Cultural Safaris

Join long-time friend and favorite JOURNEYS guide Makau Nzioka on safari in Amboseli, Lake Nakuru and Masai Mara. Join his extended family at their spirited annual reunion in Mbitini village. JOURNEYS Africa Specialist Kirsten Williams is coming with her family, too!

Superbly-guided exploration of choice islands, ruins, and landscapes with active days and comfortable accommodations.

Enjoy photography, birding, and exceptional wildlife viewing as part of a guided small group camping trip exploring the very best reserves and sanctuaries of Botswana.

Meditate on Africa's most colorful landscapes and track spectacular wildlife where you wouldn't expect it.

Join Bhutanese villagers in a Buddhist temple festival honoring sacred cranes and all of nature. This trip is about art, beauty, celebration, and understanding the Buddhist spirit of Bhutan.

This is a professionally-guided camping and photography safari in its most refined, luxurious, and comfortable style set in the wildest and most animal-rich sanctuaries of Botswana.

This is a very personally- and compassionately-guided, non-trekking exploration of villages, monuments, and scenic sacred monasteries of the last Buddhist Kingdom.

Take time to reflect and meditate on the special wonders of Burma. Drift down the Irrawaddy River from Mandalay to Mingun and bask in the Buddhist spirit of an ancient land.

Sail by gulet to small Mediterranean coves, wander among fairy chimneys and cave dwellings in Cappadocia, explore some of the best-preserved Roman ruins in the world in Ephesus, and seek out grand mosques while experiencing everything Istanbul has to offer.

Explore historic, cultural, and scenic treasures of China on foot, by tram, ferry, bicycle, river boat, train, and van in a small group with an expert guide.

Combine a classic sing-sing show with explorations of the fabled Sepik River, Tari Highlands, and Waghi Valley, all with top-level accommodations.

Savor the wonders of Nambia from luxury camps in the wild bush.

Australia is too big to see all in one trip, but this exploration hits highlights in style and ensures the best guides, fully engaging activities, and a big dose of cheerful "G'Day" hospitality.

A flexible design for embracing Antigua and Atitlan. JOURNEYS provides the building blocks, including orientation, guides, and logistical support for your personally-tailored experience. Focus on markets and textiles, or history and archaeology, or hiking on forest and volcano trails.

Join in the swirling color and passion of Timkat Festival at Lalibela, visit the castles of Gondar, the sacred city of Axum, the Gelada Baboons in the Simien Mountains and the peoples and markets of the Omo Valley.

Experience Dashain, Nepal's biggest festival, in the dramatic Arun Valley where few travelers go. Walk among Nepal's most scenic peaks and villages, visit weekly markets in Wana and Chainpur, bask in the beauty of terraced rice fields, and join revelry in local homes.

Become one with the hypnotic drumming, chanting, dancing, and devotional fervor of Bhutan's most accomplished lamas as they honor and celebrate the unseen mountain spirits around them.

Japan is a spectacular dynamic destination for the entire family. Experience the profound traditions and the 21st century energy. Join a group in summer or visit on your dates. Early April is cherry blossom time!

If you don't need fancy lodges, luxury camp, and hotels, this is the perfect value safari for experiencing all the best of southern African nature and culture.

A perfect complement to a Galapagos cruise, the haciendas of highland Ecuador offer a perfect blend of hospitality, tradition, culture, and activity. Unique to Ecuador, the haciendas are part ranch, part country inn and part family home.

Join a group to explore the Incan archeological wonders and contemporary cultural traditions of Peru and Bolivia.

Reveal the wonders and delights of the Amazon, Andes, and all of Peru to your whole family with our expert, family-friendly naturalist guides.

Explore the ancient landmarks in Jordan and Israel. Visit the Dead Sea, the rose city of Petra, Wadi Rum, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem. (Mysteries of the Middle East extends this trip to Egypt)

The north rim of the Kathmandu Valley offers a little known window to the highest peaks from relatively easy trails at modest altitudes. Routes are easily accessible from Kathmandu without flights or long drives. Visit a variety of cultural groups in their middle hill villages.

If your goal is to see and photograph the greatest possible number of large mammals of Africa on a small group safari, this is your best trip. Guide Makau Nzioka is among Kenya's best birders and naturalists.

This Guatemala tour offers a special perspective on Mayan culture, both past and present, and adapts to your specific interests for hiking, nature, crafts, archeology, and contemporary communities.

