TRIPS

/

The Best Local Culture Travel Experiences

Get under the skin of a place and pick up a skill – whether that’s dancing in Colombia or cooking in Georgia – on one of these Culture Trip small-group tours.
Siobhan Grogan
14 Nov 2022
The best trips are so much more than a holiday. Venture away from the pool to experience different cultures and discover a destination like a local, and you will not regret it. From family-run restaurants off the tourist trail to historical monuments only locals know, these carefully curated Culture Trip adventures allow you to experience culture in the world’s most unforgettable destinations.
1 . Getting stuck into a cooking lesson in rural Georgia

From the very first day exploring Old Tbilisi’s fourth-century Narikala Fortress, this cultural trip will take you back in time in the place many believe is the Land of the Golden Fleece. Your local experience will include a cooking lesson in a chef’s home, a trip to remote Juta village and a visit to the Kakheti region, where wine has been made since 6000BCE in clay vessels buried underground.

From£1109
Next available from4 Nov 2023
Secure your spot with a low deposit
View Trip
Chat to Us
2 . Learning to dance in Cartagena, Colombia
Colombia may not be the first destination you think of on the Caribbean coast, but it is unbeatable for those seeking cultural travel. White-sand beaches are a given, but you’ll also enjoy a traditional lunch in the first free African town in the Americas, take a champeta dance lesson and graze on local fare in a street food tour followed by rum tasting in Cartagena.
From£1659
Next available from30 Sep 2023
Secure your spot with a low deposit
View Trip
Chat to Us
3 . Taking part in a Balinese blessing ceremony in Tabanan, Bali

It might be famous for its beautiful beaches, but Bali is also renowned for its welcoming, spiritual people. This cultural trip will introduce you to their way of life, so you can truly experience a new culture, from placing an offering at Batukaru Temple to taking part in a traditional Balinese blessing ceremony. You’ll also attend a cooking class and spend time in Ubud, with its thriving arts, crafts and dance scene.

From£1479
Next available from13 May 2023
Secure your spot with a low deposit
View Trip
Chat to Us
4 . Making sushi in Tokyo and learning martial arts in Hiroshima

The best way to explore different cultures is to roll up your sleeves and get involved. There’s ample opportunity on this 12-day tour of Japan to do just that, with a sushi-making class in Tokyo’s Tsukiji Outer Market, a lesson in taiko drumming, sake tasting at a brewery and the chance to learn the martial art aikido in Hiroshima. There’s even a visit to a sumo wrestler’s training session, but you might prefer to stick to the sidelines that day…

From£3439
Next available from11 May 2023
Secure your spot with a low deposit
View Trip
Chat to Us
5 . Sipping Turkish tea and haggling in Istanbul

Tourists may make a beeline for the beach resorts of Turkey – but to really experience culture in this fascinating country, you need to travel a little further. In just 12 days, this tour will take you through the Old City of Istanbul and across the Bosphorus to Asia, before moving on to the ancient sites of Hattusas, Yazilikaya and Cappadocia via belly dancing, rock-carved chapels, wine tasting and a visit to watch local craftspeople weave rugs.

From£1789
Next available fromNaN undefined NaN
Secure your spot with a low deposit
View Trip
Chat to Us
6 . Learning about farming techniques and sharing a traditional meal in Bhutan

Bhutan is firmly off the beaten path, but that just makes a trip to this ancient Himalayan kingdom more special. On our epic eight-day trip, you’ll learn all about Bhutanese culture during a tour of the capital, Thimphu, and visit a local farm to learn about traditional farming techniques. Afterwards, you’ll share an authentic feast together with the family. These activities are interspersed with hikes to iconic Buddhist temples and trips through dramatic mountain passes with jaw-dropping Himalayan views.

Currently Unavailable
Secure your spot with a low deposit
View Trip
Chat to Us
Maja Proescholdt contributed additional reporting to this article.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel – and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Epic Trips, Mini Trips and Sailing Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travellers and friends who want to explore the world together.

Epic Trips are deeply immersive 8 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and enough down time to really relax and soak it all in. Our Mini Trips are small and mighty - they squeeze all the excitement and authenticity of our longer Epic Trips into a manageable 3-5 day window. Our Sailing Trips invite you to spend a week experiencing the best of the sea and land in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm – and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.