Memories
Memories
Apply to become a Tour Leader
Are you passionate about travel and ready to make the world your office?
If you’re a natural problem solver, calm under pressure, organised, and love delivering outstanding customer service, then a career as a Tour Leader could be your perfect fit!
We’re seeking both experienced Tour Leaders and travel industry professionals looking to pursue a more flexible career on the road.
Applications for 2025 are closed. Recruitment for 2026 will open in September. To apply, click the button below.
Why Tour Leading?
Escape the 9–5 and build a career where every day brings new places, people, and experiences.
Tour Leading requires passion, resilience, and a true commitment to creating lifelong memories for our travellers. Our Tour Leaders are at the heart of delivering unforgettable journeys. While the role comes with responsibility, it’s incredibly rewarding. These are just a few of the benefits:
- Competitive day rate plus additional, earnable incentives and gratuities.
- Most living expenses are covered during a tour (accommodation, breakfasts and dinners).
- Get paid to explore exciting destinations and learn all about Europe.
- Uniform as well as online and in-person training provided.
- Meet new people from around the world and become part of the best road crew in Europe.
- Private, on-tour accommodation plus one night pre-tour accommodation or accommodation allowance.
- Daily allowance given for personal phone use and data used on tour.
- Access to computers, tour library, laundry facilities, printing and supplies in our London office.
- Consistent online support from office staff and 24/7 emergency line for urgent assistance.
- Discounts on personal travel with the company.
Hear it From Our Tour Leaders
“As a Tour Leader, I get to see different things each day, sit at the front of the coach and look at the scenery, meet people from all over the world, and get to know amazing cities like Paris, Florence and Barcelona like they are my own hometowns”.
Marysol Blaumann, Tour Leader
“I like being on the move; this way I can skip the daily routine and make my life more exciting and adventurous! I am always around people from all over the world, and I can learn so much from them. This job gave me freedom which I never had before. I can work when I want and then still have time off when I can just enjoy life my way.”
Michalina Grzonkowska, Tour Leader
I am passionate about showing off my home continent of Europe to as many global travellers as possible! As a tour leader, I get to do this as my career. On tour, I love helping make people's bucket-list travel dreams come true, leaving them with lasting memories and enriching their lives in the process.
Antonio Veiga, Tour Leader
Who should become a tour leader?
We’re looking for people with:
- Excellent customer service and communication skills
- Strong organisational and time management abilities
- Previous Tour Leader experience (beneficial, but not essential)
- Confident leadership and team management skills
- Solid accounting and money-handling foundations
- Strong research skills for destinations and itineraries
- High level of English proficiency (additional languages an advantage)
- Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in a team
- A proactive, “solutions-before-problems” mindset
Tour Leader Responsibilities
Day to Day Responsibilities
- Lead our tours, ensuring the trip is well organised and runs according to the itinerary.
- Collect supplies, contact suppliers and print documents needed prior to the tour.
- Provide passengers with a detailed breakdown of the day every morning and/or evening.
- Contact suppliers and ensure company relations are upheld.
- Sell optional excursions and communicate numbers and payments with suppliers.
- Reconfirm all bookings at the start of the tour and before your arrival at each location.
- Liaise with colleagues and office staff who may be running parallel bookings.
- Build trust with guests, suppliers and colleagues through honest communication.
- Proactively plan for days ahead and upcoming tours
Customer Service
- Fun & Family-Style Hosting: Be warm, approachable, and engaging.Be a representative of the company and brand at all times.
- As the face of the company, set the tone for the entire journey and create a memorable guest experience.
- Provide expert, informative commentaries on countries, cities and sights visited.
- Stimulate the social aspect of the tour by organising activities and competitions.
- Encourage groups to mingle and bond wherever possible.
- Be aware of passenger safety at all times and educate passengers on personal and property safety.
- Handle emergency situations such as ill health, accidents and loss of property calmly and with efficiency.
Encourage Diplomacy
- Deal with a wide variety of people and situations diplomatically and professionally as the tour leader and a representative of the company.
- Facilitate a harmonious relationship between passengers, staff and suppliers.
