Our Journey Began in Africa

Our founder Geoffrey Kent was born on safari and grew up barefoot in the bush of Kenya, his beloved homeland. In the 1960s he and his parents pioneered the first modern luxury safari with the groundbreaking ethos “Shoot with a camera, not with a gun”, hosting their first guests in a private, bespoke mobile camp in East Africa.

The camp was unprecedented in its sophistication: Geoffrey drafted in the best chef, bartender and maître d’ in Nairobi, along with power for electric lights and refrigeration to chill food – and, more importantly, champagne. Four canvas tents were furnished with antique rugs, bathtubs and crystal martini glasses; the loos (mahogany) with issues of Country Life and Punch. “I vow that this marriage of adventure and extravagance will be the stamp that Abercrombie & Kent’s brand will come to be known by,” Geoffrey writes in his memoir, Safari.

We've Come a Long Way

That inimitable combination of adventure and extravagance became the blueprint not just for Abercrombie & Kent, but for the entire concept of experiential travel. Over the following six decades, Geoffrey Kent built his family start-up into an international company renowned for delivering similarly thrilling, innovative and ultra-luxurious journeys all over the world.

Since his inaugural safari Geoffrey has hosted and crafted trips for Hollywood stars, British royals and world leaders. He has won a dizzying number of travel awards, and been recognized as a titan of the industry time and time again.

Now in his new role as Chairman Emeritus, and with the business under the ownership of his long-time friend and travel partner Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio, Geoffrey still leads expeditions today, thrilling guests with his boundary-transcending itineraries. And Abercrombie & Kent continues to set the gold standard for extravagant adventures to the wildest frontiers on all seven continents on earth.

For Life's Most Epic Adventures

From that first humble safari camp in 1962, Abercrombie & Kent has grown into the world’s leading experiential travel company, creating agenda-setting adventures in more than 100 countries. Today, our portfolio of places to stay encompasses safari lodges and mobile camps in countries across Africa, Private Estates to rent in Tuscany, elegant riverboats on the Nile and the Amazon.

Our global powerhouse of innovators – destination experts, brilliant local guides, specialists in science and culture, well-connected super-fixers – continually strive to seek out those truly original, exclusive experiences beyond the reach of most travellers.

We are committed to advancing travel as a force for good. Every journey booked with us helps support A&K Philanthropy initiatives, positively impacting local communities in the wilderness areas where we travel. Geoffrey Kent’s founding principles – that travel should be awe-inspiring, exciting, memorable and considered – remain our motivation today. And though we have grown into an international company spanning all seven continents, we still share that one same mission. To craft the adventure of a lifetime, every time.

A&K Philanthropy

We believe travel should be a force for good. In the 1960s, our founder Geoffrey Kent and Jorie Butler Kent pioneered the community-first approach to conservation. Today, we still believe that the best way to protect our planet’s remaining wilderness is to invest in the communities who live there.

Every trip you book with us benefits grassroots community and conservation initiatives led by our nonprofit arm, A&K Philanthropy (AKP). We now support 55 projects in 25 countries, positively impacting lives, helping preserve some of the world’s most precious ecosystems, and ensuring that the people in the places where we travel are benefitting directly from tourism.

We are committed to advancing conscious travel. With your help, we aim to incorporate A&K Philanthropy ventures into every Tailormade Journey we create in the destinations where AKP operates.

A&K Philanthropy