We’ve been arranging expert-led cultural tours and bespoke group travel for over 30 years. Here are some of the things which make us special:
We are small and perfectly formed
Temple World is a boutique tour operator which has specialised in small group educational travel for over 30 years. We do not sell any tours to the general public, only via the institutions we partner with, so you can be sure that your travel companions on each of our tours are like-minded. We’re a small and close-knit team and work on almost every aspect of the tour, from the initial planning and design to the sales and even tour leading ourselves. We’re fully bonded with ATOL and ABTOT, so you can enjoy the personal service that comes with booking with a small company, and rest easy that your booking is in safe financial hands too.
We are absolute experts in our field
With Temple World founded by an archaeologist with a passion for showing students the finest sites worldwide, our small team’s vast destination expertise is the cornerstone of all our tours, and it shows. We’ve been there, and in some cases have even lived there! This is how we know the many small local details which make our tours run smoothly. We actively invite our trip scholars to collaborate with our tour planning to include little-known gems of particular relevance to their expertise, or to gain special access to museums, sites and local research projects that only they can arrange.
We are flexible and can tailor-make any additional elements
As well as flights, we can add unlimited pre and post tour elements to your tour, on a tailor-made basis, so you can make the most of visiting a destination or region if you have more time to explore. Whether you simply want to arrive a few days early to beat jet-lag, or would like to add a stopover or weeks of additional exploration in the region, let us suggest hotels, guiding or excursions to meet your requirements and preferences.
We also arrange Tailormade holidays
We know that not everyone wants a cultural tour every time. Through our sister company, Sirocco Luxury Travel, we would love to arrange your next beach stay, safari, multi-centre trip, or self-drive holiday. We apply the same personal attention and destination expertise to our tailormade holidays that we do to our cultural tours. As well as flights packaged with carefully picked four and five star hotels, we can arrange guiding, car hire, transfers and excursions worldwide, from Australia to Zanzibar!
We started off as a cultural tour specialist and providing enriching cultural experiences is still at the heart of what we do. Temple World was founded by Dr David Price Williams and his wife Sue in 1985. David, then a lecturer in Archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology at UCL, had been running tours for students to see overseas fieldwork in Africa, the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean since the 1970’s. David was lucky enough to meet his wife on one such tour!
Realising that expert-led educational travel had a far wider appeal, they set up Temple World to give the unique opportunity to the general public to explore the history, archaeology, history and earth and life sciences of a destination and its sites with an expert.
Temple World has grown hugely since those early days, and now offers private explorations and set-departure tours to all seven continents as well as working with the alumni associations of Oxford and Cambridge Universities to create and operate exciting scholar led tour for their travel programmes.
How to book our tours
Have a look at the tour itineraries on our website, then get in touch with us by phone or email to check availability, hold places or ask us any questions.
Call us on 020 8940 4114
Ask questions or add extras
We can quote for flights (and if ex UK, hold them without additional deposit) or advise on any additional extensions or pre or post tour hotels you may wish to add.
Holding and confirming places
We’re happy to hold a provisional place for up to a week without obligation – just ask. If you’d like to go ahead and book, we’ll send you a booking form, and we’ll advise what level of deposit is needed to secure your place/s (£300, £400 or £500 is customary).
Receive a full briefing
We’ll send visa and vaccination information when you book, and before travel you’ll receive a full set of documents, including detailed country notes and suggested reading.