We set a deliberate intention to practice the art of mindfulness in two beautiful, welcoming settings in Guatemala -- charming Antigua, and the stunning lakeside at Atitlan.

Witness the famous Hagen sing-sing show, then visit the fabled Sepik River, Tari Highlands, and Waghi Valley accompanied by great local guides.

This is an expertly-guided, flexible exploration for non-hikers who enjoy wildlife, ancient traditions, spiritual discovery, and beautiful mountain scenery.

Expert naturalists lead this search for tigers and other wildlife in the parks of northern India. Visit both famous and lesser-known sites and sanctuaries.

Focus on the heart of the ancient Inca Empire while based in comfortable ecolodges. Visit little-known sites and hike ancient off-the-beaten-path trails.

Tour temples. Cruise the Mekong River. Attend a traditional Vietnamese puppet show. This is a comprehensive overview of Southeast Asia packed full with a wide variety of cultural, historical, and recreational activities.

This relaxed nature and culture expedition takes you to the Sepik River, Tari Highlands, and Waghi Valley to meet local people and observe colorful traditions.

Southern India contrasts with the North, and this trip features the best of this greener, gentler India, including great heritage sites, parks, and friendly people.

This is the grand tour that local South Africans might choose for themselves, combining a great variety of culture, wildlife, scenery, and activity on a fast-paced adventure.

This very flexible auto safari adapts to your preference of sites, duration, route, accommodations, cuisine, and vehicle type. We'll help find the right mix for you on your dates.

This is a fantastic overview of culture and history. Explore ancient cities, the roots of Buddhism, and the tea-covered hill country.

Follow the famous Serengeti wildebeest migration through some of the best parks in Tanzania.

Understand the great game herds of the Serengeti in the context of local tribes and communities that live in harmony with wildlife and the natural environments.

This safari seeks the greatest variety, numbers and concentrations of animals and birds on a dawn-to-dusk, fast-paced, intensive visit to the best parks and reserves in East Africa.

Journey to Mexico's state of Michoacan, (MEECH-wa-cahn), where you will witness the wintering home of the monarch butterflies in the oyamel forests of the region. The trip begins in colonial...

Explore the beautiful state of Kerala from Kochi (Cochin) down to India's southernmost point. Overnight on the peaceful backwaters. See wildlife at Periyar.

Explore the diversity of Tunisia's environments from Tunis and Carthage through the Sahara to the coast and Djerba Island with expert guide Mohamed Halouani. Meet Tunisians from all walks of life as you retrace North Africa's history and witness an historic ongoing transformation.

Visit one of the world's most amazing and beautifully austere mountain ranges, including the summit of Mount Toubkal -- at 13,300' the highest in north Africa -- on this trekking trip. Start and end in mysterious, magical Marrakech, one the most fascinating cities on earth.

Travel in modern, comfortable style on the legendary Silk Road, along which camel caravans plodded a thousand years ago.

This 22-day safari offers indigenous cultures, the greatest wildlife reserves, and spectacular scenery of Namibia, the Okavango, and Victoria Falls.

Enjoy a classic exploration of Burma's greatest sites with a JOURNEYS senior local guide. End with a coastal beach option.

Explore and understand the remarkable culture, ruins, history, and landscape. Travel beyond the beaches that confine most tourists. Expect excellent food.

Trekking through the tiny villages at the base of the towering Burmese Himalayas offers rich nature, tribal hospitality, and an unbounded exploration challenge.

Encounter the Alps in their remotest corner, in Northern Albania. Walk shepherds' paths among medieval castles, mountain springs, traditional villages, and picturesque passes. Begin and end in Tirana, where you will see a city still unfolding after the end of Communism.

On this ten-day immersion in Buddhist culture, you may catch glimpses of the forest spirits, the leaping lamas, or at least a Musk Deer, Bearded Vulture, or Black-Necked Crane. Hike to Tiger's Nest Monastery.

Enter ancient kingdoms. Encounter distinct local customs. Witness voodoo rituals. This unusual trip is a great fit for culturally adventurous travelers.

Maximize your experience with the nature and wildlife of Sri Lanka. Seek out elephants and monkeys, langurs, sloth bear, leopards, sambur and many other mammals, as well as endemic bird and plant life in some of Asia's best sanctuaries. Visit cultural highlights as well.

Explore southern China's Yunnan Province, a feast of natural, scenic, and cultural diversity born of Himalayan mountains, deep valleys, and a history of isolation, Buddhist heritage, and adaptation.