Which luxury travel companies fully protect my money if they fail?
By Richard Jasinski·Updated 4 November 2026
These 24 luxury travel companies name a scheme that protects your payments on their own websites: ATOL for flight-inclusive packages sold in the UK, ABTA or USTOA membership, a bond, or a trust account. None of these covers every booking in every country, so each card gives exactly what the company's website says.
Which luxury travel companies fully protect my money if they fail?
These 24 luxury travel companies name a protection scheme on their own websites. How far it goes depends on the scheme: ATOL covers flight-inclusive packages sold in the UK, while a trust account or bond covers what the company says it covers. Check the number with the scheme before you pay.
Every line below was read from the company's own website on 3 November 2026; each card links the pages it came from.
Abercrombie & Kent
- Best for
- Group departures and private trips
- Protection
- ATOL number 2881 covers flight-inclusive packages sold by its UK company; its US terms name no trust account or bond.
- Reviews
- Google: 4.9 out of 5 from 20 reviews; Trustpilot: 4.4 out of 5 from 795 reviews, newest 3 November 2026. Read 3 November 2026; each platform's figure stands on its own.
- Website
- abercrombiekent.com
Ampersand Travel
- Best for
- Private trips planned to order
- Protection
- ATOL number 6065 covers its air holiday packages.
- Limits it publishes
- Sets a minimum spend of £3,000 per person, covering accommodation, flights, transfers, guides, activities and sightseeing in the itinerary.
- Reviews
- Google: 4.8 out of 5 from 6 reviews. Read 3 November 2026; each platform's figure stands on its own.
- Website
- ampersandtravel.com
Audley Travel
- Best for
- Private trips planned to order
- Protection
- ATOL number 4817 covers its flight-inclusive trips and ABTOT covers trips that do not include flights.
- Reviews
- Google: 4.4 out of 5 from 288 reviews; Trustpilot: 4.8 out of 5 from 5,084 reviews, newest 2 November 2026. Read 3 November 2026; each platform's figure stands on its own.
- Website
- audleytravel.com
Black Tomato
- Best for
- Private trips planned to order
- Protection
- ATOL number 10531 covers the flight-inclusive packages it sells as agent of Hays. It says non-flight packages are covered by a scheme through ABTA that refunds advance payments if it becomes insolvent.
- Reviews
- Google: 4.7 out of 5 from 101 reviews. Read 3 November 2026; each platform's figure stands on its own.
- Website
- blacktomato.com
Carrier
- Best for
- Private trips planned to order
- Protection
- ATOL number 2968 covers its flight-inclusive holidays. As an ABTA member (number V0391) it says bookings are financially protected under the Package Travel Regulations if it becomes insolvent.
- Website
- carrier.co.uk
Cazenove+Loyd
- Best for
- Tailor-made trips booked as an agent
- Protection
- Holds ATOL number 3208, issued by the Civil Aviation Authority.
- Reviews
- Google: 5.0 out of 5 from 9 reviews; Trustpilot: 4.8 out of 5 from 114 reviews, newest 18 June 2026. Read 3 November 2026; each platform's figure stands on its own.
- Website
- cazloyd.com
Cookson Adventures
- Best for
- Private trips planned to order
- Protection
- ATOL number 12608 protects flight-inclusive packages on certain bookings, usually where clients are based or book in the UK. It may not protect all services.
- Limits it publishes
- Typically works with a minimum spend of £150,000 per journey.
- Reviews
- Google: 4.7 out of 5 from 13 reviews. Read 3 November 2026; each platform's figure stands on its own.
- Website
- cooksonadventures.com
Do Not Disturb
- Best for
- Tailor-made trips booked as an agent
- Protection
- ATOL number 11108 covers flight packages for UK customers departing from the UK and ABTOT member number 5598 covers non-flight packages; non-package bookings have no financial protection.
- Reviews
- Trustpilot: 4.4 out of 5 from 12 reviews, newest 22 October 2026. Read 3 November 2026; each platform's figure stands on its own.
- Website
- donotdisturb.com
Four Seasons Private Jet Experience
- Best for
- Guided group trips
- Protection
- Reservations are protected by surety bonds issued by Siriuspoint America Insurance Company; no ATOL, ABTA or USTOA number is given.
- Website
- fourseasons.com
Lightfoot Travel
- Best for
- Private trips planned to order
- Protection
- Says each sales location has the maximum level of industry bonding possible, including ATOL membership in the UK, with licensing in Singapore and Hong Kong; no ATOL number is given.
