Some tour leaders are exceptionally organised. Some know destinations in remarkable detail. And some have an instinct for people that quietly shapes the entire journey. Linzi Ebbage-Thomas has that instinct.
There is a natural magnetism about Linzi, a warmth and sparkle that draws people in, but beneath that sits something deeper. Linzi understands people. She reads a group quickly, senses when energy needs lifting, when a moment is needed alone, and when an opportunity might turn into something memorable.
When she reflects on the journeys she leads, Linzi often says that “what sits at the heart of it all is camaraderie”. Travel has a unique way of bringing people together. Shared experiences, unexpected moments, long conversations over meals or sitting on a coach between destinations, the group begins to feel connected in a way that rarely happens in everyday life.
Linzi shares with us, “Part of my role as Tour Leader, alongside our excellent Tour Directors, is to look for opportunities to create those moments. Not just the big-ticket highlights, but the small, unexpected experiences that people remember long after they’ve returned home. That sense of shared experience is where the magic really sits”.
It might be guiding the group through the Museo del Prado to see something quite specific, the delicate bust of The Veiled Isabel II, and watching travellers pause as they connect with the story behind it.
It might be spotting a tiny café tucked down a quiet street in San Sebastián and suggesting a quick stop, where the Basque cheesecake quickly becomes “the best we’ve ever had.”
Sometimes it means venturing slightly further than the itinerary suggests. Tracking down what locals insist are the best cannoli in Sicily in the tiny hamlet of Dattilo, a place most visitors would never otherwise discover.
At other times the moments arrive unexpectedly. Securing seats at an opera at the Royal Opera House in Muscat and realising the audience includes members of local royalty.
And occasionally, it is simply about fun. An impromptu Campari Spritz evening in the old town of Sorrento, a first for many travellers. A late-night golf buggy ride arranged by amused hotel staff so a small group can glimpse a spectacular wedding beside the Sphinx in Cairo. Or making sure that after a long day on safari in Botswana, tired travellers find well-earned massages waiting.
None of these moments appear on a brochure. They come from instinct. From paying attention to people. From understanding when the right opportunity appears. These are the moments that bring a group together and turn fellow travellers into friends.
The brochure describes the destination. Linzi shapes what people carry home from it.
Want us to contact you?
Highlights Reel
