These tours have been created to offer a more independent experience than you might normally expect in group travel. They are aimed at people who want our expert guidance, and access to the sites to be organised (it takes so much longer to do it all on your own...) - but who also want to explore in their own time, using the local bus or trying a new taverna every night.
And if you are involved with education, as many of our guests are, you will be pleased to see that several tours are outside academic terms.
Bare Bones archaeology
As with most things, the more you know about archaeology, the more interesting it becomes. A good teacher, who really understands their subject and your interest, could make a passing interest into a lifelong passion - or at least, open your eyes to see the world and its history in a new light.
Archaeology is by its nature adventurous, and by taking a holiday with a party of other people that adventure can seem compromised. To some people travelling in any kind of a group is like being a captive of their holiday and other peoples’ decisions. We wanted to escape that!
Bare Bones holidays
These tours were invented so that you could have the best of both worlds – an expert archaeologist on hand to inspire, inform and advise you and the bare bones of the holiday arrangements made on your behalf – but the freedom and independence to spend time as you wish to spend it. This might mean opting in and out of site visits, or taking advantage of local buses and trains to explore on your own sometimes. It might mean staying behind at a site and sketching and finding your own way back.
As with any of Andante’s tours, the holiday is structured as a travelling narrative, building day by day, rather than a series of isolated site visits. Our customers want to know the full story and how it has been pieced together rather than a series of dry facts. Sometimes that includes being told what we don’t and can’t know for certain - but speculation is what makes archaeology so interesting. Everyone can make a contribution....but your guide lecturer can tell you about the latest research, new finds and most up-to-date theories - and how they relate to what you are looking at.
Bare Bones people
People travel with Bare Bones who are rather younger than one might normally find on a group holiday. Quite a few families with teenage children join them during the school holidays and we are delighted that a love of the ancient world can span the age gap in this way.
One of the joys of such a “hands-off” approach is that there is company there if you seek it, but it is also quite possible to enjoy a holiday on your own for much of the time. Single travellers will always be invited by the guide lecturer to join them at mealtimes if they wish, so that need not be a cause for concern either.
Bare Bones is attracting a new audience, and we think that people who were unsure what archaeology was all about are now taking the plunge, and joining our holidays. These holidays also work well for those who know quite a lot already, including members of archaeology and history societies, those engaged in their own research, and professional archaeologists, teachers and museum staff. We find that the on-site (and in-bar) discussions are some of the best bits of the tour, and everyone’s opinions throw up new ideas.
We hope you will join us this year and open the doors to a lifelong interest which you can follow almost any where in the world – even in your own back garden…
Bare Bones hotels & travelAll our hotels are carefully chosen to be clean, friendly and well-positioned. All transport to sites in the programme is arranged by us, and where possible we travel by local transport. Buses and trains are a fun way of getting about without feeling too much like a tourist. You can choose our group flights or book your own transport, adding your own plans to the beginning or end of the tour. Flights are so easy to book on-line these days.
Free time
We have integrated ‘free’ time into our itineraries. You may wish to spend this exploring the furthest reaches of the sites, or the local area, or simply relaxing. Advice will always be available.
