Abercrombie & Kent

I traveled with A&K to China. We were only a small group of 10 guests and we had the most amazing guide that I have ever experienced. He was a walking encyclopedia of Chinese history and culture. Although a native Canadian who now resides in Hong Kong, he toggles between perfect Mandarin (according to some of the local experts) and English so naturally that it quickly enhanced our experience.
The hotels could not have been better — from the fabulous Peninsula Shanghai to the wonderful quaint Jing’s Residence in Ping Yao. We enjoyed a wonderfully diverse dining experience from the authentic, local «hole-​in-​the-​wall» Chinese restaurant to a formal Chinese family-​style dinner all the way to Italian (prepared by a real Italian chef who now lives in X’ian) and international Continental cuisine.
Outstanding job. I will be traveling with A&K again soon.

Too bad I did not read the Unilocal reviews before embarking on a three week trip of Australia and New Zealand with Abercrombie & Kent. I would recommend to anyone thinking of this trip to plan it on your own or use another tour company. A&K contracts with local tour companies to plan your itinerary. The local tour operators are a bust. They itinerary they created for us could have been found in a US$ 15.00 guidebook. The Australian tour company made several mistakes in the itinerary on departure venues, times, names of tour companies, etc.
I was very upset after the first week because I had paid a lot for an exclusive, luxury travel vacation with an esteemed company. This was not the case. My travel companion and myself were informed on the last day or our three week tour that the tour we had selected was part of A&K’s new Signature series which is similar to their Connections series but for smaller groups. It turns out this series is not billed as luxury.
I recreated my itinerary with A&K on my own and could have saved a third of the price and would have picked more unique locations, hotels and excursions than we were offered.
On the last day or our trip, we met with the local operator for New Zealand to voice our complaints. He was rather dismissive and did not relay the information to the A&K home office as he said he would do. He was protecting his own reputation and did not care that our trip was riddled with errors.
I feel like A&K made a sucker out of me and my friend. Even if I was offered a free trip with them, I would not take it. Four weeks later and I’m still waiting for a refund from one of the excursions that got cancelled because the tour operator decided to change their schedule with no warning to us.

If you are looking for a high end travel company, then look no further than Abercrombie and Kent.
I was planning a 7 week, «trip of a lifetime» to multiple destinations requiring 28 flights, multiple hotels, sight seeing, customs, drivers, etc and I didn’t want to have to think about anything once the trip began. As a very seasoned traveler, I knew that pre planning was going to be critical in pulling this off flawlessly and I knew I needed a travel company that was used to this type of travel.
I was made aware of A&K through more of their group trips so I thought I would see how they might approach putting together my «bucket list» trip.
First off, they sent me some sample trips that they had put together for other clients. I liked the level of detail and the flexibility they had so I went ahead and hired them for the job.
The trip was well planned and at each stop I was given a choice of things to participate in. Once finalized, the trip was paid for in advance and the travel secured. I liked the «pay in advance» feature as I might have «nickel and dimed» the individual activities had I known what they cost. But with just a grand total, I just went with the program as long as it was in line with my budget. And given this was the first time I had used them, I would think future trips may be easier to plan as they now know my «likes and dislikes».
And in each country I visited, the first A&K rep who met me would provide all the vouchers and details needed for the rest of my trip in that country which made it easy. They even tinformed me of tipping practices, where to exchange money and gave me some local restaurant suggestions which was really helpful. My only role was to be where I was supposed to be for my pick up, and to have fun!
I found all of their guides and drivers to be personable and knowledgeable. Their choice of hotels was very good and I loved that in countries where the language or culture might make it difficult to get through customs, that they had someone there to shepard me through the process.
If I had a wish, it would be that there was a little more communication during the upfront planning. On several occasions, I would email them a response and would hear nothing back. A simple acknowledgement would have gone a long way in letting me know that they had gotten my info otherwise I felt I had to call back and it turned out in most instances they were already on it.
I also think that they could have done a little better in planning the airfare. They knew what airlines I wanted to fly and yet when the final itinerary came, I had to have them go back as one of the legs was with the wrong carrier. A small mistake in a trip of this magnitude, but one I didn’t expect with what I was paying for this trip.
But the real testament to their skill came during the actual travel. Everything went off according to the plan and that was no small feat given the number of trains, planes, automobiles, hotels and countless other details that could have gone wrong. Thanks to A&K I had the trip of a lifetime!

