Small groups. Hand-picked destinations.  Transformative tours.

  • Croatia by private yacht
  • Mystery Tour
  • Cuban car in Old Havanna
  • Three lions lounging in Serengeti National Park with a safari jeep watching
  • The sun rises over a safari tent campsite at Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania
  • Bustling street in Seoul South Korea
  • Easter Island

Come see the earth’s most unforgettable places…

Designing trips is an art. It’s the right mix of good contacts, yearly research, outside-the-box thinking, and well-in-advance planning.

With local photographers, food bloggers and Instagrammers, we craft boutique experiences even your travel agent doesn’t know about.

We advertise them only to our friends, family and those on this list.

Each tour has a photo element with careful attention to get us in the right places at the right photo light with enough time to experiment with pictures so even if you’re not a professional photographer, you leave with great images.

A look inside these adventures…

The Focused Escapes ADVANTAGE

  • Quality Over Quantity:

    We choose to offer fewer tours so we can prioritize quality experiences over volume of sales.

  • Exclusive Access:

    Using the power of a group and our established relationships with local communities and service providers, we gain access to experiences and sites that are otherwise unavailable to the general public.

  • Small Group Sizes:

    We love the personalization of small group travel. This allows for deeper exploration and authentic interactions with the culture and environment, unlike the often overcrowded tours offered by bigger companies.

  • Unique Destinations:

    While others may stick to the well-trodden paths, we pride ourselves on exploring off-the-beaten-track locales that offer a genuine sense of adventure and exclusivity.

  • Flexibility:

    We understand that travel is personal, so our itineraries are designed with flexibility in mind. This allows our guests to explore at their own pace and choose activities that interest them the most, which is often not possible with rigid tour schedules.

  • Lifetime Bonds:

    Traveling with us often results in forming lasting friendships with fellow adventurers who share similar interests, creating a community of travelers who often choose to journey together again with Focused Escapes.

  • "After Morocco, Egypt and Ecuador, I look forward to enjoying future trips with you. I'm a single woman traveling alone so I look for places with fun themes and places I wouldn't go on my own as a single female traveler." -- Bonnie Blunt

  • Women smiling in Morocco

    “Since I started traveling with you in 2015, I’ve been: Hunting with bushmen in Tanzania… Reveling in my first hammam treatment in Morocco… Sleeping in a royal palace in India… Shooting pictures from a helicopter with no doors in Namibia… If you think it’s time to add to your personal stock of travel photos, life experiences and adventure tales, I highly recommend Focused Escapes. Groups are small, so book early!” -- Sandra Raney

  • “As a photography hobbyist, I am always looking for opportunities to capture beautiful moments in uncommon locations. I’ve been with you to Bali, Easter Island, Namibia, Jordan (and now Cuba!).  Each trip had wonderful, like minded people and everything was tailored to capture the essence of the location. Overall, my experiences have been nothing short of fantastic.” – Laura Rector

  • “The personalized tour I took my family on to Tanzania through Focused Escapes was amazing. As a mom, it's a dream vacation to get to go on a trip that takes all the thinking and decision-making out of the mix. I felt cared for and doted on while getting to make great memories with my family and enjoy a totally one-of-a-kind adventure.” -- Mindy McHorse

  • 2024 Destinations

    "I love the level of detail and planning that you put into your trips. We know that everything will be thought through and all we have to do is show up and enjoy it. I also love having a person on the ground to keep everyone and everything moving. The trips feel very personal, like traveling with friends who love the same things. And the level of enthusiasm is always great.”
    — Colleen Bessel

  • "Of the many trips I've taken, your Egypt trip is the destination I learned from the most.  It made me want to dig more deeply into Egypt's culture and history.  I really appreciate the effort Amanda and Passainte made to give us a great experience.  Having the entire dahabiya to ourselves was very special, and the crew were attentive, friendly and helpful." -- Diana Ruddick

  • “This mystery tour is, I think, the answer to a question that has been on my mind for the last two years. That question is, What am I going to do for my next "milestone" birthday? I have done and experienced a ton of stuff in my life, so if you can come up with things I haven't experienced, you will be my hero for life!” — Bev Hart

  • "Traveling with Focused Escapes is always wonderful. They take care of the 'hard parts' (lodging, transportation, food), leaving us free to make new friends, work on our photography, and relax. The accommodations are well-chosen and one of the highlights is the balance between structured activities and free time." -- Michelle Walker

  • The sun rises over a safari tent campsite at Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania

    “Keeping groups small and allowing for personal attention is one of your strengths. Connecting with the right tour guides on site is another. I also like that you allow for flexibility/choice – another game drive or stay at camp and relax. Having the choice was great.” – Susan Gettys

  • "The gorilla trek in Uganda was one of the most physically demanding things I've ever done. But the reward of seeing those gorillas, especially the 21 month old youngster, in such close proximity, made all the exertion worthwhile." -- Melanie Wood

  • “Georgia was not even on my list of places to go. I am so glad I went. Definitely, had a variety of experiences. Our tour guides were excellent. Food and wine were fabulous. And the people in the group and the Georgian people were kind and embracing. I loved that one young tour guide's grandmother made Cha cha for us! A fun trip.” - Diane Hollands

  • "This is my first trip with Focused Escapes and I am very impressed with the organization of the trip. Great local tour guides, fantastic hotels and fabulous fellow travelers. Amanda was very accommodating and attentive to our needs." - Rita Lei

  • “What a phenomenal experience! I kept thinking: I could go home today and be completely satisfied with the tour. But then the next day was even better and the day after that even better. It just kept getting better and better as we went. Everyone should do this Namibia trip at least once.”

