Children, communities, and wildlife — the lines we do not cross.

The principle

An IMAGINE Journey moves through places where people live, raise children, and depend on the land. We design with care for them first, and for the traveller's experience second — because the second only exists honestly when the first is held.

Children

We do not include orphanage visits. Decades of evidence show they harm the children they purport to help. Where school visits appear in an itinerary, they are arranged with the headteacher, follow the school's own safeguarding policy, and never include the photographing of children without the explicit consent of a guardian. Our guides are briefed; our travellers are briefed in writing before arrival.

Communities

Community visits are arranged with — never around — the community itself, through long-standing relationships our designers hold personally. A fair, transparent contribution is paid for every visit, agreed with community leadership and recorded in our annual Stewardship Report. Photographs of adults are taken only with consent, and we share copies back.

Wildlife

We do not include any interaction that involves touching, feeding, or riding wildlife. Captive-elephant rides, lion-cub petting, and primate "handling" experiences do not appear in our itineraries and never will. Where habituated experiences are offered — with mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, or shoebills — we follow the published distance, time, and group-size protocols of the relevant national authority without exception.

Photography

Three quiet rules, which our guides will gently restate on the ground: ask before you photograph a person; never offer money to children in exchange for an image; and put the camera down for the first ten minutes in any new place. Some of the deepest moments are not photographable.

Reporting a concern

If, on a journey or in any of our communications, you encounter something that does not sit right — please tell us. Write to journeys@imagine.travel or, for matters of child protection specifically, to safeguarding@imagine.travel. A founder will respond within 48 hours. Reports are held in confidence.

Read alongside the Philosophy and the Stewardship Report.