CREATING YOUR JOURNEY Themes

For those who have a specific interest we can define the essence of your journey further by focusing on a certain festival, adding a culinary theme to your time away or choosing to travel at a certain time of the year.

Understanding what was the first inspiration for your journey is one of the aspects we find most fulfilling at Sundowners Overland. Be it a long held aspiration to visit a certain city, family history, an interest in a specific culture or craft or simply a desire to roam the natural landscapes, we will work with you to create your ideal journey. We know that the details are important and will engage with our Local Partners to ensure that we find the right experiences and guides to cater to your group's needs.

"I recently had the pleasure of doing the Trans Mongolian with Naadam Festival which fulfilled a long held dream of visiting Russia, as the tour concluded in St Petersburg. Thank you Sundowners for a wonderful itinerary, our fabulous guide and my great travelling companions."

Sue Gilligan, Nelson NZ - Private Trans Mongolian with Naadam

Festivals and Events

Plan your journey to experience one of the many festivals that happen in our regions.

The popular Naadam Festival in Mongolia provides the perfect opportunity to explore more of this fascinating country. For those wishing to venture further into the wilderness there is also a Golden Eagle Festival. Japan is well known for its abundance of festivals which go beyond the well known cherry blossoms. Uzbekistan will inspire with a Silks and Spices Festival or visit Kyrgyzstan for the Shyrdagy Festival, a celebration of traditional felt carpet making.

Active Adventures

Popular with hiking groups and those who are interested in exploring the outdoors. We can create a journey through the mountains of the Caucasus, the Tien Shan or along the shores of Lake Baikal. Nature calls and our destinations are full of forests, hills and trails waiting to be explored.

Cultural Tours

Many of our Private Groups use one of our Sundowners Overland journeys as a starting point when planning their journey. Use one of our existing itineraries or tweak to suit your interests, we are here to help make it the journey that inspires you.

Culinary Tours

Tempt your tastebuds with a journey that delves deeper to discover the culinary highlights of our destinations. Discover the wine and cheese, watermelons and pomegranates of the Caucasus, the fragrant spices that infuse the dishes of Iran or learn to cook dumplings with locals in Mongolia. We can arrange visits to local markets or an immersive experience with local families to help with the preparation of national dishes. Of course this always leads to an enjoyable meal together with them in their homes.

Faith Tours

With such a rich religious history throughout our regions there are multiple opportunities to explore these destinations and delve further into the religious cross overs and witness the sites of religious history. The whole territory is scattered with vast numbers of churches, monasteries, synagogues, temples and mosques. With possibilities to join congregations or make new connections this is sure to be a rewarding experience.

Photography Tours

The glittering domes of Russia, the ancient architecture of Uzbekistan, the natural beauty of wild Mongolia or the vast steppe of Central Asia. All these and more inspire even the most amateur of photographers. Add in the advantages of travelling in a small group with the opportunity to interact with the local people and the perfect journey from behind the lens is created.

Winter Wonderlands

Experience unforgettable winter experiences such as dog-sledding, snowmobiling, troikia rides and ice skating. With fewer tourists around it is a wonderful opportunity to truly experience these destinations. Thankfully central heating is abundant too!

I have nothing but praise for Sundowners Overland. They've provided the professional expertise and administrative back-up for three private group tours that I've organised, two to the Silk Road and one to the Caucasus.

They excelled at putting the itinerary together, ensuring that our specific requirements were catered for and running a relaxed introductory evening prior to the tour at their offices in Melbourne. They handled the bookings efficiently and expeditiously, providing the best on-the-ground services and local guides and enabling us to tailor every aspect of the tour to our special interests.

There was also no hassle about taking care of personal requests or idiosyncrasies. No logistical problem was too difficult for them. Not only were they highly proficient at being travel agents, which any client would expect, but they went beyond the basics to engage seriously with our particular concerns and help us design a program which was very much our own. All of our Travellers sensed this and it contributed to making these tours among the best we'd ever experienced under our "Shalom Tours" label.

Rabbi Fred Morgan, Shalom Tours