 nights
$2,680
4 places left
Sun 16 May
Edinburgh to the Isle of Skye
Scotland
7 nights
$2,390
Confirmed
Sat 12 Jun
Hut to hut in the Dolomites
Italy
6 nights
$1,940
Confirmed
Sat 18 Sep
Lisbon to the Algarve coast
Portugal
8 nights
$2,680
9 places left
Mon 11 Oct
Atlas mountains and the desert
Morocco
9 nights
$2,280
10 places left
Dates for next season (sample). Example prices per person sharing.
Small-group tours
Each line is a whole tour: the dots are the towns where you sleep, the ticks are the nights. Long stretches mean slow stays; short ones are travel days.
Portugal, 9 days, 8 nights. Easy pace.
Stops: Lisbon 3 nights, Évora 2 nights, Lagos 3 nights
Lisbon
Évora
Lagos
Faro
From $2,680
Scotland, 8 days, 7 nights. Moderate pace.
Stops: Edinburgh 2 nights, Pitlochry 1 night, Fort William 2 nights, Portree 2 nights
Edinburgh
Pitlochry
Fort William
Portree
Inverness
From $2,390
Italy, 7 days, 6 nights. Active pace.
Stops: Bolzano 1 night, Val Gardena 3 nights, Cortina 2 nights
Bolzano
Val Gardena
Cortina
Venice
From $1,940
Japan, 12 days, 11 nights. Easy pace.
Stops: Tokyo 3 nights, Hakone 2 nights, Kyoto 4 nights, Hiroshima 2 nights
Tokyo
Hakone
Kyoto
Hiroshima
Osaka
From $4,950
How booking works
No online checkout and no surprises: a person answers every enquiry and holds your places while you decide.
1
Ask
Send a trip enquiry or call. Tell us the tour, the month and who is travelling.
2
We hold your places
We reply within one working day and hold the places for seven days, free of charge.
3
Pay the deposit
A 20% deposit confirms the booking; the balance is due eight weeks before you travel.
4
Travel documents
Three weeks before departure you get the final itinerary, hotel list and your guide’s phone number.
Deposit and payment terms (sample).
Twelve travellers and one guide
Our groups stay small enough to fit round one restaurant table and into family-run hotels that a coach tour never sees. Your guide travels with you from the first evening to the last breakfast.
- Up to twelve travellers, from four to confirm a date
- Rail and minibus between stops, never a 50-seat coach
- Single rooms on every tour, without a large supplement
- Free time every day, with the guide's list of places to eat
What the price includes
The price on each tour is the price you pay on the ground. Flights are separate, so you can fly from your own airport.
Included
Hotels
Small hotels and guesthouses, breakfast included
Every night
Guide
One guide from arrival to departure
Whole tour
Transport
Rail and minibus, luggage carried for you
Between stops
Dinners
Welcome and farewell dinners, plus local favourites
Half of them
Entry tickets
Museums and sites on the itinerary
As listed
Not included
Flights
We help with times; you book or we book for a fee
Your choice
Travel insurance
With cover for cancellation and medical costs
Required
Single room supplement
Waived for one solo traveller per date
From $240
Lunches and drinks
Usually $15 to $25 a day
On the road
Example prices. Details differ per tour and are listed on each tour page.
From the last season
“Three nights in each place made all the difference. We unpacked, we walked, we knew the baker by the second morning.”
Sample traveller, Portugal coast
“Our guide changed the order of two days when the ferry was cancelled, and we only found out over dinner.”
Sample traveller, Scottish Highlands
Travel notes
Why we take the train between stops
Rail is slower on paper and faster in practice, and you see the country on the way (sample).
A morning at the market in Évora
Our guide Marta on the stall she visits first and why the oranges are worth the queue (sample).
Come and plan it with us
Holloway Tours, 8 Station Square, Springfield (sample). Bring your dates; we bring the maps and the coffee.
Monday to Friday
09:00–17:30
Saturday
10:00–14:00
Phone line
Mon–Sat, office hours
Opening times (sample). (555) 017-4400, [email protected]
Tell us where you want to go
Send a trip enquiry or call the office. A travel planner replies within one working day with dates, places and the full itinerary (sample).