As featured in:

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

Expert-led small-group tours

This video was filmed on our Footpaths of Umbria tour in June 2023 and gives a flavour of what to expect on one of our holidays.

Exploring Italy on a cultural tour

We also offer fresh perspectives on old friends, using art historians, not musicologists, on our opera tours of Verona and seeing Florence, Padua and Bologna through the prism of science and medicine as well as art. We bring you Puccini at the maestro’s lakeside villa, the mosaics of Ravenna and the frozen worlds of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

We dine finely in Piedmont, throw light on the Dark Ages in the northern Adriatic and stand at the crossroads of European civilisations in Sicily. We gaze up at Michelangelo’s David and down at Etruscan tombs. We give you Italy, packaged in a gilt-edged portfolio.

Image

Cultural tours in Sicily

Whether it’s on a private tour of Palermo’s Palatine Chapel or a guided walk on Etna with an expert vulcanologist, you will be fully immersed in dazzling cultural inheritance.

Image

Cultural tours in Venice

With special, out-of-hours access to the Basilica di San Marco - as well as on-the-spot insights by our expert lecturers - we give you an unrivalled view of La Serenissima.

Image

Cultural tours in Florence

Special access is a feature of our Florence tours: visit the vast baroque Palazzo Corsini al Parione, dine at the Palazzo Corsini al Prato, and gaze across the city and Appenines beyond from Palazzo Gondi.

Image

Cultural tours in Rome

From the underground chambers of the Colosseum to Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel frescoes viewed in tranquil solitude, we uncover both Rome's cultural triumphs and lesser-known masterpieces.

Browse Italy tours by theme

Why travel with us?

Leading expertise

For 36 years we have been the most influential organisation in the field of cultural travel, offering an unequalled range of tours and events. Pioneering and innovative, we have led the way with ideas and itineraries and by setting the benchmarks for customer service and administration.

Privileged access

Special arrangements are a feature of our tours – for admission to places not generally open to travellers, for access outside public hours, for private concerts and extraordinary events. In innumerable ways, we lift our clients’ experience far above standards which are regarded as normal for tourists.

First-rate speakers

Expert speakers are a key ingredient in our tours. Academics, curators, writers, broadcasters and researchers, they are selected not only for their knowledge but also for their ability to communicate clearly and engagingly to a lay audience. Their brief is to enlighten and stimulate, not merely to inform.

Holiday protection

We provide full financial protection for our package holidays which include international flights, by way of our Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (ATOL); and for those that do not include a flight, by way of a bond held by ABTOT – The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited.

Personal service

We aim for faultless administration from your first encounter with us to the end of the holiday, and beyond. We want you to come back again and again – as most of our clients do. We can provide options without international travel if you prefer to make your own arrangements.

Award-winning

Five consecutive years as Best Special Interest Holiday Company at the British Travel Awards (2015–19) reflects our commitment to excellence. With a remarkable 99% satisfaction rating from more than 1,100 independent reviews, our attention to detail and client care is unmatched.

Most of our tours run with between 10 and 20 participants. Our travellers are self-selected by common interests and an endorsement of our ethos. You are highly likely to find yourself among like-minded companions, whether travelling solo (as 50% of our clients do) or with a travel partner.

Value for money

The price includes nearly everything, not only the major ingredients such as hotel, transport and the costs of the lecturer and manager but also tips, drinks with meals, and airport taxes. The price published is the price you pay. You can secure your booking today with a 15% deposit.

What do others say about Martin Randall Travel?

Showing 2184 reviews
Informative, inspiring and individual.
A beautiful introduction to the early Christian art of North Eastern Italy. Travel as smooth and rich as extra virgin olive oil.
*****
Livebetter2
11 Apr 2022
Walking to Santiago
This was a brilliant tour enabling a small group to experience selected sections of the the 500 mile French way of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage. We walked through a variety of regions, villages, towns and cities, saw wonderful scenery, historic buildings and magnificent cathedrals...
*****
Walking Linda
18 Jun 2015
iron curtain
Very positive about them. A professional outfit who knew what they were doing. You felt individually appreciated without being embarrassingly pampered.
As well as getting you places where there were excellent guides, you also had free time in the places where different interests would take people di...
*****
paradise lost
26 Sep 2014
Informative, comfortable, enjoyable tour
The tour itinerary was well organized and offered plenty of interest. Arranged accommodation and food were of a very high standard. Martin Randall clearly put a lot of thought into this tour. An efficient and pleasant tour manager did good work.
****
Augustan
23 May 2017
Well-led tour of Greek and Roman sites in the Naples area
Care and attention to detail, with well planned itinerary, excellent tour manager, well-chosen hotel and local transport.
*****
mr C S 21
19 Oct 2021
Martin Randall London Choral Day
Unbelievably well organised, Well researched presentations. Staff friendly and very helpful. Food excellent with a wide choice. The best choral music I've heard in a very long time.
*****
Harold
27 Jun 2022
MRT does it again!
Martin Randall Travel has created the genre of music festivals in European cities selected for their beauty and interest and putting on a series of private concerts of the highest standard in carefully chosen venues in these places. A faithful clientele ensures the success and their enjoyment of the...
*****
Roger
12 Nov 2019
A wonderfully planned insight into Bach's life and music
We went on MRT's Bach Journey ME 520 and could not fault the experience. The concert venues, the performers and the towns visited gave us an excellent understanding of how and where Bach lived and worked.
*****
fyers45
24 Sep 2017
The Heart of Italy tour
I have undertaken many Martin Randall tours and without exception they have all been excellent, from their office staff through to the tour itself, which is meticulously planned to the last detail. The participants are friendly and everything comes together to make it all a totally memorable experie...
*****
Jocie
27 Oct 2017
Comprehensive cultural tour of Sicily
All very efficient despite my late booking
*****
Penguin
20 Mar 2019
high quality in all respects
Experienced and well organised travel company u
*****
latelearner
09 Nov 2016
Martin Randall Monteverdi in Venice
Several holidays with Martin Randall have all been of superb quality
*****
anon
09 Nov 2015

Sign up to our e-newsletter

e-newsletter recipients are the first to hear about our future plans and our tours as they come on sale. By signing up you agree to our Privacy policy.

Invalid Input
Invalid Input
Please enter a valid e-mail address.

Or join our mailing list for a printed brochure

My Wishlist

Wishlist

Click the heart icon on any event to save it to your wishlist.

Browse our tours.