Amakuna
Colombia
Amakuna is a boutique Colombia travel specialist that was founded in April 2015 by two British ex-pats. Tipped to become the driving force in bespoke luxury travel to this enchanting country, the Medellin-based company offers tailor-made itineraries to every corner of this vibrant and often overlooked Latin American nation, from the lush green hills of the coffee country, to the vast salt flats of La Guajira.
Did you know Colombia hosts the second largest carnival in the world? That it has more native folk rhythms than any other country? That its “Lost City” is six centuries older than Machu Picchu? That it is home to 87 different indigenous tribes and Medellin has been voted the world’s most innovative city? These are just a few fascinations that led British financiers, Marc Beale and Boris Seckovic, to follow their hearts to Colombia and set up home in the country’s leafy laid-back second city of Medellin, where they live with their Colombian families.
Amakuna was born out of the Founders’ long-term love affair with Colombia and an increasing demand for a reliable on-the-ground travel service that fuses trustworthy local expertise and seamless logistics with a sound understanding of the upscale traveller. From fast-tracking clients to Colombia’s most stylish bolt-holes and private paradises, to connecting them with local experts, advising on lively lobster shacks and sizzling salsa bars or whisking them to hidden beaches and charming haciendas, Beale and Seckovic aim to provide the most personalised and enjoyable access to this untapped destination – with clients assured of 24-hour support from Amakuna’s locally-based team.
In its first year of operations, Amakuna has already hosted 42 travellers on 16 bespoke itineraries, with business growing organically by word of mouth. The company has recently achieved both ATOL and ABTA recognition, further strengthening its appeal to the growing market of discerning British travellers seeking intrepid Colombian adventures, without sacrificing style or comfort.
Telegraph MagazineEvery minute was extraordinary. The romance of travel isn't always evident as you're experiencing it, but Colombia is designed to be explored at ground level. Bisecting the Andes, every twist and shout in the road revealed a vista more beautiful than the last.
National Geographic TravellerVerdant, verdurous, viridescent. Enshrouded in the resplendent, luscious cloak of Mother Nature at her most fertile, I become entangled in adjectives, wrestling with the inadequacies of language to sum up the majesty of the jungle; becoming bamboozled by bamboo forests and dumbstruck by the silent splendour of wax palms that bristle heavenward in the cornucopian Coffee Region.
House & GardenThe next day is one of the most perfect and peaceful of my life. At Cayo Cangrejo, a pimple of a key ringed by coral, we swim through tiny shoals of green, parrot, doctor and goat fish, and past a massive barracuda, his jaw hanging open as he drifts motionless, a ducking green turtle and a manta ray.