Award-winning Small Group Tours in Europe’s Most Beautiful Places

Tours of a Lifetime Are you dreaming of a different kind of European vacation?
An immersion in a different culture and way of life?
The opportunity to get to know local people?
A focus on simple pleasures?
A beautiful setting in the countryside?
A leisurely and relaxed pace?

If this type of vacation appeals to you, you’ll enjoy our European Experiences trips! We offer small group tours in the most beautiful areas of Europe, special places that have captured our hearts in 30 years of European travel.

** It’s great to be traveling again! We hosted 27 groups in 2022, including several trips to new destinations. We’re booking now for 2023 and 2024! **

Each year we offer several weeks of The Luberon Experience in Provence, France, based in the village of Bonnieux (shown below). Our other trips vary each year, as we share other wonderful places in Europe that we love with travelers looking for an in-depth experience.

The Luberon Experience was selected by National Geographic Traveler magazine as one of their 50 Tours of a Lifetime for 2012. We’re very proud to be identified as one of the best tours in the world, “designed for experience, immersion, sustainability, and cultural connection.”

bonnieux-from-overlook1

Now booking for 2023!

We all have a lot of traveling to make up for. In 2023 we’re offering 27 trips and 26 trips in 2024. All our trips are led by European Experiences owner and co-founder Kathy Wood or our partner in Provence, Jennifer Dugdale. We’re joined by an excellent team of co-leaders, including Kathy’s husband Charley (now mostly retired) and their daughter Kelly. Learn about our team here.

Seven and eight-night “Experience” trips

In 2023 Kathy Wood is leading seven-night Experience trips in the Luberon, Alsace, the Cotswolds, and Puglia. One of our Cotswolds weeks is The Cotswolds Walking Week.

Kathy is also leading our new eight-night Normandy Experience trip, which includes a special night at Mont St. Michel.

Jennifer Dugdale is leading seven-night Experience trips in Paris, Mediterranean Provence, and the Riviera Hillsides.

Shorter “Inside” trips

We also offer four-night “Inside” trips based in cities, with a focus on special experiences and discoveries– not the typical tourist sites. These groups are smaller, about eight people. “Inside” trips are also hosted by Jennifer Dugdale and are intended to be combined with one of our week-long trips, but can be booked as a standalone trip. When an Inside trip is combined with an adjacent Experience, we’ll provide transportation between the two locations.

In 2023 we’re offering two Inside Paris trips, which match up with several Experiences in France. We’re also offering Inside Bath before one of our Cotswolds Experience weeks.

Longer “Experience” trips

We’re offering The Cornwall Experience (10 nights) in April and September, led by Kathy and Charley Wood.  In the holiday season we offer two special trips: The European Christmas Experience (12 nights) in late November/early December and The Luberon Christmas Experience in mid-December.

Trips Just for Women

We have a special commitment to help women travel. We’re delighted in 2023 to offer seven trips for groups of women only– in the Luberon, the Riviera Hillsides, Mediterranean Provence, Paris (a week-long experience and a four-night experience), and the Cotswolds. Learn more about our special European Experiences for Women.

Click Here to see our 2023 Schedule!!


Join our mailing list to stay in touch with us through our newsletter (four or five times a year), including our annual schedule announcement. Facebook and Instagram are other great ways to learn more about us, follow our travels, and connect with other European Experiences travelers.

Facebook reviews
JourneyWoman listing and reviews

You can also search for European Experiences on Google to read our Google reviews

Explore our website to learn more about our approach to travel and a typical week on one of our “Experience” trips. Other travelers visit Europe. With us you will experience it!

– Kathy and Charley Wood

Slow Travel Tours

We’re a founding member of Slow Travel Tours, an informal affiliation of small-group tour operators who offer personalized trips in Italy, France, England and other European countries. All these people have a travel philosophy similar to ours. If one of our trips isn’t right for you, we hope you’ll consider one of theirs. Follow the Slow Travel Tours blog to learn more about exploring Europe slowly with a small group tour.

We hope you enjoy our most recent posts:

The Magic of Mont Saint-Michel

Experiences by the Sea (Mediterranean Provence, Cornwall & Puglia)

European Experiences Christmas Trips in 2022

Experiencing the Unique Cuisine of Puglia

A Cotswolds Experience – Our Evenings at the Fleece Inn

We’re a member of ETOA, the European Tourism Association.

We’re proud to be part of JourneyWoman’s Verified Partner Program, which tells women that our services are women-friendly. JourneyWoman™ is the most beloved and respected women’s travel brand in the world, helping women travel safely and well for almost 30 years. Kathy Wood is a member of the JourneyWoman Travel Advisory Council.

See the European Experiences listing on the JourneyWoman website, including reviews from women travelers.