Red Dot Tours chosen as a Top Travel Specialist 2027

What they said

Condé Nast Traveller picked us out for highly personalised journeys for curious travellers. That phrase made us smile, because curious is exactly how we’d describe the people we love working with. They don’t want the well-trodden route. They want to experience a country differently. They ask more questions. They want to see the toddy tappers at work as well as the main sites. They want to know what hoppers taste like, and how to make them.

Our highly personalised Sri Lanka, India, Maldives, Bhutan and Nepal trips are built around that curiosity. Over 20 years, our teams in the UK and Sri Lanka have gathered the sort of local knowledge that makes unlikely things possible. A dinner with a leading conservationist or a visit to a little-known temple. A one-on-one conversation with a monk or a chance to discover the ancient craft of inlay work in the lanes around the Taj Mahal.

As Condé Nast Traveller explains, we use our 'deep knowledge and local connections to create journeys that aim to create genuine and unique connections that travellers might never otherwise have encountered'. And it's these encounters that make our trips stand out.

We'd never suggest missing the Taj Mahal, but watching the craftsmen at work, still using the same techniques you can see at the Taj, brings it to life in a way most tours can't. Sitting down for tea with a monk allows you to learn about Sri Lankan Buddhism, and watching a cinnamon planter roll the bark means you'll never look at your spice rack the same way again.

While all of our trips are completely tailor-made and deeply personalised, they highlighted two sample itineraries in particular.

Boutique Sri Lanka is our signature itinerary. Ancient cities with specialist guides, tea plantation hikes with local experts, leopard tracking, and time on the coast. It's the highlights of Sri Lanka, but with the Red Dot difference.

Journey into Ladakh is their pick if you want high-altitude adventure, remote remote Himalayan passes, Tibetan culture, and Buddhist monasteries clinging to rocky mountains. 

The people behind it

Recognition like this belongs to a lot of hands. Our guides, drivers, hotel partners and hosts, and our teams in both countries. That includes our all-female sales team in Sri Lanka, in an industry where women have too often been left out of the picture. Keeping as many jobs as we can in the countries we travel to is a core part of our business, and is part of our aim to have a positive impact on the places we travel to. We're proud to work with the Tea Leaf Trust and our partnership with The Conscious Travel Foundation allows us to continue to grow and do better in this area. 

Where tea and stories flow

Red Dot was born from a belief that travel could be more personal, and more generous to the places and people it touches. Being named by Condé Nast Traveller as one of their top travel specialists to know right now is a lovely nod that we’re on the right road.

If you’re curious, we’d love to hear from you. Tell us what you want to see, taste or understand, and we’ll start from there.