Style is one of those rare attributes that you either possess or you don't, and the more you try to possess it, the more it will elude you. At Horizon, we believe that style is about an attitude to life rather than rigid rules of conduct.

We don't have a formula that we use to design and run every trip, but we do have a consistent sensibility that informs everything we do. We believe that life is to be enjoyed and to be discovered, and we take our greatest pleasure in sharing our discoveries with our travellers.

We believe that exceptional service is about providing choices, not imposing them. Instead of constructing a rigid program of activities that everyone must follow, we offer flexibility and encourage our travellers to pursue their personal agendas. From our perspective, the group format is simply the envelope for the experience, and rather than restricting you, it should liberate you to focus on the things that really matter.

Travelling in a group allows you to gain access to unique experiences not available to individual travellers; provides a congenial community of like-minded adventurous spirits to share memorable moments; and cocoons you in the comfort and convenience of knowing that someone is always watching out for you.

• Travel should be about individual freedom, not the tyranny of the crowd.
• Your vacation time should be about personal transformation, not group therapy.
• The point of the exercise should be about the journey, not the destination.

We believe that rejuvenating power of travel lives in the moments of quiet and contemplation, when the cares of the world fall away and the spirit has an opportunity to replenish itself. We create the conditions in which those moments can occur by removing all distractions. Tips for the bellhop? Already done. A night at the opera? Be our guest. Breakfast in bed? Indulge yourself.

Rather than cramming the grand tour into a weeklong frenzy of guidebook checklists, we slow things down in order to savour the nuances and flavours of local traditions. We stay for extended periods in one place, moving into our rooms rather than just moving through them, learning to navigate the neighbouring environs by memory rather than by map, getting to know the true character of our local bar keep rather than just the name on his jacket.

• Travel should be about leisurely interludes, not forced marches.
• Your vacation time should be about replenishing the spirit, not accumulating names on a list.
• The point of the exercise should be about savouring nuances, not consuming quantity. 

We believe that the most powerful memories are formed through the alchemy of participation in the moment and immersion in the experience. Rather than passively skimming the surface of a culture and a place, we seek to understand it by drawing aside the curtain of artifice and getting to know the players behind the scenes. 

Our approach to travel offers the opportunity to slow down, go deep, and take part in something that is authentic, meaningful and real. We avoid the contrivance of modern tourism and instead seek out experiences that resonate with authentic local life carried on according to its own natural rhythm. We skip the jaded boredom of the tourist guides and focus instead on the genuine passion of local characters who bring alive their world through their stories.

• Travel should be about immersion in the experience, not just skimming the surface.
• Your vacation time should be about serendipitous moments, not rigid schedules.
• The point of the exercise should be about the authenticity of local life, not the artifice of mass tourism.

We take the bewildering array of choices that everyone seems to pass off as “luxury” these days and distil them into something comprehensible, allowing you to make intelligent choices about the things that matter and not worry about the rest. We believe that no detail is so trivial that it doesn’t merit attention, from the colour of the napkins to the sequence of the menu.

While our planners are meticulous in anticipating every eventuality, we also give our guides the authority to make decisions on the fly based on their superior understanding of the context and needs of our travellers. Every individual within the company, from the front line to the back office, has a stake in the outcome of each departure

• Travel should be about freeing the mind from worry, not paralysing it with choice.
• Your vacation time should be about moments of contemplation, not constant negotiations.
• The point of the exercise should be to focus on the big picture, not sweat the small stuff.