PREFERRED PARTNERS
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Before you travel with us
Everything we are asked most often — how our journeys work, what they cost, how your money is protected, and what a day with us actually looks like. If your question is not here, write to us and we will answer it properly.
Section one
Who we are, where we go, and whether we are the right fit for how you like to travel.
Tap any question to open it
Two ways to travel with us.
Every Amble journey is hosted by what we call our Local Legends — the winemakers, sommeliers, chefs, mezcaleros, artisans and producers who actually shape a destination’s food and wine culture. They are not professional guides or generalist tour leaders. They are the people living and breathing the places we visit, who open their cellars, kitchens, homes and estates because they trust us.
That relationship is everything. It is why our guests sit down to dinner in a winemaker’s private dining room, why a fisherman cooks his catch for us on the shore, and why we get access to vineyards, workshops and experiences that are not available to book anywhere else.
When you travel with Amble you are not being shown a place. You are being welcomed into it by the people who define it.
Most food and wine tours give you a guide. We give you an insider.
The difference is who is hosting you. We do not work with generalist tour guides — we travel with our Local Legends: the sommeliers, cheesemakers, winemakers, chefs and artisans who are the living fabric of each destination. These are people who open doors because they trust us, and because they know the guests we bring will genuinely appreciate what is behind them.
That means private cellar tastings with the winemaker who made the wine. Winemaker-led dinners on the estate. Market visits and cooking with chefs who are not performing for tourists — they are sharing what they actually do. Access you will not find on a booking platform.
We work only in places we know deeply, and we keep our groups small on purpose. If you have travelled widely and want to go deeper, this is what Amble was built for.
Five countries, each chosen because we already know the people inside it.
If you have somewhere else in mind, ask. Our network keeps growing, and we would rather tell you honestly whether we can do it properly than sell you something we cannot.
Amble is designed for travellers who value depth over volume — people who want to understand a place through the people who shape it rather than pass through it. Our guests are curious and discerning, and care more about access and connection than ticking landmarks off a list.
We are probably not the right fit if you are visiting somewhere for the first time and want the landmarks covered, if you measure a trip by how much was fitted into it, or if you are travelling as a large group or need a children’s programme.
We would far rather say so early than deliver something that was never going to suit you.
No. Curiosity is the only requirement. Our guests range from people with serious cellars at home to people who simply love good food and want to understand what is in the glass. Because you are hosted by the person who made the wine or cooked the dish, the conversation naturally finds your level — nobody is tested, and nothing is delivered as a lecture.
Yes, and solo travellers are genuinely welcome. Many of our guests come alone and find a small hosted group one of the best ways to travel with people who care about the same things.
On scheduled departures our prices are based on two people sharing, so a single supplement applies if you would prefer your own room. The amount varies by departure and is shown on each tour page.
Private journeys work for one traveller just as well as for twelve — we will design the whole thing around you.
Section two
What it costs, when it is due, and what happens to your money in between.
Scheduled small-group departures are priced per person on a double-occupancy basis, from $8,500 for an eight-day journey. Each departure carries its own price, and everything included is listed in full on the tour page.
Private journeys are quoted once we know what you want. As a working guide, the Amble experience — your Local Legend host, private transport, tastings, hosted meals and the design of the whole thing — runs at roughly:
Accommodation is costed separately so we can match it to you, and international flights are not included. Smaller parties sit at the upper end of each range, larger ones at the lower.
All prices are quoted in US dollars.
As early as you comfortably can. Scheduled departures are capped at twelve guests and the popular dates fill well ahead — most guests book six to twelve months out.
For a private journey we suggest starting the conversation six to nine months before you want to travel, which gives us time to secure the producers, tables and rooms that make it worth doing. We can sometimes move faster for simpler itineraries or off-peak dates, so it is always worth asking.
Straight from the tour page. Register your interest and pay your deposit there and then — there is no need to wait for us to come back to you first.
Your place is confirmed once we have issued a written booking confirmation. If a departure turns out to be full, or is not right for you, we will tell you and return your deposit in full.
Scheduled departures: a non-refundable deposit of $2,000 per person, plus any single or no-share room supplement, is payable at the time of booking.
