THE ROAD TILL NOW

Anno 2018, Charlie's Travels has grown into a travel agency specialising in tailor-made, off-the-beaten track trips throughout East and Southern Africa! Together with a professional international team with the same adventurous mentality, from our jungle villa in Nairobi, Kampala and Cape Town, we organise unique trips all over the African continent!

19 JUNI 1989

Hello world!

On this summer Monday, I flopped out of my mother. Because of the date and time of birth, 24 years later the Luo tribes in Kenya also called me: Charles Odiambo!

Travelling outside europe for the 1st time, in Tanzania!

Charles

Fantastic trip with the family to the northern safari parks and Zanzibar. Eleven years later, the insight would come that we had not REALLY seen anything of Africa this trip other than animals and beach….

2003

2007

Studying in Utrecht

Charles

Good to get the paper, but it soon became clear that I was not passionate about Law

And in the meantime...

Charles

During my student days, I ran small businesses which further fueled the lust for entrepreneurship.

2012 - 2014

2014

Returning to Africa!

Nairobi NP-Giraffe

On this summer Monday, I flopped out of my mother. Because of the date and time of birth, 24 years later the Luo tribes in Kenya also called me: Charles Odiambo!

Graduated

Charles

Looking for more work experience and a great adventure! Africa it is! As an intern, I joined a financial services company in the mobile banking corner in Kisumu, a cosy African town on Lake Victoria…

2014

2015

Falling in love with Kenya

Charles

I fell in love with Kenya and wanted to stay, but the maps made me curious. I wanted to explore the country and the continent further. On the side, I organised safaris for expats and volunteers. The first friends and family came to visit and I showed them my Kenya: not the tourist attractions, but the real Kenya! Everyone was wildly enthusiastic. I didn’t get wild about financial services, but I did get wild about travelling: quit the financial services company and started focusing on Charlie’s Travels full-time!

Bought a motorbike!

Longido Motor

2015-Q1

2015 - 2016

Discovering and setting up

Charles

On a moped, I travelled around East Africa for two years: Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Ethiopia. I got to know the countries well, made friends, entered into collaborations and set out new off-the-beaten-track routes that showed people the real Africa. On the road, from my laptop!

The Jungle Villa

Jungle Villa Charlue's Travels

My travellers were raving about this new way of travelling and recommended me to their friends. My inbox overflowed with requests and I couldn’t keep up on my own. The Jungle Villa was born: a compound in the forests of Kenya from where we could live and work with a large team and continue to develop new trips from there.

2017

2018

Expedition Africa Inside Out gets underway!

Charles-Mama Rose

Two new offices: Uganda and Cape Town!

Charles

The continent is big & diverse: to keep charting new, unique routes, you need to be on the ground. With this, the ambition was born to create a work lifestyle community with all Angels, where we can live and work in different regions on the continent. This way there is always a “home” and warm welcome. This year, our team was joined by Angels living in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Madagascar.

2018

2018 - Q2

Corporate Social Responsibility

Charles

As a company, you have a social function. We see honest business with each other as the way forward! With off the beaten track travel, we try to make a positive economic impact with local partners & communities. Also, don’t lose sight of the cultural impact when exposing people to tourism for the first time: travel is a cultural exchange that works both ways. We offset all Co2 emissions from flights and transport by supporting local afforestation projects. How to do business in a good, sustainable way is an ongoing process for which people within the team have been put in charge of developing it!

Africa enthusiasts

Charles

In two years, the company grew from a one-man operation to a team of 35 Africa enthusiasts, all passionate about how we show and experience the real Africa with our stories and self-developed itineraries!

2018

2020

Conquering the Western European market

Charles

We don’t want to keep off-the-beaten-track Africa just for the inhabitants of our little country. In the coming years, we want to introduce more Western European countries to our way of travelling! A logical consequence of more travellers: keep discovering new routes and experiences!

In Memoriam

Charles

Charles, known to many as Charlie, was the father of our company Charlie’s Travels. Many know him as the adventurer who crossed Africa on his motorbike to discover new places for all his future clients. Looking for the off the beaten track adventure, really connecting with the locals, so that they, the clients, could once see the real Africa. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Charles on 29 December this year. But his legacy will live on, his purpose and his mission we continue as Charlie’s Travels. To realise his dream, his mission.

29/12/22

2023

Keep exploring

Jeep

The African continent has 54 countries and is hugely diverse. Five years after the birth of the Jungle Villa in Nairobi, we aim to have Charlie’s Travels’ work and travel hubs all over the continent: North, East, South, West and Central. To make people familiar with the splendour of these different cultures and countries, Charlie’s Travels keeps evolving and we will always come up with new itineraries! We want to be on the ground, to be the #1 specialist when it comes to off the beaten track travel through Africa!

Curious about all our destinations?

WHY TRAVEL WITH CHARLIE’S TRAVELS?

WE ARE “ON THE GROUND” IN AFRICA

The team lives and works all over Africa and therefore has a lot of first-hand knowledge and experience.

 

WE DEVELOP OUR OWN ROUTES

Wherever Charlie and his team travel, they develop new routes and experiences together with local entrepreneurs.

EVERY TRIP IS CO-CREATION

We tailor each trip based on your wishes and our African knowledge. Everything is possible and nothing is too crazy! Give us a try?

WE WORK IN A RESPONSIBLE AND SUSTAINABLE WAY

Charlie’s Travels works together with local partners and contributes to CO2 projects to offset environmental pollution.