For decades, luxury travel meant more: bigger suites, the largest superyacht, exclusive islands, rare vintage wines. But among ultra-high-net-worth explorers, a shift is happening. Indulgence is no longer the ultimate aspiration. Instead, meaning, transformation, and purpose are becoming the new frontier.
Cookson Adventures, a London-based travel firm, is redefining luxury travel. Their itineraries create unique experiences, combining cinematic scale with real-world impact. For the uber wealthy, it’s not just about destinations—it’s about the changes they bring to themselves and the world.
Fifteen years ago, Henry Cookson was transitioning away from life as banker at Goldman Sachs, with time spent as a horse-safari guide in Africa and then as a polar explorer. After winning a race to the North Pole and completing a record-breaking expedition to the Southern Pole of Inaccessibility – the most central point of the Antarctic landmass – he realised that the kind of access, expertise, and logistical prowess needed to achieve such feats could be repurposed. Not just for world-first expeditions, but to deliver the world’s wealthiest and most influential a new form of luxury: personal adventures that leave a true lasting and measurable impact on the planet.
Today, Cookson Adventures has evolved into a leading travel and adventure specialist and architect of the extraordinarily creative experiences. They engineer ultra-personalised adventures – designed always to impress, but with a focus on facilitating those experiences through conservation, scientific discovery, and cultural preservation. Social responsibility isn’t just a marketing line; trips have platformed elephant translocations, community empowerment initiatives and species discoveries – projects guests can experience first-hand.
Henry strongly believes that the best experiences challenge you, but they should also leave you with a deeper appreciation of our natural world. He invites clients to break bread with leading scientists, tribal elders and gatekeepers. Henry explains, ‘in a world where we seldom get a chance to truly switch off, we find our clients reach out to us to escape from the tsunami of information and responsibility they face in their daily lives. It’s why our long history of organising remote – and sometimes even more extreme types of travel – attracts business luminaries. They often find a greater sense of clarity, perspective and presence through the adventures we design around them’.
What sets Cookson Adventures apart isn’t just access. It’s influence. Their expert team take the time to negotiate with governments to open up restricted areas, work with local leaders on in-depth recess to facilitate culturally sensitive visits and deploy scientific teams to integrate guests into real-world projects. Most luxury travel brands promise insider access; Cookson engineers it from scratch.
Henry elaborates on this further; “In an era of unprecedented abundance, I’ve always tried to show people the world in an authentic way and that means not glossing over issues. Increasingly, our clients are more aware that time spent travelling with friends and loved ones forges more poignant memories and connections. Accumulating assets for assets sake brings little reward. Understanding and immersing oneself in unfamiliar parts of the world, while also giving back – whether it be conservation or more humanitarianism-based philanthropy – is what excites them. For families, actively taking part in frontline projects is such an impactful way to build a positive legacy by teaching the younger generation about the importance of preserving our planet and our place within it. Engaging guests’ children in new ways is a challenge, especially in the increasingly social-media-driven world we live in. I’ve seen firsthand how getting them off their screens and connecting them with different cultures, while out in the wild can be transformational”.
Families don’t have to travel to remote destinations for the adventure of a lifetime, as Henry showcased by describing one of their most recent trips to Egypt: “On our guests’ voyage down the Nile earlier this year, we wanted to bring Ancient Egypt’s history to life in the most immersive way possible. We surprised our clients on their private yacht with an urgent request to help one of history’s great archaeologists – Howard Carter. With exclusive access to a privatised ancient temple after-dark, as well as a team of professional actors and musicians, the evening was cinematic in scope. Narratives were personalised around their group as they worked together to search for lost relics in the tomb. Adventure is not just about adrenaline; we wanted to recreate the excitement of that golden age of discovery that characterised 1920s Egypt and give our clients a taste of it in the modern day”.
Clients working with Cookson Adventures aren’t passive observers. They become participants, often catalysts, in projects that change the world.
Consider their recent translocation of 14 rhino in Kenya. Working alongside local conservationists, Cookson facilitated one of the largest movements of rhinos in the region’s history. Organised as part of a thought-leadership retreat, Cookson’s clients were on the frontline: monitoring heart rates, stabilising the rhino’s temperature, and learning, first-hand, about the challenges of keeping that fragile ecosystem thriving. This was raw and powerful. Not only did their involvement assist in such an important cause, but it provided a new level of travel experience. And, by filming the experience with Cookson’s in-house media team, a short documentary was released to raise awareness on the high stakes that are involved when trying to translocate several of the world’s largest and most critically endangered mammals.
Then, in Antarctica, Cookson brought along a research vessel alongside their client’s private yacht trip. Biopsies gathered by the team helped identify what proved to be a previously unclassified subspecies of killer whale. This wasn’t a tourist cruise. This was the chance to contribute to our scientific understanding – something both educational and impactful for the client’s family.
Similarly, in the Galápagos, with their close relationship with the National Park, Cookson facilitated the measurement of juvenile hammerheads and geotagging of giant tortoises. With no helicopters stationed in the archipelago, Cookson brought them in to assist conservationists relocate hundreds of giant tortoises to safer environments and build a research station where baby pink iguanas were discovered for the first time.
For Henry’s discerning clientele, that proposition lands powerfully. Yes, there are superyachts and helicopters. But they’re tools – tools to access moments and opportunities that most of the world will never know exist.
For the ultra-wealthy looking to make a mark, not just a memory, Cookson Adventures stands almost alone. In a world where too many operators offer experiences simply designed around comfort, Cookson elevates by designing journeys built on impact on yourself and the planet.
In short, if you’re seeking the kind of trip your peers can’t buy, and your grandchildren – future or otherwise – will thank you for, Cookson Adventures may be the quiet name you need to know.
