Sanctuary Baines’ Camp, bordering the Moremi Game Reserve and the Okavango Delta, is ideally placed for wildlife watching

Nobody wants to go where everyone else has been. Creating a holiday that eschews the well-trodden tourist trail requires knowledge, contacts and experience. James Parry speaks to ultimate tour operator Abercrombie & Kent to see how they create experiences beyond expectations, from the best view of a solar eclipse in Argentina to a private tour of the Bolshoi with an ex-ballerina as your guide

In our increasingly crowded world, it’s difficult to ‘get away from it all’. We often reminisce about the places we visited long ago – that seaside holiday when you and your friends were the only people on the beach or that time you visited a beautifully tranquil temple and got a guided tour by one of the monks. And though our memories of bygone holidays may be rose-tinted, it is certainly true that getting off the beaten track today has never been more difficult. Queues, timed tickets and a throng of visitors brandishing selfie sticks are often part of the price you pay for seeing more of the world.

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The travel market is starting to recognise that some travellers would like a more engaging, authentic experience abroad, one where they can create a personal connection to their destination. Abercrombie & Kent (A&K), the bespoke travel company created by adventure pioneer Geoffrey Kent, has been specialising in highly personalised itineraries that are designed to match each traveller’s interests and passions since 1962. A&K’s clients want more than a sight-seeing tour, and Kent and his team are specialists in what’s known as ‘experiential travel’, conceiving trips that “inspire our guests to look at the world in a new and different way”.

Chile has some of the world’s most spectacular vineyards

However much input you may want to have in your itinerary, a wide network of contacts is useful, and A&K’s global staff – which numbers over 2,500 – leverage their detailed local knowledge and send their team members on fact-finding missions so they can devise trips full of unusual venues and experiences.

In Cambodia, A&K’s contacts extend beyond the temples, cultural landmarks and eco-tourism spots; it has also built relationships with art experts and curators to offer insider access to the country’s thriving creative industries. If you’re passionate about craftsmanship, the chance to spend time in an artist’s workshop gets to the very heart of what makes a place tick. One visit included the opportunity to spend time with artisans who are preserving and promoting traditional Khmer lacquerware techniques and whose pieces have been commissioned by brands such as Cartier, Hermès and Louis Vuitton. On another trip, A&K arranged a stopover to a Khmer couture designer to see how locally sourced fibres are used to hand-make bespoke fabrics that are now making it onto the catwalks of Milan and Paris.

Eric Raisina, a couture designer in Cambodia

For dance lovers, the trip of a lifetime might involve witnessing the legendary dancers of the Bolshoi in Moscow – not just performing, but in rehearsal. Elizabeth Patch, private client manager, organised one such behind-the-scenes visit for a client, who commented on “the unstaged emotion and raw-life element of the practice room”. The experience also includes a tour of the legendary institution led by a former ballerina who offers first-hand recollections of a life dancing on stage and regales her guests with stories of landmark productions and celebrated prima donnas. Guests are also shown the seamstresses’ workshop, where every costume is hand-made, and the visit is topped off with an attendance of the performance itself.

Read more: Ferrari designer Flavio Manzoni on collaborating with Hublot

Behind the scenes at the Bolshoi in Moscow

Time and again, travellers’ most memorable experiences are drawn from the people they meet. In Chile, one possible itinerary sees visitors spending time at Casa Marín, the award-winning winery of Maria Luz Marín – one of the most influential women in the global wine industry. Marilú, as she is usually known, bucked the trend in the male-dominated world of viniculture by going out on her own to produce premium wines from an estate that most experts said was too close to the sea for vines to thrive. Today she shares her knowledge – and some of her finest vintages – with guests at La Casa.

Renowned chef Francis Mallmann’s unique Siete Fuegos open-flame cooking techniques in Argentina.

One of the greatest joys of a bespoke holiday is delegating logistics to the experts – even the weather. Earlier this year, a special programme was arranged for a group of clients to witness the total solar eclipse visible across parts of South America on 2 July. The A&K team in Argentina had to identify the best possible location for a luxurious camp from which to view this momentous event. “We chose two different places, based on the optimum vantage points, and had to decide at the last minute which one to use, after we knew what the weather was doing,” says Veronica Curtis, A&K country manager for Argentina. “We were prepared for one area to have more cloud cover than the other, so we had helicopters on standby ready to take the group to whichever site had the best view of the eclipse.”

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A rare view of the total solar eclipse in Argentina this summer

For travellers who balk at overcrowding, the ultimate luxury would be a visit to a unique venue on an exclusive basis. This applies not just to cultural landmarks, such as the Mount Etna Observatory in Italy – one of many private tours that A&K has made possible – but also to accommodation. Hotels and lodges are selected to reflect the distinctive character of each destination. Think lesser-known gems, such as the boutique Temple House in Chengdu, China, which artfully combines a restored imperial courtyard with chic modern interiors, and Angama Mara, a luxury safari lodge dramatically perched on the edge of Kenya’s iconic Great Rift Valley in the midst of what has been described as the ‘greatest wildlife show on Earth’.

Abercrombie & Kent has spent decades honing its instinct for what makes truly meaningful, one-of-a-kind trips. Beyond the planning and preparation, experiential travel requires imagination on the part of the organiser and the traveller. After all, a successful journey will take you to a place you’ve always dreamed about, but a wildly successful trip might just take you to a place you’ve never even heard of.

