Enchanting Travels

A custom trip designer with a long safari record

Enchanting Travels designs and arranges private, tailor-made trips, and describes itself as specializing in "luxury custom travel and tailor-made safaris." It does not sell fixed group departures: every itinerary on the site is a sample for a travel consultant to rework around your dates, budget and pace, and the trip is then run on the ground with local guides and drivers. Its destination menu is wide. Africa covers Botswana, Egypt, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe; Asia runs from Bhutan and Japan to Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam; and the menu adds India by region, much of Europe, Costa Rica, Mexico and Panama, Jordan, Oman and the UAE, Alaska, Canada and Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador with the Galapagos, the Arctic and Antarctica. The FAQ speaks of "all of our 70 destinations," while the about page says it has sent guests to "80+ destinations." Its US company sits at 8400 E Prentice Ave, Greenwood Village, Colorado, and the about page lists further entities in Munich, Bangalore and Nairobi. The site states that Enchanting Travels is owned by Travelopia Holdings Limited.

Sample trips and the safari side

The homepage shows sample itineraries as starting points rather than products. Named examples include Highlights of Italy and Greece, a 12-day trip with guided walks in Florence and Rome; a 12-day Ireland route with the Cliffs of Moher, the Connemara coast and optional kayaking on the Killary fjord; a classic Japan journey; and an East Africa trip through "some of eastern Africa's best wildlife reserves and beaches," with the Serengeti, the Ngorongoro area and Ol Pejeta Conservancy. A South Africa safari panel promises savannas full of wildlife and coastal penguin colonies.

The safari offering is built the same way as everything else: private and custom. The FAQ says the company builds family-friendly African safaris "designed for all age groups," with English-speaking guides. The testimonials it chooses to publish describe safaris in South Africa and Zimbabwe, tented camps, a home-hosted lunch added when a planned activity fell through, and being met at the airport and walked through customs. These are the company's selected reviews, not a guarantee of what any trip includes.

The about page timeline shows where that safari experience comes from. The company started in 2004 in Munich as Enchanting-India, added Africa with an office in Nairobi in 2006, opened in Buenos Aires in 2008, formed the Enchanting Travels brand from its India, Africa, Asia and South America brands, opened a US office in Denver, and later joined Travelopia. It says it received Travelife Partner status in India and Kenya for sustainability practices.

The team page names Parik Laxminarayan as co-founder and CEO, with Florian Keller as Chief Customer & Sustainability Officer, and says the management team comes from over ten different countries. The company also publishes its own research: its news page summarizes a report, "The New Luxury Traveler," in which 63% of respondents named unique experiences as their main reason to travel and 64% said their ideal trip lasts 12 days or longer. That fits the product, which leans toward long, multi-stop journeys rather than short breaks.

How a trip is planned and run

Planning starts with a form (trip length, month, number of travelers, planning stage) or a call to the US and Canada line, 1 888 263-2574. The FAQ describes 3 steps: consult an advisor about destinations and travel style, review and refine the custom itinerary, then finalize and travel. The team page says travel consultants call at a time that suits you to go through every detail, including budget, interests and pace. A wishlist lets you save sample trips without logging in, and a print magazine goes out twice a year "to travelers who like to plan slowly."

Once the trip starts, the company says a personal concierge is available 24/7 to handle requests and coordinate private transfers. Its "Enchanting Travels Difference" list claims "award-winning, licensed local guides," accommodation and services "personally tested by our team," and "a personal and dedicated trip coordinator." One guest review on the homepage mentions an app carrying the trip information. The site also says "every journey is drawn up by a specialist who has traveled the ground themselves."

Prices, protection and the fine print

No trip on the site shows a price. The FAQ says the final itinerary price "reflects the complete cost of your agreed-upon services" and that planners "detail all taxes, national park fees, and local tour costs before you secure your reservation," with "zero hidden fees." It also claims "100% financial protection on all booked custom vacations," and the referral page says "our flexible policies have you covered." The site does not spell out a deposit, payment schedule or cancellation window.

The company quotes a 4.9 star rating on Trustpilot and more than 60,000 guests over 20 years. It says it has won Travel Weekly Magellan Awards for "World's Leading Tour Operator" multiple years running, including the 2019 Gold Award. The Friends for Friends referral program donates USD $50 to the Logos Scholarship Fund in Kenya when a referred friend books a first trip, which the site says covers a month of a child's secondary school costs.

The team page gives 212 employees, 20 nationalities, 4 offices and 6 continents, and the about page lists the same 212 employees under corporate information.

Gaps and who it suits

The things a comparison shopper wants first are missing: a price, even a "from" figure, for any sample trip; the deposit and cancellation terms behind "flexible policies"; and what "100% financial protection" means in practice (the site does not name a bonding scheme or insurer). Destination counts differ between pages (70 against 80+).

Enchanting Travels suits travelers planning a longer, private trip, a safari in East or Southern Africa or a multi-country itinerary elsewhere, who want one company to design it, book the hotels and guides, and be reachable around the clock while they travel. It suits people who are happy to plan through conversations with a consultant. Travelers who want to compare prices online, or join a fixed-date group safari, will not find that here.