Bright Ideas

Be inspired 38 / Bright ideas – small group tours

georgia

New for 2022 is a 12-day Glorious Georgia tour with Regent Holidays, starting and finishing in the capital, Tblisi. Highlights include visits to the religious capital, Mtskheta, with three UNESCO sites, walking rock-hewn cave monasteries and beer tasting. The group will also uncover Georgian history from Soviet-era monuments to Silk Road trading centres. regent-holidays.co.uk

finland

Keen photographers and videographers can hone their skills on a new six-day Finland Videography Workshop tour with Wildlife Worldwide. The group will track brown bear and wolf with evening filming sessions using specialist hides before retreating to the mountain lodge to enjoy the wood-fired sauna. A team of naturalists will be on hand to talk about the animals’ behaviour and the conservation efforts. wildlifeworldwide.com

antarctica

This eight-day Emperor and South Pole Experience adventure with White Desert will transport guests to Whichaway, on the edge of Antarctic. Guests will stay in luxury polar domes at White Desert’s ecocamp and pay a visit to Atka Bay to see over 14,000 breeding pairs of Penguins. white-desert.com

italy

An hour north of Venice, in the foothills of the Dolomites, is the Prosecco Hills wine region. Guests on this eightday Walking the Prosecco Hills tour with Exodus Travel will explore the rolling hills and vineyards and sample the area’s cuisine, taste Italian bubbles, visit the local producers and see the grape harvest in full swing. Exodus.co.uk

Be inspired Bright ideas – small group tours / 39

bali

TruTravels offers a 10-day Bali and Beyond tour for youth travellers. The group will explore Ubud’s waterfalls and monkey forests before sailing to the Gili Islands. Groups will take part in a local cooking class before seeking out Indonesia’s quieter islands, Lombok and the Komodo Islands. The highlight is an exclusive trip to Mojo Island to sleep under the stars on a live aboard boat. trutravels.com

japan

Ready for when Japan’s borders reopen is a new 11-night ‘Walking the Nakasendo and Beyond’ walking tour from InsideJapan. It visits Tokyo and Kyoto before walking the Nakasendo samurai route and through the Japanese Alps on the Shinestu trail. Most tours will stay a night in a traditional Ryokan or Minshuku guesthouse, a ‘Japan-only’ experience. InsideJapanTours.com

uganda

Rainbow Tour’s new 18-day Uganda Wildlife & Conservation tour follows ranger-guides into Bwindi’s Impenetrable National Park for a full day of gorilla tracking. The itinerary includes the chance to meet former poachers – now conservation staff – see the Chimpanzee Migration Corridor at Kyambura Gorge and monitor lions. rainbowtours.co.uk

albania

The 15-day Albanian Odyssey tour by rail specialist Ffestiniog Travel explores Albania by rail and road, taking groups from the Greek border in the south to the remote and mysterious Albanian Alps in the north. The tour returns via Montenegro and the famously scenic rail line from Podgorica to Belgrade. ffestiniogtravel.com