Esplora Travel

11/12/2024

We are very proud to announce that we have now been accepted as members of ABTOT - meaning better financial protection for your holiday!

08/12/2024

Following its enormous success last year, we are delighted to announce a new departure for our Via Egnatia tour in 2025. We start in Tirana, Albania on 22nd April and travel overland via North Macedonia, Greece and North-western Turkey to Istanbul where the tour ends on 6th May. And we will be accompanied throughout by acclaimed Cambridge historian Ian Colvin. Full details and booking are on our website. But don't delay if you'd like to join us - this tour is sure to fill up quickly!
https://www.esplora.co.uk/via-egnatia/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fb_post

07/12/2024

We still have some limited availability on the Spring 2025 departures of our Treasures of Sicily tour:
16th April 2025 departure - 3 rooms remaining
30th April departure - 5 rooms remaining
14th May departure - final room remaining
If you would like to join us, please don't leave it too late to sign up. You will find the full itinerary and booking details here:
https://www.esplora.co.uk/sicily/cultural-tours/treasures-of-sicily-tour/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fb_post

06/12/2024

Why not join us on one of our small group tours in 2025? You will find a full list of tour departures, dates and prices here:
https://www.esplora.co.uk/tour-dates/_2025/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fb_post

05/12/2024

In 1889, the great-grandmother of Jill Biden left the tiny village of Gesso, in Sicily, to emigrate to New York. And yesterday, her great grand-daughter returned to visit her ancestral village. It's a tiny place, nestling in the Peloritanti mountains on what was, once upon a time, the road from Messina to Palermo and not many miles from where I am now, in Milazzo.

La First Lady Usa ripercorre la storia dei suoi avi inserita nel volume 'Di la' del mare'

03/12/2024

"Goats in Sicily near Mount Etna refused to move to higher pastures when a volcanic eruption was imminent". Here's an article that caught my eye the other day. What do you think?

Tracking the behaviour of tagged animals from space could transform the research into a host of natural phenomena

25/11/2024

Is this the Fata Morgana? (The optical effect which makes boats appear to float above the sea).
This was Panarea island photographed from Ponente beach in Milazzo this afternoon and if you look closely, the island seems to be hovering above the surface of the warer. Actually, this effect is quite common on a calm day here.
Though i have never seen it, the nearby Straits of Messina are reputedly renowned for the Fata Morgana. But I have never known whether the effect we see here is the actual Fata Morgana or just a calm sea?
Let me know your thoughts!

23/11/2024

Bookings are now open for our beautiful Easter in Sicily tour 2025 - a chance to experience moments like no others in Sicily. For a full itinerary, prices and booking, see our website:
https://www.esplora.co.uk/sicily/cultural-tours/easter-tour/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Facebook%20Post&utm_campaign=Easter%20in%20Sicily

12/11/2024

We are so proud of the fantastic reviews of our recent Sicilian Vineyards, Wine and Food tour left by some of our guests on Feefo. They are a testament to the hard work and professionalism of our terrific staff. It's a great note on which to end the year and thank you and well done to all.
You can read more genuine customer reviews left by our guests on the Feefo website:
https://www.feefo.com/en-GB/reviews/esplora

09/11/2024

On Thursday we came to our final tour of the year for 2024 - a private tour in Greece for a small group of friends from New York. And what a fantastic week it was! We were blessed with perfect weather, great company and our fantastic guide, Dimitrios. It all added up to a perfect week. If you would like to join us on our Greece tour next year, we still have a few places available. You will find the full itinerary and booking form here:
https://www.esplora.co.uk/greece/cultural-tours/classical-greece-tour/

08/11/2024

This year's Sicilian Vineyards, Wine and Food tour, led by our tour manager Lara, has received some fantastic reviews from our guests:
https://www.feefo.com/en-GB/reviews/esplora/products/siclian-vineyards-wine-and-food-tour?sku=WINE&displayFeedbackType=PRODUCT&timeFrame=YEAR

If, you missed it this year, you are still in time to sign up for it in 2025!

29/10/2024

Yesterday we came to the end of our enormously successful small group tour in Crete. We visited archaeological sites at Knossos, Gortys, Phaistos and Aptera, and the monasteries at Triada and Arkadi. And we stayed in Heraklion, Rethymno and Chania. But we also had a whole lot of fun with a day of cooking Cretan food, and an olive oil and a wine tasting. If you would like to join us next year, we still have a few spaces available:
https://www.esplora.co.uk/greece/cultural-tours/crete/

25/10/2024

We are often approached with enquiries about the age-range of our clientele, the style of our holidays, our choice of hotels, and so on. We realise that for anyone who has never before joined an Esplora Travel tour, or indeed even a group tour, it can be quite a daunting leap to sign up, so we are organising a couple of question-and-answer zoom sessions. These will last for approximately 45 minutes and you are welcome to join for free, on a no-commitment basis.

These will be held on Sunday 10th November 2025 at various times according to your time-zone.

To find out more and sign up to receive the Zoom link, just visit our webpage here:

We are often approached with enquiries about the age-range of our clients, the style of our holidays, our choice of hotels, and so on. We realise that for anyone who has never before joined an Esplora Travel tour, or indeed even a group tour, it can be quite a daunting leap to sign up, so […]

25/10/2024

Bookings are open for our 2025 small group tours in Sicily, Italy, Greece, Turkey and beyond! If you are dreaming of a holiday in the Mediterranean next year, why not join us on one of our small group tours? Whether your interests are in walking or hiking, food, culture or history, we are sure to have something of interest for you. and travelling in a small, friendly group with an expert guide is one of the best ways to see a country.
You will find our full 2025 calendar on our website here:
https://www.esplora.co.uk/tour-dates/_2025/

19/10/2024

Last week, we came to the end of our inaugural 2 week tour of Eastern Turkey. It had been a long time in the planning and had to be delayed on several occasions (covid, the security situation etc) but a small band of intrepid travellers and myself enjoyed one of the most exhilarating journeys I have been on for a long time. It was an itinerary of great contrasts, vivid impressions and an overwhelming warmth of hospitality from almost all those we encountered. If you would like to join us next year, bookings are open on our website:
https://www.esplora.co.uk/turkey/cultural-tours/eastern-turkey-tour/

18/10/2024

It's been a busy last few weeks and I have got behind with posting to Facebook....
In the second half of September, we hosted a fantastic private group from New Zealand on one of our most ambitious tours yet: a 16-day hiking adventure from Palermo to Bari taking in Sicily, Calabria, Basilicata and Puglia. No, we didn't walk all the way (!) but our journey took in some truly memorable scenery. It was all made so much fun with the affable and spirited nature of our guests. It's incredible to imagine that out of 16 guests, three of them were over eighty! And not only that, the octogenarians were some of the best walkers in the group!
We owe a huge thank you to all of our guests on this tour for making it one of the most memorable groups we have ever taken.

26/09/2024

Our Calabria tour this year was so much fun. We were only a small, select group this time but the trip was one of our best. Here are a few photos of the week:

05/09/2024

We are so proud to have been a part of this fantastic initiative! For the fouth consecutive year, Milazzo has won the prize for the town with the widest biodiversity in the whole of Italy!