Our Story

The ETG Story

And there you are. One minute you’re in the pub with your best mate, necking Old Peculiar and putting the travel industry to rights – the next you’re running life-changing trips, to life-changing places, meeting life-changing people.

It was brave, it was bonkers, it was 2004 and we didn’t know any better. Me (I’m Sam, hello) and my business partner Tom quit our jobs and moved to Sri Lanka. Not on a whim. On a mission. To set up our new travel business.

We explored parts of the island most UK tour operators barely even knew existed. And because most UK tour operators seemed fixated on rushing people around the main sights, with no time or space for discovery, serendipity, or connection – parts of the island they simply weren’t interested in.

By 2006 we’d launched in the UK and recruited a third partner, Melissa. A fellow ‘travel done right’ obsessive, Melissa knew exactly what it would take to build our network of connections throughout Southeast Asia.

And it was also around this time that our community really began to blossom and flourish.

A community that set us apart. Now officially Experience Travel Group, everyone we attracted was drawn to the same fundamental belief – that a travel experience should be about reciprocation – travel should be a two-way street.

So the three of us went out to meet new in-country partners, small hotel owners, and inspired guides, to build a travel family passionate about creating immersive experiences. Together we created experiences to benefit local communities, respect local customs and at the same time give every traveller a truly memorable holiday.

That we’ve been doing it now for more than 15 years tells you plenty of other people share and like our philosophy.

These days our network extends across South and Southeast Asia, but the guiding principle, wherever we work, remains the same.

We are not ‘anywherehot.com’. We exist for curious travellers who want to get beneath the surface of a destination. For immersive experiences that give back. And we always weave in a thread of holiday luxury, in whatever form luxury reveals itself to our clients. We don’t operate holidays anywhere we can’t deliver on these promises.

Rather than stumbling across happy accidents, now we actively seek them out. To curate right time, right place opportunities. Planet unexpected. Genuine interaction, spontaneous, unplannable moments. Moments that last a lifetime.

ETG, In A Few Words

Sam is 6ft7 and often double the height of some people in Vietnam. He’s known as Tall Sam in the industry. Rumours are rife he once knocked down a house!

We have an internal chat dedicated to food. Mostly Asian delights. Ask us for recommendations. The debates are wild.

After the Sri Lanka Easter bombings in 2019, we helped raise over £15,000 for the chauffeur guides who were struggling to pay the leases on their cars after a massive dip in tourist arrivals. It was only possible through the incredible generosity of many of our previous clients.

We tried to count the number of times we’ve all collectively been to Sri Lanka. We stopped after 100. Many of ETG have been at least 5 times or more. It is embedded in the heart of ETG.

Every few years we host a get-together with our local partners from all our specialist destinations across Asia. So far we’ve met in Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Thailand. During these gatherings, we get our thinking caps on, share ideas, inspire each other and have lots of fun. We believe this is unique in the travel industry and helps ensure ETG keep innovating the best holidays in the business across our destinations

The product meetings usually start with ‘Tom would have been there’ – one of the co-founders, he has pretty much visited every corner of Asia we organise holidays to. Except Bhutan. That’s next on his list.

For two years we used to celebrate booking holidays by shooting a hoop…one team member never got it in despite getting loads of bookings! So it’s not true that practice made perfect.

EXPERIENCE TRAVEL GROUP HOLIDAYS

In Our Travellers’ Words

We have just returned from a two-week trip to Sri Lanka

Best family holiday ever. A mixture of beach, temples, wildlife, quiet and fun. [ETG] understands us and we won't be using anyone else for our holidays to Asia.

The Reynolds-Maclean Family

Travelled with teenage kids to experience a taste of Sri Lanka

Stayed in beautiful boutique hotels and enjoyed everything from snorkelling among the coral reefs of Trincomalee to riding in tuk tuks through Colombo.

The Moore Family

Sri Lanka is truly a gem of the Indian Ocean

Our well-thought-out trip fulfilled our expectations and more. Our granddaughter was interested in the wildlife, culture, and the many exotic fruits and vegetables of Sri Lanka—as were we. Working with [ETG], we developed an itinerary that, at journey's end, gave us a sense that we had chosen a company that responded to our needs.

Mr Genn

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Featured, Reviewed & Recommended

Don’t just take our word for it, Experience Travel Group have been featured and recognised by the industry’s top travel and news publications for close to two decades.