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Rice field, Mu Cang Chai in Vietnam

History of Audley timeline

We’ve come a long way from our beginnings as a tiny start-up, offering a new, personal style of travel from a flat above a post office in Northampton. Vietnam, the first destination we offered trips to, will always hold a soft spot for us — and we’re still in touch with some of our very first clients. Today, we offer trips to destinations worldwide, and have offices in Oxfordshire, London, and Boston, but we still hold to our founding belief that travel means the most when it’s created for you.

  • 1991

    The beginning

    Audley founder Craig Burkinshaw

    Our story starts with a backpack in Vietnam. Craig Burkinshaw’s backpacking journey around Asia brought him to Vietnam, where he fell in love with a destination and its culture. Craig returned home and placed a small ad in The Sunday Times to begin leading his own small-group tours there.

  • 1996

    Asian Journeys is formed

    Asian Journey's brochure cover

    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

    Taj Mahal in Agra, India

    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

    Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±¼Ç¼ is born

    Audley's Stratton Audley offices

    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. ‘Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±¼Ç¼’ is inspired by the village where the office is based at this time.

  • 2005

    A host of new destinations

    Driving the Dampier Peninsula in Australia

    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

    Audley's New MIll offices in Oxfordshire

    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

    Adelie penguins, Antarctica

    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

    Education is the key to success mural

    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

    Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, 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

    Audley's Boston offices

    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

    Pienza in Tuscany, Italy

    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.

  • 2020

    Trips closer to home

    Boats in Hvar, Croatia

    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

    25 years of travel with Audley

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

  • 2023

    B Corp Certified

    B Corp Certified logo

    We proudly become a certified B CorporationTM, joining a global community of businesses that consistently aim to improve their social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.