Continued from 10.8.14
Day 10: Masai Mara to Nairobi 9.20.14
We left Olonana at 9:30am with transfer to the airstrip for a 10:20 flight. As soon as we got there 10 minutes later, we’re informed that our Air Kenya flight is delayed due to a flat tire. There were no restroom facilities, only a covered sitting area. We waited there till about 11:45am when the driver says the plane won’t be in till about 1:00pm so they took us back to Olonana and had lunch which was nice. At 1:30pm we were told the plane was landing in about 30 minutes so we headed back to the airstrip. Arrived at 2:00pm and no plane. 2:30pm still no plane and Air Kenya kept telling Olonana they’ll be there in 5 minutes. At 2:45pm an empty unmarked plane landed with no one inside. Turns out Air Kenya chartered a Phoenix Aviation plane to get us because their plane was still down. And you know what? Just after takeoff, we saw a small herd of wildebeests cross the river, so we DID get to see part of the great migration! :)
We finally landed at Wilson Airport at 3:40pm. The A&K reps were waiting for us just as long as we were delayed in Masai Mara. We were shuttled to the Fairmont Norfolk for one last night in Kenya. We relaxed and had a great dinner.
Day 11: Nairobi 9.21.14
We had the included breakfast buffet in The Lord Delamere Terrace. We hired a driver & van from A&K for a half day (6 hours) at $ 150.
First stop was the Karen Blixen Museum (separate review on Trip Advisor.)
We then stopped at Birds Paradise Souvenir Shop which had tons of tourist junk.
Our last stop was for lunch at Carnivore restaurant (separate review on Trip Advisor.)
OVERALL:
Great service, all inclusive except for a few premium alcohol beverages and the hot air balloon ride. Highly recommended!

Called during Business Hours, Sat 9 to 1, CST. Started at 9AM CST. It is now 10:45 AM CST and they are still not answering and saying their hours but «are closed».
But their emergency line operator did pick up and confirm they are supposed be open. She too had no idea how to help me! that was their emergency line, since the person she was to call was NOT THERE! THE EMERGENCY LINE!
Not what I would consider a HIGH TRAVEL GROUP, Emergency line isn’t even staffed at this time, and the full business doesn’t even answer their phones during their stated business hours???
Pass.

Short Version: Quality is hit or miss. Don’t value their customers.
I booked a two person private trip for my honeymoon in Europe. For the price you pay (Approx. $ 1200/​day per person) I expected better quality. I’ve had other family members use the service and recommend it.
Unfortunately I cannot endorse a company with mediocre staff and disingenuous pricing policies. Firstly, when planning the itinerary, as another commentator mentioned, it is very hard to get an itinerary put together. It may be up to a week before you even hear back on simple requests. For example, even when I got the itinerary finished I asked to remove a day and leave the rest the same and it took three days for them to update the itinerary and price quote with me reaching out every single day. Other times, I would just call because they were unresponsive to emails.
Once on the trip things were hit or miss. They appear to use all freelance tour guides that very possibly have never worked with A&K and thus you are paying a lot for a company that doesn’t really seem to vet the guides they set you up with. All I can say is some were great and some were poor and cut us short on time, asked to take break and get food, etc. Also, the guide I had in one country didn’t even know who A&K was.
Finally, I must mention they nickel and dime you. I’m fortunate to be able to afford their prices, but the manor in which the treat you is very deplorable. We had one unfortunate incident where we had to change the date of an activity. They initially said this wouldn’t be an issue at all and that I didn’t have to worry about anything. 2 days later after I had made all arrangements they hit me with a $ 1500 guide change fee. It was very shady and after cycling through three different managers they basically said you either do everything without a guide or you pay for a new one. To pour salt in the wound, with 5 business days before the tour days they said they couldn’t pay for it and I would have to go to the bank and take out cash to pay the guides directly. Yea… because I want to walk around Europe with $ 1500 extra cash in my pocket. That makes me feel safe…
All in all for the price they charge the company is simply not good enough for my standards. I expect the top of the line trip quality and customer service. Instead, they hit you when your down and hide behind the fine print. I will not be recommending them and they lost the chance to make a life long customer by adding considerable stress to what should have been a perfect honeymoon.