Private journeys: a $500 planning deposit begins detailed design work and is applied in full to your final trip cost. Once the itinerary is agreed, a 50% deposit secures the arrangements — many of our producers and properties require payment in advance to hold the best of what they have.
Full terms are set out in our Booking Conditions.
Scheduled departures: no later than 180 days before departure. If you book inside that window, the balance is due 30 days after your deposit; if you book within 90 days of departure, payment is taken in full at the time of booking.
Private journeys: 90 days before travel.
We quote and invoice in US dollars. You can pay by credit or debit card, or by bank transfer. We are not able to accept American Express.
Card payments are made through a secure payment link, which routes your money straight into the protected trust account described below. If you are travelling from outside the US and have a question about currency or charges at your end, ask us before you pay and we will talk it through.
Yes, in full, and at no extra cost to you.
Amble Journeys Ltd is a member of Protected Trust Services, membership number 5978. Every payment you make — deposit and balance alike — is held in an independent trust account and is not released to us until your journey is complete. It is protected the entire time it is there, including in the unlikely event that anything happens to us.
Read more at protectedtrustservices.com, or see our Booking Conditions.
Plans change, and we understand that. Cancellation charges depend on how far ahead of departure you tell us, and the full schedule is set out in our Booking Conditions — please read it before you confirm. Notice must reach us in writing to take effect.
This is exactly what travel insurance is for. We strongly recommend taking out comprehensive cover, including cancellation, the moment your booking is confirmed rather than closer to the time.
Yes. Adequate travel insurance is a condition of booking with us, on both scheduled departures and private journeys.
Take out a policy as soon as your booking is confirmed, and make sure it covers cancellation and curtailment, medical expenses and repatriation, and any pre-existing conditions you or anyone in your party has. If you would like guidance on what to look for, ask us.
Tell us in writing as early as you can and we will do our best. Some arrangements can be amended for an administration fee plus any costs our suppliers charge us; others cannot be changed once confirmed. The closer to departure, the more likely a change carries a cost.
If someone in your party cannot travel, their place can usually be transferred to another person, subject to notice and a transfer fee. The details are in our Booking Conditions.
Passport, visa and health requirements vary by destination and by nationality, and confirming them is your responsibility. Check your government’s travel advice and the entry requirements for your destination well in advance — some visas and passport validity rules need months, not weeks.
Section three
Fixed dates, a small group, and everything privately hosted from the moment you land.
No more than twelve guests, plus your hosts. The cap is deliberate — it is what lets a winemaker sit down with the whole table, and what keeps an experience feeling personal rather than touristic.
Each departure also has a minimum number of guests needed for it to run, shown on the tour page.
A mix of solo travellers, couples and small groups of friends or family, all sharing a love of food, wine and travelling properly. Guests must be 18 or over to join a scheduled departure.
Our Local Legends — the sommeliers, chefs, artisans and producers who are the living heart of each destination. Not hired guides, and not generalist tour leaders. They are people who have spent decades mastering their craft and building relationships within it, and it is those relationships that open the doors for Amble.
The host for each departure is named on its tour page, so you know who you are travelling with before you book.
The full inclusions for each departure are listed on its tour page.
Everything is exclusively for your group. Every tasting, every dinner, every behind-the-scenes visit is privately arranged for Amble guests only. You will never be combined with another tour group or find yourself sharing an experience with strangers who are not part of your journey.
It means the conversation is real, the pace can flex to the group, and the access is genuine.
Properties with real character — places that feel like part of the destination rather than an interchangeable hotel. On a typical journey you might stay on a working wine estate surrounded by vines, or in a beautifully restored historic building in a small town. We favour small, independently owned properties, with the comfort and quality a journey at this level should have.
The specific properties for each departure are named on its tour page. Very occasionally a property becomes unavailable and we substitute another of the same standard or better; if that happens we will tell you.
Our prices are based on two people sharing a room. If you would prefer your own room a single supplement applies, and it is payable at the time of booking along with your deposit. The amount varies by departure — it is shown on each tour page, and we are happy to confirm it when you enquire.
We do not discount for group size. The level of access we deliver costs what it costs, and we would rather hold the standard than cut it to hit a price.
