Close Encounters Travel is a small, friendly team of travel experts who have first-hand experience of a wide range of incredible destinations – from the African bush to Antarctica.
We offer a broad range of holidays, from wildlife and birdwatching itineraries to beach holidays, and cultural journeys to conservation projects. Talk to us about privately guided trips, self-drive adventures, mobile safaris, cruises and small group travel.
We know Africa very well and have spent many decades living, safari-guiding and travelling in Malawi, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Tanzania as well as other countries in the region.
You might like to look at our own Zambian safari lodge, Thornicroft Lodge in South Luangwa National Park which Mary-Anne Bartlett built with travel and safari colleagues in 2008. Our wonderful team will welcome you into this untouched part of the world where elephants, giraffe, leopard and lions’ rule…
Some of our other favourite locations, which we visit regularly, are the Galapagos, India, Japan, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
We appreciate that everyone is different and so is their ideal holiday. We look forward to planning the perfect trip with you, to match your taste, style and budget.
We’ve included a few sample tours here for you to start dreaming about…
Zambia: South Luangwa Safari and Victoria Falls
Malawi: Bush and Beach Break
Namibia: Self-drive Safari
Zimbabwe: Private family or group trip, Mana Pools, Lake Kariba, Victoria Falls
Get in touch today to share your travel plans and let us help make them a reality.
You can call us on +44 (0)1394 382235, or email [email protected]
For your financial security we are ATOL protected.
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS TRAVEL IS ATOL REGISTERED NO.9916 FOR YOUR FINANCIAL PROTECTION
Some of the flights and flight-inclusive holidays on this website are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. But ATOL protection does not apply to all holiday and travel services listed on this website. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking. If you do not receive an ATOL Certificate then the booking will not be ATOL protected. If you do receive an ATOL Certificate but all the parts of your trip are not listed on it, those parts will not be ATOL protected. Please see our booking conditions for information, or for more information about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate go to
www.atol.org.uk/ATOLCertificate