For $100K, This Company Will Spy on You — Then Use the Info to Plan a Custom Vacay

Of course, the PI isn’t there to make couples look over their shoulders for a week. Rather, his role is to gather personal insights about the couple in order to create an extremely tailored and personalized trip. The information learned via tactics like studying social media profiles, following couples in their day-to-day lives, and even interviewing family and friends, will guide every part of their African getaway, from what countries they’ll visit to what types of animals they’ll try to find on game drives.

The idea behind the heavily-researched vacation offering is to take the planning step off the couple’s plate, especially for deep-pocketed duos who want and appreciate an extremely bespoke experience, but don’t have the time to arrange it themselves. And given the cost (up to $105,000 per couple), many of the buyers may already be high-net-worth individuals who are used to having assistants know and manage their personal likes and preferences. For couples like that, hiring a private investigator may not seem that odd.

“We’re definitely seeing tailor-made travel becoming more sought-after,” says Emma Hill, a trip planner and African safari expert at Go2Africa. But she says the company knows planning big trips can be stressful for couples as “there are too many options and they are not sure which direction to go in.”

Go2Africa gave several examples of extremely personalized details couples may encounter during their PI-planned safari vacations, such as:

• Finding a book from your Amazon reading list next to the bed in your lodge
• Enjoying a recreation of the first meal you ever had together as a couple al fresco under the stars
• Listening to custom playlists of your shared favorite songs during game drives

Traveling couples have to agree to a few stipulations before trip planning can begin. They have to agree not only to have the PI follow them, granting access to whatever the PI may request, but also must agree to spend up to $105,000 for the experience. The couple won’t know where they’re headed until they arrive, though they’ll be told what airports to use and given a detailed packing list in advance. They can also tell Go2Africa when they book if they have any strong aversions to particular destinations or activities, though theoretically, the FBI-trained private investigator’s work should ensure against any experiences they wouldn’t like. Because the private investigator will travel to the couple’s location, they need to live in either the US, UK, Canada, or Australia.

PI-planned safari trips will include all experiences, such as game drives. Photo: Go2Africa/Lion Sands Ivory Lodge

“The Designer Honeymoon,” as it’s called, includes only five-star experiences and accommodations, so couples should plan on spending no less than $45,000 per person. That includes everything except international flights, such as hotels, experiences and activities, food and drink, and travel within Africa. In addition to plenty of game drives, some of the luxurious offerings that could be included on the itinerary include cliffside villas with private pools at Anantara Maia in the Seychelles, sleeping under the stars in a lofted treehouse while animals wander below you at Lion Sands Tinga Lodge in Sabi Sands Nature Reserve in Kruger National Park, or a horseback safari for experienced equestrians at Singita Faru Faru River Lodge, where you may see zebras and wildebeest migrating through the Serengeti.