Alexandra Svokos
A trip is exciting. Not so exciting? The actual planning phase — especially if it's to a location you're not familiar with at all.
Sure, you can do research online and ask your friends for recommendations, but there is a ton of information to sift through out there, and the logistics can be tough to crack. Enter: a travel company.
Not only do tour operators take the sting out of vacation planning, they make it significantly easier once you're there, too. No need to obsess over train time tables or daily itineraries; you can just focus on truly enjoying your trip.
Of course, there is still some work to be done: Choosing the right travel company for you. There are so many options — you just need to pick the one that matches your vision. These choices below don't only come highly rated, they're also well-suited for specific or niche dream trips.
Abercrombie & Kent
- Ideal for: Seeing major sights with a group
- Locales: All continents, with 60 offices in 35 countries
- Founded: 1962
Classics are classic for a reason. Per company lore, Abercrombie & Kent founder Geoffrey Kent was born on safari in Kenya, "his beloved homeland." With six decades of experience, Abercrombie & Kent has a broad footprint in the travel world. Conde Nast Traveller readers ranked it the ninth-best general tour operator in 2024, with a 94.99% satisfaction rating.
If you're looking to travel somewhere new to you and want to journey through different experiences, A&K is a great place to start. They organize tours — including small group journeys, cruises and safaris — as well as private travel and private jet trips.
Choose from pre-made itineraries or let A&K experts create a bespoke schedule just for you. If you're joining a tour, plan to stick with their set dates and book a trip before it fills up.
Just remember it all comes at a price: A 12-day safari in Kenya and Tanzania with a small group (up to 18 people), for instance, goes for $13,495 per person, although the company often offers discounts.
TravelQuest
- Ideal for: Eclipse chasers and awe seekers
- Locales: All continents, following the moon
- Founded: 1996
TravelQuest plans trips around solar eclipses and other sky-related phenomena. If you want to experience the full solar eclipse in 2026, for example, you can join a TravelQuest cruise to Greenland and Iceland, or book a tour of Spain or Iceland.
Kiplinger digital managing editor Alexandra Svokos recalls her remarkable 2010 TravelQuest trip to the Cook Islands to see a solar eclipse — every moment felt like a marvel, even though clouds blocked the view of totality.
Chasing eclipses often leads to destinations you might never have considered, and TravelQuest works hard to ensure that, even with unpredictable weather, you’ll witness something extraordinary and experience something unique. On that 2010 trip, for instance, the group visited such a remote island that TravelQuest had to secure special permission to access. Guests slept in the local schoolhouse because there were no hotels.
The 2026 Spain trip, as another example, doesn't just drop you in Barcelona to see the eclipse, but to rural Castilla, a place pinpointed by the company's astronomers as ideal for viewing the eclipse. A 10-day Spain trip starts at $10,285 per person.
&Beyond
- Ideal for: Spotting the "Big Five" on safari
- Locales: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, South America and Indian Ocean islands
- Founded: 1991
&Beyond organizes travel with an eye for sustainability and conservation. But, while the company pays close attention to its impact on the environment and local communities, it promises travelers will feel pampered by their amenities and services, which include trip plans as well as company-owned lodges and camps.
"They are truly bespoke and offer excellent service," frequent traveler Gracie, who asked to only use her first name, told Kiplinger. "We used them to safari and I felt like a queen!"
One of &Beyond’s hallmarks is its luxury tented accommodations — think hardwood floors and elegant furnishings — set within some of Africa’s most iconic nature reserves and parks. Imagine watching the Great Wildebeest Migration unfold from the comfort of a cushioned patio chair.
Pampering doesn't come without costs. A nine-night Tanzanian safari in the Masai Mara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater will set you back $14,635 per person. Many customers will tell you it's well worth it the investment for an unforgettable experience.
Marathon Tours & Travel
- Ideal for: Runners chasing travel dreams
- Locales: All continents, including an exclusive Antarctica marathon
- Founded: 1979
Not for the meek, Marathon Tours & Travel caters to athletes looking to run races all around the globe in unique destinations like Bhutan, China's Great Wall, Kangaroo Island and the desert around Petra.
Just scrolling through the options might make you wish you were a marathon runner. This company has created races in some of the world’s most remote places, offering incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experiences to add to your bucket list. In the 1990s, they launched the Antarctica Marathon, making it possible for runners to join the "Seven Continents Club" by completing a marathon on each continent.
For experienced runners, the company can help cross milestone races, like Boston, Berlin, New York and Tokyo, off your list with guaranteed entries and logistics covered.
"If you are traveling solo or as a couple and don't mind spending the extra money, MTT is awesome," wrote one Redditor who said they took trips with the company to Berlin and London. "They only book the best hotels, are very organized and very professional. Their meet-ups, tours, breakfasts and dinners have all been good."