- Website
- lightfoottravel.com
Mahlatini
- Best for
- Private trips planned to order
- Protection
- Some flight-inclusive holidays are protected by the ATOL scheme. Guests' money is also held through its travel trust, Trust My Travel; no ATOL number is given.
- Website
- mahlatini.com
Martin Randall Travel
- Best for
- Group departures and private trips
- Protection
- ATOL number 3622 covers its flight packages and ABTOT number 5468 covers non-flight packages.
- Reviews
- Google: 4.9 out of 5 from 58 reviews. Read 3 November 2026; each platform's figure stands on its own.
- Website
- martinrandall.com
Natural World Safaris
- Best for
- Group departures and private trips
- Protection
- For UK and EU clients, cover is included through ATOL or Trust My Travel. For clients outside the UK and EU it is available for a small extra fee through Trust My Travel; no ATOL number is given.
- Limits it publishes
- The person making a booking must be 18 years of age or older.
- Reviews
- Google: 4.9 out of 5 from 139 reviews. Read 3 November 2026; each platform's figure stands on its own.
- Website
- naturalworldsafaris.com
Pelorus
- Best for
- Private trips planned to order
- Protection
- ABTOT protects non-flight packages for Pelorus Adventures Limited.
- Reviews
- Google: 5.0 out of 5 from 4 reviews. Read 3 November 2026; each platform's figure stands on its own.
- Website
- pelorustravel.com
Peter Sommer Travels
- Best for
- Group departures and private trips
- Protection
- Is an ABTA member, number Y6151.
- Website
- petersommer.com
Quark Expeditions
- Best for
- Trips on ships it operates
- Protection
- Is covered by the USTOA Consumer Protection Plan, which requires it to post US$1 million with USTOA to reimburse advance payments if it becomes insolvent.
- Reviews
- Google: 4.8 out of 5 from 604 reviews; Trustpilot: 4.9 out of 5 from 577 reviews, newest 24 October 2026. Read 3 November 2026; each platform's figure stands on its own.
- Website
- quarkexpeditions.com
Red Dot Tours
- Best for
- Private trips planned to order
- Protection
- ATOL number 5517 covers its flight-inclusive packages. ABTOT membership number 5664 covers non-flight packages.
- Limits it publishes
- Arranges partial bookings that are normally at least 2 or 3 nights away.
- Reviews
- Google: 4.6 out of 5 from 94 reviews. Read 3 November 2026; each platform's figure stands on its own.
- Website
- reddottours.com
Red Savannah
- Best for
- Tailor-made trips booked as an agent
- Protection
- For flight-inclusive package holidays, money paid to a travel agent it appoints is held for the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust; no ATOL number is shown.
- Reviews
- Google: 4.9 out of 5 from 85 reviews. Read 3 November 2026; each platform's figure stands on its own.
- Website
- redsavannah.com
Sovereign Luxury Travel
- Best for
- Private trips planned to order
- Protection
- ATOL number 0285 covers its flight packages. A bond held by ABTA (number V4068) protects packages without flights.
- Reviews
- Google: 3.5 out of 5 from 4 reviews; Trustpilot: 4.9 out of 5 from 864 reviews, newest 31 October 2026. Read 3 November 2026; each platform's figure stands on its own.
- Website
- sovereign.com
Steppes Travel
- Best for
- Group departures and private trips
- Protection
- ATOL covers its flight-inclusive packages and ABTOT covers non-flight packages (number 5488). Money for ATOL-protected bookings is held in an independent trust account managed by Serenity Trust; no ATOL number is given.
- Reviews
- Google: 4.7 out of 5 from 23 reviews. Read 3 November 2026; each platform's figure stands on its own.
- Website
- steppestravel.com
The Luxury Holiday Company
- Best for
- Private trips planned to order
- Protection
- Holds ATOL and ABTOT licences, with ABTOT cover entered under Wexas Ltd number 52; no ATOL number is given.
- Reviews
- Google: 5.0 out of 5 from 6 reviews. Read 3 November 2026; each platform's figure stands on its own.
- Website
- theluxuryholidaycompany.com
Turquoise Holidays
- Best for
- Private trips planned to order
- Protection
- ATOL number 5875 covers its package holidays; land-only arrangements it books as agent are not financially protected.
- Founded
- 2002
- Reviews
- Trustpilot: 4.9 out of 5 from 436 reviews, newest 27 October 2026. Read 3 November 2026; each platform's figure stands on its own.
