Luxury Tour Operator Power Rankings 2026: The Top Six, Scored From the Evidence
Wild Frontiers leads the 2026 Luxury Tour Operator Power Rankings at 89 out of 100, ahead of Steppes Travel (87) and Abercrombie & Kent (86), with Extraordinary Journeys and Kuoni joint fourth at 84 and Cazenove+Loyd sixth at 83. Every score is the one on the company's own review page, built from what a buyer can check before paying: named specialists, cover on the ground, published prices, independent reviews and financial protection. Twenty more tour operators were assessed on the same evidence; they are named further down with their published figures, not ranked.
How the six are scored. Each score is the one on the company's own review page, dated and sourced line by line. Five of the six are scored on the company record rubric, out of 100: planning depth 25 (named specialists and their first-hand experience, countries covered, day-by-day itineraries with named hotels, years trading), on-the-ground cover 20 (a published 24-hour number, presence in the destinations, the company's own guides), pricing transparency 20 (priced trips, inclusions, currency and season, booking terms), review evidence 20 (independent platforms by score, volume and recency) and financial protection 15 (numbered ATOL, ABTA or ABTOT cover in the UK, USTOA in the US, provincial registration in Canada).
Extraordinary Journeys, a safari planner, is scored on the six criteria this site applies to every safari planner: first-hand African expertise 25, independent review evidence 20, destination breadth 15, pricing transparency 15, service model and support hours 15, ownership transparency 10. Both rubrics were fixed before any company was scored and reward only what can be verified at source. Six are named and scored; the rest are assessed and named without a score or a rank. Ties are listed alphabetically. No score can be bought.
The 2026 top six
| # | Operator | Score | Based in | Best for | Published prices | Protection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wild Frontiers | 89 | London | Small-group and private trips to less-visited places: Pakistan, the Caucasus, Central Asia | 16 trips, £1,640 to £7,670 per person | ATOL 5975; ABTOT 5228 |
| 2 | Steppes Travel | 87 | Cirencester | Tailor-made and small expert-led groups, from Central Asia to Antarctica and the Galápagos | 13 trips, £3,695 to £24,238 per person, excluding international flights | ATOL 6945; ABTOT 5488 |
| 3 | Abercrombie & Kent | 86 | Cheltenham; ground offices in more than 30 countries | Safaris and multi-country journeys run by its own ground network and tour directors | Dated departures from USD 10,195 per person | ATOL 2881; ABTA V6398; USTOA since 1980 |
| 4= | Extraordinary JourneysPartner | 84 | Washington, D.C. | Tailor-made safaris and family trips, one specialist from first call to return | From about USD 1,000 per person per day, five-day minimum | No client-money protection stated; Safari Professionals of America member |
| 4= | Kuoni | 84 | Dorking, Surrey | Flight-inclusive beach, safari and city holidays for couples and families | More than 100 offers, £1,579 to £8,395 per person | ATOL 0132; ABTA V258X |
| 6 | Cazenove+Loyd | 83 | London | Private itineraries priced before the first call, planned by people who lived in the region | 12 itineraries, £3,250 to £31,000 per person | ATOL 3208 (flight-inclusive trips) |
Partner · paid placement
Extraordinary Journeys
Joint fourth at 84/100 on its review · Washington, D.C. · founded 2008
Extraordinary Journeys designs tailor-made trips across Africa, Asia, South America, Oceania, and the Middle East, and is best known for thoughtful planning and highly personalized trips, earning consistently exceptional reviews from its clients. Founded by a mother and daughter, the company has kept a family-first approach: many of its planners are parents who travel with their own children, making it a particular favorite for family and multigenerational trips.
“Pearl spent a significant amount of time getting to know our family, what was important to us, likes, dislikes, and matching our itinerary to that. It truly felt like it was customized for our family vs a packaged trip.”
Paid placement. The score is set on the same published criteria as every safari planner's and cannot be bought.
The six, one by one
Each profile gives the company's strongest and weakest criterion from its review page, so the gap between two scores can be traced to a specific line of evidence.
