Jane Austen and Literary Heritage Tours

With Special Group Tours (SGT), you will have the advantage of expert advice from those who have not only visited, but have years of experience living in and loving the cultures you will visit. We hand pick our suppliers with your comfort and expectations in mind. Special Group Tours is a tour operator, specialty travel agency and custom design tour service dedicated to giving YOU the vacation you deserve!

Everyone from age 7 to 97 is welcomed on a SGT tour. We welcome women, couples, families, teachers, students, professionals and retirees. Our clients are active, fun-loving, educated people looking for a safe and comfortable adventure off the beaten track. Please note that there is ample walking on our itineraries so, if you have mobility issues, please discuss suitability options with us.

On the longer scheduled tours, guests tend to be in the 40+ range as they have a bit more time to travel while the shorter, mini-tours are a great fit for younger professionals with week long American vacation breaks.

Some scheduled itineraries are suited for children while others are less so. We can assist families with younger children on private, custom departures. Harry Potter, children's literary and King Arthur themed tours are popular family favorites. SGT designs many student tours for high school and university groups, so we certainly can cater to all ages on both scheduled and custom, private departures.

The majority of the fleet is 16 seat Sprinters but the size of the vehicle is dependent upon the size of the group. Each vehicle is chosen with your safety and comfort in mind. We utilize 2 person saloon cars, 6 - 7 seat MPV/SUVs and 13 - 16 seat mini-coaches. Full details and photos, please see our vehicles page.

Yes, all rooms are private/en-suite facilities. Some have bath-tubs with a hand held shower while others have stall showers. If you have a special need or preference, please discuss your requests with us at time of booking and we will do our best to accommodate.

Note that washcloths/facecloths are not readily used in the UK and Europe so, while towels are of course provided in your bathroom, if you want a facecloth/washcloth then you will have to bring it with you.

We request that you only bring one suitcase, and one piece of hand luggage per person. Hand luggage is defined as a purse, day pack or camera bag - whatever you will have with you on the mini-coach during your touring day. Your main case will be stored in the vehicle's specially designed luggage section. Space is limited to accommodate all guests so we do ask your cooperation for the comfort of all tour companions.

If you are on an extended, multi-tour vacation, we can request bag storage in one of the hub city hotels but please do note that this is subject to availability. Please discuss your needs with us and we will do our best to accommodate.

Our tours are designed to travel off the beaten track, on the ‘a’ and ‘b’ roads as much as possible. Most itineraries are based in one location for several nights running so you can get in-depth in your local touring area, minimizing the distance between your accommodation and areas visited. Inevitably, each tour participant will have a different idea as to the ideal driving time but we strive to have guests off the vehicle as much as possible.

The length of drives varies per itinerary but you should not be on the vehicle for longer than 2 hours in any one stretch, many times less. Once in a while, a longer drive may be required. There will occasionally be a bit of motorway driving on the longer tours when traveling between regions, especially on the ‘sampler’ or ‘highlight’ type of itineraries that visit several different counties. It is important to us to avoid the motorways as much as we can so you can maximize the opportunity for local experiences in the smaller towns and villages.

Well, that is up to you based upon what you think he/she deserves. Tips are usually approximately 15 USD per person per day; some people give more if they can afford it, some less if that is all they can manage. It is totally to the guide’s performance and your discretion & budget. It is appropriate to offer your guide a tip in the local currency (Pounds Sterling or Euro.)