- Website
- turquoiseholidays.co.uk
VBT Bicycling Vacations
- Best for
- Guided group trips
- Protection
- Takes part in the USTOA $1 Million Travelers Assistance Program, which it shares with affiliates of Xanterra Leisure Resort Holdings, so recovery may be only partial.
- Reviews
- Google: 4.1 out of 5 from 48 reviews. Read 3 November 2026; each platform's figure stands on its own.
- Website
- vbt.com
Wexas Travel
- Best for
- Plans trips run by other companies
- Protection
- Holds ATOL and ABTOT licences, but where it acts as agent protection comes from the tour operator or cruise line; no ATOL number is shown.
- Reviews
- Google: 4.6 out of 5 from 61 reviews. Read 3 November 2026; each platform's figure stands on its own.
- Website
- wexas.com
Who to contact first
Start with the 24 companies on this page that name a scheme protecting your payments on their own websites, then add any other card that fits your dates.
- Abercrombie & Kent
- Ampersand Travel
- Audley Travel
- Black Tomato
- Carrier
- Cazenove+Loyd
- Cookson Adventures
- Do Not Disturb
- Four Seasons Private Jet Experience
- Lightfoot Travel
- Mahlatini
- Martin Randall Travel
- Natural World Safaris
- Pelorus
- Peter Sommer Travels
- Quark Expeditions
- Red Dot Tours
- Red Savannah
- Sovereign Luxury Travel
- Steppes Travel
- The Luxury Holiday Company
- Turquoise Holidays
- VBT Bicycling Vacations
- Wexas Travel
What to ask each one to set out in writing:
- What the price includes and excludes, line by line: stays, guides, transfers, internal flights, park or entry fees.
- The deposit, when the balance is due and what you lose if you cancel.
- Which scheme protects your money and the number to check it.
Money protection: the questions people ask
What does ATOL protection cover?
ATOL is the UK Civil Aviation Authority's scheme for packages that include a flight, sold to people in the UK. If the company fails, ATOL arranges a refund or a flight home. It does not cover a trip without a flight.
What is USTOA membership?
The United States Tour Operators Association runs a programme that protects the advance payments of members' customers if a member fails, up to limits it publishes. Check its current terms on ustoa.com.
What is a trust account?
Money paid into a trust account is held apart from the company's own money, under the terms the company sets out, so it can be returned if the company fails. When the money is released to the company differs: read each card and the company's terms.
What does ABTA membership mean?
ABTA is a UK travel trade association. Its members must protect customers' money for packages, through ATOL when a flight is included and through a bond or trust account when it is not; ABTA's own member search confirms a number.
What is a bond or ABTOT protection?
A bond is a guarantee, held by a bank, insurer or a scheme such as ABTOT (the Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust), that refunds customers if the company fails. A company should name who holds it.
How do I check a company's ATOL or ABTA number?
Search the number on the CAA's ATOL checker or ABTA's member search before you pay and ask for your ATOL certificate when you book a package with a flight.
Which of these have Trustpilot profiles?
7 of the 24: Abercrombie & Kent, Audley Travel, Cazenove+Loyd, Do Not Disturb, Quark Expeditions, Sovereign Luxury Travel and Turquoise Holidays. Each card gives the TrustScore, the review count and the newest review date, read 3 November 2026.
Which of these have the most Google reviews?
Quark Expeditions, Audley Travel and Natural World Safaris, in that order. A count says how many people reviewed a company, not whether it fits your trip; each card gives the rating and count, read 3 November 2026.
Where can I check these facts myself?
Each card links the pages of the company's own website its lines were read from, with the date they were read.
How were these companies chosen?
Each one is in the Uncompromised Travel luxury tour operators table, built from the luxury tour operators ChatGPT names most often; its own website names a scheme that protects guest payments: ATOL, ABTA, USTOA, a bond or a trust account. A company is on the page because its published facts fit the question, never because it paid.
Is any company on this page paying to be here?
No. No company on this page is a partner of Uncompromised Travel; none paid to be on it.
Read next
Built to answer the question in the main heading. What is shown: what each company published on its own website, read on 3 November 2026, with links to the pages read, with its Google and Trustpilot figures where the listing carries the company's own name, from the Uncompromised Travel luxury tour operators table. Cards are in alphabetical order. Photos show the places named in their captions, not any company's trips. No company on this page is a partner of Uncompromised Travel. How this site earns · How we work.