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Esplora Travel

Esplora Travel

exclusive cultural, expert-led small-group tours

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    • SICILY
      • Small group Sicily tours
        • Treasures of Sicily
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        • Calabria Tour
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About Esplora Travel

We specialise in escorted journeys for small groups of guests in some of the most interesting corners of the Mediterranean and the Caucasus. Founded in 2010 by Damian Croft, we have become known for our attention to detail and enthusiasm for the places we visit.

Our aim is to guide our guests to a greater appreciation and understanding of the places they visit, whilst at the same time making sure that their holiday is relaxing, enjoyable and fun. We introduce you to some of the more unusual foods, the undiscovered sites, the hidden cultures of the places we visit.

Meet our amazing team.

We’re a talented group of creative individuals interested in art, history, archaeology, gastronomy, and all niches in between.

Chiara

Chiara

Sicily tour guide

Loving Sicily, having studied History of Art and being a tour guide is a perfect combination.

I was born and grew up in Sicily and I am so fond of my island that if I could, I would embrace it in a big hug! I am passionate about archaeology, mythology, art and history and Sicily offers so much beauty it surprises me every time.

So, I consider myself very lucky for living and working as a tour guide in my own land.

Each single stone and each place here tells an ancient and interesting story. Sicily is an island of wonders, art, colours, contrasts and passion. I love going around with my guests and sharing with them my enthusiasm. It will be very exciting to take you through this wonderful, magic and exotic land. Waiting for you in Sicily!

    Lara Piccioli

    Lara

    Italy Destination Expert and People Engineer

    After a humanities-focussed education, I joined the family business working in the tourism sector.

    I was involved in the management of boutique hotels in the Italian regions of the Marche and Umbria, where I am originally from. I worked as a Tour Leader and Manager for more than ten years for a large travel company based in Oxford.

    I have widely travelled around the globe and I strongly think that “travel doesn’t merely broaden the mind. It makes the mind.” I like doing sports, walking and I do regularly yoga and pilates.

    In the last few years I have moved to the UK from Italy, I created a cooking/recipes blog where I share some of my stories and I cook on the delivery in the area where I live.

    I am a licensed Tour Manager and Excursion guide in Italy

      Rosario

      Sicily tour guide

      Born and raised at the feet of Etna, I graduated in history without knowing what I could do with my studies in the workplace.
      Since 2007 I have been one of the most active members of Couchsurfing in Catania which is a free hospitality site. This was my personal way to bring the world to my little village on the hills of Etna, hosting people from all over the world.

      Here I began to experience what it means to make people feel at home in my land, and above all to see the places that are so familiar to me with different eyes. Again thanks to couchsurfing I found a job in a small hostel in Catania which I then managed for 4 years. Here I understood that my work must be in contact with the public, so once the hostel experience was over it was almost spontaneous to become a guide, at first only for Etna, then I qualified as a tourist guide for cultural sites. Since 2015 I have been carrying out this job with passion and dedication, a job that allows me to combine my great passions of being in contact with the public, working in places of beauty and studying the history of my Sicily.

        Simone

        Simone

        Malta Destination Expert

        I feel privileged to show guests around my lovely islands Malta & Gozo and many other European cities as I am doing the things I love; being with people, taking you around fantastic historical sites and talking about the historical, cultural, architectural aspects of the particular site.

        I studied International Relations at the Universita’ ta’ Malta and I also have a Masters in the same subject but the pull of history has always captivated me and I am always researching and reading new material on European history.

        “Do what you love and you will never do an hour of work in your life“: an adage that precisely sums up my work as a Tour Manager.

          Alice

          Sicily tour guide

          Born and raised in the heart of Sicily, I am a native of Caltanissetta. I graduated in classics from the University of Bologna and have a postgraduate master’s degree in art history and archaeology from the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris. I also studied for one year in Seville and took part in archaeological digs all around the Mediterranean before choosing to return to my roots to become a licensed professional tour-guide. I have always enjoyed promoting archaeology and art to the general public: I also teach history and archaeology and have been co-curator of exhibitions as well as authored many publications.

          I love leading my guests in what I imagine to be my own “wonderland”: Sicilyland!

            Simona

            Sicily tour guide

            Needless to say, I love travelling, but I was a traveller long before being a tour guide! When I was a child, I visited many countries with my family and I found that, for me, travel is losing and finding myself in new places, cultures, sounds.

            But, no place is like home! This is the reason why I chose to stay here, in Sicily, my birthplace: to let my branches spread where my roots are! Here I got the Bachelor’s Degree in International Communication and the Master’s Degree in European Languages and Cultures before gaining my license as a tour guide.

            I am in love with Sicily and with the idea that my roots are incredibly deep in terms of history, culture, art… above all identity! I can’t wait to explain to the world how beautiful Sicily is and I’d like my guests feel the passion through my words!

              Carmelo

              Driver

                Damian Croft

                Damian

                Lead Dogsbody

                  Gabriele

                  Back office and Tour Manager

                  Gabriele is the newset member of the team but with his bilingual Italian and English background and his Sicilian upbringing, brings some valuable experience to the team.

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                    Esplora Travel

                    16, Cockcroft Place, Cambridge, CB3 0HF, UK

                    tel:+44 (0)1223 328446

                    trips@esplora.co.uk

                    ABTA membership number: Y6134

                    Esplora Ltd is registered in England and Wales with registered number: 06733585

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