We do sometimes open early-bird pricing on a newly released departure. If that matters to you, ask us what is currently available before you book.
Each departure needs a minimum number of guests to run, listed on its tour page. In the unlikely event we do not reach it, we will tell you as early as we can and offer you the choice of transferring to another date, applying what you have paid to a private journey, or taking a full refund.
We will never cancel at short notice without doing everything we can to find you an alternative first.
Each journey has a designated airport where our arrangements begin and end, named on the tour page. Getting yourself to and from that airport is your responsibility and is not in the tour price.
From there we take over: you will be met by one of your hosts and transferred privately to your accommodation, and returned to the same airport by private transfer at the end. If you would like advice on routings or which flights work best with the start time, ask when you enquire — we are happy to point you in the right direction.
Yes, and many guests do. A few days in Barcelona before Catalonia, Rome before Umbria, or Mexico City after Oaxaca — we are happy to help you plan and book the extra nights and anything you would like to do in them. Mention it when you enquire and we will build it in rather than bolt it on.
Section four
Your dates, your pace, your interests — designed from scratch around the people we know.
Everything. A private journey is designed entirely around you — your travel dates, your pace, your interests and the experiences that matter most to you. You are not joining a fixed itinerary; we build yours from scratch using the same relationships with winemakers, chefs and artisans. It is Amble at its most personal.
Yes — that is the point of a private journey. We work around your schedule, with the honest caveat that some producers and tables are worth planning around rather than squeezing in. We will tell you if a date makes something impossible, and what we would do instead.
Completely. Some guests want a deep dive into wine, with back-to-back cellar visits and winemaker dinners. Others want a balance of food, culture, rest and a bit of adventure. We design around what matters to you and refine until it feels exactly right.
If you are not sure what you want, that is fine too. We will start with a conversation.
If you have another destination in mind, ask us — our network is growing, and we will tell you straight whether we can do it to the standard we would want to.
It starts with a conversation. We learn how you want to travel, then design an outline itinerary for you to react to.
A $500 planning deposit, applied in full to your trip cost, begins the detailed work — that is when we go to the producers and properties and start holding things. Once the itinerary is agreed, a 50% deposit confirms it, with the balance due 90 days before you travel.
It depends on your dates and how complex the journey is. We recommend starting six to nine months ahead where you can, though we can move faster for simpler itineraries or off-peak travel. The constraint is rarely us — it is how far ahead the people we want to open their doors for you are booked.
One to twelve guests. We design for solo travellers, couples, families and small groups of friends alike. If your group is larger than twelve, talk to us — some things scale and some genuinely do not, and we will be honest about which.
Yes. A private journey can be one day — a day in the Penedès with a sommelier, a cooking class and lunch in a family home, a day among the palenques. It works on its own, or as the highlight of a trip you have otherwise arranged yourself. Tell us the day you have free and where you will be.
Yes, and more flexibly than on a group departure, because the itinerary is built around you from the start. Tell us about dietary restrictions, allergies, mobility considerations or anything else at the briefing stage and we will design with them in mind rather than work around them later.
We will always tell you honestly if something cannot be accommodated well — some cellars are genuinely old, steep and uneven, and we would rather find you a better alternative than have you struggle through.
Yes, and it is a lovely way to travel. Guests often join a scheduled departure and then continue privately — the same hosts, the same standard, but a few days shaped entirely around them. It also works the other way round, with a private few days before the group assembles.
Because your deposit and planning are handled together, it is simplest to tell us at the point of enquiry rather than afterwards.
The best culinary and wine journeys in Spain start with an honest conversation about what you actually want. Before anything else, get clear on your priorities: which regions interest you, how many days you have, what level of spend you are comfortable with, and whether you are after hands-on cooking, guided tastings, serious restaurant tables, or a mix of all three.
Once you have those answers, the region tends to choose itself:
From there the details matter enormously: private transport, reservations secured well in advance, access to producers who do not open to the public, and a pace built around your group rather than a fixed schedule.
This is exactly what we do. Tell us your must-haves and we will build the rest. See the Spain page.
Section five
What the days feel like, and the practical things worth knowing before you pack.
