Benable — create shareable lists of things you recommend!
E.g., products you love, local businesses, travel recs - you can add anything to a Benable list!
Small Group Tours I Have Taken (Or Am Planning To)
26
items Small group tours are one of my favourite ways to add local knowledge and cultural context to a trip, but I don't use them for everything. I usually combine them with independent travel to create a journey that balances structure with flexibility. Th... This list includes affiliate links, I may earn a small commission at not extra cost to you.
Sections
7
My Way of Travel
Mexico
Cuba
Türkiye/Turkey
Italy
What's Next...
My Way of Travel
I have been travelling on and off for over 20 years. Like anyone the way you travel now is not how you started. This gives you an idea of my type travel style.
My travel style has evolved over the years and I have settled on a combination of independent and small group tours.
5 Reasons I Combine Solo and Small Group Travel (Instead of Choosing One)
My breakdown of the large and small group travel. Sort of an evolution of how I moved from Contiki Style to Gadventures and Intrepid.
Small Group Tours vs Large Group Tours: 7 Differences I've Noticed
Mexico
Mexico was one of my first big trips after an unfortunate long travel hiatus. It is where I first started to delve into small group travel and I will definitely return to Mexico some day.
Day of the Dead was the start of this entire trip I had always dreamed of experiencing it in Mexico.
Day of the Dead in Mexico City | G Adventures
I chose this for a combination of reasons. To try the second of the, probably best known small group tours, and honestly it had the best timing after Day of the Dead finished and before Cuba started.
Explore Mexico - 15 Days Tour | Intrepid Travel
Lucha Libre was like nothing I had ever seen before.
Lucha Libre Is Pure Chaos #mexicocity #shorts #luchalibre #travel
Culture comes in many forms and sometimes it finds you.
Sometimes Culture Finds You 🇲🇽
Cuba
I decided to go to Cuba, a bit on a whim. I was going to Mexico and used the excuse of well you are flying that far, you may as well go to Cuba as well.
The tour that I took, which I think was called Cuba: Salsa & Snorkeling (the name changed between booking and travelling), no longer exists. From their current itineraries this is the closest to what I experienced. I chose it because it gave a pretty comprehensive look at the entire country. Which was important because I didn't think I was likely to get the opportunity to return.
Treasures of Cuba | G Adventures
Buen Vista Social Club was an amazing experience.
Some places have a soundtrack 🎶🇨🇺
Türkiye/Turkey
An excuse to tick another item off the bucket list and plan an entire trip around it.
This one picked itself really. I had always wanted to attend the dawn service at Gallipoli.
ANZAC Day Dawn Service | Intrepid Travel
I didn't have a huge knowledge of Turkey before I went. So my choice came from seeing as much of the country as I could with a good combo of organised and free time. Taking advantage of the generally cheaper 18 to 30 something style while I still c...
Turkey: Coastlines & Cappadocia | G Adventures
So lucky to get there before the influencer and walking tour crowds.
You don’t expect this in Istanbul 🇹🇷 #travel #istanbul #balat #walkwithme
If you visit the Cappadocia area, a hot air balloon ride at sunrise is absolutely worth it.
This Doesn’t Feel Real 🇹🇷 #turkey #cappadocia #hotairballoon #traveldeeper #travelmoments
Italy
My big 20 year anniversary return to do it more in depth trip. My first trip to Italy was a few days in Rome a few days in Venice. This time was all about doing it in more depth.
I had never heard of Local Living before I was researching this trip. I loved that it meant staying in one place for a week rather than the moving every day or two. Plus it linked perfectly with the next tour.
Local Living Italy - Tuscany San Gimignano | G Adventures
My previous experience of the more northern areas was only Venice so I was really keen to explore more of it. Especially Cinque Terre.
Best of Northern Italy: Florence to Venice | G Adventures
Again Amalfi Coast was outside my previous experiences and somewhere I had always wanted to see and again the Local Living staying in one place was a big factor.
Local Living Italy—Amalfi Coast Winter | G Adventures
Sometimes all you need to do is look into a restaurant window for an experience.
Fresh Pasta Being Made 🇮🇹 #traveldeeper #italytravel #foodie #pasta #shorts
One of the reasons I wanted to try local living was to see places like San Gimignano after the day trippers had gone.
Most People Don’t See San Gimignano Like This 🇮🇹 #sangimignano #slowtravel #traveldeeper #italy
Being able to stay in places like this was one of the reasons I started exploring the Local Living options.
Some places are worth the walk 🇮🇹
What's Next...
Currently The Silk Road is the next destination in my plans. I am very close to putting down deposits.
I am tossing up a couple of options here.
Option 1 - The All in One.
Option 1 - The All in One.
The Five Stans of the Silk Road | G Adventures
The all in one tour is actually two smaller tours combined. I am leaning towards breaking the tour in two, with a small gap in between to go solo.
Option 2 Part 1
Option 2 Part 1
Best of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan | G Adventures
This is the tour that makes up the second half on the 5 Stans tour.
So Option 2 Part 2.
So Option 2 Part 2.
Best of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan | G Adventures
Continue The Journey
Whether you're planning your next trip or simply looking for more travel inspiration, here are a few more collections you might enjoy.
A glance at what you might need if visiting for Anzac Day dawn service
Gallipoli & Canakkale: Respectful Essentials for Anzac Day Pilgrims
Some tips on bringing your experiences home.
The Art of the Market: From Local Discovery to Your Home Kitchen
A little bit of inspiration for your next adventure.
The Ultimate 2026 Travel Reading List: Books That Inspire Travel and Adventure
The Home of Everything Layered Traveller.
Home -
I am expanding into more video soon if you are interested.
The Layered Traveller