What’s Trending in Niche Travel Tours?

There’s a niche tour and itinerary for every traveler—birdwatching, hiking, heritage, culinary, wine, photography, solo, female, architecture, cheese, wellness, bucket list, polar bears—even sloths. Here is a sampling of some of the most popular tours trending.

Intrepid Travel
Intrepid has always been somewhat niche–it’s known as the world’s largest small-group adventure travel company, and over 65 percent of its travelers are solo females.

“We are seeing a lot of niche travel around climate action and responsible travel with citizen scientist programs,” says Matt Berna, Intrepid Travel President, North America. Intrepid is the only global tour operator with verified science-based carbon reduction targets (a climate scientist is on staff), he says.

“The fragile environment that props up the global tourism industry is facing an existential crisis and travel itself is perpetuating the problem,” says Berna. “To help address this, we have launched our first-ever Citizen Science program in Antarctica.”

Citizen Science is voluntary research collected through public participation—travelers share and contribute data they observe to a variety of projects. There are five programs ranging from the NASA Globe Observer, which observes cloud movements in concert with NASA satellite flyovers to Seabird Survey where travelers record wildlife viewings to help scientists better understand seabird migrations in the Southern Ocean.

“One of our most exciting onboard Citizen Science projects is the Happywhale project,” says Berna. Guests are encouraged to take photos of whale sightings and upload them online, after which scientists can identify them by their unique markings and track them around the globe.

While the five programs will be available on all Intrepid Antarctic sailings, Intrepid will also be running two exclusive departures next year in partnership with WWF Australia, in which travelers will be joined onboard by scientists from WWF and the University of California Santa Cruz. The 14-day WWF Journey to the Circle and the 11-day WWF Giants of Antarctica will host a team of marine biologists conducting scientific research on Antarctica’s great whales to better understand their ecology and migration corridors under changing climates. Chris Johnson, Global Lead of WWF’s Protecting Whales & Dolphins Initiative will travel on both of these  Intrepid sailings with guest researchers from UCSC, including renowned whale ecologist Dr. Ari Friedlander.

Intrepid also recently relaunched its Real Food Adventures tours. Following a pandemic-induced hiatus, the reimagined tours now include 21 plant-based experiences with favorites like Mexico, India, and Vietnam, as well as newer itineraries in South Korea, The Balkans, Israel, and Palestine.

While the new journeys still feature signature meals with traditional meat and fish dishes, the trips have been redesigned to show the importance of balance and moderation when it comes to making small but significant changes toward a more climate-friendly lifestyle, says Etti.

One example: the South Korea Real Food Adventure, where travelers visit South Korea’s slow food capital in Jeonju, dive deep into seafood in Busan, and experience the labyrinthian Gwangjang Market in Seoul, famously featured in the Netflix series On day four, travelers will immerse themselves in the plant-based experience during a temple stay in Gyeongju, which includes a plant-based dinner with chanting meditation and an optional martial arts class.

Oldways
Heritage culinary travel is popular with travelers wanting to connect with traditional recipes that have been handed down for generations.

Boston-based Oldways is a nonprofit food and nutrition organization, hosts overseas and domestic culinary heritage trips—and there’s always at least one chef traveling along. Upcoming trips include a Naples and Amalfi trip in October, with Chef Michael Lombardi of Boston’s SRV Restaurant. Expect visits to producers of mozzarella, San Marzano tomatoes, pasta, and limoncello; pizza-making and other cooking demonstrations; winery visits, and town-by-town tours of the Amalfi Coast and Naples.

Trips to Turkey, Costa Rica, and Switzerland are scheduled for next year.

Oceania Cruises
Sustainability, conservation, and rehabilitation are at the heart of Oceania’s 150 Go Green tours worldwide—travelers engage with residents and businesses to learn about their initiatives to help conserve and sustain their environments.

Experiences include visiting a sustainable vineyard in Almeria, Spain; learning aspects of hydroponic farming in the rainforests of St. Kitts; discovering the world of eco-conscious art in Buenos Aires, Argentina; and imbibing zero-emission rum in the world’s only carbon-free distillery in Dartmouth, United Kingdom.

And, then, there’s the unique sloth sanctuary trip in Costa Rica—travelers visit the sanctuary that is a home for sloths, orphaned, injured or displaced because their habitat was lost due to deforestation. Guests have a close-up look at the animals as they are rehabilitated in hopes of returning them to the wild. Deforestation is one of the biggest threats to sloths, so to help their cause, travelers also have an opportunity to plant a tree in a nearby forest reserve.

Trafalgar
“Offering niche itineraries that cater to a specific group of people or hobby helps to drive more interest and create an inclusive dynamic for any type of traveler that may want to take a guided vacation,” says Melissa DaSilva, President of Trafalgar, North America. “Beyond religious expeditions or family travel, niche travel experiences can be specific to a demographic or special interests.”

