Welcome to Special Interest Holidays International

Special Interest Holidays International offers discerning clients a wide range of travel opportunities. If you are travelling; purely for a relaxing holiday on the beach, to go walking in the Greek mountains, to enjoy a safari in Africa, to get married, to learn about nature and history or even on business we are here to help you. A consultation with one of our highly qualified and experienced team members carries no obligation.

The company was established in 1999, after four years of research, to offer special interest holidays on the island of Amorgos in Greece. In 2009 following three years of exploration and extensive study they diversified into Southern Africa, predominantly Botswana, to offer luxury safaris in the area.

Special Interest Holidays are well known for their wedding arrangements. As with all their products these are bespoke. They can be arranged in association with the Greek or African programmes. You can get married and enjoy a honeymoon from anything as diverse as on a sandy beach on a remote Greek island with the sound of the donkeys and church bells or in the African bush surrounded by nature and to the roar of lions.

The company is dedicated to eco-tourism and the environment. They will not support any operation, establishment, programme or country that doesn’t comply with the recognised international guide lines for eco-tourism and responsible travel. The company is active on Amorgos in promoting eco-tourism. Your hotel on Amorgos is an agro-tourism business and has a level one award for sustainable tourism. All the companies they work with in Southern Africa are active in the protection of the environment and have charities to support the local people and communities.

Special Interest Holidays Greece

In Greece Special Interest Holidays operates on the island of Amorgos in the Cyclades. This remote island offers walkers a unique opportunity to experience the nature and the mountains often without meeting another soul apart for the occasional goatherd. One of the company directors will always be in attendance every day of your stay. The holiday is essentially self guided walking with advice given by one of the company team. This will be supported by the book: Amorgos, The Secret Jewel of the Cyclades, A Walkers and Visitor’s Guide (2010) written by the directors of the company. For those clients who wish to be accompanied by a guide this can be arranged upon arrival. All the guides have at least a relevant first degree, some have higher. They are all fluent in English.

On Amorgos a small family run hotel of exceptional standards is used. It has just nineteen rooms. They have their own farm and bakery and all the cuisine in the restaurant is organic. There is no need to go rushing around the mountains everyday as the hotel is just 30 minutes walk to the very best long sandy beach on the island. There you can swim or snorkel in the clearest, bluest sea you can imagine.

When walking with guides the history and the culture of the island is talked about. Also covered is ornithology, botany, herbs and their uses and archaeology. Courses in Greek cookery and cuisine, water colour painting and photography are also available upon prior request.

There is one main comprehensive web site associated with this programme accessible from the menu bar. This includes all you need to know about this special interest holiday and a photo gallery.

Special Interest Holidays Africa

Special Interest Holidays offer luxury safaris throughout the whole of Southern Africa specialising in Botswana. These are for the adventurous. Most of the camps they use are private open camps and the animals wander freely. You are really close to the nature. The benefit of staying on one of these private concessions is that there are not the same limitations as staying in a national park. Also there are strict controls on the number of visitors.

Some of the camps used are just five luxury tents. This is not camping per se. The tents are huge with separate bedroom and bathroom areas. Some have baths as well as showers. Others even have their own plunge pool outside. There is then a central lodge area to sit on comfortable sofas and watch the wild life wander by, enjoy a drink at the bar or swim in the small pool. The cuisine is exceptional. Most drinks are included. Activities include game drives, mokoro (dug-out canoe) trips, motor boat rides, walking and fishing. Unlike national parks under certain circumstances you do not need to stick to the roads when tracking. Night game drives are allowed as are evening sunset boat rides.

Your personal highly qualified guide and his tracker will do their utmost to ensure you have a safari of a life time. Special Interest Holidays will ensure that you have a holiday tailored to your needs and wishes. Safari holidays in remote bush areas require detailed planning, coordination and implementation. Transfers are usually by light aircraft which will be all specifically synchronized for your exclusive programme.

There are three company websites associated with this special interest holiday programme accessible from the menu above. First is a detailed site giving information about what is available. There is a site about a typical holiday as experienced by the directors of the company. Following this is a slide show of 200 exclusive pictures taken in theatre.

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