- Always be polite and professional towards passengers and suppliers.
Share Your Expertise
- Share your knowledge in a professional and informative manner.
- Research, develop knowledge and keep up-to-date with information regarding cities, sights, countries and local events.
- Answer all manner of questions or tell travellers where to find information.
- Learn basic language phrases of the countries visited and introduce phrases to guests.
Accounting
- Complete a neat, balanced set of accounts with receipts at the end of each tour.
- Pay all tour bills, accommodation, parking, city/road taxes, etc.
- Plan expenditure in advance so that you always have money available for expenses.
- Collect payments for optional excursions and make payments to the suppliers.
Will you receive any training?
Yes! Before working as a Tour Leader, you’ll go through comprehensive training to make sure you’re fully prepared. This usually includes:
- Classroom sessions: Covering company policies, health & safety, accounting procedures, and guest service standards.
- On-the-road training trips: This will consist of a private training trip with other fellow trainees visiting common destinations our tours operate in. Or, shadowing another tour leader with real guests. We recommend the training we find suitable for you.
- Ongoing support: Refresher sessions, online training modules, and one-to-one coaching if challenges arise during the season.
- Resource access: Tour manuals, training videos, and guidance from senior staff is provided.
The goal is to ensure you feel confident, knowledgeable, and supported before taking your first group on the road.
What does the application entail?
If your profile matches our requirements, we will invite you to the first interview, either online or in person in our London office. During this interview, we will evaluate your experience, personality and knowledge.
The second interview will be a performance interview where we will ask you to present different spiels where we will assign topics in advance for you to prepare. We’ll assess your reaction to different scenarios and your commitment to the role. We expect you to know everything about the company by now.
If your interviews are successful, we will invite you to attend our selected Training Programme. Please note that we might ask you to attend a third interview.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you provide company training?
Yes we do! Scroll back up to see what's included in our training programme.
Will my expenses be covered during training?
We will cover expenses during the training tour such as accommodation, breakfasts and some dinners (as per tour itinerary). Expenses during the classroom training will not be covered.
How long is the season? Can I work year-round?
We have tours throughout the year with our busiest periods being May - June, September to October and during the festive period.
How does the scheduling of tours work, and how much work can I expect?
You will be informed of your schedule a minimum of 60 days before the tour. Days on the road vary based on regions and availability of tours.
Where is my base between tours?
This is completely up to you. One of the great things about being a tour leader is that the time between tours is completely yours.
If I have many years' experience in tour leading, will I still need training?
All our Tour Leaders will need training on how to lead tours for us, but the training for experienced tour leaders will be tailor-made and might not strictly follow our Training Programme.
How big are the tour groups?
Our groups can be up to 52 passengers excluding the tour leader and the driver.
Will Tour Leaders go on different types of tours, or will they only be trained on one itinerary?
Most tour leaders will be training on the Best of Europe tour, as this covers most of the popular locations within Europe. Within a few months, Tour Leaders are trained to lead different itineraries, and there are plenty of possibilities to develop further when leading tours for several seasons.
What's it like on our tours?
As an Expat Explore Tour Leader, you'll conduct coach tours that include transport on comfortable coaches or minibuses, depending on which tour you're going on.
On our European tours, passengers travel in our full-size coaches. In North America, South America, the Middle East and Asia, passengers will travel either on a full-size coach or a slightly smaller vehicle.
Coach selection depends on how big the group is, and which roads we'll take on tour. Whichever option, we ensure comfort and convenience.
Comments From our Co-Founders
Dear Explorer,
Thank you for your interest in Expat Explore, and welcome to our recruitment page.
As the founders of Expat Explore, we are confident that you will find working as a tour leader and becoming a part of the Expat Explore family to be a rewarding experience. As a tour leader, you will be the face of the company, giving our passengers the time of their lives.
What you will experience when tour leading for Expat Explore is a direct result of the work that ourselves and our hardworking team have put into designing and operating every tour. Every day, we aim to improve the tours and surprise the clients with the standard of service that they receive on tour.
We hope to see you on board with us very soon!
Carl Cronje & Jakes Maritz
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