Unhurried, on purpose. We design around slow travel — long lunches, tastings that are allowed to run, and time to absorb where you are rather than rush to the next thing. There is always space built in to wander, rest, or sit with a glass of wine and take it in.
We believe the best moments happen when nobody is watching the clock.
Every day is different, but the rhythm holds. A relaxed breakfast, then a mid-morning experience — a private cellar tasting, an artisan’s workshop, a cooking session with a local chef. Lunch is an occasion, often long and hosted at a winery, an estate or somewhere only a local would take you.
Some afternoons hold a second experience — a cellar, a workshop, a producer worth the drive. Others are left open for you to explore, rest, or do nothing at all. Evenings bring the group together, whether that is a Michelin-starred table, a winemaker’s private dining room, or a long table set outside.
What stays constant is the breathing space between things, rather than a fixed shape to the day.
Our journeys are gentle rather than strenuous, but they are not sedentary. Expect to be on your feet for a market walk or a stroll through vines, and to meet the occasional uneven surface — cellar steps, cobbled village streets, a sloping vineyard.
If you have any mobility concerns, tell us when you enquire. We will tell you honestly what a given day involves, and on a private journey we can design around it from the start.
Yes. Tell us at the time of booking, not on arrival, and we will brief every kitchen and host in advance — these are small family operations cooking for you personally, and given notice they will do it properly.
Some experiences are built around a single ingredient or tradition, and we will say so plainly if a requirement means one of them will not work for you, so we can find you something better instead.
You are still very welcome. Wine is often the reason a door opens, but it is rarely the whole point of the day — the food, the place and the people carry just as much of it. Nobody is counted, nothing is poured that you have not asked for, and non-alcoholic alternatives are available throughout. Let us know in advance and we will make sure your hosts know too.
Comfortable, unfussy clothes for the day and something smarter for the evening — a few of our dinners are at tables where people make an effort. Good closed shoes matter more than anything else: cellars are cool, damp and uneven, and vineyard ground is rarely flat.
Your pre-departure pack includes a full list tailored to the destination and the season, with local weather.
English throughout. Some of our producers speak beautiful English and some do not — where they do not, your host translates, which is often the best part of the day. Nothing is lost, and you get to hear people talk about their work in their own language.
Gratuities for your hosts and the local experts you meet are not included in the price and are entirely at your discretion. Nothing is ever expected of you on the spot — you are our guest, not a customer at a counter.
Your pre-departure pack includes practical guidance on customary amounts for the destination, so you are not left guessing.
Yes. Closer to your departure we send a full pre-departure pack covering meeting point and timings, what to pack, money and tipping guidance, local weather, how to reach us and your group while you are travelling, and any final arrangements.
And you can always just ask us. Between booking and travelling you have a real person to talk to, not a ticket queue.
Sometimes. We occasionally travel with a photographer, and our hosts often take pictures during an experience. Images may be used in our own marketing, and our image consent terms form part of our Booking Conditions.
If you would rather not appear, just say so — before you travel or on the day. It is no trouble at all, and it will not change anything about your trip.
It is built into how we travel rather than bolted on afterwards. We work exclusively with small independent producers — family wineries, local artisans, independent restaurants — rather than large commercial operators, so the money stays where the work is done.
Our groups are small by design, which keeps our footprint light and means our presence benefits a community rather than overwhelming it. We favour boutique, independently owned properties, and we choose experiences that help keep local traditions and craftsmanship alive.
Travel done thoughtfully can be a genuine force for good in the places we visit, and we take that seriously.
Section six
For guests who book through an advisor, and for advisors who would like to work with us.
Yes, and we work with advisors regularly. Ask them to get in touch with us directly, or send us their details and we will do it. Your advisor stays your point of contact throughout, and the price you pay is the same either way.
Register with us and you can book straight away. We pay commission on every booking, with no tiers and no minimums, and we are already a preferred supplier at several of the major networks. Everything — the terms in full, the per-country pricing guides, trade brochures and sample itineraries — is on our Travel Advisors page.
No questions match that search.
Write to us at customerservice@amblejourneys.com and we will answer it properly.
Still have a question?
There is no call centre here. Write to us and one of us will answer it — usually the same day, and always within one working day.
Or write to us directly: customerservice@amblejourneys.com