Leading luxury travel company Abercrombie & Kent (A&K) has just released its new look 2019 Africa, Arabia and Persia portfolio, including luxury private and small group journeys to over 20 destinations throughout Southern, East, North and West Africa, the Indian Ocean, the Middle East and Iran.
Born in Africa, A&K has over 55 years’ experience in the region, pioneering the modern luxury safari, taking guests on grand adventures into the wilderness, and always in style. A&K still sets the standard delivering authentic, inspiring experiences that go beyond the ordinary. The same standards extend to A&K’s operations through Egypt, Jordan and beyond where A&K has its own offices and a fleet of luxury cruise ships on the Nile.
A&K’s Africa Product Manager Patrick Clementson has been visiting the African continent since 1997. He knows the pattern of the seasons, where the greatest wildlife experiences are, the best time to see them, how to get there and where to stay. His intimate knowledge has shaped this portfolio, which is A&K’s most extensive ever.
Clementson says, “Africa remains A&K’s best-selling destination. It’s what we’re best known for, and with good reason. We have 20 offices scattered through Africa and the Middle East which means we have control of the guest experience from begin to end, appointing the finest guides, selecting the most comfortable forms of transport, and making sure the best rooms are secured at every hotel, camp, lodge and cruise. With our extensive local networks and support on the ground, we can arrange privileged experiences and encounters putting our guests in the front row or taking them behind the scenes for those unforgettable moments.”
The core feature in this portfolio is the private journey offering of which there are 30 presented in detail. There are single destination itineraries to Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe to name a few including the ever-popular 8-day ‘African Waterways’ which showcases Sanctuary Retreats’ reimagined portfolio in Botswana and is priced from $8,545 per person. There’s the new 12-day ‘Visions of Kenya’ where guests sleep in vintage safari style at a selection of boutique tented camps, get up close to the world’s best wildlife and experience local indigenous cultures, with prices from $15,825 per person.
The 9 day ‘Uganda Wildlife Discovery’ introduces the endangered population of Bwindi’s mountain gorillas on two extraordinary days’ tracking as well as traditional game drives at Queen Elizabeth National Park, prices from $13,115 per person.
The new 14-day ‘Portraits of Egypt’ includes a Nile cruise aboard Sanctuary Sun Boat IV which has relaunched after a stylish refurbishment. It also takes guests to the lesser visited Coptic area of Cairo as well as the big-ticket Pyramids and Sphinx. The Roman ruins of Alexandria and its ultra-modern Library are also featured as well as the renowned battle site of El Alamein. Departures year-round with prices from $10,355 per person.
The 10-day ‘Jordan Uncovered’ reveals showstoppers like Petra and Wadi Rum as well as an idyllic and isolated ecolodge on the edge of Dana Biosphere Reserve where hikes reveal old copper mines, tiny Bedouin settlements, natural springs, Byzantine churches and rugged landscapes. Prices from $7,435 per person.
Other destinations include Morocco, Oman and Israel with private journeys and luxury small groups to choose from.
This year, the portfolio also features bite-size enhancements attached to each journey. These are little add-ons to enrich the experience in a destination. For example, helicopter transfers from safari camp to safari camp for that unique aerial perspective. A sleepout on the banks of Zambia’s Luwi River with only the animals and stars for company. Private access to the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo ahead of its opening to meet the curators. A scenic flight to the largest desert lake in the world – Lake Turkana, touching down along the way. And many more.
There are also a multitude of suggested extensions which are shorter itineraries that can be tacked on to another to add a different dimension or round off a stay. They are generally designed for less than a week to one destination and with one main focus, for example a beach hideaway, a mountain adventure or a desert retreat. The five-day ‘Manafiafy Beach & Rainforest’ extension combines well with the 10-day ‘Classic Madagascar’ and is priced from $2,770 per person.
In Egypt, the four-day ‘Relaxing Red Sea’ priced from $1,855 per person can be tacked on to any longer journey in the country. And in Morocco, the 3-day ‘Dramatic Atlas Mountains’ priced from $1,725 per person is a perfect way to escape the bustling souks and built-up cities elsewhere in Morocco.
There are also family-focused recommendations, city stopovers, celebratory ideas and exclusive journeys by privately chartered aircraft.
.jpg){kind=tracking}
