To travel with us is to be part of something bigger
We exist to enrich your life through extraordinary journeys to Africa and to actively restore and protect the wilderness, wildlife, and communities that make those experiences possible.
That’s not a policy. It’s why we were built.
Every camp and lodge we recommend, every guide we trust, every long-standing partner we work with has been chosen because they contribute to that purpose. Not because they have the glossiest brochure or the most competitive rate. Because their presence in Africa makes Africa better.
When you travel with Encompass Africa, you’re not a tourist passing through. You’re a conscious traveler joining a community of people who understand that wild places are precious, that communities deserve to thrive alongside nature, and that the privilege of witnessing Africa carries a responsibility to protect and restore it.
This is what we mean by encompassing Africa
Picture a lodge nestled into the landscape: solar-powered, built with local materials, employing guides who were born in the surrounding community and know every animal track, every bird call, every story the land holds.
The chef sources from local farmers. The maintenance team comes from the nearest village. The conservancy that surrounds the property exists because the revenue from responsible tourism made it economically viable to protect that land rather than convert it. Without visitors like you, it would not exist.
This is the Africa we work to support. Not nature in isolation from people, but a living system where human wellbeing and ecological health are the same conversation.
Africa does this kind of travel better than anywhere on earth, but only if you know where to look, and only if you choose operators who are genuinely committed to it. That’s our job. It’s what we agonise over, obsess over, and spend countless hours in the field understanding.
Image: Guide from Chilo Gorge on the edge of Gonarezhou, Zimbabwe liaising with local community
How your safari creates change
Communities: Your spending flows directly to local employment, locally-owned businesses, and the suppliers, farmers and tradespeople connected to every camp we recommend. A single well-managed lodge can support hundreds of families. That’s not a rounding error. It’s the economic engine of conservation.
Wildlife: The most effective argument for protecting an animal is its value alive. High-integrity tourism makes that case every day. The operators we choose contribute directly to anti-poaching efforts, wildlife monitoring, and the conservancies that give endangered species room to survive.
Wilderness: Land that generates tourism revenue stays wild. It’s that simple, and that fragile. When tourism diminishes, the pressure to develop, farm or exploit that land increases. Your presence, channelled through the right operators, is one of the most direct forms of conservation funding that exists.
People: We partner with social enterprises, charities and conservation organisations across the continent because we believe our growth should make their work more possible, not less. Through our Hearten Africa giving program, a portion of every safari we complete flows to vetted conservation and community partners across the continent.
Image: conservation safaris Campi ya Kanzi, Kenya: lion collaring project
Hearten Africa
We built Hearten Africa because we wanted our impact to be named, measured and accountable, not hidden in vague language about “giving back.”
Every safari we complete generates a contribution to our giving program, which is distributed to conservation and community organisations we know, trust and visit personally. You can see exactly where it goes.
Image: Gorongosa National Park Pangolin trained rangers crucial to the conservation efforts, Mozambique
Our promise to Africa, and to you
We envision a world where travel enriches lives, protects Africa’s wild places and inspires people to care for the planet. Where travellers seek journeys that matter, embrace the privilege of connection, and return home knowing they’ve helped preserve something important.
That vision shapes every decision we make, the journeys we design, the partners we choose, the communities and conservation projects we support.
It is the promise we make to Africa. And to every traveller who entrusts us with their adventure.
“I hope you have an experience
that alters the course of your life because,
after Africa, nothing has ever been the same”
– Suzanne Evans