Our Policies & Style

Martin Randall Travel was founded in 1988 by Martin Randall, a graduate of the Courtauld Institute of Art. There are now 28 staff. In addition, we work with some 100 freelance lecturers and tour managers.

There are two main strands to the business: small-group tours for a maximum of 22 participants, all accompanied by a lecturer. Each has a particular emphasis covering the visual arts, gardens, music, history, geology and gastronomy. Even the walking tours have a cultural focus. With around 200 tours each year, they constitute the largest area of our activities. Secondly there are the all-inclusive music festivals. These are festivals which we devise and organise ourselves in various cities or regions of Europe, and which now number four or five each year.

We are renowned for our first-rate client care and unobtrusive efficiency which leads to the highest levels of customer satisfaction. In 2009, for the third time in four years, Martin Randall Travel was Travel Company of the Year, based on customer satisfaction surveys among members of the Association of Independent Tour Operators.

There are no hidden extras. The price covers nearly everything, including wine with meals and all tips. Our tours are considered good value for money. We do not levy surcharges for fuel or for any other reason.  

Expert lecturers

The lecturers are a key ingredient of our tours, and we select them with great care. Their scholarship is unimpeachable but their ability to communicate their learning is equally important. Their brief is to enlighten and stimulate, not merely to inform. They are also good travelling companions, and have their feet on the ground when it comes to practical matters.

We use the term ‘lecturer’ because it emphasises their primary role. They are also ‘tour leaders’ because they are in charge of the tour, even when accompanied by a tour manager. They are not guides – though some of what they do might constitute guiding – because being professional academics, writers and curators, the nature of the information they supply is significantly different from that which tour guides usually provide.

Sometimes the lecturer is accompanied by a tour manager, one of our select team of professionals or one of our office staff. We provide instruction and advice to all our lecturers and tour managers and regular training opportunities. 

Itineraries

Our tours are planned with immense care, with consideration being given to a host of factors such as museum opening hours, journey times and the availability of refreshments. The tours will therefore operate much as they are described in the brochure and on the website.

However, sometimes situations arise such as closure of a building for restoration or a change of flight time which necessitate alterations to the itinerary. We would do our best to replan the tour to minimise adverse impact of changes but these things are beyond our control and there is often little we can do to ameliorate the situation.
We also try to incorporate suggestions for improvements made by participants and lecturers. The work of planning a tour does not stop once it is published. We are continually making adjustments. 

Hotels

All the hotels we use have been visited – and often stayed in – by a member of our staff or, occasionally, by a trusted agent. Hundreds of others have been inspected and rejected.

We look for certain standards of comfort and set a high priority on charm, style and warmth of welcome. An important consideration is location, with a strong preference for the historic centre of a city although quietness, too, is a major consideration.
We have many criteria. The truth is that few hotels can satisfy them all. And hotels vary. There is no such thing as a standard Martin Randall Travel hotel. It depends on what is available. In many places we use the best, but sometimes this means one which we would not have selected had the choice been wider.

Were we to limit our tours to parts of the world where a high level of modern comfort can be virtually guaranteed, we would have to reduce drastically the range of tours we offer, confining our coverage of the world’s cultural heritage to places which are near to the most developed resorts and business centres.

We pursue the alternative course, taking the location of works of art and monuments of past civilizations as the priority for where we send our clients, even if this means accepting lower standards of accommodation.

Star rating. Our hotels are mostly rated as four-star, though some are three-star, some five-star. A very few are two-star. The star ratings we quote are those awarded by the relevant national or regional authority – and the criteria vary from place to place. There is no international standard. A hotel rated as a four-star in one country might scarcely merit three stars in another.

Single-rooms supplements. Nearly all hotels charge a supplement when there is only one person in a room, sometimes charging the same for a room however many people are in it. This means it would cost twice as much per person for a single traveller than for a couple. We sympathise with the annoyance this causes, and always try to negotiate with hotels, but there is little we can do to ameliorate the problem. On some tours we offer the choice between a single room and a double room for sole occupancy.

Staying on. It is usually possible to adjust the flights to enable you to stay on after a tour for an independent holiday. Please enquire. There is an administration fee of at least £25 for making a change to the basic package and sometimes the air fare will be higher. 

Meals

We spend a lot of time selecting restaurants and menus and wine. We aim for a high quality of food and ambience, and where sophisticated restaurants do not exist we seek an authentic experience with good local produce (in other words, we try to avoid tourist fare).

While most dinners are included in the price, one or more evenings are left free on nearly all our tours. Most clients welcome the opportunity for independence, but if you do not share this view the tour leader would be happy to help make arrangements.
Few lunches are included, as most travellers prefer something quick and light in the middle of the day. Lunches are provided in places where without prior arrangement it would be difficult to find something to eat.

Drinks are included with all meals. In most countries we provide wine and always there is water and soft drinks and the option of beer. Coffee or tea are also included. 

Flights

We use reliable and reputable airlines and try to choose the most convenient flying times and airports, although for many routes there is little choice of either.

Airlines often change flight schedules and sometimes cancel flights altogether. Such events are beyond our control and airlines are not obliged to offer compensation. If you are booking a connecting flight, you should buy tickets that allow for changes.

The ‘no flights’ option. We can provide a tour without the flights if you prefer – we give the price in each tour description – and you can make your own arrangements for international travel (and, where they are included, domestic flights). The only proviso is that you understand that the responsibility for joining the group is yours, and that the rest of the party cannot wait if you are delayed. 

Fitness

Ours are active holidays. Whether exploring archaeological sites, looking at architecture in cities or simply getting to a concert hall, walking is an unavoidable element of all our tours and festivals.

They are also group holidays. Like a convoy, a group moves at the speed of the slowest participant. Slow walkers reduce the time available at sites and museums and so can diminish the enjoyment of the other participants.

The amount of walking varies from tour to tour. On some there really is quite a lot, maybe including streets that are steep or poorly paved. Archaeological tours necessitate scrambling over ruins and rough ground. More usually it is just a case of getting from one place to another within a town. Coaches can rarely penetrate historic town centres or get right to the entrance of a site, country house or concert hall.

Our tours and festivals should not present problems for anyone who manages everyday walking and stair-climbing without difficulty. But please consult us if you have any doubts about your ability to cope. If for any stage of the tour, including the airports, you would like the use of a wheelchair, then these tours are unlikely to be suitable for you. However, we can study individual cases and assess the feasibility of a wheelchair user participating in a particular tour but only if you arrange for fellow travellers to assist you. It is also likely that you would not be able to cope with our tours if you habitually use a walking stick.

Age limit. We regret that applications from people aged eighty-one or over at the time of the tour will not be accepted. We know this is a harsh and somewhat arbitrary rule, but it has proved effective in reducing instances of tours being spoilt for the majority because of the inability of one or two individuals to cope with the demands of the tour.