We are specialists in the ancient sites of Europe. We design and run private history, culture and archaeology tours with historians, archaeologists and specialist local guides who live where you travel.
We build private tours around your group’s subject, with the archaeologists and historians who work on it. That subject might be the Minoans, Mycenaeans, Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines or Crusaders, the world of St Paul, or World War II in the Mediterranean.
| Your group | What we build |
|---|---|
| Alumni associations | Member tours with a specialist guide, archaeologist or historian, and a faculty host if you have one |
| Historical and archaeological societies | Tours built around your society’s period or region, including sites that take time to arrange |
| Universities and academic groups | Study tours built around your course or research, with specialists on site |
| Professional associations | Member tours and conference extensions linked to your field or an adjacent schedule including key cultural events, sightseeing, and food experiences |
| Corporate groups | Incentive and leadership trips with expert guides and private transport |
| Museums and galleries | Member and patron tours built around your collections and interests |
We design each tour from your brief, or adapt one of our existing itineraries. Tell us who is traveling and what they want to understand.
We operate tours under your brand, as your ground partner in Europe and the Mediterranean. Tour operators and travel advisors use us for special-interest programs. Podcasters, content creators and other hosts use us to take their audiences to the places they talk about, and we make our own podcast and YouTube videos, so we understand that relationship.
| You bring | We provide |
|---|---|
| Your brand and your travelers | Itinerary design, from your brief or ours |
| Your subject and any host, lecturer or tour leader | Archaeologists, specialists, licensed local guides and tour leaders |
| Your dates, destinations and budget | Hotels, private transport, meals, tickets, site arrangements and experiences |
We plan private school trips for students of classics, European languages, religious studies, art history and European studies, built around what they are studying. We price per person, and your students learn from archaeologists and local guides who know each site first-hand.
“Take Me to Europe Tours helped me plan a 12 day itinerary for our group of 27 – which included 23 high school seniors! I could not have been more pleased! Every transfer, every tour guide, every reservation was on-time and well prepared to receive our group. The costs are SO reasonable. I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend using this company to assist you with all of your booking needs. Monique is highly professional, extremely detailed, and available at all times! You will not regret using this outstanding company.”Kristen Niehls, Google reviewSee all reviews
There are no age limits on our private family tours and custom vacation packages. We cater for all interests and balance each trip between family, adult and child-focused activities. We arrange children’s activities and family rooms, and we set the pace around your family. Couples, friends and solo travelers can plan private trips with us too.
“We had an exceptional experience with Take Me To Europe Tours! Monique, our travel planner, was incredibly knowledgeable, thorough, and patient throughout the entire process. She was highly responsive, addressing all our questions promptly and ensuring every detail was perfect.”Greg Stanfield, Google reviewSee all reviews
If you would rather make your own bookings, we can plan your trip instead of running it. A private trip is arranged and run by us. With itinerary planning, we design the trip and you book it using the links we send you.
We charge a flat US$350 for a trip of up to two weeks, and a little more for longer trips. We usually spend about 15 hours on a two-week itinerary, and we use our tour operator accommodation, transport, and guide rates. Start with a free 30-minute call.
Groups come to us for private European tours because of our expertise in Europe’s ancient sites. Our deepest knowledge is in Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Italy and Corsica, where the archaeologists we work with live and excavate.
We also work with guides who specialize in particular UNESCO World Heritage sites such as Ancient Olympia and Delphi, with art historians in Florence, and with experienced local guides in every country we work in. Some of our guides are best with small groups, some with families and some with large tours, so we choose the guide who suits your group.
We have working relationships with archaeologists, historians, art historians, local guides, sea captains and boutique hoteliers.
We plan and run trips that cross several countries, with a single point of contact and local teams in each country.
Our partnership with the Greek Mycenaean Foundation gives us behind-the-scenes access to sites such as Mycenae, and hands-on archaeological experiences.
David Pearlman has excavated in Cyprus since 1977. Prof. Christofilis Maggidis has been Field Director of the Lower Town excavations at Mycenae since 2001. Dr Elena Soulioti, Dr Huw Groucutt, Dr Annalisa Costa, Dott.ssa Laura Sedda and Dr Kewin Pêche-Quilichini work in Greece, Malta, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica.
Monique Skidmore, an award-winning professor of cultural anthropology, founded the company. We hire local archaeologists and guides first, and we are a Responsible Travel member.
White label means we keep our clients’ names private, so these examples are anonymized.
There is no minimum. We plan private trips for a single family and for much larger groups.
We have not reached an upper limit, because we scale up with the group. Our largest group so far is 44. We use Whisper headsets for groups over 12 and offer dedicated tour leaders, or you can bring your own specialist or tour leader. The 12-guest maximum applies only to our scheduled tours.
We have no fixed lead time. Earlier is better for peak season and for booking specific archaeologists, so talk to us as soon as you have an idea.
Yes. On a white-label tour your name goes on the trip and we operate it as your ground partner. We do not name the organizations we work for.
We quote per person, or we provide net rates to organizations that set their own price. School trips are priced per person.
We specialize in the ancient sites of Europe and the Mediterranean. Our archaeologists work in Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Italy and Corsica, and we have local connections right across Europe.
We are ATIA accredited (Membership No. A19784), and payments made to us are held in an independently audited client account. We hold personal, professional and tour operator liability cover. Check our ATIA Accreditation. Our Financial Protection page explains how this works.
Yes. There are no age limits on private family trips. The minimum age of 18 applies to our scheduled small-group tours, except as set out in the Booking Conditions.
We turn simple proposals around in 48 hours.
Prefer to talk? Book a 30-minute call with Monique, or email info@takemetoeuropetours.com. You can also browse our small-group tours.
Free 16-page guide
Written by archaeologists. Submerged Roman villas, underground cities and abandoned Greek quarries –, with maps, access details and what to see at each.
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