Our tours do not include flights or other means of travel to and from the start/end location of the tour. If you would like your flights to and from the tour booked or if you wish to make other personal travel arrangements, then please get in touch with us. Our travel partner, Mary Rossi Travel, will then contact with you directly.

Yes. To guarantee that you will have the same hotel room, however, you will need to book your pre- and/or post-tour accommodation through us. This way the hotel will know to keep you in the same room.

If you would like assistance with making additional travel arrangements, please let us know at the time of booking and our travel partner, Mary Rossi Travel, will follow up with you directly.

Where and when the tour starts can be found on the webpage itinerary for each tour and in the downloadable itinerary for each tour.

Your tour leader will be waiting for you and the group at that location at that time and will usually have an A4 hand-held sign.

Most of our tours commence in the afternoon so there is sufficient time for group members to arrive from various locations.

For tours starting outside of Australia, this time is based on international flight schedules from eastern Australia to the destination and our experience of which flights group members are most likely to take.

For tours starting in Australia, the start time is based on domestic flight schedules and may take into account the travel time required to reach the starting city or airport from a regional city.

While starting the tour in the afternoon leaves less time for touring activities on the first day, it doesn’t force you to arrive a day early and pay for another night’s accommodation.

The maximum number of people on a tour is 20.

For some tours we have a lower maximum - 16, for example. We reduce the maximum number of people in the group if we believe the nature of the itinerary, the sort of activities undertaken, or the destination would be significantly more enjoyable with a smaller group.

At Limelight Arts Travel, we don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach to cultural travel. To get the most out of the different experiences, histories and cultures the world has to offer requires a tailored approach to designing a tour. We create tours according to the type of experience we would like you to have and experiences that are appropriate to the destination you are travelling to.

Our performing arts tours are designed around a carefully curated program of performances. As many of these performances take place in the evening, we tailor a gentler program of activities during the day, such as a lecture and a museum visit, a day trip to a nearby historic city, or visits to music history sites relevant to what you will see and hear in the evenings. These tours typically involve more travel by private coach and hotels with a higher star rating.

Our art and history tours are designed to give you deep insight into the region in which you are travelling, the diverse aspects of its history and how a culture expresses itself through art. These tours typically include extended historical walking tours, engagement with local contemporary cultures, museum and art gallery visits, and day trips to exceptional sites that are less frequently visited. These tours typically involve more time on your feet, the use of local transport systems when practicable, and stay in 3* Superior and 4* accommodation.

One of the key considerations when designing our tours is where to stay and for how long. We do not believe that a sequence of many short stays fosters a deep understanding of a place or appreciation of its culture. Instead, our tours are designed around a longer stay - from 3 or 4 nights per place on a travelling tour, and up to 2 weeks on a residential tour.

Staying in one location longer is personally beneficial and is also part of a sustainable approach to tourism. Longer stays lead to:

• greater understanding of a place and appreciation of its culture

• greater engagement with contemporary culture

• a decreased carbon footprint for the tour (through reduced transport emissions and reduced energy and water usage at hotels, for example)

• better social and economic sustainability outcomes (you’re more likely to engage the services of a greater number and type of local businesses, for example)

Our tour leaders are experts in their field and love to share their knowledge with other people. Through a combination of background talks, guided site visits and even casual conversation on tour, an expert tour leader helps you to understand more about what you’re experiencing on tour.

Many of our tour leaders are also highly-experienced teachers, having worked at universities and for adult education providers. As teachers, we understand that the aim is to help you see and understand more - not just in the moment, but for the rest of your life. You’ll take away more than a memory of a place: you’ll have a new appreciation of the art, music and cultures you’ve experienced on your travels, to take with you the next time you travel, too.

We place a very high value on research and development that extends to all aspects of our tours. We invest in our staff’s understanding of travelling to a region, which includes personally inspecting hotels, sites and restaurants (someone has to do it!), interviewing local guides, and even trialling different driving routes so that between sites you can enjoy varied, majestic landscapes.

Practicalities aside, we draw on our extensive, in-house academic expertise about the regions we take tours to. With lecturers on topics such as Italian history, the music of German-speaking lands, and art from the Renaissance to the present as an integral part of our team, we have a wealth of knowledge that isn’t readily available in the tourism industry.

We use this knowledge to create tours that are not just a collection of sites and events connected by bus trips; our tours are carefully-conceived narratives. Your understanding of where you are visiting will multiply day by day.

You can find a detailed list of inclusions for each individual tour on the tour’s webpage and in the downloadable itinerary for the tour.

The following items are always included in the tour price:

• accommodation as described in the itinerary for the duration of the tour

• ground transport for tour activities as described in the itinerary

• services of a tour leader and/or tour manager for the duration of the tour

• local guides when contracted by Limelight Arts Travel

• entry tickets or fees for sites mentioned in the itinerary

• tickets to performances when listed in the itinerary

• group meals that are stated as included in the itinerary and marked by B, L, or D in the detailed itinerary

• tips for group activities, such as meals, private transport operators and guides, at the discretion of the tour leader

The following items are not included in the tour price:

• expenses of a personal nature

• meals not listed as included in the detailed itinerary and not marked by B, L, or D in the detailed itinerary

• flights and/or other transport to join the tour at its commencement or to leave the tour at its conclusion

At the time of booking, we will send you a form in which you can let us know of any dietary or medical needs you may have (for example, the provision of vegetarian or gluten-free meals). Limelight Arts Travel will endeavour to meet these needs wherever possible or practicable. Not all destinations are equally able to meet these needs, however, and if this is likely we will inform you.

