Private Travel in Africa: The Quiet Luxury of Moving on Your Own Time
There’s a particular kind of calm that settles in when you realise you’re not rushing for anyone - not a group check-in time, not a shared transfer, not a “we have to leave now” announcement echoing through a lobby. You’re simply moving through Africa at your own pace, with everything arranged around you so discreetly that it feels like the world has agreed to be gentle for a while.
That is what private travel means to me.
Yes, it can look glamorous - the clean line of an aircraft wing, a helicopter lifting off a private pad, an unmarked track opening into a wilderness concession that feels like it belongs only to the people inside it. But what my clients are truly buying is not a look. They’re buying time, privacy, control and ease. And in Africa - where distances are vast, landscapes are wild, and the best places are often far from the obvious routes - that ease is a form of luxury that changes everything.
At ZIA, private travel is one of the ways we protect the feeling of the journey. We arrange every aspect with exclusivity and discretion in mind - from private jets and helicopters to luxury ground transport - especially for honeymoons, destination weddings, and family reunions.
What I mean when I say “private travel”
Private travel isn’t one thing. It’s a series of choices - some big, some small - that remove friction and add freedom.
Here are the building blocks I use most often when I’m designing a private journey:
1) Private air, when it makes sense
Private jets for international or multi-country routing when your time is limited, or your privacy requirements are high.
Private charters (fixed wing) to reach remote airstrips and link safari regions efficiently - especially in Southern Africa, where the distance between iconic wilderness areas can be significant.
VIP meet-and-greet + lounge access to make airports feel like a non-event, not the start of stress.
Even when a client isn’t chartering a full private jet, there are often elegant ways to create a private-feeling journey - such as aligning schedules with a seamless bush-flight network, or booking a private charter for one critical leg to eliminate long road transfers. This is where planning becomes a craft, not a spreadsheet.
2) Helicopters, when you want to turn travel into an experience
Helicopters are not only about speed (though that is a gift). They’re also about perspective. There are places in Africa where the aerial view is the story: the way a river braids itself through the delta, the way a mountain throws a shadow across a plain, the way the coastline changes colour from one bay to the next.
When helicopter transfers are appropriate, they also solve very practical problems:
avoiding long, dusty drives
arriving directly at a lodge or private pad
turning a “transfer day” into a scenic memory
3) Private guides and vehicles, even on safari
A private vehicle on safari is, in my opinion, one of the most underestimated upgrades. It’s not about being “separate”; it’s about being in rhythm.
With a private guide and vehicle, you can:
leave earlier (or later) based on your energy
linger longer at a sighting without negotiating with others
return to camp when you want - not when the vehicle has reached consensus
tailor the focus: photography, birding, big cats, tracking, walking, conservation
And for couples and families, privacy changes the emotional tone. It gives you space to feel things.
4) Exclusive-use villas, private camps, and quiet concessions
Sometimes the most powerful form of private travel is simply where you stay:
a private villa with its own chef and guide
an exclusive-use camp for a family reunion
a lodge set inside a private concession where you can drive off-road, track, and explore without the “public park” feeling
This is the difference between a great safari and the kind of safari you talk about for years.
Why private travel matters more in Africa than almost anywhere
Africa is generous, but it is not always convenient - and that’s part of its magic. The best places are not designed around speed. They are designed around wilderness.
Private travel matters because it protects your time and your energy in a way that standard routing often cannot. The advantages are especially clear in four scenarios:
You have limited time, but high expectations
If you have seven days and you want it to feel like fourteen, routing becomes everything. A private charter can replace a full day of road travel with a 60–90 minute flight. That is not a luxury; that is a life decision.
You’re travelling for a milestone
Honeymoons, destination weddings, anniversaries, a once-in-a-lifetime family trip - these are not the moments to gamble on delays, confusion, or logistics that feel improvised. On private travel itineraries, we build redundancy and calm into the plan.
You value discretion
For high-profile travellers, privacy is not an aesthetic. It’s a requirement. Private arrivals, discreet transfers, and trusted on-ground handling remove exposure and create breathing room.
