Our superb expert guides

We see things differently! All of our guides have an incredible breadth of knowledge, a passion for their specialism and an admirable ability to convey information in an entertaining and engaging way. These are not just guest speakers who lecture on board, but experts who will accompany you offshore and shine a spotlight into the hidden corners and farthest reaches of the places you visit. With our guides you will always enjoy an intimate and privileged introduction to the destination you have chosen.

Through the expertise, passion and knowledge demonstrated by our Andante Guide Lecturers, history will be brought vividly to life in a variety of ways. From leading archaeologists to broadcasters and esteemed historians, the experts leading our tours will put sites into cultural context, share fascinating insights and make your journey to the past simply unforgettable. Tours that focus on a particular theme or subject may also be led in full or part and/or accompanied by an Onboard Expert Guest Lecturer and other tours are led by other experts such as Local Guides in a particular destination. Please see individual tour pages on our website for who is taking part in any particular tour.

JUST A SMALL SAMPLE OF THE LOVELY FEEDBACK WE RECEIVED ABOUT OUR GUIDES LAST YEAR:

‘He was so interesting; his knowledge was vast and was able to link different cultures and across different ages. He was also very chilled! I like that’.

What more could we want than a hands-on, intellectual, up-todate vastly experienced lecturer, other than ability to convey his extensive and very relevant knowledge. This is a skill that with gentle humour was conveyed in ‘spades’. Thank you.

‘It wasn't only the amount of information given, it was the way it was delivered. A delightful personality, and good company.’

‘The organisation and leadership was superb and this added enormously to our enjoyment of the sites’

A researcher and lecturer at the University of Alba Iulia in Romania, Dr Doru Bogdan is a specialist in Roman archaeology and has also supervised an array of fascinating excavations. He also directed numerous archaeological excavations and research projects in Transylvania and the Lower Danube/Black Sea area of Dobrudja.

Join Doru on the Moorish Wonders of the Guadalquivir & Guadiana p18

Miranda studied archaeology in Italy and is from Crete, so is very knowledgeable about history and contemporary life in Greece. She is an official registered Greek Guide and has accompanied many of our Greek tours in the past as Local Guide as well as Tour Manager. Miranda speaks excellent English, German and Italian.

Join Miranda on Classical Highlights of Greece p30

Dr Elizabeth Bloxam is currently Visiting Professor of Egyptology at North East Normal University, Changchun, China and has held an honorary senior research associate post at University College London for the last ten years. She has held university lecturing posts in Egyptology in the UK, Australia and China, and is an internationally recognised scholar in the research of ancient society and technology in Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean. Elizabeth has led multi-disciplinary excavations in some of the most important quarry and mining sites connected with monuments such as the Pyramids at Giza. Join Elizabeth on Egypt - Cruising the Nile - Cairo to Aswan p22

One of our longest-standing Guide Lecturers, Oliver has worked as a field and museum archaeologist in the UK, Albania and Italy. He has also worked at the UNESCO Site of Butrint and in the medieval city of Gjirokastra. Oliver is still involved in a number of projects in Albania and is considered one of just a handful of experts on Albanian archaeology in the UK.

Join Oliver on Ancient & Medieval Gems of the Adriatic p26

Graduating in archaeology from the Institute of Archaeology at University College London, Nick later took up a research post at the University of Cambridge. He is an archaeologist and historian with over 20 years of excavation and guiding experience for Andante in the eastern Mediterranean. Living in Berlin for the last two decades Nick has been a guest lecturer at Stanford in Berlin, a book researcher and documentary presenter.

Join Nick on The Wealth and Wonders of the Hanseatic Cities p20

A specialist in the study of ancient glass, John has worked extensively in the field in Europe as an archaeologist, including France, Italy and Bulgaria. Much of John’s career has been focused upon Roman provincial archaeology, working at the museum of London for over 20 years. He published Professor W F Grimes’s post war excavations on the London Temple of Mithras and the Cripplegate Roman Fort and also established the Museum’s Archaeological Archive and Research Centre.

Join John on Cruising the Seine p14, Exploring the Archaeology of the Rhône p16 and Cruising Ancient Dalmatia p24

An Honorary Research Fellow for the Open University, Eireann has published a number of articles on Ancient North Africa. Eireann has led many tours for Andante, including several to Ravenna, Venice, Pompeii, Sicily and Tunisia, and is bilingual in English and Italian.

Join Eireann on Cruising the Extraordinary Island of Corsica, p28

Born in Athens, Eugenia studied Archaeology and

Art

History at the National University of Athens and holds a Masters degree in Byzantine Art. Her great passion, since she participated in excavations on Santorini, is for ancient Aegean civilisations, particularly relating to the Bronze Age.

Join Eugenia on Classical Highlights of Greece p30