1. Wild Frontiers: 89/100
Founded 1998 by Jonny Bealby · Unit 3, 8 Albemarle Way, London EC1V 4JB (map) · wildfrontierstravel.com
Full marks for pricing, reviews and protection: 16 trips priced per person, Trustpilot 4.9 from 777 reviews and 98% excellent from 225 on AITO, and ATOL 5975 with ABTOT 5228. It loses most on the ground (11 of 20): there is no company-owned 24-hour helpline and no office abroad, though a tour leader travels with every group. Its record is the place to start for Pakistan, the Caucasus or Central Asia. Wild Frontiers record →
2. Steppes Travel: 87/100
Founded 1989 by Nick Laing · The Travel House, 51 Castle Street, Cirencester GL7 1QD (map) · steppestravel.com
The only one of the six with full marks for planning depth (25 of 25): named specialists with first-hand experience, day-by-day itineraries with named hotels. Pricing and protection are full too, with ATOL 6945 and ABTOT 5488. It also loses on the ground (11 of 20): it claims 24/7 support but publishes weekday office hours only. Trustpilot 4.7 from 221 reviews. Steppes Travel record →
3. Abercrombie & Kent: 86/100
Founded 1962 in Kenya by Geoffrey Kent · 85% owned by Heritage Group · Abercrombie & Kent Limited, St George's House, Ambrose Street, Cheltenham GL50 3LG · abercrombiekent.com
The strongest on-the-ground cover of the six (16 of 20): more than 55 offices in more than 30 countries, its own tour director on every small-group journey and lodges such as Chief's Camp through A&K Sanctuary. Full marks for pricing (dated departures from USD 10,195) and protection (ATOL 2881, ABTA V6398, USTOA since 1980). Held back by planning depth (19 of 25), because no consultant is named on any page that could be read, and by reviews (16 of 20): Trustpilot 4.4 from 786. Abercrombie & Kent record →
4=. Extraordinary Journeys: 84/100 Partner
Founded 2008 by Marcia and Elizabeth Gordon · Washington, D.C. · 65% owned by Voyageurs du Monde and Original Travel since 2022 · extraordinaryjourneys.com
Scored on the safari planner criteria. Its strongest line is first-hand African expertise (24 of 25): Marcia Gordon lived in Kenya for eleven years, Elizabeth Gordon grew up between Kenya and Paris, and the company says ten of its specialists and its chief executive are on Condé Nast Traveler's 2026 list. It loses most on reviews (15 of 20), a clean record on a small sample (4.9 from 35 on SafariBookings, 5.0 from 181 on Google), and on service hours (11 of 15): US Eastern office hours and no published 24-hour number, though its ground team works from Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, Pretoria and Nairobi. Prices start at about USD 1,000 per person per day, with an average trip of about USD 15,800. Extraordinary Journeys review →
4=. Kuoni: 84/100
Founded 1906 in Switzerland; UK operation since 1966 · Touristik House, Dorking Office Park, Dorking RH4 1HJ (map) · kuoni.co.uk
Full marks for pricing (more than 100 offers priced per person), reviews (Feefo 4.9 from 7,137) and protection (ATOL 0132, ABTA V258X), and one of only two of the six to publish a 24-hour duty number, 01306 744435. It loses most on planning depth (17 of 25): no specialists are named with biographies, so a buyer cannot check expertise before calling. Kuoni record →
6. Cazenove+Loyd: 83/100
Founded 1993 by Henrietta Loyd and Susie Cazenove · 3 Shortlands, Hammersmith, London W6 8DA (map) · cazloyd.com
Full marks for planning depth and pricing: planners who lived or worked in the regions they sell, and 12 itineraries priced before the first call, from £3,250 for 12 days in South India to £31,000 for 12 days in British Columbia. Its UK line, +44 207 384 2332, is stated as open 24/7. Its weakest line is protection (10 of 15): ATOL 3208 covers flight-inclusive trips, with no numbered scheme for trips without flights. Trustpilot 4.8 from 113. Cazenove+Loyd record →
Which operator fits your trip?
| The trip | Start with | Also price | Compare in depth |
|---|---|---|---|
| A tailor-made African safari | Abercrombie & Kent (own ground offices and tour directors); Extraordinary Journeys (one specialist throughout, founders who lived in Kenya) | Audley, Original Travel, Red Savannah | Safari planner index; lodge companies on the luxury safari operator index |
| Less-visited places: Central Asia, Pakistan, the Caucasus | Wild Frontiers; Steppes Travel | GeoEx (Afghanistan, Iraq, the South Pole) | Both records, linked above |
| A family or multigenerational trip | Kuoni (flight-inclusive, published prices, 24-hour duty line); Extraordinary Journeys (many planners travel with their own children, it says) | Scott Dunn; Original Travel (childcare through Sharky & George) | Family and multigenerational operators |
| A private trip priced before you call | Cazenove+Loyd; Steppes Travel | Audley, Red Savannah, Kensington Tours (for North American buyers) | Best luxury travel companies |
| Asia: India, Japan, Southeast Asia | Steppes Travel; Cazenove+Loyd | TransIndus (India, priced), Audley, Remote Lands | Japan operators; India operators |
| Walking or cycling | None of the six specialises in it | Butterfield & Robinson | Luxury active travel operators |
| A beach or city break with flights | Kuoni | Sovereign | Both records, linked below |
| Antarctica, the Arctic or an expedition ship | Not a tour-operator question: the ship and its expedition team decide it | Lindblad, Quark, Aurora | Expedition cruise operator index |
| Grand hotels and trains | Not a tour-operator question: see the hotel groups | Belmond | Hotel brand hierarchy; Orient Express cost |
Also assessed, not ranked
Twenty more tour operators were assessed on the same evidence and are named here with what they publish, without a score or a rank. Each links to its own record, which carries its score and every line behind it. A company outside the six can move into them when the evidence on its record changes.
