Zeitgeist Tours Ltd

Fantastic experience: There is quite simply no other battlefield tour company that can come close. I’ve been a history teacher and led battlefields trips for the last fifteen years - when travelling with other companies or guides I’ve always ended up thinking ‘I could do better’ and just subsequently done them myself. I can’t do what Zeitgeist do; firing a musket on the battlefield of Waterloo, taking photographs on the camera that a WW1 soldier carried with him in the trenches, trying to put the various gas mask types on in the required time whilst smelling the same gas smells, incredible stories, authentic uniforms, ridiculous jokes, beautiful moustaches, wonderful extra touches like birthday cake for a student celebrating whilst we were away, a special dish for a retiring teacher and much more besides. It is a little more expensive than other companies but not by much and the extra cost is absolutely worth it for the experiences students will receive on a trip that many will only go on once - I will never organise one myself now, nor would I use another company. Bravo Zeitgeist.

Fantastic experience: I have taken two school tours of 50 secondary school children to the First World War Battlefields in France and Belgium with Zeitgeist Tours, and are planning our next one now. They are a brilliant company, very well organised and easy to work with from a teacher's organisational perspective. What makes them unique is that the tours are some of the most amazing, thrilling, sometimes emotional, engaging, and educational trips I have had to pleasure to organise. The selection of tour guides (Richard, David and Christoph are my go-tos, but the others are excellent too) are truly special, wearing their own period uniforms, and bringing with them equipment and so on that create a memorable hand-on experience that students never forget. I have students who rightly say that it was going on this trip inspired them to study history in the long term. Cannot recommend this wonderful company enough.

Fantastic experience: We took 50 year 10 and 11 students on a tour with Zeitgeist and we were blown away. The tour was carefully created to cover what we needed for the exam boards but was so much more! The students had hands on experiences, including weapons and uniform, a simulated gas attack, a trench experience, experience of "going over the top" and most excitingly, firing a weapon! We also were able to visit sites relevant to our area and school, and Zeitgeist were excellent in doing research to make the experience really personal to our students, pointing out the names at Theipval of soldiers who had died who lived on the streets near our school. The variety of guides also opened our students eyes to the huge variety of careers linked to history study. Some students have even persuaded their parents to take them back in the summer holiday! We were so proud of our students (I was welling up a bit on the return ferry). Thank you Zeitgeist!!

Fantastic experience: From the very start of the quotation and planning process, it was very obvious that Zeitgeist Tours was a very different organisation to our usual experience of tour companies. I had read a lot of positive comments on the Edexcel GCSE History Facebook group and I can only say that they are all accurate about the experience of booking a tour with Zeitgeist. We started to organise our first pre-Covid foreign trip with some trepidation, but we need not have worried, Dawn designed a bespoke tour itinerary in consultation with us and based on our requirements. The price was also extremely competitive. Due to excessive numbers wanting to attend the trip, we also booked a similar trip with a rival tour company. The Zeitgeist price was cheaper, the activities were better, the guides more knowledgeable, the accommodation was of a higher standard, as was the food. All the way through the planning process it was evident that we were in good hands. The documentation, kit lists, itinerary, in fact all of the pre tour information was delivered in a very professional manner, which made communication with parents very easy. I received a message from Dawn just before we left saying that I could now sit back and relax. This was excellent advice, as everything was taken care of for us. Our coach was provided by Stanley Travel, and the driver, Brynn, was an absolute legend. Nothing was too much trouble and when he finally left us on our return to England, he received a standing ovation from the students. On our arrival at the Yser Tower in Diksmuide, we met our guides, David & Richard. This was the start of four days of fun & informative education, whilst reinforcing the serious lessons learnt from the war, which was pitched at exactly the right level for our Year 9 students. As teachers, we had visited some of the sites before, but our knowledge was expanded by the insight and anecdotes of our guides and this will help to improve our future lessons. The use of authentic items or replicas really improved the student experience, whether it was trying on the gas masks, being carried on a stretcher, firing the rifle or using the 100 year old cameras, all of my students wanted to be involved. All of this encouraged the students to be involved, become curious and ask questions in a way I have never seen on a trip. From the off, David was a font of knowledge, both students and teachers alike, were all impressed with his encyclopedic understanding of the key events, places and people involved in the conflict. He was especially good at sensing when the attention of students was starting to wane and was very skillful at maintaining their level of enthusiasm and engagement for the many activities we undertook. He was also a delight on the coach trips between activities, either of the mic highlighting points of interest to the students, but also in conversation with the teachers. He also led a rather exciting sing along with the students and I have never seen a tour guide being asked for so many selfies. Richard was equally as knowledgeable and engaging as David, especially when discussing the impact of the First World War on medicine. There can be very few students who attended this trip who wouldn’t be able to answer exam questions on areas such as the chain of evacuation and the Thomas Splint after Richard’s detailed explanations. We especially enjoyed Richard’s personal links to the war and the amount of time he spent in full uniform, in the blazing heat supervising our students as they fired the bona fide First World War rifle. I am certain that both his IMDb page and his TikTok accounts will receive many more hits as a result of his popularity with the students. As much as it pains me to say this, as I know that this will make my future bookings more difficult, Zeitgeist will be my first choice of tour company for future trips. Their customer service and student experiences are exceptional and I can honestly say that it was a truly uplifting experience for both students and teachers alike.' John Curry Head of History

Fantastic experience: Having taken groups of GCSE students on battlefields tours with Zeitgeist, my school would not travel with anyone else. The whole trip was fantastic, from start to finish. Well organised, engaging, exciting. Real hands on activity, expert guides all the way - clear curriculum links, building pupils knowledge and skills, which have led to clear results! Can't recommend these guys enough!