Early Civilisations Tours

None at all. These tours suit everyone from the merely curious to scholars and academics, and everyone in between. All that's needed is an interest in the past. The specialists travelling with you build up a picture during the holiday, and their role is to really help you understand the story of the past. 

Archaeologists, Egyptologists and historians who work in these regions themselves. Standing in a decorated tomb with an experienced Egyptologist, or walking a Minoan palace with someone who can explain what the excavation actually showed, is a different experience from reading the sign at the entrance. 

Principally the Minoans, the Etruscans, dynastic Egypt, the Thracians, the Nuraghic culture of Sardinia and the trading civilisations of Arabia and the Silk Road. Several tours are built around a single culture, others trace how one influenced the next. 

Not entirely. Many of these places were occupied for millennia, so a single site can carry Bronze Age, Classical, Byzantine and medieval layers on top of each other. Cyprus is a good example, with occupation running back more than 10,000 years, and reading those layers in sequence is part of what the specialists do. 

Sites are often extensive, unshaded and on uneven ground, and some involve steps or slopes in warm conditions. Each itinerary carries an activity level of light, moderate or active so you know what to expect before you book. 

Very much so, and many guests travel solo. Shared interest naturally leads to easy conversation, and friendships formed on tour often outlast it. 

For Egypt, Jordan and Arabia the cooler months from autumn through early spring are far more comfortable. Mediterranean itineraries suit spring and autumn, when sites are quieter and the heat is manageable. Each tour is timed accordingly.