Small‑Group Trips, Carefully Planned and Rich with Discovery
What we do…
Landmarks & Side Streets Travel creates one-at-a-time small-group trips built around carefully curated itineraries, meaningful cultural experiences, and the kind of support that lets travelers simply relax and enjoy their journey.
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We believe the best trips include both the sights people come to see and the places they might never discover on their own that give a destination its texture and character.
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The Landmarks & Side Streets Experience
Our trips are designed to balance iconic sights, smaller discoveries, and a comfortable pace—so your experience feels assuringly organized, personally rewarding, and rich with memorable moments.
How our trips work…
We’ve designed our process to be simple and reassuring.
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We create the itinerary.
Each trip is designed drawing on our own travel experience and our preference for journeys that combine the famous and the lesser known. -
We handle the framework.
With a dedicated Tour Director, private transportation, and logistics support through EF Go Ahead Tours, the structure is in place before the trip begins. -
You enjoy the journey.
Once the trip begins, you can settle into the experience — seeing the major sights, exploring unexpected sites, and sharing the experience with a small group of fellow travelers.
What our trips include…
Each journey is built to offer both depth and ease.
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Curated itineraries balancing iconic highlights with lesser-known attractions.
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Small-groups for a more personal, relaxed experience.
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A dedicated Tour Director who travels with us and helps keep things running smoothly.
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Private transportation, so you can focus on your experience.
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Time built in for independent exploration, rest, or personal discoveries along the way.
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Logistics handled through Go Ahead Tours, providing support behind the scenes.
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Hosting by trip planners Kirk and Carol Figus, consulting with the Tour Director to tweak the itinerary as needed to provide the best experience possible.
Why we travel this way…
Our goal is a well-organized and well-paced trip, enhanced by small-group camaraderie. Big, fast-moving tours can often leave little room for depth, while fully independent travel can place too much burden on the traveler. Our approach is to be structured enough to feel easy, small enough to feel personal, and curated enough to make the experience memorable.
How Our Trips Compare
Travelers have more than one way to explore a destination, and each kind of tour offers something different and has its merits. The comparison below shows where Landmarks & Side Streets Travel fits — offering more depth, continuity, and ease than a quick sightseeing trip or a single-theme walking tour.
Multi‑day, small‑group trips built around carefully designed city itineraries
Trip Style
Large group, provides a concise overview of a city in a few hours or a single day
Short, focused experience built around one theme, such as food, history, architecture
Landmarks & Side Streets Travel
Big Bus Sightseeing Tours
Single-Theme Walking Tours
Comfortable, with ample time to sight- see, linger, rest, or explore on your own
Activity Pace
Often fast, with many stops in a short period of time
Concentrated, usually lasting only a few hours on foot
Iconic landmarks are thoughtfully woven into the itinerary, not rushed past
Famous Sights
Quick visits to key landmarks, often as a drive-by visit from the bus
Usually will include several highlights tied to the tour's theme
Dedicated Tour Director traveling with your group throughout the trip
Guidance Level
Driver and/or guide for a few hours, often on a microphone
Includes a knowledgeable guide for the duration of the tour
Fun discoveries, markets, and lesser-known sites built into each journey
Side
Streets
Usually limited with an emphasis on main routes, major tourist stops, and photo ops
Provides a thorough exploration, but of a single area or theme
Smaller groups traveling together with time to get to know each other
Group
Vibe
Dozens of travelers, more anonymous, with little time to socialize
Smaller, more intimate group than a bus tour, but limited to a single outing
Private, comfortable transportation with a professional driver for the group
Trans-portation
Travel on a large shared bus following a fixed route, little opportunity to socialize
Travelers make their own way to and from the meeting point
Built into the itinerary for personal exploring, rest, or individual interests
Free
Time
Limited flexibility, with a tightly scheduled itinerary
Some free time before or after the tour, on your own
Itinerary, transportation, and on-the-ground coordination arranged for you
Logistics
Travelers handle everything outside of the tour itself
Travelers handle everything outside of the tour itself
Travelers wanting a deep trip, shared experiences, but without the logistics
Best
For
Getting a quick overview or checking off major sights during a short visit
Taking a deep dive into a single topic or neighborhood during a longer stay
What a Typical Day Might Look Like
A Landmarks & Side Streets trip follows a carefully planned itinerary with a comfortable, reassuring rhythm. Each day usually includes a major highlight, visits to smaller venues or interesting local stops, perhaps something fun or slightly unusual, and space to catch your breath and enjoy the city at your own pace.
A major highlight, then time to enjoy it...
Each day usually begins with a meaningful landmark or neighborhood that helps orient the experience and gives the day a strong sense of place. Rather than rushing from one stop to the next, the pace stays thoughtful and steady, with time to look around, take photos, sit with a coffee, or simply enjoy where you are.
We look beyond the obvious stops…
As the trip unfolds, we make room for the kinds of stops that give a place its personality—a quieter market, a tucked-away café, a small museum, or a picturesque side street—often the moments travelers remember most. These are the moments that add local character and make the experience feel more personal and memorable.
All the details are handled for you…
Ticketing, timing, and transportation to all venues are handled for you, so you can relax and enjoy the experience. Your Tour Director helps smooth the transitions, keeping the day moving without making it feel rushed. That means less time worrying about tickets, directions, or what comes next, and more time paying attention to the destination.
“Most days have a reassuring rhythm: a major highlight, an interesting smaller stop, perhaps something unexpected, and some space to enjoy the city at your own pace.”
“As an experienced Irish tour director, I’m very familiar with the usual highlights and well-trodden paths around the country — but the itinerary Carol and Kirk designed was truly special. Each stop felt carefully considered and deeply interesting, and it was clear that a great deal of thought, research, and passion had gone into the planning.” ~ Sorcha T.
“This trip far exceeded my expectations It was the perfect mix of sightseeing, castles, and museums. Our Tour Director was excellent, very accommodating to individual and group needs. Go Ahead Tours did a great job in handling all of the arrangements. I would highly recommend this trip." ~ Jary K.
“Between the planning by Kirk and Carol and the execution by Go Ahead Tours, the journey was the perfect mix of castles, cathedrals, and distilleries. With 17 travelers and a full-sized coach, there was plenty of room to stretch out and mingle. It was an amazing trip, and we look forward to details of the upcoming adventure.” ~ Tom W.
How Our Trips Come Together: Itineraries by Us, Arrangements by Go Ahead Tours
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT GO AHEAD TOURS
goaheadtours.com
OUR ROLE: We design each custom itinerary—the overall arc of the trip, the daily rhythm, and the balance between well-known sights and lesser‑known places. Then we turn things over to one of the nation's most successful travel companies, EF Go Ahead Tours, who handles flights, hotels, transportation, venue bookings, and the behind‑the‑scenes logistics that keep the trip running smoothly.​
GO AHEAD TOURS ROLE: As part of EF Education First, Go Ahead Tours draws on more than 50 years of travel planning experience and offers over 200 guided tours around the world. That means our travelers enjoy a thoughtfully designed boutique Landmarks & Side Streets experience, backed by the systems, 24/7 traveler support, and operational expertise of a large, well-established travel company.
HOW IT ALL COMES TOGETHER: We recruit the travelers interested in going on the trip, and once our group meets EF Go Ahead's threshold of 14 travelers, we have a viable trip and they'll see to all the logistics so you can travel without all the worry and hassles.
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Reservations, deposits, payments, flights, and itinerary arrangements are handled by the professional staff at EF Go Ahead Tours.