Pricing varies based on where you're going and what exactly you want to get out of a trip. The four-night Berlin Marathon Tour, for instance, starts at $2,950 for single occupancy at the JW Marriott, including lodging, a cocktail reception, a pre-race dinner, a post-race celebration and a half-day city sightseeing tour. Guaranteed entry for the race will cost an additional $350.
Kensington Tours
- Ideal for: Travelers who want bespoke luxury
- Locales: Over 100 countries on all continents, including the Arctic and Antartica
- Founded: 2006
Some travelers may have one specific gripe about tour operators: Aren't they just getting the same copy-and-paste vacation experience as thousands of other tourists? That's definitely not the case with Kensington Tours, which prides itself on its custom trips — the website explicitly states that "no two trips are the same."
Instead of a turn-key itinerary, Kensington Tours assigns you a "destination expert" who helps craft your dream vacation (and provides support when you're actually there, too). You'll receive a customized itinerary that you can change whenever want, providing a rare flexibility you won't get with many other operators.
Kensington Tours has options all over the globe, including cruises, luxury villa stays, food tours, culturally immersive experiences, safaris, personal retreats and more. Tell them where you want to go and what you want to do — they'll make it happen.
Of course, this level of support and luxury (emphasis on luxury) doesn't come cheap, although there's a wide range of prices available. On the lower end, a six-day Scandinavia tour focusing on major cities costs upward of $6,842. For a truly lavish option, expect to pay at least $31,494 per person for a 21-day expedition to Antartica and Patagonia.
If you're looking for a truly unique experience, it just might be worth it. Kensington Tours has 4.8 stars on TrustPilot, with one recent user, Lynn Flaherty, raving, "Our recent trip to Vietnam was most excellent! ... We were able to get out and met the locals, enjoy sumptuous food at both delicious restaurants and from street vendors, and had many adventurous excursions. Our in-country guides were excellent."
Country Walkers
- Ideal for: Hikers and outdoor enthusiasts
- Locales: North America, Europe, New Zealand, Peru
- Founded: 1979
If your motivation to travel is the great outdoors, consider Country Walkers, a tour operator that runs group trips and self-guided walks. On all of their tours, you'll do a beautiful hike over several days — soaking in nature with planned stops for cultural experiences along the way.
For example, consider the itinerary for the Country Walkers tour in Greece. Not only will you explore mountains and the beach, but you'll visit the Temple of Delphi, a winery owned by a local and an ancient monastery — all in the company of an experienced guide. It's no wonder Country Walkers has a 4.9 star rating on TravelStride, with reviewers describing it as "a great combination of walking and culture trip with insider access" and "so beautiful, culturally rich, and very well-organized."
Love to make friends and prefer to have a guide always present? Select a group tour, which allows for up to 18 people. You'll still have free time with this choice, so don't worry about a nonstop schedule. This is typically the pricier option, ranging from $3,245 to $7,795.
With self-guided tours for solo travelers, you set the pace and enjoy time by yourself. Instead of a guide, Country Walkers will give you an itinerary, handle booking your lodgings, cover many of your meals, transfer your luggage between stops and supply a representative available to help you 24/7 as you make your way through the journey. Costs for these trips range from $2,045 to $8,445.
With both options, you can pick from a variety of difficulty levels: Some trips are labeled "easy" and as short as two miles a day, while others are more challenging, covering up to 10 miles a day.
Food N' Wine Vacations
- Ideal for: Foodies and wine lovers
- Locales: Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, France, Croatia, Slovenia, South America
- Founded: 2003
Ask many people their favorite thing about traveling, and they'll immediately respond, "The food!" Experiencing the local cuisine is one of the best ways to connect with an area's culture, and of course, it's always fun (and delicious) to try new dishes and specialties. Food N' Wine Vacations creates its tours with exactly that in mind.
Visitors on a Food N' Wine Vacations tour do far more than sample incredible meals at restaurants, markets and food stalls — paired, of course, with wines and other local drinks, as the name suggests. Each itinerary weaves in the region’s history, natural beauty and hands-on encounters with local experts, such as chocolate artisans, cheesemakers and vineyard owners. Plus, the company notes, it chooses beautiful "private estates that capture the essence of the region" with a "story or history" for the tour accommodations, so that you're surrounded by local culture from sun up to sun down.
Food N' Wine Vacations keeps it simple, creating the itinerary for your tour so all you have to do is show up. A private guide who's an expert in the region and its cuisine will lead you each day as you experience one of life's greatest pleasures: food.
"Our Taste Of Tuscany wine tour was way beyond our expectations. The Villa was out of a dream with wine flowing and delicious home cooked breakfasts and dinners and two fabulous cooking classes," Local Guide Google reviewer Cheryle Derman wrote. "The guided private tours were exactly what we were hoping for. We have already booked Greece for 2025."
Prices for a tour with Food N' Wine Vacations vary, depending on length and location, starting at $1,850 per person for an experience (not including flights).
Keep in mind that while travel companies do a lot of planning and logistics for you, they may not necessarily include travel insurance.
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