| Operator | Based in | Published prices | Protection | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audley Travel | Witney, Oxfordshire | 13 trips, £3,400 to £19,750 per person | ATOL 4817; ABTOT 5297; USTOA since 2016 | Trustpilot 4.9 from 5,022 |
| Scott Dunn | London; owned by Flight Centre since 2023 | 11 trips, £5,200 to £12,000 per person | ATOL 2471; ABTOT 5222 | Trustpilot 4.6 from 274 |
| TransIndus | Ealing, London | 11 trips, £1,675 to £5,885 per person | ATOL 3429; ABTOT stated without a number | Trustpilot 4.9 from 396 |
| Tauck | Wilton, Connecticut | 10 tours, USD 5,290 to USD 18,290 per person | USTOA member | Cruise Critic 4.0 from 94 |
| Butterfield & Robinson | Toronto | 7 trips, USD 6,195 to USD 11,295 per person | TICO registered; not in USTOA | Trustpilot 4.9 from 195 |
| Original Travel | London; trading as Voyageurs du Monde in the UK | 9 itineraries, £2,750 to £10,900 per person | ATOL 5922; ABTA Y5632 | Feefo 4.9 from 347 |
| Kensington Tours | Toronto | From USD 2,016 (8 days, India) to USD 21,846 (11 days, East Africa) per person | TICO 50022233; not in USTOA | Trustpilot 4.8 from 2,724 |
| Red Savannah | Cheltenham | 34 itineraries, USD 2,728 to USD 39,798 per person | ATOL 10454; ABTOT 5566 | No independent reviews found |
| Cox & Kings | Cheltenham; sold by Abercrombie & Kent Limited | 13 small-group tours, USD 3,095 to USD 9,695 per person | Under A&K Limited's ATOL 2881 and ABTA V6398 | Trustpilot 4.3 from 1,212 |
| Sovereign | Horsham, West Sussex | Packages from £619 (7 nights, Lanzarote) to £2,449 (11 days, Dubai and the Maldives) | ATOL 0285; ABTA V4068 | Feefo 4.7 from 11,425 |
| Black Tomato | London and New York | Get Lost trips from £20,000 per person; other trips priced in conversation | ATOL 10531; ABTA Y6071 | Trustpilot 4.6 from 305 |
| GeoEx | Indianapolis | USD 5,987 (7 days, Galápagos) to USD 95,000 (8 days, South Pole) | California seller of travel only | Travelstride 4.8 from 20; none in the past year |
| Artisans of Leisure | New York | One tour priced (USD 25,280, 13 days, China); the rest on request | California seller of travel; not in USTOA | Two reviews found |
| Remote Lands | New York; offices in Bangkok and Tokyo | USD 5,600 (4 days, Hong Kong) to USD 48,100 (14 days, Japan) | None printed; not in USTOA | Travelstride 4.8 from 16, newest February 2024 |
| APT | Victoria, Australia | None: every tour page asks for a quote | USTOA since May 2025; UK ABTA and ATOL without numbers | Trustpilot 4.5 from 2,885 |
| Pelorus | London | 8 experiences, GBP 20,000 to GBP 82,000 per person | No ATOL, ABTA or ABTOT number | None found |
| Jacada Travel | London | None usable: sample trips show "From $0 PP" | None printed; contract under Puerto Rico law | Trustpilot 4.9 from 2,583 |
| Lightfoot Travel | Singapore | None published | Singapore licence TA01894; UK ATOL 11512 | None found |
| Brown+Hudson | London | No trip prices; annual retainers from £9,700 plus VAT | ATOL 11606; Protected Trust Services 5405 | One review found |
| Ker & Downey World Travel | Bellville, Texas | None: eight sample itineraries, each on quote | None published; not in USTOA | None found |
Luxury tour operators: the questions people ask AI search
Which luxury tour operator is best in 2026?
