Escorted Air Holidays with Flights Included
Flying reaches places a coach cannot sensibly get to in a week — the Alhambra, the Norwegian fjords, the Causeway Coast, the far south of Italy. Our air holidays keep the same shape as the rest of the programme: a flight from a UK airport, a coach and a guide waiting at the other end, and an itinerary already worked out before you leave home.
Most last four to eight days, based in one or two hotels, with transport at the destination, listed entrance fees and most meals in the price. The tours below are the current air programme.
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Destinations
- Austria
- Barcelona
- Belfast
- Belgium
- Champagne
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- England
- France
- Georgia
- Germany
- Giants Causeway
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Isles of Scilly
- Istanbul
- Italy
- Krakow
- Lake Garda
- Lanzarote
- Lisbon
- Madeira
- Madrid
- Malta
- Normandy
- Norway
- Portugal
- Prague
- Puglia
- Romania
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Switzerland
- Umbria
- Vienna
Frequently Asked Questions About Our Air Holidays Tours
It depends on the tour and the departure date, and the airport is stated on each individual tour page. Regional departures are sometimes possible on request, occasionally with a supplement if the flight times are different. Ask us before booking if you need a specific airport — we would rather confirm it for your chosen departure than have you assume.
Return flights from the UK are included in the price of every air holiday we run. Baggage is where the detail matters: some tours are priced with hold luggage included and others with cabin luggage only. The inclusions list on each tour page states which applies. If you need to add a hold bag to a cabin-only fare, ask us and we will look at the cost for that flight.
No — our air holidays are escorted, which means a coach and a guide meet the group at the airport and handle all the travelling at the destination. Nobody in the party drives or navigates. If you have been looking at fly-drive because you want independence, the compromise here is the free time built into most itineraries, when you can wander off on your own.
Very unlikely. Solo travellers make up a steady proportion of our Open Group departures, and the escorted format suits them — there is company at dinner and on the coach, and nobody has to eat alone unless they want to. A single supplement applies for sole occupancy of a room; the amount varies by tour and is shown on the tour page.
More than most people expect. Guided city tours in Seville, Rome or Girona are done on foot over cobbles, and sites such as the Alhambra involve a good deal of walking with steps and uneven ground. Museum visits mean standing for an hour or more. Coach journeys break the day up, but a full excursion day is a long one. Ring us and we will describe a particular itinerary honestly.
Yes — that is what a Private Group is. Your group takes the departure, and we discuss dates, departure airport and the shape of the itinerary with your organiser before anything is confirmed. Many of our air tour prices are based on a group of 25 travelling; if you are fewer or more than that, tell us your likely numbers and we will quote accordingly.
Where our air holidays travel
The flying programme leans towards places where a short hop saves two days of driving each way, and where the walking, looking and eating is best done with someone who knows the ground.
- Southern Spain — Seville, Córdoba's Mezquita and Granada, usually with three nights in each of two cities rather than a new hotel every night.
- Italy — Rome and the Vatican, the Amalfi coast and Puglia, the northern lakes.
- France — Bordeaux and Saint-Émilion, Albi and the Toulouse-Lautrec museum on the Tarn.
- Northern Ireland — Belfast, the Giant's Causeway and the walls of Derry.
- Norway — Bergen, a cruise on Sognefjord and the railway climb from Flåm to Myrdal.
- Gardens and art cities — Girona, Brussels and Ghent, Madrid's Prado, Barcelona's Gaudí and Miró.
Beyond these, the programme takes in Iceland, Madeira, Cyprus, Croatia, Greece, Istanbul, and Georgia and Armenia.
How the flights and transfers work
Every air holiday includes return flights from the UK. The airport, the airline and the flight times depend on the individual tour and the departure date, so they are set out on each tour page rather than here. If a particular airport matters to you, ask us before you book — it is a fair question and we would rather answer it early.
Baggage allowance varies. Some tours are priced with hold luggage included, others with cabin luggage only, and the tour page says which. At the destination there is a coach for the transfer and for the excursions, so you are not queuing for taxis or working out train connections with a suitcase.
Several tours also include transfers at the UK end. Where that applies, it is listed in the inclusions.
Holidays timed around a garden or a performance
Some things only happen on certain dates, and flying is often the only practical way to be there for them. Girona opens its private courtyards and stairways for Temps de Flors each May, when the medieval streets above the Onyar are filled with flower installations. Brussels lays its begonia carpet across the Grand Place every other August, and the display lasts only a long weekend.
The Arena di Verona opera season runs through the summer in a Roman amphitheatre that seats thousands under the open sky, and the camellias on Lake Maggiore flower in early spring, well before an English garden has properly woken up.
Dated tours like these tend to fill early, partly because the tickets and the hotel beds are finite. If you have your eye on a particular year, it is worth asking us what is planned.
Joining a group or booking one privately
There are two ways to travel with us. On an Open Group departure you join a scheduled tour alongside other individual travellers and couples — the arrangements are fixed, the price is per person, and a single supplement applies if you would like a room to yourself. Solo travellers are a normal part of these groups rather than an exception.
A Private Group means your club, society, church or circle of friends takes the whole departure. Gardening clubs, U3A branches, art societies and choirs make up a good part of this side of the business.
Prices on many of our air tours are quoted on the basis of a group of 25 travelling. If your numbers are different, tell us and we will price it properly rather than leaving you to guess.
