History of Audley timeline

1991

The beginning

Company founder and Director, Craig Burkinshaw, leaves university and guides his own small group tours around Vietnam.

1996

Asian Journeys is formed

Craig joins forces with fellow London School of Economics graduate John Brewer to found Asian Journeys. It paves the way for a new type of travel: individually crafted trips shaped around your interests to show destinations in a different light. With our first specialist joining the team and a brochure sent out into the world, our new approach to travel sees us go from strength to strength.

1998

Uncovering more of Asia

Asian Journeys begins to plan adventurous trips into North and Central Asia for those who want more meaningful, authentic travel experiences beyond the obvious. We also unveil the Indian Subcontinent, choosing experiences that introduce you to the region’s true character.

2001

Audley Travel is born

After moving to the rural Oxfordshire village of Stratton Audley and launching our first website, we add South America to our growing list of destinations. However, this calls for a name change. ‘Audley Travel’ is inspired by the village where the office is based at this time.

2005

A host of new destinations

We show people more of the world, launching several new countries and regions. After touring the destinations ourselves to hand-pick the best experiences, we begin offering trips to North Africa, the Middle East, New Zealand, the Galapagos, and Africa safari destinations, followed by Australia. We also receive our first award from Wanderlust magazine.

2006

A new home at New Mill

We move to our current headquarters, the New Mill in Witney, Oxfordshire — a large 18th-century converted blanket mill on the banks of the River Windrush. National recognition is growing, and we’re named 'Best Small Tour Operator’ by The Guardian/The Observer.

2007

Uncovering more of the world

Drawing on the first-hand experiences of our specialists, many of whom have lived and worked in their destinations, we start planning trips to some of the world’s furthest corners. Our travelers can now venture to Antarctica and the Arctic, as well as Canada, Alaska, and Madagascar.

2008

Giving something back

We introduce our first Charity of the Year — nominated by our team, the chosen charity receives funding generated from client donations and our own fundraising efforts. Soon after we also start giving our travelers the option to carbon-offset their flights, working closely with our long-time partner — ClimateCare.

2012

Trips to the USA

We introduce the US as a new place for our British travelers, giving them the chance to experience regions including California, New England, the Rockies, and the Deep South the Audley way, from epic road trips to traditional ranch stays. It quickly becomes our most popular destination for UK travelers.

2014

New offices open in Boston and London

As the team — and the breadth of our destinations — grows, we open our Boston office in March of this year and begin offering our same style of highly individual travel to Americans. A few months later, our new London office in Shepherd's Bush opens its doors.

2016

La dolce vita

As we reach our 20th anniversary, we turn our gaze to Europe. Our first stop? Italy. As with all our destinations, our team hand-pick experiences that show you Italy in a new light, from truffle hunting in Tuscany to e-bike rides through Umbria. Over the next couple of years, we continue to highlight Europe’s diversity by introducing the UK, Ireland, and France, closely followed by Spain and Portugal.

2019

The future is green

We add Greece, Iceland, and Croatia to our Europe offering, as well as launching Israel. Our commitment to responsible travel continues — we hire a Responsible Travel and Sustainability Manager, introduce our child welfare policy (in the wake of our animal welfare policy the previous year), and help set up refillable water bottle programs in 12 destinations. By the end of the year, our Boston office switches to using 100% renewable energy.

2020

Trips closer to home

We turn our attention to closer-to-home travel by offering trips within the US, as well as in Canada and the Caribbean. However, this doesn’t stop us from expanding our horizons across the pond, and we also launch many more European destinations, including Germany, Switzerland, and Scandinavia. In early 2020 we became a Travelife partner in recognition of our responsible travel efforts, and by the end of the same year we’d published our first annual sustainability report to ensure environmental and social responsibility remains at the forefront of what we do and how we work.

2021

25 years of travel

We celebrate 25 years of creating meaningful travel experiences built around you and connecting you with people and places around the world.