8 SMALL GROUP TOURS YOU NEED TO TAKE IN 2017
To us, travel is at its best when experiences are shared with like-minded explorers. This is why we absolutely love travelling together and why we wouldn't have it any other way. So it may not come as a surprise that we love going on small-group tours, they are totally our thing.
Meeting up with a group and experiencing a new destination with a local guide is still fairly new to us and ever since our trip in Cambodia we loved the style and now slightly addicted to the point that we are official Geckos Adventure Ambassadors. We want to show you the best places to experience in a group, so stayed tuned for this year - some exciting adventures will ensue!
Here's our list of small group tours we can recommend and others that are at the top of our bucket list and are dying to go on!
1. Essential Morocco Tour
Morocco has a lot to offer – beautiful scenery, tasty food, hospitable people, and a simplicity of life that is rare these smartphone days (still couldn't believe the first time I heard the air hostess tell everyone to switch their smartwatch off).
On this tour you will get to spend a night in holy Moulay Idriss at a homestay, if it's your thing you can taste camel burger in Meknes, sleep under the stars in the Sahara, get lost in the Marrakech marketplace, and taste as much street food as you can handle (we've heard Morocco has some pretty tasty street food).
Stops: Casablanca, Meknes, Fes, Midelt, Merzouga, Todra Gorge, Dades Valley, Ait Benhaddou, Marrakech
Length: 11 days
Learn more about the tour.
2. Best of Canada Tour
We may be a little biased here as we have spent a good 6 months travelling through this stunning country (becoming our 1# destination we recommend everyone to go to), but this tour really hits the nail on the head when it comes to the best spots to visit in Canada.
We didn't help put this trip together but if had, you wouldn't be able to tell the itineraries apart.
This tour is full of outdoor activities: hiking through forests, cycling around the Rocky Mountains, and canoeing in picturesque lakes. If you are after a trip full of lakes, mountains and glaciers than this is the one for you! Also if you are up for exploring our number one must-go destination, this one is certainly for you!
Stops: Vancouver, Kelowna, Golden, Banff, Jaspar, Wells Gray, Whistler
Length: 11 days
Check out this link to know more
3. Ultimate Cambodia Tour
Last year we had the opportunity to experience this tour and it was hands down our favourite trip we have ever done in South East Asia (and we have travelled quite a bit of this area of the world)!
Starting in Bangkok and ending in Ho Chi Minh City meant that we were able to get a taste of Thailand and Vietnam, along with seeing so much of Cambodia that we feel like we can successfully tick it off the list.
During our 10 days we watched the famous sunrise at Angkor Wat, learnt about Cambodia's confronting history, experienced a homestay in a small village and chilled on the beaches of Sihanoukville.
Read all about our Cambodia experience:Geckos Adventure Ultimate Cambodia Trip
Stops: Bangkok, Siem Reap, Kompong Cham, Phnom Penh, Chambok, Sihanoukville, Ho Chi Minh City
Length: 12 days
4. Epic Nepal to India Tour
Nepal and India are right near the top of our bucket list so naturally this tour had to sneak into our list. This 20 day tour is truly epic with trekking through the Himalaya on the itinerary, spotting rhinos in Chitwan National Park, a visit to Kumbini (the birthplace of Buddism), spending a morning on the Ganges, a moment given to marvel at the wonders of Taj and an experience of village life in Tordi. We need to sign up to this trip pronto!
Stops: Kathmandu, Trisuli, Pokhara, Ghandruk, Tolkha, Hyenjakot, Pokhara, Chitwan, Lumbini, Varanasi, Agra, Tordi, Jaipur, New Delhi
Length: 20 days
Check out the tour: Visit this page
5. London to Rome by Rail Tour
Everyone needs to do an epic eurotrip at least once in their life - and doing it with a small group of travellers up for seeing this stunning continent is the way to do it! Growing up in Perth (where a lot of English migrants move to) meant our days in high school were spent dreaming of Europe as we listened to stories of European life from fellow classmates.
We highly recommend experiencing Europe by train - we did it for 2 months during our year abroad and can easily suggest it as the ideal way to get around. So signing up for a tour that does just that, as well as hitting all the hot spots along the way makes this trip sneak onto our list.
Starting in London, you make your way to the Eiffel Tower, then onto the historical Berlin Wall, cycling your way through Amsterdam, going back in time to Krakow's medieval time square, walking along the banks of the River Danubian Budapest and eating your way through Italy before ending up in Rome!
Stops: London, Paris, Bruges, Amsterdam, Berlin, Krakow, Prague, Cesky Krumlov, Vienna, Budapest, Bled, Venice, La Spezia, Cinque Terre, Florence, Rome
Length: 31 days
Learn more about the tour.
6. Epic African Adventure Tour
Okay guys, this is how you do Africa! Starting in Nairobi and ending at Krugur National Park - this trip is as African as it gets! Think safaris, local tribes, Victoria Falls, meeting elephants and seeing the big 5 - this tour sees you exploring Africa for almost a month on a trip of a lifetime.
Stops: Nairobi, Lake Naivasha, Loita Hills Maasai Village, Masai Mara, Lake Victoria, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Meserani, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Maun, Okavango Delta, Caprivi, Kwando, Chobe, Victoria Falls, Hwange, Bulawayo, Mapungubwe, Kruger
Length: 26 days
Discover more about the tour.
7. Essential Peru Tour
Besides Antarctica (Geckos, why don't you have a tour here yet?), South America is the one continent we have yet to step foot into - and Peru is our number one country we want to visit first. Hiking the Inca Trail is an absolute dream of ours.
This tour really highlights the best parts of Peru, allowing you to go stuff your face with food in Lima (the foodie capital of Peru), explore the Amazon jungle, trek the Inca Trail, visit Cuzco to learn the Incan history and visit the famous floating islands on Lake Titicaca.
Stops: Lima, Puerto Maldonado, Cuzco, Sacred Valley, Inca Trail, Puno, Lake Titicaca
Length: 15 days
Check out this link for more details.
8. Discover Japan
If you've read this far than we have a little announcement for you - later this year we will be finally visiting Japan on Gecko Adventure's Discover Japan trip! We are sooooo excited - this is a destination for us we have always wanted to visit and being able to experience the crazy, quirky streets of Japan with a small group of travellers from across the globe is going to be incredible.
We will be eating way too much sushi in Tokyo, experiencing Kanazawa's samurai culture, discovering Hiroshima's history, searching for geishas in Kyoto and singing way too much karaoke in Osaka - it's going to be epic!
Stops: Tokyo, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Osaka
Length: 10 days
Explore further to know more about the tour.
Which group tour would you love to experience in 2017?
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