YOUr trip MAKES A POSTIVE IMPACT
Sojourner Tours: Strengths & Signatures
ETHICAL TOURISM GIVES YOU A HIGHER QUALITY TRAVEL EXPERIENCE WITH THE ADDED BENEFIT THAT YOU FEEL GOOD ABOUT SUPPORTING:
SMALL SCALE LOCAL PRODUCERS,
THE LOCAL ECONOMY,
LOCAL CULTURE, AND
THE ENVIRONMENT.
Ethical principles mean that you will be rewarded with an unforgettable vacation when you take a Sojourner Tour. You will be treated as if you were being shown around by local friends: tours are limited to small groups; you will stay in a charming villa or a locally owned boutique hotel; you will discover the local cuisine through a well balanced combination of luxury restaurants and popular local eateries that highlight local products and traditional foods; and, you will explore a representative selection of the region’s most interesting historical towns, natural wonders and cultural treasures to help them thrive economically without putting stress on them. Our tours are designed using rigorous criteria: to learn more about this see Our Philosophy. To learn more about Sojourner Tours sustainable form of tourism: look at About Sojourner Tours.
WHAT DOES ETHICAL TRAVEL ENTAIL & HOW DOES IT BENEFIT YOU?
SMALL GROUPS: We proudly offer some of the smallest group tours on the market because it benefits both you and the destinations you visit. In order for you to experience a cultural immersion and make a low impact on the places we visit, we limit our groups to 2-14 guests. This small group size gains you privileged access to more authentic and high class restaurants, hotels, wineries, etc. Limiting enrollment ensures that you, and every other member of your group, will have many opportunities for positive, personal interactions with local artisans and service providers that support the local economy and culture without denaturing them. It also means you will be part of an intimate and convivial group. In short, you will never feel like an anonymous customer being herded around tourist hot spots in a troop of fellow foreigners: you will feel like you are sojourning.
FINE LOCAL FOOD & WINE: Local gastronomy is always one of the focal points of a Sojourner Tour because it is a rich culinary experience for you while enabling you to support the traditional local culture and small scale local producers. You will taste the full range of local foods, from the refined, sophisticated and luxurious Michelin starred menus made by artist-chefs who are ambassadors of the local agricultural products, to the popular, traditional, regional specialties in humble mom & pop restaurants. You will be dining in both the most distinguished gourmet restaurants and the locals’ favorite spots. Beverages are included with your meals and we will help ensure that the wines you will enjoy are well paired to the delicacies you will savor and lean toward local products.
CULTURAL IMMERSION: You will learn about local customs through the authenticity of the charming boutique hotel where you stay or the homestay-type experience offered in a villa on “live-like-a-local” sojourns, and the regional cuisine and local seasonal ingredients featured in the restaurants where you eat. Also, you will have opportunities to dive deeper into the local culture by meeting local artisans and farmers who teach you how they produce traditional regional specialties such as cheese, wine, and lavender essence or olive oil. So that you get the most out of these experiences without feeling out of place, you will receive an orientation packet before the tour that explains local eating habits, traditional dress and various other kinds of fun and useful cultural information.
GENUINE ENCOUNTERS WITH LOCALS: We love the places where we tour and strive to share them with you in a way that is beneficial to everyone. The small size of our groups enables you to experience a genuine ambiance in every setting and ensures that we are welcomed visitors. As a company, we also strive to build strong lasting relationships in the areas where we guide. We favor local businesses over chains and hire as many locals as possible during each trip so you will have opportunities to interact with the community and help small local businesses thrive. The goal of Sojourner Tour Company is to create mutually beneficial interactions between you and our hosts.
WORLD RENOWNED SIGHTS & LOCAL TREASURES: The countries where Sojourner Tours works abound in historic sites, architectural marvels and a wide variety of stunning geographical features. We favor internationally recognized cultural sites that have obtained the competitive and prestigious World Heritage endorsement that UNESCO awards to unique places of exceptional cultural or natural importance. You will also go to a selection of our favorite nationally and regionally celebrated sites, such as villages awarded the label “Most Beautiful Village of France” because they are extremely traditional and picturesque places. Your tour base will be in an outstanding region, town or part of a famous city that has been overlooked by the conventional tourist industry. This means that you can feel good about supporting a place that has been underserved by tourism. Your itinerary will include a balance of renowned sights and local secrets that you would most likely not be able to discover on your own.
FUN & INFORMATIVE DAY TRIPS: You are hiring our services to take you off-the-beaten path to amazing places where foreign tourists usually don’t go so you can gain access to a regional culture that would otherwise be out of reach. As a result, we travel the “French way” by organize day trips around our central base location so you gain more insight into the region and its people through food, architectural sights and nature. You will actually visit the sights rather than simply driving by them and you will take privately arranged tours led by local English-speaking specialists rather than wandering aimlessly on your own.
SELF-EXPLORATION: At the same time, we know that part of the fun of traveling is making your own discoveries and having some time to go at your own pace. Therefore, each day you will have time to explore, relax, or shop at your leisure. The amount of time varies according to the style of sojourn you select. Quintessential sojourns offer you the most guidance while Best Kept Secret sojourns offer you the most free time. The Off-the-Beaten-Path sojourns fall in the middle to give you a balance of both. Outside Paris, the Off-the-Beaten-Path and Best Kept Secret sojourns often afford you a free day in your tour’s base town. Of course, we will be available to offer recommendations.
TOUR SPECIFICATIONS
Guests – Limited to 2-16
Crew – Tour w/ 2 to 8 guests =1 Guide + 1 Driver; Tours w/ 8 to 16 guests =2 Guides + 2 Drivers
Transportation – Private van, metro, bike, walking...
Accommodation – A charming villa or a single boutique hotel base (unpack once and settle in for your sojourn).
ACTIVITIES
Cultural Experiences & Visits to Local Producers
Gastronomic Meals
Day Trips to Natural and Architectural Wonders
Touring Historic Sites
Local Secrets
Active Options: Walking/Hiking (sometimes Kayaking)
Wine & Cheese Tasting
FEATURES
Small Groups
Well Educated Guides
Ethical Tourism Principles
Authentic Locations