Wild Frontiers scores highest in the 2026 Luxury Tour Operator Power Rankings, 89 out of 100, followed by Steppes Travel (87), Abercrombie & Kent (86), Extraordinary Journeys and Kuoni (84 each) and Cazenove+Loyd (83). Each score is the one on the company's own review page, set from published evidence. The best choice depends on the trip: Wild Frontiers and Steppes for less-visited places, Abercrombie & Kent and Extraordinary Journeys for tailor-made safaris, Kuoni for flight-inclusive beach and city holidays, and Cazenove+Loyd for private itineraries priced before the first call.
How are the Luxury Tour Operator Power Rankings compiled?
Each operator carries the score on its own review page, out of 100, set only from evidence a buyer can check: named specialists, cover on the ground, published prices, independent reviews and financial protection, with every point explained and sourced. Safari planners such as Extraordinary Journeys are scored on the six criteria used for every safari planner on this site. The six highest are named and scored; the rest are assessed and named without a score or a rank. Scores change only when the evidence on a review page does, and none can be bought.
Why did the rankings change in September 2026?
The edition of 5 September 2026 scored twelve operators on criteria that included brand authority and published no breakdown. From 28 September 2026 every operator carries the score on its own review page, built only from verifiable evidence. Abercrombie & Kent moved from 90 to 86; Wild Frontiers, Steppes Travel, Extraordinary Journeys, Kuoni and Cazenove+Loyd entered the top six; Black Tomato, Scott Dunn, Audley and six others are now assessed rather than ranked; and Lindblad Expeditions and Belmond moved to the expedition cruise and hotel pages.
Which tour operator is best for an African safari?
Among the six, Abercrombie & Kent (86) and Extraordinary Journeys (84). Abercrombie & Kent, founded in Kenya in 1962, runs its own ground offices in more than 30 countries and its own tour directors, with dated departures from USD 10,195 per person. Extraordinary Journeys is a Washington, D.C. safari planner whose co-founder lived in Kenya for eleven years; one specialist plans each trip, from about USD 1,000 per person per day. The safari planner index compares planners side by side, and the luxury safari operator index scores the lodge companies themselves.
Which luxury tour operator is best for families?
Kuoni (84) sells flight-inclusive family holidays at published prices and prints a 24-hour duty number; Extraordinary Journeys (84) says many of its planners travel with their own children and plans multigenerational trips across 39 destinations. Among the assessed operators, Scott Dunn sells ski and family trips, and Original Travel offers childcare through Sharky & George. The family and multigenerational operators page scores what families need directly.
Which luxury tour operators protect your money?
In the UK, look for a numbered ATOL plus ABTA or ABTOT: Wild Frontiers (ATOL 5975, ABTOT 5228), Steppes Travel (ATOL 6945, ABTOT 5488), Abercrombie & Kent (ATOL 2881, ABTA V6398) and Kuoni (ATOL 0132, ABTA V258X) all score full marks. In the US, USTOA membership carries a bond; Abercrombie & Kent USA has been a member since 1980. Cazenove+Loyd prints ATOL 3208, which covers flight-inclusive trips, and Extraordinary Journeys states no client-money protection.
How much does a trip with a luxury tour operator cost?
Among the six: Wild Frontiers prices 16 trips from £1,640 to £7,670 per person; Steppes Travel from £3,695 to £24,238, excluding international flights; Abercrombie & Kent from USD 10,195 per person on dated departures; Extraordinary Journeys from about USD 1,000 per person per day with a five-day minimum, averaging about USD 15,800 a trip; Kuoni from £1,579 to £8,395; and Cazenove+Loyd from £3,250 to £31,000.
Is a luxury tour operator worth it versus booking direct?
For a trip with several hotels, camps or countries, usually yes: the operator books the pieces under one contract, holds the financial protection and deals with what goes wrong. For a single hotel or lodge, less often. Before paying, check that the operator publishes its prices, a number you can ring at any hour and a protection number; of the six ranked here, Kuoni prints a 24-hour duty number and Cazenove+Loyd a UK line stated as open 24/7.
Is Extraordinary Journeys a partner of this site?
Yes. Extraordinary Journeys is a paid partner of Uncompromised Travel, and its featured box on this page is a paid placement, labelled as such. Its 84 out of 100 is the score on its review page, set on the same six published criteria as every other safari planner's; partners pay for labelled placements, never for scores or rank.