This year, Trafalgar launched 12 women-only trips. It was a decision driven by the rise in women’s travel as a way to empower and lift other women up, says DaSilva. “It was important to make sure we offered ways for women to feel truly comfortable in their travel experience and meet women trailblazers from all over the world that they can relate to and learn from. Our new, women’s only trips have proven to be a success with plans for more women’s only departures in 2023.”

History lovers immerse themselves in ancient and 20th-century warfare on itineraries in Turkey for insight into the feats of the Ottoman Empire and the ancient battles of the Trojans. Or, for recent historical perspectives, the WWI and WWII Battlefields itinerary brings guests to the frontlines of Europe with battlefield tours through the countryside of Britain, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Trafalgar also satiates insatiable desires for travelers looking for multi-gen tours to the jungles of Costa Rica and foodie and sip indulgences to Cali wine country.

Cheese Journeys
Say cheese! Cheese-centric tours are offered by Cheese Journeys, the brainchild of Anna Juhl—travelers are immersed in the world of artisan cheese, on farms and in creameries of world-renowned cheesemakers to gain insight into the cheese’s history, the importance of terroir and the process and the history of cheesemaking.

A popular experience takes travelers to Cheddar in Somerset, England (where  cheddar cheese originated in the 12th century.) They travel side-by-side with Jamie Montgomery, whose family’s namesake Montgomery Cheddar has been served by the British royal family for years; this trip is part of Cheese Journeys’ “British Cheese Odyssey.” Guests meet and learn from ten-plus British cheese, beer, and cider producers and also stay at North Cadbury Court, the Montgomery family’s restored estate—with games of snooker in the parlor and dancing in the manor’s private disco.

Next year, Cheese Journeys debuts its Château de Courances and Paris trip, visiting the French countryside and City of Lights—with celebrated Madame Fromage.

Gondwana Ecotours
“The pandemic put the entire tour industry on hold and customer interest and behavior have all changed during what can only be described as a rebound,” says Eric Segalstad, Vice President of Gondwana Ecotours.

As such, new niches were created—last-minute touring and bucket list trips.

“Last summer guests were eagerly booking and traveling within the United States,” says Segalstad. “Where travelers in the past would often book our multi-day tours months in advance, many reached out asking to travel ‘next week.’”

Demand for domestic travel continues this year, says Segalstad. “We’ve seen a surging interest for bucket-list tours such as seeing the Northern Lights, safely experiencing grizzly bears up close, and being awed by Denali by train, foot, and on scenic flights.”

And, he says, international destinations are also on the radar. “We have sold-out safaris coming up this winter where our guests get to witness the Great Migration in Tanzania and increased demand from our travelers who wish to check off Argentina’s Patagonia and Mendoza from their bucket lists as well.”

AmaWaterways
Epicurean and heritage cruises are specialties of river cruise line AmaWaterways.

And, wine is a big hit. Shocker.

AmaWaterways offers 60-plus Celebration of Wine River Cruises each year; popular regions include Austria’s Wachau Valley and France’s Bordeaux region. Wine experts share their passion and knowledge for the local wines, rich traditions, and the history of European winemaking. There are also onshore tasting events, seasonal wine festival visits, celebratory meals, tastings, seminars, private cellar tours, and iconic vineyard visits. 

And, last year, AmaWaterways entered into a partnership with Ancestry®. The collaboration gives travelers an opportunity to discover details pertaining to their unique family histories while journeying on a river cruise experience. The first cruise in the series, Heritage on the River: Your Personalized Ancestry® Experience, departed this summer, onboard the 156-guest . Two additional departures are already announced for 2023. 

Explore Worldwide
Solo travel and culinary escapes are on the radar of Explore Worldwide—the company offers popular tours to desirable destinations.

For example, the company’s A Taste of Italy—Walking in Puglia tour invites travelers to sample the region’s celebrated cuisine and learn about how local cheese, bread, olive oil, and wine is made, along with rambles in landscapes, and exploration of spots like the ancient Sassi quarter and gorge of Matera, the conical Trulli houses of the Itria Valley.

And, on many travelers’ bucket lists, is a safari—The Botswana Wildlife Safari solo journeys track through Botswana’s remote wilderness to witness Africa’s wildlife and experience outdoor adventures.

Aurora Expeditions
This popular Australian-owned polar expedition company hosts small group tours to regions in Antarctica.

Founded by Greg and Margaret Mortimer in 1991, travelers experience Antarctica’s unique activities like polar scuba diving and ski touring. Many of Aurora’s expedition team members are experts in various fields of science including glaciers, marine biology, and more, and have been visiting Antarctica for decades.

Aurora Expeditions design intimate 10-to-26-day expeditions; travelers choose the desired region, the amount of time they’ve got, and what activities that interest them. They can focus on one destination or combine back-to-back trips. They’re accompanied by seasoned expedition specialists.