The Best Setjetting Trips You Can Take With Culture Trip

From Harry Potter sets to Game of Thrones tours, setjetting is a travel trend on the rise, as more and more travellers choose to follow in the footsteps of their favourite movies and TV shows. Here are some of the best film locations you can visit while on a Culture Trip adventure.

Winter Sale

Jacobite steam train crosses the Glenfinnan Viaduct, as seen in Harry Potter

Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands by Train

The worst thing about the Harry Potter series is that the magic is so hard to recreate in real life. There is the studio tour in London and multiple Wizarding Worlds in the US, China and Japan, all of which do admirable work, but there is one real-life location that trumps the lot – the Jacobite steam train. In many ways the Hogwarts Express acts as a gateway to the world of magic, and stands as one of the most beloved pieces of iconography from the film series. The Jacobite brings it to life, not just a visual reference point for CGI artists, they actual used these trains in the films. Even the most iconic sequence in the whole franchise – the car flying scene in Chamber of Secrets (2002) – crosses the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct, which you can also do on the Jacobite journey from Fort William to Mallaig, which is included in our week-long Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands by Train trip.

From US$2799

Next available from 29th Apr 2024

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Trip highlights and details

STARTS AT

London, England

ENDS AT

Edinburgh, Scotland

DURATION

7

GROUP SIZE

18

PHYSICAL RATING

Moderate

STYLE

Discovery

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Winter Sale

View of Dubrovniks stunning cliffside architecture

Coastal Croatia

Game of Thrones has arguably been the leading light in the growth of the setjetting industry, and to say it put Dubrovnik on the map is an understatement. The beautifully preserved medieval fort city, with its domineering city walls, red terracotta rooftop and spectacular coastal views, was the perfect embodiment of King’s Landing. There are a bunch of specific locations within the city worth visiting, too, from the lush gardens of Trsteno Arboretum to Lovrijenac Fortress and Mineeta Tower, which acts as the House of the Undying, where Daenerys attempts to retrieve her dragons. The GoT heritage extends all the way to Split, with Diocletian’s Palace and Klis Fortress also featuring throughout the series. Our eight-day Croatia trip starts in Split and end in Dubrovnik, so you’ll have plenty of time to visit Diocletian’s Palace and stroll the streets of King’s Landing.

From US$2169

Next available from 28th Apr 2024

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Trip highlights and details

STARTS AT

Split, Croatia

ENDS AT

Dubrovnik, Croatia

DURATION

8

GROUP SIZE

16

PHYSICAL RATING

Moderate

STYLE

Discovery

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Winter Sale

Man looking over the city from a cave in Matera, also known as the Stone City

Seductive Southern Italy

One of the most striking examples of good location scouting in recent blockbusters came in Daniel Craig’s last outing as Bond in No Time to Die (2021). One of the film’s first major action sequences takes place in the surreal town of Sassi di Matera, an incredible hilltop town originally formed by cave dwellings built directly into the region’s rugged rock-face. Its blend of ancient and unique makes it the perfect Bond location, and the thrilling car chase – and rope-swinging bridge sequence – are arguably the best bits of the whole movie. There’ll be less evil henchmen to dodge on our 10-day trip through Southern Italy, which stops off in Matera on day four, as we cross from west to east coast. You’ll get a guided walking tour of the town, including the most familiar shooting locations from the movie.

From US$2789

Next available from 27th Apr 2024

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Trip highlights and details

STARTS AT

Naples, Italy

ENDS AT

Lecce, Italy

DURATION

10

GROUP SIZE

14

PHYSICAL RATING

Easy

STYLE

Discovery

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south iceland, sandy, dark beach, cliff on the left with green grass on the top, ocean far away in the background, Hjörleifshöfði

Volcanic Iceland

Much like Jordan, Iceland has become a popular playground for the biggest-budget movies in town thanks to its unique volcanic landscapes, which at times really do not look of this Earth. It started popping up throughout the naughties, welcoming James Bond in Die Another Day (2002) and Lara Croft in Tomb Raider (2001), before Christopher Nolan used it for Bruce Wayne’s training sequences in Batman Begins (2005) and returned to shoot sequences for two different planets in Interstellar (2014). It was arguably made most famous, like Dubrovnik, by Game of Thrones, which filmed extensively all over the island. Since then the behemoths of Star Wars, Star Trek, the MCU and Fast & Furious have all come to town. Our five-day epic in Iceland is suitably cinematic, starring thundering waterfalls, geothermal hot springs and a thrilling snowmobile ride across an icy glacier. Popular filming locations visited on the trip include Reynisfjara black-sand beach (Rogue One) and Thingvellir National Park (Game of Thrones).

From US$2889

Next available from 6th Apr 2024

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Trip highlights and details

STARTS AT

Reykjavik, Iceland

ENDS AT

Reykjavik, Iceland

DURATION

5

GROUP SIZE

16

PHYSICAL RATING

Moderate

STYLE

Discovery

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View of people on the beach through an old stone arch in Cefalu, Sicily, Italy

Spectacular Sicily

Sicily has a prestigious filmography, with great Italian directors like Roberto Rossellini and Michelangelo Antonioni having worked here. Italy’s largest island is also the setting of Cinema Paradiso, one of the most beautiful films in the history of the medium. The island was really brought to worldwide attention by Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather Trilogy, which shot extensively around Messina and Taormina. The legacy is showing no signs of slowing down, since a huge chunk of the new Indiana Jones film is set in Syracuse and shot mostly in Cefalu. It was a TV show that made us really want to visit, however, when season two of the White Lotus showed up in Taormina. The often despicable hotel guests from the show are no match for the beautiful vistas of Sicily, which have given millions of viewers a pang of wanderlust for this glorious Mediterranean gem. We’ll visit Syracuse, Cefalu, Taormina and so much more on our eight-day Sicilian adventure.

From US$2924

Next available from 20th Apr 2024

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Trip highlights and details

STARTS AT

Palermo, Italy

ENDS AT

Siracusa, Sicily

DURATION

10

GROUP SIZE

14

PHYSICAL RATING

Light

STYLE

Discovery

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landscape with balloons floating in the air

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