Martin Randall Travel is committed to providing the best planned, the best led and altogether the most fulfilling and enjoyable cultural tours available.
Pioneering and innovative, we have led the way with ideas and itineraries and by setting the benchmarks for customer service and administration.
Since 1988 we have been the most influential organisation in the field of cultural travel, offering an unequalled range of tours and events. Pioneering and innovative, we have led the way with ideas and itineraries and by setting the benchmarks for customer service and administration.
Privileged access
Special arrangements are a feature of our tours – for admission to places not generally open to travellers, for access outside public hours, for private concerts and extraordinary events. In innumerable ways, we lift our clients’ experience far above standards which are regarded as normal for tourists.
First-rate speakers
Expert speakers are a key ingredient in our tours. Academics, curators, writers, broadcasters and researchers, they are selected not only for their knowledge but also for their ability to communicate clearly and engagingly to a lay audience. Their brief is to enlighten and stimulate, not merely to inform.
Holiday protection
We provide full financial protection for our package holidays which include international flights, by way of our Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (ATOL); and for those that do not include a flight, by way of a bond held by ABTOT – The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited.
Personal service
We aim for faultless administration from your first encounter with us to the end of the holiday, and beyond. We want you to come back again and again – as most of our clients do. We can provide options without international travel if you prefer to make your own arrangements.
Award-winning
Five consecutive years as Best Special Interest Holiday Company at the British Travel Awards (2015–19) reflects our commitment to excellence. With a remarkable 99% satisfaction rating from more than 1,100 independent reviews, our attention to detail and client care is unmatched.
Most of our tours run with between 10 and 20 participants. Our travellers are self-selected by common interests and an endorsement of our ethos. You are highly likely to find yourself among like-minded companions, whether travelling solo (as 50% of our clients do) or with a travel partner.
Value for money
The price includes nearly everything, not only the major ingredients such as hotel, transport and the costs of the lecturer and manager but also tips and drinks with meals. The price published is the price you pay. You can secure your booking today with a 15% deposit.
Led by the encyclopaedic Christopher Newall, the 12 day trip focused on the various civilisations which have dominated Sicily over many years, as well as the major buildings, towns, events and characters.
Bruce
12 Mar 2025
Rome at its Best
Martin Randall is very efficient.
Susanna
14 Mar 2023
Vivaldi in Venice
Very careful prepartions, most eventualities covered. Painstaking. Respectful of clients' intelligence.
Ms S P 17
13 Nov 2017
Wonderful tour of the north of England, not spoiled by rainy weather!
We met on Manchester and over the course of 1 week visited important Victorian buildings and art galleries in Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool. We did quite a bit of walking, had regular lectures, stayed in interesting hotels and ate delicious food. The guide and tour manager were ever present to loo...
Nell
07 Oct 2021
London Choral Day
a day visiting 3 churches with different choirs.
Mr J T 17
05 Jul 2017
Outstanding tour of Palladian villas
Provided a very well planned and thought out tour. Cost was very reasonable for what we received!
Tom
27 Oct 2016
Art History and Opera in Verona
Martin Randall is a specialist art and music tour operator with a wealth of experience, brilliant contacts and very experienced staff and lecturers. I would highly recomnend them
Beckie
30 Aug 2016
Out of my comfort zone.
Everything was anticipated and comfortable.
Annie
23 Sep 2018
Well planned, complete tour experience
Pulled off an extremely complex itinerary incredibly smoothly. Handled the inevitable unforeseeable challenges like the pros they are. And all the while extremely personable, accessible and helpful.
Texas Baroque fan
01 Jun 2022
Learning and luxury in the company of a like-minded group
Excellent Italian tour covering the History of Medicine and lots of related art, through visits to Florence, Pisa, Bologna and Padua. Full days of visits were enhanced by two superb lecturers, each with an impressive breadth and depth of knowledge. Supporting arrangements of travel, hotels and meals...
Missdefied
22 Sep 2016
perfect
see above
Cobus
28 Jul 2016
A well-planned tour with an excellent lecturer, tour manager and itinerary
Everything in Martin Randall Tours's control was excellent. The brochure is well laid out, with detailed itineraries and background information. Booking online was easy and efficient, and from past experience, telephone/email enquiries are quickly and helpfully processed. Advance information wa...
Lecturer in medieval history at the University of East Anglia. He was taught at the Universities of London, Cambridge, and Oxford, and was a research fellow at Jesus College, Oxford. He specialises in the period, 700–1200, and publishes on western kings, secular élites and their records. He is a keen believer in the value of exploring and understanding the architectural fabric, material culture and landscapes of the past.
Art historian specialising in Renaissance and Baroque architecture in Rome and the Papal States, and Assistant Director of the British School at Rome from September 2015. He received his doctorate from Cambridge University, and also studied at the British School at Rome, where he was Rome Scholar (2009–10) and Giles Worsley Fellow (2013). He has lived in Le Marche region of Italy and is currently writing his first book on the Marchigian Cardinals of Pope Sixtus V.
Lecturer in Arabic at Leiden University and a specialist in the cultural history of the Muslim world. Peter has travelled extensively across the Middle East and Central Asia and has studied at the Universities of Damascus and Isfahan. He held a fellowship at the Museum of Islamic Art, Berlin, where he researched Muslim architecture and Arabic calligraphy, studying monuments of medieval Egypt and Uzbekistan. In Oman, he studied pre-Islamic sites and local shrines dedicated to ancient Arabian prophets in as part of his current research focus on the legends and history of Arabia. His publications include Imagining the Arabs (Edinburgh University Press, 2016), a comprehensive exploration of the Arab people in early Islam, and The Arab Thieves (Brill, 2019), a critical study of Arabian outlaw tales.
Wine, food and travel writer. Born in Mexico, he was raised in the USA before studying English Literature at the University of Exeter. Together with his wife, he has pioneered a series of illustrated wine-food-travel books including The Wine and Food of Europe, The Wine Roads of France, The Wine Roads of Italy, The Food Lover’s Companion to France and The Food Lover’s Companion to Italy. He is also the author of The Taste of Britain and lives in Devon, where he is closely involved with the food scene of the West Country. Marc is a certified Vinitaly International Italian Wine Ambassador. His next book, Italy in a Wineglass, will be published in Spring 2024 and tells the story of Italy through its wines. Twitter: @Marc_Millon
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