Sundowner Travel

What Sundowner Travel does

Sundowner Travel GmbH is a privately held Swiss travel agency founded in November 2021 by Angelika Gehring and headquartered in Cham, Switzerland. The company operates as a direct-to-consumer specialist travel planner focused exclusively on Southern Africa, covering seven countries: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique. Its product portfolio spans nine tour types — self-drive car tours (Mietwagenrundreisen), guided tours, safaris, beach holidays, golf tours, family holidays, train journeys, workation packages, and malaria-free safaris — sold as customized itineraries rather than fixed packages. Pricing is quote-based, with disclosed sample tours ranging from CHF 1,550 to CHF 10,715 per person.

The underlying technology is a content-led website (sundownertravel.ch) integrated with Calendly for appointment scheduling, Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager for web analytics, CookieYes for cookie consent, and YouTube for embedded destination videos. There is no proprietary platform, no mobile app, no API, and no AI/ML capabilities. Distribution operates entirely through direct channels: in-home consultations (including evenings and weekends with a wine-tasting presentation), phone consultations, online/video consultations, and website inquiry forms. Marketing relies on organic content (travel blog, destination guides, sustainability pages), social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn), an email newsletter, and earned media in Swiss travel trade publications.

The business model is a high-touch, sales-led professional services operation: a five-person team (one founder, one safari guide, three travel experts) collectively with over 50 years of Southern Africa travel experience books bespoke trips for affluent Swiss travelers. Revenue is generated through commissions or markups on package sales to vetted local African suppliers, with no disclosed institutional investors, no parent company, and no external funding. The company targets a single demographic (Swiss travelers) across multiple use cases (families, golfers, honeymooners, workationers, safari enthusiasts) within a tightly defined geographic niche.

Name

Sundowner Travel

Legal name

Sundowner Travel GmbH

Website

https://sundownertravel.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sundowner Travel is a privately held Swiss travel agency founded in 2021 that designs and books bespoke travel packages to Southern Africa (seven countries) for affluent Swiss travelers, using a high-touch direct consultation model and a five-person expert team.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Travel Agency Services

NAICS

Travel Agencies (561510), Tour Operators (56152), Tour Operators (561520), Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services (5615)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Destination-Specific Custom Itinerary Specialists (THAKAOAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Luxury Travel Agencies (THAKAFAA), Group & Small-Group Custom Itinerary Planning (THAKAOAF), Island, Beach & Resort Travel Agencies (THAKAFAL), Bespoke Multi-Day Itinerary Planning & Custom Tour Design (THAJALAB), Group, Family & Multi-Generational Travel Planning (HSACAKAK)

Keywords

• Bespoke travel packages
• Southern Africa tours
• Safari holidays
• Self-drive tours
• Travel consultation

Headquarters

HQ city

Schaffhausen

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Travel Package Sales: Revenue generated from booking and selling complete travel packages to Southern Africa, including accommodations, activities, transportation, and experiences across 7 countries

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Sundowner Travel is a Swiss boutique travel agency that designs and sells customized, quote-based travel packages to Southern Africa across seven countries (South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique). It delivers these itineraries through personalized consultation channels (home visit, phone, video) and curates a portfolio of self-drive tours, guided tours, safaris, beach holidays, golf tours, family holidays, train journeys, and workation packages built on partnerships with vetted local African suppliers.

Product overview

Sundowner Travel is a Swiss travel agency specializing in bespoke travel packages to Southern Africa. The company operates as a single unified service offering personalized travel consultation and pre-packaged tour products. Their core portfolio includes seven destination categories (South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique) and nine distinct tour/product types: Mietwagenrundreisen (self-drive car rentals), Geführte Rundreisen (guided tours), Safaris, Badeferien (beach holidays), Golfreisen (golf tours), Familienferien (family holidays), Zugreisen (train journeys), and Workation packages. All products are distributed through a travel consultation service offering at-home, phone, and online consultation formats. The company was founded in November 2021 and is headquartered in Cham, Switzerland.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Africa Travel (UK): UK-based Africa specialist offering tailor-made safaris and tours across Southern Africa. Comparable in business model, customer approach (high-touch bespoke service), and destination portfolio.
• African Travel Inc. US-based tour operator specializing in Southern and East African safari experiences, including luxury itineraries and bespoke travel packages. Closely comparable business model with destination-specific custom itinerary focus.
• Go2Africa: Largest South Africa-based safari and Southern Africa travel specialist offering customized safaris, self-drive tours, and beach holidays across the same seven countries Sundowner serves. Most direct competitor in the destination-specific custom itinerary category.
• Timbuktu Travel: Boutique travel agency offering tailor-made trips to Southern and East Africa with personalized service. Comparable to Sundowner Travel in business model and customer focus on premium experiential travel.
• Jenman African Safaris: Specialized safari operator offering set-departure and customized safaris throughout Southern Africa, with comparable focus on guided and self-drive itineraries and premium mid- to high-end positioning.
• Lion World Travel: Specialized tour operator focused on Africa, particularly Southern African safari destinations. Operates a similar model of packaged and customized itineraries across the same countries as Sundowner Travel.

Broad incumbents

• Wilderness Safaris: Larger established African safari operator with own camps and lodges across Southern Africa. Comparable in offering premium safari experiences, though at much greater scale and with vertically integrated accommodations.
• andBeyond: Luxury safari brand operating premium lodge camps across Southern Africa. Comparable in positioning at the high-end of Southern African travel, though operates at substantially larger scale as both operator and property owner.

Emerging players

• Acacia Africa: Africa-focused tour operator offering both scheduled group tours and tailor-made itineraries across Southern Africa. Comparable as a Southern Africa tour operator with mix of independent and guided travel offerings.

Regional players

• BigFive Safari & Travel: Swiss travel agency specializing in African safaris and tours, serving a similar affluent Swiss customer base. Most comparable home-market peer where geographic overlap with Sundowner's primary customer base is direct.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Sundowner.Travel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sundowner-travel-gmbh
• Instagraminstagram.com/sundowner.travel?utm_medium=copy_link

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sundowner Travel