ABOUT

Cultivating a relationship with a trusted, experienced travel adviser can be the first step that makes the difference between a dream vacation that meets all your expectations and one that goes off the rails. ‘Without a travel agent, you are on your own’. Now with the ubiquity of the Web, there is also a new DIY breed of traveller – but the Web is not a connoisseur, and cannot provide the personal introductions to people and places that might lead you beneath the tourist veil. That is why Art of Living is here for you.

A happy traveller will always be in a state of “adequate preparedness”; will go with an open mind and welcome the serendipitous; will relish difference and diversity rather than seeking the safe and familiar; will be excited to have revealed to themselves aspects of themselves that may have remained hidden at home.

The allure of travel is that it can expand our horizons, enhance our sense of wonder about older civilizations, engender our empathy with cultures and faiths so different from our own, inspire awe in the face of stunning landscapes or extraordinary architectural feats, remove us from the mundaneness of our familiar environments, create a sense of excitement and adventure exploring the unknown, enrich our senses and sensibilities, indeed even challenge the prisms of our thinking and knowledge.

It can also concertina our frailties as we go beyond our comfort zone, cause frustrations with language barriers or in the ever more crowded airports and stations of the world, or uncertainty navigating unknown roads and untried hotels.

On our guided/escorted small group journeys we travel in great style and luxurious comfort, but what makes our journeys so memorable are special touches like the most fascinating, expert guides, the more scenic and slow road, that really special hotel and its best rooms, exceptional cuisine and culinary tastes, encounters with locals and artisans in their homes and studios, and a depth of conversation and immersion that is conducive to new and lasting friendships.