It’s Simply The Best
Way To Travel
Some people
collect travel destinations the way others collect Biedermeier furniture
or presidents’ autographs.
What’s come
onto the market this year? Bhutan? Libya? Mongolia? Why not fly over this
summer and add it to the collection?
Others travel
for an entirely different set of reasons. Reasons which have less to do
with collecting countries (who needs another trophy on the shelf?) than
with gathering experience.
If you’re a
member of the latter group, you know that, at its best, a journey down
the Sepik River or up Mount Kilimanjaro, across Provence or along the Antarctic
Peninsula, can change you deeply in ways both tangible and intangible,
acknowledged and unavowed.
However, when
changing the way you look at the world is one of your travel objectives
— when authentic experience matters more to you than casual acquisition
— the travel company you choose has a tall order to fill.
That’s where
Abercrombie & Kent comes in.
Since 1962,
A&K has been doing one thing exceptionally well. We specialize in matching
unique people with unique places, and in providing the expertise and (unobtrusive)
support that allows them to experience those places fully, at first hand
and in their own personal style.
It’s simply
the best way to travel. And it requires a unique combination of local knowledge
and global organization that only Abercrombie & Kent is equipped to
provide.
The travel
industry is filled with companies who own only their brochures and a handful
of contracts with independent suppliers overseas. In contrast, A&K
has its own network of offices (48 and counting) across the globe, staffed
full time by A&K professionals. We own and operate luxury camps and
lodges in remote destinations to ensure that our clients have access to
the best.
And we draw
on the knowledge, humor and creativity of an incredible team of staff members
and local “friends of A&K,” to bring you face-to-face with an Antarctic
iceberg the size of Chartres Cathedral, or make it possible for you to
walk around Chartres itself with an expert on its stained glass. To set
you down for a private picnic a deux in the middle of the African savannah
or give you and the children your own tropical island for a day.
Experience
does count. Ours will make yours unforgettable.
A&K - The First Name
in Luxury Travel
For more than forty years, Abercrombie
& Kent (A&K) has been internationally recognized as
the first name in luxury travel. Born in 1962 as a safari company in Nairobi,
Kenya, A&K's unparalleled travel and tour operations now extend across
the far and exotic reaches of the globe. A&K takes its travelers on
extraordinary journeys-in extraordinary style-to more than one hundred
countries on all seven continents. The company's tours and safaris span
the globe from Africa to the Middle East, India and Nepal; from the Orient
to Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific; and from Europe to Central
and South America and Antarctica. Forty-five destination management companies
ensure the "insider access" that only a local staff can provide.
A&K’s impressive and enticingly
varied list of luxury and adventure holidays combine active days with comfortable,
luxuriant nights. Small group escorted journeys
allow guests to confidently travel to places they might otherwise hesitate
to go on their own, with a choice of itineraries at varying levels of luxury.
Family
holidays are tailored to the interests, attention spans and
abilities of all ages, with comfortable hotels and comforting meals, and,
most importantly, a friendly guide who understands children. Tailor
made private travel offers independent travellers meticulous
attention to detail, safety and customer service. These lifestyle-oriented
programs are one reason why A&K was honored at the World Travel Awards
as “World’s Leading Luxury Specialist Tour Operator.”
Geoffrey Kent, who along with Jorie
Butler Kent owns and operates A&K, was born-most fittingly-while his
British parents were on safari in Zambia. Indeed, he spent much of his
childhood on the African continent. In 1962, Geofrey Kent, along with his
parent's Colonel John and Valerie Kent, formed Abercrombie & Kent.
In the 1970s, Geoffrey Kent, who
by then had long been the Managing Director of the company, entered into
a partnership with Jorie Ford Butler of Oak Brook, Illinois, to run A&K.
They continue to travel the world in search of adventures that will surprise
and thrill their guests. Under their passionate and visionary guidance-Geoffrey
Kent serves as Chairman and CEO, Jorie Butler Kent as Executive Vice Chairman
- Abercrombie & Kent represents the uncompromising best at every turn
in the road.
With a philosophy that is governed
in equal parts by the Kents' unswerving commitment to conservation and
their mission to provide "memories of a lifetime," A&K goes to seemingly
limitless lengths to design tours that offer privileged
access and special insight.
