How private & custom tours score
This guide explains the format itself. If you're deciding between companies, see our comparison of all major land tour operators. A format profile, not a company one — this measures who this model as a whole actually suits.
These scores describe the format itself. The exact experience varies by operator and by how much of the itinerary you customize.
Two honest notes. Price accessibility scores as low as it can go, deliberately — this is the one format where "expensive" isn't a criticism, it's a direct, unavoidable consequence of the mechanism itself. Group camaraderie scores equally low for the same structural reason: there's no group to build camaraderie with, by design, which is exactly what some travelers are paying the premium for.
Why are private tours so expensive?
Because nobody else is splitting the bill. Every other format on this comparison relies on shared costs to keep the price down — this one removes that entirely.
A private tour vs. group tour comparison comes down to simple math: a classic coach tour spreads one guide and one vehicle across 25 to 45 travelers. Even the smallest small-group departure spreads those same fixed costs across 8 to 16 people. Private touring removes that math completely: one guide, one vehicle, one traveling party — a family, a couple, a small circle of friends — and the full cost of both falls on that one party alone. That's the entire difference. The hotels may be the same. The route may be similar. The guide is doing the same job. The vehicle is still driving the same roads. The only thing that changed is who pays for it. That single structural fact is the entire reason it's the most expensive category on our whole comparison, and by a wide margin.
What you get in exchange is real: total schedule control, a route built around your specific interests instead of a published brochure, and the flexibility to linger somewhere an hour longer or skip something entirely without consulting anyone else. Whether private touring is worth it comes down to a genuinely personal calculation — but the price itself isn't padding or upselling. It's the direct, unavoidable cost of removing every other traveler from the equation.
Real numbers, and the two tiers actually on offer
Abercrombie & Kent's own pricing shows the group-versus-private gap directly: its published group tours typically start around $5,000 per person for a full itinerary, while private and bespoke journeys can run upwards of $20,000 per person for a comparable trip. That's not two prices for the same product — it's the direct cost of removing the group.
| Tier | What it actually is |
|---|---|
| Private Ready-to-Book | A pre-designed itinerary, booked exclusively for your own party — the route is already planned, but no strangers join you. |
| Luxury Tailor Made | Built from scratch around your specific interests, destinations, and pace — the highest level of customization, and priced accordingly. |
Worth knowing before you assume every "private" A&K product means one party per trip: its Private Jet Journeys charter a plane shared among as many as 48 to 50 guests. That's a small-group luxury product using private aviation, not a single-party private tour — a genuinely different thing from the two tiers above, even though "private" appears in the name.
Who actually runs this format
Abercrombie & Kent is the operator on our comparison built most explicitly around this as a core product, with both a pre-designed private tier and a fully custom one. That said, this isn't exclusive to dedicated luxury specialists — most operators across our full comparison will quote a custom private version of one of their own published group itineraries on request, generally at a significant premium over the group rate. A private version of a budget-tier operator's tour will still cost meaningfully less than A&K's ultra-luxury safaris, even though both carry the same structural premium over their respective group rates.
Who this format fits — and who should look elsewhere
Budget genuinely isn't the constraint, and total schedule control is worth a real premium to you. You're traveling with a family or small circle who'd rather not share the trip with strangers. You have specific interests a published brochure itinerary won't accommodate. Or the destination itself calls for it — certain safari lodges and remote regions are genuinely better experienced without a larger group.
Price is a real factor at all; this is, without close competition, the most expensive format on our whole comparison. You actually enjoy meeting other travelers and building camaraderie around shared experiences — that's structurally absent here. You're satisfied with a well-designed published itinerary and don't need it built around your specific interests. Or you're being quoted A&K's Private Jet Journeys expecting a single-party trip; that product shares a charter among dozens of guests.
If you asked us to pick
Before assuming you need a dedicated luxury specialist, ask your preferred operator directly whether they'll quote a private version of a published itinerary — many will, at a real but more modest premium than the ultra-luxury end of this format. If you do go with a specialist like Abercrombie & Kent, decide honestly whether a Ready-to-Book private itinerary covers what you want before paying the additional premium for a fully custom Tailor Made trip built from scratch; the pre-designed route is often nearly as personal in practice.
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Quick answers
Why do private tours cost so much more than group tours?
Because there's no one to split the cost with. A guide and vehicle on a group tour serve 8 to 45 people at once; on a private tour, the same guide and vehicle serve just one party. Abercrombie & Kent's own pricing shows the gap directly: group tours typically start around $5,000 per person, while private and bespoke journeys can run upwards of $20,000 per person.
What's the difference between a private tour and a custom tour?
In practice the terms overlap, but there's a real distinction worth knowing. A private Ready-to-Book journey is a pre-designed itinerary you book exclusively for your own party. A fully custom or tailor-made journey is built from scratch around your specific interests. Both are private in the sense that no strangers join your group — the difference is how much of the route is already decided.
Do I have to book with a specialist to get a private tour?
No. Most operators on our comparison, not just dedicated luxury specialists, will quote a private version of one of their published group itineraries on request, generally at a significant premium over the group rate. Abercrombie & Kent is simply the operator on our list built most explicitly around this as a core product.
Is a private safari the same as Abercrombie & Kent's Private Jet Journeys?
No, and it's worth not confusing the two. A&K's Private Jet Journeys share a chartered plane among as many as 48 to 50 guests — it's a small-group product using private aviation, not a single-party trip. True private touring means one guide and vehicle for one traveling party only.
Which companies offer private and custom tours?
Abercrombie & Kent is built most explicitly around this format, offering both pre-designed Private Ready-to-Book journeys and fully custom Luxury Tailor Made journeys. Most other operators on our comparison will also quote a custom private version of a published group itinerary on request.