We were 4 travelers, and stopped through Egypt on our way to Athens. The pyramids were on our bucket list, but traveling in Egypt is still a bit sketchy. Our travel agent booked our 2 night stay with Abercrombie & Kent. They put together a great package that would maximize our short stay. We requested to be escorted at all times, and they didn’t let us down.
Our guide met us at the airport gate:
— handled our Visas
— had a car & driver — & traveled with us to our hotel
— arranged our own egyptianologist for touring
— we toured the pyramids, Sphynx, Solar Museum, local sights, the Egyptian Museum, and did a dinner cruise on the nile
The experience was top notch, and we felt very safe. Our guides all spoke great English, and were fantastic.
We absolutely could have arranged this a la carte cheaper on our own, but there is no way we would have had this top notch experience. There was no stress, no haggling, and we were well cared for in a foreign & not tourist friendly area. Huge thumbs up.

My husband and I just came back from a trip we booked with Abercrombie & Kent in Morocco. I have to say that we both are very impressed with the impecable service they provide, they take care of immigration while you wait in a lounge, they help you with the luggage. The hotels were all beautiful and with excellent location, top notch restaurants and very good service. They don’t take you to tourist shops if you ask them not to. We were driven through Casablanca, Fes, Rabat and Marrakech in a very comfortable van with water and heat, and we felt safe all the way along. Our driver Mustafa was very kind and took care of us all the time. Our guide Ghall Berradai is extremely knowledgeable and was very polite and nice to us and to people on the streets, he’s a wonderful person and a great asset for your company, we wanted to thank him for this incredible experience. We’ll definitely use Abercrombie & Kent again in the near future.

We had happily used A&K for Peru. Now we scheduled a trip to India. It was cancelled by email. No sorry, please excuse us… nothing. We called them and same story. After we asked, were told our refund would be credited… still waiting after five days. I’d be very wary of a company with such a fine reputation suddenly slipping down so quickly. I just hope we get our money back.

I had tried to book a trip with them a few years ago. If you are a single traveler, they scalp you for single supplement on every leg of the trip, which adds to $$$$$.
I had ended up booking a similair trip with a great competitor of theirs for a fraction of the price
This time I found a wonderful itinerary on they wesite, so I thought I give them another try. The reservation agent was very snooty with me, told me that she will work on the details, and get beck to me. 48 hours later I called her, and she told me VERY irritated, that she is worknig on it, and will get back to me when she has more information on my itinerary. I waited one whole week, no Emails, no phone calls.
I called the company again, got all kind of excuses, and promises to take care of me. Now it’s two days later, and again nothing have happened. Of course I’ll find another trip for my destinatin, but want to warn you about this company; expensive, snooty and don’t deliver. STAY AWAY

Herein lies a tale. I convinced my friends to take an extremely expensive barge trip through the Alsace Lorraine through A&K. The trip turned out to be a bust: the air conditioning on the barge was broken, the barge was incredibly shabby and worn, the shore excursions were below par.

So why do I think so highly of A&K? Because when I returned, I emailed an account of our trip. The president of A&K called me personally and refunded half of the expense to me and to my friends.
When things go amiss is the true measure of a company’s mettle. I am very impressed with how A&K handled an unfortunate situation.

Abercrombie and Kent is a top notch travel planning company. They deal with high end vacation/​adventure destinations world wide. I had the great pleasure of travel to Tanzania and Rwanda by way of Kenya and Great Britain. The hotels we stayed at and the tour guides that we had were phenomenal. Their attention to detail was impressive and their ability to make changes along the way really augmented our adventure.
Please be advised the costs involved are somewhat astronomical and the planning, although thorough, can be tedious at times when changes need to be made. With that being said, our trip was smooth and the sites at Ngorongoro Crater, Kusini and Sabinyo Rwanda were awe inspiring.
I would definitely travel with A and K again. We traveled as a family with our own personal car and tour guide. I find this mode of travel the best and I feel that we got all the attention we needed. I also felt very safe in a completely unfamiliar place.