Each tour has been designed to provide a balanced pace across the itinerary, and will generally include three or four different activities per day (for example: a lecture, a walking tour, a visit to a major museum or a performance). As our tours provide enriching learning experiences and we know our group members enjoy learning, looking and listening in detail, we avoid ‘cramming’ our tours with activities - there is, after all, only so much one can take in one day.

Some days will be more demanding or busier than others, however. Busy or more demanding days tend to be followed by quieter days to help group members maintain their level of energy throughout the tour, and to make time in the program for reflection.

Different types of tours place different demands on our bodies and minds. For this reason, we indicate the level of fitness required for each tour using a three tier model: moderate, above moderate and challenging.

Moderate
For the benefit of the group, all members of the tour must be able to:

• negotiate airports and railway stations without wheelchair assistance

• use a combined shower/bath (please note that we cannot guarantee walk-in shower facilities)

• undertake walking tours of 1-2 hours in duration, including taking stairs and walking on uneven surfaces such as at archaeological sites

• stand for long periods in museums and other sites

• embark/disembark coaches, trains, boats and other methods of transportation without assistance

• move their own luggage a short distance if required

Above moderate

In addition to the above, all members of the tour must be able to:

• undertake walking tours of 2-3 hours in duration

• climb staircases of 100 or more steps

Challenging
In addition to the above, tour members must also be able to handle:

• extremes of temperature (e.g. below 0 degrees Celsius or above 35 degrees Celsius)

• extremes of altitudes (e.g. 4000m or above)

• significant changes to diet

If you have concerns about whethere a tour program is right for you, please get in touch with us.

The tour leader is there to ensure that you have an enjoyable and enriching experience on tour. S/he does this by:

• providing the group with information in a way that increases your understanding of the themes of the tour, the places you visit, and the performances you attend;

• liaising with third parties, such as restaurants, hotels, museums and local guides, to ensure the smooth day-to-day running of the tour and to ensure that individual needs are reasonably met; and,

• to facilitate the social interaction of the group during group activities, and to help make sure the social dynamic of travelling together is enjoyable for all

When a tour leader is working with a tour manager, the tour manager will handle the day-to-day running of the tour, in consultation with the tour leader.

While every group is different - we are, after all, individuals - our decades of experience in cultural tourism reveals to us that a carefully-planned and thematic itinerary will attract a group of people with common interests and shared values. Travelling with such a group of like-minded people is personally enjoyable and intellectually stimulating.

Our tours are thematically focused and are designed to bring out different aspects of a region’s history and culture in depth. As such, they tend to appeal to people with strong cultural interests, such as in fine art, history, literature or classical music.

While these interests extend across all age groups, the style of our tours and the time to dedicate to them means that most of our travellers are in their mid-50s to early-70s.

As in other cultural enterprises, about 60% of participants will be women.

Solo-travellers are usually 50%-60% of people in our groups.

The typical age range of people joining our art and history tours is mid 50s to late 60s.

These tours include extended walking tours of historical cities, gallery and museum visits, and make use of local transport and intercity trains when practicable.

With our decades of experience in cultural tourism, we understand that numerical age is not necessarily a reliable indicator of fitness, cultural interests or ability to enjoy group travel. We recommend you take a look at the fitness rating of each tour.

The typical age range for people on our performing arts tours is mid 60s to late 70s.

These tours are designed around a carefully curated program of performances, many of which are held in the evenings. Consequently, activities during the day tend to be less physically demanding.

With our decades of experience in cultural tourism, we understand that numerical age is not necessarily a reliable indicator of fitness, cultural interests or ability to enjoy group travel. We recommend you take a look at the fitness rating of each tour.

No background knowledge about the region or theme is needed to enjoy our tours. An interest in the region or a general interest in art, history, literature or classical music is all it takes, and we and our tour leaders will take care of the rest.

We monitor the advice of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) for all destinations that we take people to.

If DFAT advises against travel to a specific place or city, then we will alter the itinerary to remain within the advice of DFAT. If this results in a substantial alteration to the itinerary, then we will cancel the tour.

If DFAT advises against travel to an entire country that a tour takes place in, we will cancel the tour.

You can see our cancellation and refund policy in our Terms and Conditions here.

Our Covid-19 policy is set out below.

It is a condition of travel with our groups that you have satisfied a minimum vaccination requirement of 2 doses of an approved vaccine.

When a tour travels to a jurisdiction that has a higher minimum number of vaccinations than Australia (for example, a ‘ super green pass’ to access cultural venues with a minimum of 3 doses of an approved vaccination), then we will contact you in advance to notify you of the host country’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements. If you are unable to attain the minimum for the host country’s requirements, then we will not accept your booking as you would not be able to participate fully in the tour’s activities.

There has always been a risk of sickness while travelling. In the event that someone in the group tested positive for COVID-19 while on tour, then we would follow the advice and legal requirements of the host country with regard to isolation and pandemic management, and professional medical advice with regard to the individual’s medical needs.

In addition to the legal requirements of the host country, Limelight Arts Travel has included a
number of measures for COVID-19 prevention and management in its terms and conditions.
When travellers book on one of our tours they must agree to these conditions. Among other
things, they give the tour leader the right to insist on testing and isolation and to remove non-
compliant travellers from the group.

If you get injured on tour, your tour leader or tour manager will liaise with local medical professionals to ensure your immediate wellbeing is safeguarded. For significant injuries or injuries requiring a longer period of recuperation, we recommend contacting your travel insurer as soon as possible.

We value your feedback on any aspect of our tours. Your honest assessments are an excellent way for us to improve our tours.

You can give positive or negative feedback to us about any aspect of our tours by contacting us at [email protected].

If you would prefer to give feedback verbally, please contact us at [email protected] and we will arrange a time to call you.

If any aspect of the tour does not live up to your expectations, please contact us as soon as possible. We endeavour to address or rectify any complaint you may have in a timely manner.