Abercrombie & Kent has marked six decades since its founding by Geoffrey Kent and his parents in 1962.
The company has charted an innovative course over the past 60 years, beginning in the wilds of Africa and growing to become the world’s largest luxury travel company by bringing the same spirit of adventure found on safari to destinations around the world.
Today its travel and tour operations extend to more than one hundred countries on all seven continents, with support 24/7 from a network of more than 55 offices.
While other safari outfitters relied on hunters, Geoffrey Kent redefined luxury travel with the philosophy of “shoot with a camera, not with a gun.”
A&K was the first to introduce refrigeration…making it possible to have fresh meat, vegetables, and ice in the bush.
“It all started quite modestly,” Kent explained.
“We had no ambitions to take over the world; we just wanted to keep the refrigerated truck running so that the ice wouldn’t melt and the meat wouldn’t spoil.
“I knew that the secret to making someone feel at home in the middle of nowhere was a hot dinner and a cold drink. Simple as that.”
To celebrate the company’s 60th anniversary, A&K experts have selected iconic experiences representing the past six decades for the Greatest of All Trips (GOAT), showcasing itineraries across all seven continents, encompassing national parks, UNESCO World Heritage sites, endangered animals and much more.
East Africa
The adventure begins where A&K started in 1962 on a Great East African Migration. One of the wonders of the natural world, more than 1.4 million wildebeest — along with gazelles and zebra — stampede Lion King-style, following the rains from the Serengeti to the Masai Mara, the largest migration on Earth.
A&K was founded on a belief in sustainable, nature-based tourism and was a pioneer in Gorilla tracking in Uganda.
“I worked with the president to set aside Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, now home to half of the world’s surviving mountain gorillas,” Kent said.
“Today the sale of gorilla tracking permits contributes more than $1 million to the local economy. At the same time, we have not forgotten the human population. Through Abercrombie & Kent Philanthropy, we’ve built a hospital that has helped to reduce infant mortality by more than 50 per cent.”
Egypt: A Journey Back in Time
Egypt was A&K’s first destination outside sub-Saharan Africa.
“Egypt is a place everyone must experience at least once in their lives,” Kent said.
“Sailing on the Nile is like a trip back in time.”
To guarantee the quality of the experience, A&K built the first ‘Sun Boat’ and today its award-winning Sanctuary Nile River cruisers offer privileged access to the country’s most famous sites, accompanied by the region’s best Egyptologists on the Nile in Style, sailing from Luxor to Aswan.
The Treasures of India
Having played polo in India, Kent knew many of the royal families of Rajasthan who welcomed guests and converted their palaces into extraordinary hotels, so India became A&K’s next destination.
The Golden Triangle & Beyond opens doors to these artistic traditions, with opportunities to see the Taj Mahal at sunrise and sunset. The national parks are a veritable Jungle Book of wildlife, including the elusive Bengal tiger.
Indochina: Angkor Wat, Kingdom of Light
A&K was one of the first tour operators in Indochina and today its local experts bring travellers on a personal journey discovering centuries of art and architecture, cycling through rice fields, trekking through valleys and going behind the scenes with an acclaimed archaeologist at majestic Angkor Wat.
A&K uncovers the kingdom’s heritage and the historic links between Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos on this Indochina Adventure.
Australia: Uncover the Outback
Be enchanted by the ancient wonders and natural beauty of Western Australia’s Kimberley and the Top End on this immersive Air Safari, led by expert local guides who regale explorers with traditional stories of living on the land and 50,000 years of Indigenous history.
Machu Picchu: Path of the Incas
Peru conceals some of the world’s most astonishing charms: the modern culinary hub of Lima, the rainforest wonders of the Amazon, Incan treasures and the ruins of Machu Picchu. Take a pilgrimage through the breath-taking Andean landscape to the “Lost City” on A&K’s Peru in Depth.
Discover the magnificent ruins with a local expert guide. A&K’s long-standing roots allow guests an exclusive visit to a remote village to meet local residents for an inside look at daily life.
Antarctica: The White Continent
For more than 30 years, A&K has delivered intrepid travellers to a world where pristine ice and snow contrast starkly with the ever-changing sea and sky on a Luxury Expedition Cruise to Antarctica.
Learn about the effects of rising global temperatures on Antarctica: A Changing Landscape with enthralling discussions, daily Zodiac excursions to the White Continent and wildlife from lively penguin colonies to whales.
North America
Just as travellers were emerging from the pandemic, A&K expanded operations in the U.S. Discover two of America’s most iconic national parks – Grand Teton and Yellowstone – on this road trip to remember from Montana to Wyoming and beyond.
See the wild west at its best when you breathe in the wide-open spaces and untamed landscapes on Wonders of Yellowstone and Grand Teton.
Europe
Take in Italy’s most iconic cities Venice, with its romance-laden canals, and Rome, with its history on Rome to Venice: A Connoisseur’s Italy.
Expert A&K guides unlock the secrets of historical Italy, where A&K has been taking guests beyond the guidebooks since 1997, with its privileged access with expert historians to all the sites before the crowds arrived.
