Wild Frontiers Founder Jonny Bealby extols the virtues of travelling as part of a small group of friends and family.
As the head of Wild Frontiers, until recently I was lucky enough to do a great deal of travelling. With offices in the US, India and Cambodia, new locations needing to be recced and the odd small group tour still needing to be led, my choices for touring the world were endless.
But being a sociable chap, recently I have discovered one of the best forms of travel imaginable is to take one of WF’s carefully crafted small group tours with friends and family. Now, don’t get me wrong. I still thoroughly enjoy leading tours of WF travellers; meeting new people, whether from our own culture or from those across the seas is always fun and enlightening. But in recent times, locked away as we’ve been, I, like many of us, have found myself missing my friends. Getting together in a far-off place, to enjoy a new world together has been a wonderful experience and one I highly recommend.
I should say this is not a new concept. In 2014 I took a group of close friends walking in Georgia (see main image above). The following year I took another group of friends horse riding through rural Rajasthan. For Christmas 2016 yet more friends joined my wife and I as we travelled on a private version of Oman Desert Adventure and for New Year 2017 we took the Slow Boat to Aswan on a journey up the Nile with more lucky friends. But last autumn, having developed a new trip in Italy with my old mate, Wild Frontiers tour leader, Domenico Mocchi, travelling with close friends seemed even more poignant.
As one of my guests Robina put it, ‘In the strange world we now live in, it was wonderful to be able to explore a new part of Italy, Wild Frontiers style - off the beaten track, brilliant, knowledgeable and charming guides and delicious Italian food and wine – but with friends who had been sorely missed during lockdown. Sharing the experience with a group of close friends made it even better. A ray of sunshine in an otherwise bleak year.’
And it seems many of you are catching on to this ‘best of both worlds’ approach, with five different private groups – from places as diverse as UK, US and Spain – last week alone asking to take over some of our tours to travel on a private basis.
And why not? these trips often feature wonderful guesthouses, lodges, luxury boats – or even camping – where your group will be the only guests, allowing you to stay in your ‘bubble’ and experience the joy of these locations in private. Using all the benefits of our established group travel practicalities – great local guides, fabulous walking, interesting experiences, characterful accommodation and Covid safety protocols – I believe there has never been a better time to join up with your friends and family and travel to some of the most beautiful places on earth.
So if you think you can persuade your much missed friends or family members to team up for a wonderful adventure take a look at our Private Group page where we have showcased the trips we think best suited for this kind of extraordinary travel experience.