You want to reach places that feel “un-Googleable”
Some of Africa’s most extraordinary experiences happen in places that don’t show up easily in search results - because they’re seasonal, remote, privately accessed, or best navigated with relationships. ZIA was built on lived experience and long-standing relationships with lodges, guides, conservationists, and communities - and that is often what unlocks these places.
The ZIA way: how I design a private journey
When a client asks me for private travel, I don’t begin with aircraft types or vehicle specs. I begin with a single question:
What do you want to feel more of - and less of - on this trip?
From there, I build in layers.
Step 1: Identify the emotional anchors
These are the moments that matter most to you:
a sunrise in the Mara
a quiet beach where you can disappear for three days
gorilla trekking, but without feeling rushed
a private dinner in the bush, not a dining room
When I know your anchors, I can protect them.
Step 2: Design the route like a piece of choreography
A private itinerary should flow. It should have pauses. It should have contrast.
I think in sequences:
land → exhale
move → arrive
wildness → stillness
togetherness → privacy
adventure → restoration
This is where the “atelier” idea matters. An atelier is a workshop - a place where something is built by hand, with meticulous craftsmanship. That is exactly how we approach travel design.
Step 3: Remove the “dead time”
Dead time is the part of travel no one remembers fondly: waiting, checking in, negotiating transfers, sitting in traffic, being herded.
Private travel is powerful because it turns dead time into:
scenic time
quiet time
restorative time
or simply… time you don’t have to spend at all
Step 4: Add the invisible supports
This is destination management - the part you don’t see, but feel:
the right person meeting you at the right gate
luggage moving without you thinking about it
contingency plans that never become your problem
the sense that someone is already ahead of you in every place you arrive
A sample “private but not loud” itinerary I love
To show you how this looks in real life, here’s a sample route I often use as inspiration for clients who want iconic safari and a coastal finish - without the trip feeling like a marathon.
9 days: Kenya, privately paced
Days 1–2: Nairobi (soft landing)
VIP airport meet-and-greet
one night in a quiet, design-forward hotel
a slow dinner, early sleep, no pressure
Days 3–5: Laikipia (space, horses, conservation)
fly directly to a private airstrip
private guide + vehicle
optional experiences that can include walking, community, and (for equestrian lovers) time in the saddle
Days 6–7: Maasai Mara (wild theatre)
private charter or scheduled flight timed to avoid long drives
private vehicle so the days belong to you
sunset sundowners in a location chosen for you, not for the group
Days 8–9: Coast (quiet recovery)
straight to the ocean - Diani, Lamu, or onward to an island
no “one last rushed activity”
just stillness, salt air, and the sense that the trip has landed inside your body
This is a private itinerary that never needs to announce itself. It simply feels seamless.
The details I ask for (so your trip feels effortless)
Private travel is personalised travel - which means the design is only as good as the information we begin with. I will usually ask for:
Your travel style: early mornings or slow starts? adventure or rest? both?
Comfort preferences: air-con vs open-air, tents vs villas, boats vs land
Privacy needs: public-facing profile, security preferences, discretion level
Dietary + health notes: allergies, mobility, sleep needs, sensitivities
Celebrations: what we’re actually marking (and how you want it to feel)
Pace tolerance: how many moves is too many?
None of this is overthinking. It’s how we get to that feeling of ease.
How ZIA works (and why this matters for private travel)
ZIA is intentionally small and founder-led. Every journey begins with Bobby and me, and grows into something tailored entirely to the client. We offer three core services - Destination Management, Private Travel, and Bespoke Itineraries - and private travel often uses all three at once. And because planning itself is part of the craft, our work is structured in tiers - from a short Tailored Getaway to a full-scale Grand Expedition - with transparent planning fees. If you’re considering private travel, we’ll guide you to the right tier based on group size, trip length, and complexity, and then we’ll build the journey by hand.
A final thought: private travel is not about escaping people - it’s about protecting your peace
I love Africa because it’s honest. It asks you to be present. It makes you notice light, and silence, and distance.
Private travel is simply a way of removing the noise that prevents you from noticing those things.
If you want a journey that feels effortless - but still deeply alive - we can design it together.