Five Dishes From Around The World You Should Try With Culture Trip

All of our trips give you the chance to sample cuisines from around the world, be it hearty national dishes, street food staples or ancient recipes. We’ve flicked through the menu for you to pick out the five must-try meals you should try on your travels with Culture Trip.

Winter Sale

A person adding accompaniments to a bowl of bibimbap, with julienne vegetables, rice and an egg yolk

Bibimbap, South Korea

We’re gonna go out on a limb and say that this Korean staple is the most aesthetically pleasing dish on the planet. ‘Bap’ is cooked rice, and that’s the centrepiece of the dish. The bowl is then embellished with seasonal vegetables (sauteed), gochujang chilli paste, sliced meat and an egg. That’s when we get to the ‘Bibim’, which means mixing, so while the dish comes out all pretty and perfectly placed, your job is to mush it all together into one big delicious combination of punchy, fresh flavour. Variations of the dish date as far back as 1590 and in the centuries since Bibimbap has established itself as one of the most iconic meals in South Korean cuisine. You will find tasty variations of it all over the country but, on our Soulful South Korea trip, you’ll get to sample it in the city it was first invented, Jeonju.

From US$3499

Next available from 24th Mar 2024

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STARTS AT

Seoul, South Korea

ENDS AT

Seoul, South Korea

DURATION

10

GROUP SIZE

16

PHYSICAL RATING

Moderate

STYLE

Discovery

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Winter Sale

Person cutting into khachapuri cheese bread in Georgia

Khachapuri, Georgia

Cheese and bread. It’s a combination that hasn’t failed us for centuries, a perfect example of the delicious creations that have spawned from basic, working class cooking practices from an age when you made-do with the ingredients you had. Most countries have some kind of variation of the bread-cheese combo – pizza, enchiladas, the humble cheese toasty – but few countries have hit the sweet spot quite like Georgia, who mastered the art with khachapuri sometime in the 12th century (probably). Since then it has embedded itself deeply into the heart of Georgian culture, so much so that the khachapuri index is used as a measure of domestic inflation – as if making it the national dish wasn’t enough. We’ll take you for an incredible khachapuri on the first full day of our Georgia and the Caucasus itinerary. We suspect that won’t be your last across the nine-day getaway…

From US$1199

Next available from 18th May 2024

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STARTS AT

Tbilisi, Georgia

ENDS AT

Tbilisi, Georgia

DURATION

9

GROUP SIZE

16

PHYSICAL RATING

Moderate

STYLE

Discovery

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Winter Sale

The famous traditional dish of the Azores is Cozido das Furnas

Cozido stew, Azores

A cozido is a classic hearty stew eaten in Spain, Portugal and Brazil, combining a multitude of regional vegetables (beans, potatoes, cabbage carrots, turnips etc) with a meat (chicken, pork, bacon, beef) in one big boiled batch. It’s food for the soul and worth a try whenever in Portugal, but in the Azores it’s worth sampling not just for the dish itself, but also how it’s made. There’s a technique on São Miguel Island which takes advantage of the archipelago’s rich geothermal powers to cook the stew underground, using only the natural heat and steam coming from the volcanic landscape. That’s exactly the kind of cozido stew you’ll tuck into on day five of our Atlantic Azores adventure. The stew will be bubbling away for six hours underground as we hike around the Furnas crater lake. We’ll mark our return in the classic Azorean way with a reinvigorating bowl of geothermal cozido.

From US$1669

Next available from 29th Mar 2024

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STARTS AT

Ponta Delgada, Portugal

ENDS AT

Ponta Delgada, Portugal

DURATION

6

GROUP SIZE

8

PHYSICAL RATING

Moderate

STYLE

Discovery

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Thai Northern style pork and tomato chili relish (nam phrik aawng ; nam prik ong)

Nam phrik ong, Thailand

Any trip to Thailand is sure to be filled with lots of great Thai dishes, many of which will be consumed in buzzy night markets. Nam phrik ong is one of the classics, found in pretty much any street food market in Northern Thailand. It’s a thick, saucy ground pork concoction made with sugar, tomato, shrimp paste and ground chilli paste. It’s a pretty simple concept but the flavours are incredible. You’ll usually find them served with seasonal vegetables and sticky rice. On day eight of our Tropical Northern Thailand trip we’ll mark our arrival in Doi Inthanon with a tasting lunch consisting of a banquet of Thai delicacies, including a tasty portion of this hearty pork delight.

From US$1339

Next available from 20th Jan 2024

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Trip highlights and details

STARTS AT

Chiang Mai, Thailand

ENDS AT

Chiang Mai, Thailand

DURATION

10

GROUP SIZE

16

PHYSICAL RATING

Moderate

STYLE

Discovery

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landscape with balloons floating in the air

KEEN TO EXPLORE THE WORLD?

Connect with like-minded people on our premium trips curated by local insiders and with care for the world

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.