Another side of the red city

The YSL Museum in Marrakech

The sandstone walls and souks of Marrakech in Morocco are a well-established stop on the mainstream tourist route, but you can also experience some of the city’s more remarkable sights in a totally original way: without the buzz of the crowds. Bespoke private access can be arranged to many of the city’s cultural venues, offering you the chance to soak up the atmosphere at your own pace. Options include an after-hours private tour of the Yves Saint Laurent Museum, a visit to an Arab horse stud farm, and exclusive occupancy of the privately owned estate of Dar El Sadaka, designed by the celebrated French installation artist Jean-François Fourtou and home to his whimsical architectural masterpieces, The House Fallen from the Sky and The Giant’s House.

Discover A&K’s portfolio of travel tours: abercrombiekent.co.uk

This article was originally published in the Autumn 19 Issue.

A black back mountain gorilla in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Abercrombie & Kent’s Founder and CEO, and LUX contributor Geoffrey Kent has visited 148 countries, racking up a total of 17 million miles (since he last counted). In his latest exclusive column for LUX, the modern-day explorer shares his top 5 life changing travel experiences

1. Seeing mountain gorillas in the wild

Sir David Attenborough summed it up the best when he said, following an encounter with a mountain gorilla in 1979, that “there is more meaning and mutual understanding in exchanging a glance with a gorilla than any other animal I know – they are so like us.”

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Seeing a silverback or female with a playful infant in the wild will undoubtedly change your whole outlook on wildlife conservation. While the mountain gorilla is one of the most beloved animals, it is also one of the most endangered. But there is cause for some celebration – according to WWF, who released the results of a new census early this year, Central Africa’s mountain gorilla population has now risen to above 1,000. This is a 25 per cent increase since 2010.

In 1985, I convinced General Museveni (the then future president of Uganda) to set aside the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest as a national park, on the condition that I build a luxury camp and bring in clients, so I’m very proud to have played a part in helping to protect these magnificent creatures.

Geoffrey Kent cruising the Arctic Ocean

2. Voyaging to the Poles

In 1999, I needed a new frontier to conquer. I had suffered a near-fatal polo accident in 1996 and was asking myself “what would it take for me to be on top of the world again?” Then I realised, I could go to the top of the world. With fast research I learned there was an expedition to the North Pole in July 1999 – the last cruise of the century. I predicted that the 12-day journey to the Arctic would be one of the most lunatic endeavours I’ve set out on – and I was right.

A journey to the Arctic Ocean would give any man new energy. It may be freezing but it’s a thoroughly fascinating place. In the Arctic there are so many shades of blue. From aquamarine to sapphire, it’s rich and dazzling in a way you will have never seen before. It’s also a place where all the implications of climate change resound with the greatest force, and you’ll return home with renewed commitment to reducing your own contribution to the problem.

View of Kilimanjaro from Amboseli National Park, Kenya. Image by Sergey Pesterev

3. Climbing Kilimanjaro

Kilimanjaro has two main peaks – Kibo and Mawenzi which are connected by a saddle. Kibo is the taller of the two at 19,341 feet and Mawenzi is shorter, at 16,896 feet. The saddle is about 16,000 feet up. Altogether Africa’s most iconic mountain covers 995 square miles. The name ‘Kilimanjaro’ means ‘impossible for the traveller’. It comes from a saying of the Chaga people, who traditionally live on the southern and eastern slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro and Meru, suggesting that Kili is so great that men should be warned against even trying to climb it.

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At 17, in 1959, I climbed it from the Kenyan side. To train, I rose at 5am for a five-mile run and spent every day for weeks building my stamina and strength, because once you’re on Kili, there’s no easy way off. When most people tell you they’ve climbed Kilimanjaro, they’re usually referring to Gilman’s point but the very top – the peak of Mount Kibo – is Kaiser Wilhelm Spitze (now known as Uhuru Peak). The view from there is all sky and open space – it’s overwhelming in its simplicity. A&K has a summit success rate of 97 per cent, higher than most as we give clients more days to acclimatise to the altitude (and appreciate the journey!). I’ve never forgotten the experience of my first Kili climb.

Wildebeests spotted on a game drive. Image by David Clode

4. Going on safari

Life is undoubtedly messy. Getting up-close to the ‘circle of life’ is both humbling and thrilling. By nature, the only thing that’s predictable about a game drive is that it will be unforgettable. One day on safari is the great adventure that will change the rest of an individual’s life.

The Great Migration is one of nature’s greatest spectacles. Every year more than a 1.5 million wildebeest, 200,000 Burchell’s zebra and a smattering of trailing Thomson’s gazelle make a 1,900km odyssey between Tanzania’s Serengeti and the Masai Mara in Kenya. Instinct and the smell of rain spurs the herds forward with two things in mind: food and water. They are following the rains in search of fresh grass. Along the way, many migrating animals fall prey to waiting predators including lion, leopard, cheetah, crocodile and hyena.

Visit Tanzania between January and early March to see thousands of wildebeest being born each day, then from June through September, vast herds are on the move through Kenya.

Approaching the pyramids on the back of a camel is a breath-taking experience, says Geoffrey Kent. Image by Pradeep Gopal

5. Visiting the pyramids and sailing down the Nile

I’ve always been fixated on Egypt. Its history is epic – at sunrise, the pyramids appear blood red and your first sight of the Sphinx will haunt you like an apparition. Approach these ancient wonders on camelback and you’ll feel like you’re starring in a film. It’s a moment you’ll never forget.

I understand some travellers’ hesitation to visit Egypt, however the ancient country is awash with optimism right now, and it’s an ideal time to go. There are new hotels to entice, new tombs are being discovered regularly and the world’s largest archaeological museum, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) will – partially – open in early 2019.

Discover Abercrombie & Kent’s luxury travel itineraries: abercrombiekent.com