  • Three lions lounging in Serengeti National Park with a safari jeep watching

    “Our family trip to Tanzania was a trip of a lifetime. The kids are begging to go back weekly. It’s our best trip to date. The amount of work and planning Lori put into our trip was priceless. There was no real stress involved on our end except keeping healthy per COVID. Willing to book another trip with her again.” — The Dole Family

  • "Angela and I have spoken several times about the unique and congenial group of people that made our Tanzania adventure even more memorable." -- Chip Mayes

    "Agreed, it was a great group." -- Marie Goff

    "I really enjoyed the group, too." -- Melanie Hoffman

    "Best birthday ever!" -- Janice Wolf

    "I too have such fond memories of both the trip and the special folks I got to share it with!" -- Janet Barton

  • "Jordan wasn't even on our radar before you told us about it, but what a great experience! We loved the water hike, floating in the Dead Sea, and the camel trek through the Treasury with your insider guy. Loved the desert and the professional photo shoot, too. We work too hard to plan trips like this. We count on you to tell us where to go and handle all the logistics. Our Christmas cards look amazing every year thanks to your trips and everything we've learned about photography along the way." -- Pam & Bryan

  • "I love traveling with Focused Escapes! I can always count on staying in unique, beautifully appointed and well-located hotels. I’ve had amazing cultural experiences like riding camels to visit locals in a cave in Petra, making argan oil by hand in Morocco, and close encounters with cheetahs in Namibia. The small groups are a plus. After about 6 trips, I’m a true fan!" - Cheri Anderson

  • “Lori did it again! She took ten strangers and put them in a luxurious chateau in France, hired a wonderful chef to cook meals, and provided the experience of a lifetime. Small villages with cobblestone streets, outdoor cafes, vineyards, lavender fields, lavender lemonade, lavender everything. This is the first time I brought my granddaughter but I’ve been ‘tripping’ with Lori for at least 15 years. Hong Kong, Paris. You don’t just go to see places. You go to learn places. Provence was amazing.” - Cecilia Kirkpatrick

  • "I've been with you on several trips now (France, Tanzania, Jordan, Morocco). I love that you plan the trips to include options for exploring the culture of the places we visit. I keep coming back because even though I'm not a die-hard photographer, I like being on trips where everyone is so kind and willing to share their photography advice and creativity. One guy, named Peder, even shared a lens with me because mine bummed out on the second day of the tour. It's a fantastic community of people who usually want to give more than they get."

    Vicki Carson

  • "Honestly, your trip to Namibia ranks up there as one of my top travel experiences of all time. I'd never been on a trip before where everything was accounted for including the excursions and meals. It was so easy. You had scheduled activities as well as free time where I could work on my own photography while others worked on theirs or rested back at the hotel. There was freedom to explore at each place which fueled my own creativity. It was exactly how I would have planned it myself, but I benefited from the shared transport and having others to experience things with…which equated to making new friends. Having a photography guide there was an extra bonus too!"

    Marisa White

  • "I love traveling so it's hard to pick a favorite trip or destination. But your trip to Tanzania in 2021 is among my all time favorites. I think I was more aware of everything -- the environment, the grasses, the smell, the vastness. I like that your trips aren't cookie cutter and you're always looking for unique, special experiences without hordes of other tourists. I understand that things go wrong when traveling and I'm thankful you're there to fix them on the ground when they do. One less thing I need to worry about."

    Diane Hollands

  • "I attended Focused Escapes' first Mystery Tour, and it was a high quality offering just like everything in their catalog. Unique experiences, attention to detail, superior customer service, and fun are just some of the words I'd use to describe this trip."

    Gilbert Magbag

  • "Put your trust in Focused Escapes as they always have fantastic on-the-ground guides, packed itineraries and we do things that are outside of the normal tourist tours."

    Debi Ayres

  • "The Mystery Tour that went to Ecuador was a lot of fun! As a small group, we experienced the culture, food and people. Each day was filled with various stops and activities! My hat is off to Lori, Amanda and their staff for creating a wonderful experience!"

    Don Lehman

Visitor wearing a Maasai beaded necklace talking with a Maasai woman.
Visitors sip wine and watch the sunset on top of safari jeeps in Tanzania
people enjoy food and drinks from a buffet