Further distinguishing A&K is the fact that the company owns luxury
safari lodges in pristine wilderness areas, including Chief's Camp and
Chobe Chilwero in Botswana; exclusive rights to camps with some of Africa's
finest game-viewing; a fleet of comfortable, well-maintained ground transport
vehicles; and the Sun Boats on the Nile. A&K also creates unique travel
experiences built around the luxury trains of Venice Simplon-Orient-Express
and the Royal Scotsman; the Road to Mandalay river cruiser and 29 canal
and river cruisers in Europe; and the legendary Sea Cloud, the world's
most beautiful sailing ship.
Abercrombie & Kent's headquarters
are in Oak Brook, Illinois. Forty-seven offices worldwide, employing more
than 1,700 travel professionals, offer unrivaled attention to detail, safety
issues and service standards.
A deep-rooted concern for the natural
world infuses each and every A&K trip: Geoffrey Kent and Jorie Butler
Kent believe passionately in "high-yield, low-impact" tourism-adventure
that respects the natural environment and benefits indigenous peoples.
They are the founders of Friends of Conservation and the Abercrombie &
Kent Global Foundation, established to address global environmental and
conservation concerns. Among its achievements have been significant contributions
to the preservation of Kenya's famed Masai Mara Game Reserve, as well as
to anti-poaching and environmental education projects on all seven continents.
Abercrombie
& Kent is proud to have received the
following:
Recommend
Magazine
“Best Africa/Middle East Tour Operator”
- December 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000
Men’s Journal
“10 Great Companies to Work For”
- November 2004
Forbes
“Best of the Web” - April 2004,
2003, 2002, 2001
Elite Traveler
“Wonders of the World: Machu Picchu”,
Juan Lazo, Best Guide - January 2004
World Travel
Awards
“World’s Leading Luxury Specialist
Tour Operator” - 2003
“World’s Leading Villa Operator”
- 2003
Travel
+ Leisure Magazine
“Best Tour Operator and Safari
Outfitter” - 2004 (#12), 2003 (#5), 2002 (#2), 2001 (#1), 2000 (#2), 1999
(#1), 1998 (#1), 1997 (#1), 1996 (#1)
“Top Guides in Africa” – Joseph
Ndunguru, Gavin Ford - 2001
Conde Nast
Traveler
“Readers’ Choice Awards: Top 15
African Safari Camps”
Olonana and Chief’s
Camp - 2004
Chief’s Camp - 2003
Chobe Chilwero -2002
“The World’s Best Places to Stay,”
Gold List
Chief’s Camp - January
2004
Chobe Chilwero - 2003
“The Greatest Travel Pros on Earth”
“A&K has access to places and
people that other operators in China don’t – including some of the top
English speaking guides. Hatherly is a cultural encyclopedia, Chen a whiz
with logistics.” - 2003
"Reader’s Choice: Top 20 Small-Ship
Cruise Lines" - 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997
Gavin Ford, “15 Best Safari Guides”
- 2002
Ecotourism Award – Special Mention
- 1996
Conde Nast
Traveller (UK)
"World's Best Tour Operator” - 2004
(#3), 2003 (#5), 2001 (#2), 2000 (#1), 1999 (#1)
Andrew
Harper’s Hideaway Report
“Favorite Hideway Resorts of the
Past 25 Years”, Chief’s Camp - 2004
“Favorite Worldwide Travel Adventures”,
Olonana, Chief’s Camp - 2004
“Previewing Heaven: 15 Worldwide
Hotels with Drop-Dead Views”, Chief’s Camp - 2003
“Top 20 Hideaway Gems,” World’s
Best Hotels, Resorts & Hideaways, Chief’s Camp - 2002
Travel
Agent Magazine
“Leaders in Luxury,” Geoffrey Kent
- 2002
World Travel
& Tourism Council
Green Award for Corporate Social
Leadership in Travel & Tourism - 2002
Town &
Country
Gavin Ford, “Top Guides in Africa”
- 2001
Queen’s
Award for Enterprise
(A&K Europe) - 2001, 2000
Chevron
Conservation Award
Jorie Butler Kent - 1999
ASTA/Smithsonian
Environmental Award - 1992
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© 1999 - 2007
