Adventure and discovery holiday specialist Evaneos Travel is encouraging travellers to embrace local cultures and self-improvement on their next trip away. Holidays provide stimulating surroundings, invigorating new experiences, and the daily opportunity to meet people from all walks of life, so are a brilliant time to take the plunge and learn a new skill or enhance existing knowledge with lessons from the locals.

All Evaneos Travel trips are tailor-made by trusted on-the-ground experts, giving travellers a deeper understanding of a destination's customs, traditions, and culture, as well as local insight from the outset with recommendations on what to try, taste and make based on the individual's interests.

From taking on Kung-Fu in China, to making wine-based cocktails in Buenos Aires, here Evaneos Travel lists its top six sample learning holiday packages*, put together by its local experts in each destination:

Master Kung-fu and authentic noodle-making in China

Evaneos Travel's local Chinese agent has created a six-day tour from £930 per person to showcase China's rich cultural heritage, taking in Beijing, Luoyang and Xi'an. Following a demonstration from the masters at Shaolin Temple, travellers will take on a kung-fu class and will also improve their cooking skills during a noodle-making lesson with the locals in Xi'an, famous for their love of hand-stretched noodles from narrow to wide, cold to hot, and egg to spinach!

www.evaneos-travel.com/china/tour/12790-kung-fu-warriors-and-noodle-classes

Become a wine and oyster expert in Bordeaux, France

Evaneos Travel's local French agent has created an eight-day tour from £1,580 per person which provides an insight into wine production, wine-tasting, and oyster-harvesting in Bordeaux. France's "city of art and history" is best known for its exquisite cuisine and having given its name to some of the finest wines in the world. Travellers will explore Bordeaux's promenades, flea markets and historical stone bridges with local guides before touring the surrounding vineyards, countryside and picturesque UNESCO-protected villages. From proper wine-tasting tuition to lessons on production techniques, travellers will come away with extensive knowledge about wine, as well as oyster-harvesting skills after a morning spent learning the trade on Christian's oyster boat.

www.evaneos-travel.com/france/tour/14784-bordeaux-wine-classic

Try your hand at cooking Vietnamese food in Hoi An

Evaneos Travel's local Vietnamese agent has created a 14-day tour from £1,150 per person exploring the country's history, heritage and local cuisines. During a morning cooking lesson with the Red Bridge Cooking School in the beach town of Hoi An, travellers will tour the herb garden and learn the history of some of Hoi An's and Vietnam's well-known cuisine, before the local expert chef demonstrates and helps amateur cooks prepare dishes. Also during time spent in Vietnam's capital Hanoi, travellers will be taken on a street food market tour tasting traditional and unusual dishes, to take in the differences in regional cooking throughout the country.

www.evaneos-travel.com/vietnam/tour/9999-history-heritage-and-local-cuisine

Learn to produce coffee and fish using local techniques in Colombia

Evaneos Travel's local Colombian agent has created a 14-day tour from £1,320 per person including a morning dedicated to learning the craft of organic coffee production on a farm with century-old traditional facilities. Travellers will be led through the production process from picking berries to tasting the final product. Later in the two-week tour they will be taught how to fish by the local people in La Boquilla, including learning how to catch crabs and throwing nets as well as being shown the secrets of coastal cuisine by being taught how to cook seafood Afro-Carthaginian-style with coconut rice. Other highlights include a nocturnal wildlife night time jungle walk, a visit to the indigenous community of Mocagua and a safari taking in wild horses, alligators and tropical birds.

www.evaneos-travel.com/colombia/tour/11845-enter-the-tropics

Master calligraphy and taste sake in Japan

Evaneos Travel's local Japanese agent has created a 10-day tour from £2,430 per person, taking in the bustling city of Tokyo and the beautiful temples and shrines of Hakone, Hiroshima and Kyoto. Travellers will learn the art of Japanese calligraphy at Kokedera Temple (also known as Moss Temple), which has an ancient garden dating back to 1339 blanketed in a vibrant emerald green moss. After a calligraphy lesson at the temple guests will enjoy some quiet time while mindfully trying out their new skill. Another highlight of the tour is sake tasting on “Fushimi Sakagura Street” which is home to several sake breweries offering hundreds of different kinds of sake.

www.evaneos-travel.com/japan/tour/15145-highlight-tour-the-golden-route

Learn how to order steak in Spanish and make wine-based cocktails in Buenos Aires

Evaneos Travel's local Argentinian agent has created a 10-day luxury tour from £1,240 per person travelling from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Santiago, Chile, with the chance to sample local produce at some of the finest restaurants and wineries in the area. Follow a first day in Buenos Aires spent exploring at their own pace, travellers will kick-start their gastronomic journey with a special dinner and wine cocktail experience. They will be taught how to make three wine-based cocktails, and will be given a chance to come up with their own creation, before learning how to order their favourite steak in Spanish – which is sure to help foodies for the rest of their trip!

www.evaneos-travel.com/argentina/tour/12696-the-famous-wine-route

For further information and to book a tailor-made Evaneos Travel holiday call 0117 205 0264 or visit: www.evaneos-travel.com

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Note to editors:

Evaneos Travel is a secure online travel platform which connects travellers directly with a 'local expert', one of 1,000 on-the-ground travel agents on the ground in over 160 destinations worldwide, who is on hand to offer their insider knowledge to ensure travellers get the very most out of their trip.  Evaneos' direct-to-local-agent approach cuts out the middle man saving travellers money and enabling them to benefit from the local expertise of an expert agent who can create a tailormade itinerary to suit their budget.

*All sample packages can be tailored to an individual's requirements and interested. Prices exclude international flights

For press information, packages, images or to speak to an Evaneos Travel local agent please contact:

Daniela Resenterra, PR Account Director - danielar@hillsbalfour.com / 020 7593 1771

Josie Self, PR Account Manager - josies@hillsbalfour.com / 020 7593 1758

Annabel Jenkins, PR Senior Account Executive – annabelj@hillsbalfour.com / 020 7593 1770