Luxury Group Travel

Look beyond the price tag and you'll find that compared with most of our competitors: 1) our groups are smaller (rarely more than 16 travelers, very often fewer), 2) our itineraries are more comprehensive,  3) our pricing is inclusive and fair, especially considering the expertise that goes into creating the trips, and 4) small group travel allows for the best possible pricing. The price of our group trips also include emergency medical evacuation and medical expense insurance for each traveler, as well as flight-booking services and the nearly round-the-clock support of our state-of-the-art safety network. Every detail of each group trip, from accommodations and activities to trip flow and transport options, is carefully researched and selected by our destination experts, who travel in the field each year.

Our Group Trips treat you and a small group of travelers to exceptional travel experiences at the best possible pricing. Our Custom Trips are private journeys tailored to you and your travel companions or built for you completely from scratch, filled with personalized details, special-access visits, and imaginative touches (the sample itineraries you see online and in our catalog are just meant as starting points and sources of inspiration).

Every trip is different, but here are some general guidelines to help you understand the comfort level. We rate our trips from Easy to Moderate to Rigorous, and include the overarching activity (e.g., Touring, Hiking, Trekking, Safari). Trips called Active include a number of physical activities, such as kayaking and biking. Unless noted, our Touring trips are cultural journeys that do not include hiking, trekking, or other physical activities (though we do a lot of walking in villages, cities, museums, bazaars, etc.). And, with a few exceptions, we don't camp but stay in hotels and lodges—the best accommodations available, wherever we go. We also line up the region's best guides, vehicles and routes, experiences, and cuisine. Rigorous Touring will entail some long drives, often on dirt roads. We classify any tour that involves going to more than 10,000 feet as rigorous. Some of the hotels in remote areas might be basic, and in some places the meals may be inauspicious, hot water inconsistent, and the toilets balky (on long drives there may be no toilets at all, if you don't count a strategically placed boulder). Moderate Touring will be somewhat smoother and richer in modern conveniences; bathroom facilities on drives may be scarce, but hot water more dependable. Easy Touring will compare favorably with tours in Europe.

We use this rule of thumb: if you've ever backpacked you should have no trouble with our treks. In fact, we've taken more than a few people on trek who have never slept in a sleeping bag! The key is a commonsense level of physical conditioning: are you a strong hiker-walker? Can you do a five-hour hike with a couple of thousand feet of gain and loss? Beyond being in good shape, very little is demanded on our treks. On most treks, you'll enjoy deluxe camping, with top-notch gear and support—even cooking impressive meals on the trail. We rate our treks from Easy to Moderate to Rigorous. The differences have to do with length (a long trek is usually called rigorous) and altitude (treks that spend much time over 10,000 feet are classified as rigorous). If trekking doesn't sound up your alley, but you'd like to do some healthy hiking or reach places that vehicles can't, check out the trips in the interest category called Active, which generally include hiking and hotel stays. Our destination experts are happy to talk with you about your wishes and help you find the right adventure.

We've taken thousands of people to high altitudes (above 10,000 feet). We're successful with these trips because we stress carefully measured increments in altitude gain (sleeping altitude being the key number); we train our leaders and staff to monitor our clients and keep them from overexerting in the first few days at altitude; and we emphasize hydration and other simple techniques to aid acclimatization (our pre-trip materials go into great detail on this subject). Our most rigorous, high-altitude treks go out with satellite phones, Gamaw bags, and oxygen. Click here for more information on altitude sickness.

The quickest way to make a reservation is to call us at 888-570-7108. We accept check, wire transfer, VISA, and MasterCard for payments. Early reservations are recommended, since Group Trip size is limited and some trips require extra preparation time. For more information, see our Terms of Service.