Cliffs, fynbos and a sheltered beach at Cape Point, photographed by Mikhail Schrader.

Independent. Africa-based. Founder-led.

The people behind
your journey.

We are a luxury travel agency and inbound tour operator based in Cape Town, designing private, tailor-made journeys through Africa and the Indian Ocean. We begin by getting to know you, then bring together the places, people and experiences that suit the way you want to travel.

What African Time means to us

A slower pace.
A deeper connection.

To us, African Time is an invitation to slow down and be present.

To watch a landscape change with the light. To listen to the people who call a place home. To spend time in nature without already thinking about where to go next.

A gentler pace leaves room for curiosity, conversation and a deeper understanding of the places and cultures we encounter. It gives us time to notice how much there is to learn beyond our own everyday lives.

We believe that is something worth carrying home: a little more patience, a willingness to listen and a greater appreciation of the world we share.

Our beginning

Born in Cape Town.
Built with purpose.

Founded in Cape Town in 2021, Travel African Time brings that belief into the way we plan and care for each journey.

Your journey curator considers the whole experience: the season, the distances, the people you will meet and where a little more time makes a difference. We take care of the planning and practical details, so you can settle into the experience.

We listen before making recommendations and refine the details with you. Private safaris, city stays, family journeys and island escapes all begin with the same question: what would make this journey right for you?

Mikhail Schrader, founder of Travel African Time, beside the ocean at Boulders Beach Penguin Colony, Cape Town, South Africa. Viewing the endangered African Penguin.

Founder & Senior Journey Curator

Mikhail Schrader.

For Mikhail, good travel planning starts with listening: to the person travelling and to the people who know a place.

Growing up in South Africa shaped his interest in wildlife and the connections between people and place. His background in hospitality and travel informs an attentive approach to service: listening carefully, offering honest advice and noticing the details that matter.

He remains personally involved in shaping Travel African Time’s journeys and supplier relationships. Alongside vetted tourism partners across Southern and East Africa and the Indian Ocean, he brings a local perspective to each recommendation.

Start a conversation

From Mikhail’s travels

Time to notice.

A few personal moments, from Mauritius to time spent exploring closer to home. The same curiosity and pleasure in discovery sit behind the journeys we create for you.

A personal moment on safari in Hluhluwe, watching the bush from an open game-viewing vehicle and enjoying the anticipation of what might appear next.
A personal welcome begins before check-in. Delivering gifts for our arriving clients at The Cole, captured during the hotel’s early days.
Slowing down in Mauritius.
A rhino takes the road ahead during a safari in Hluhluwe—one of those encounters that stays with you long after the journey.
A quiet encounter with African penguins among the coastal greenery of Stony Point, Betty’s Bay.
New life at Boulders Beach: downy African penguin chicks huddle beside their mother during the breeding season.
Cape Point beyond the familiar ocean views: sunlit fynbos, weathered stone and a landscape worth pausing for.
The Cape Peninsula in miniature: tracing its mountain ridges and coastline on a relief map during a visit to Cape Point.
Beyond Cape Point’s sweeping coastal views, a moment to reflect on our shared beginnings at the Origins of Early Southern Sapiens Behaviour Exhibition.
Layers of history on Mossel Bay’s coast: Cape St Blaize Lighthouse above, and the archaeological cave below, where discoveries offer insights into early human life.
At the Central Karoo boundary line, folded mountain rock offers a reminder that the road can be as memorable as the destination.
Arriving at West Coast National Park, with wide-open skies setting the scene for a day of discovery.
A quiet view across the lake at Zevenwacht, where a white-gabled manor house rests among mature trees and green hills.
A glimpse of the coastline from above, captured en route to Mauritius as the journey unfolds beyond the aircraft window.
Arriving in Mauritius, with tropical greenery, a packed bag and the anticipation of the island journey ahead.
Staying a little longer for the changing light.
Table Mountain across the bay, framed by a rocky shoreline, breaking waves and the warm light of a Cape Town sky.
Taking time to appreciate the history behind a place.
A pause with our clients at the Map of Africa viewpoint in Wilderness, taking in the Garden Route’s scenery beyond the shoreline.
Coastal Lighthouse, Kalk Bay Harbour, Cape Town
Melissa Gibson and her daughter visiting a harbour in Cape Town, with a seal in the foreground

Canadian Enquiry Contact

Melissa Gibson

Born and raised in South Africa and now based in Canada, Melissa offers a personal connection to the country she once called home. For Canadian travellers considering an exceptional African journey, she provides a warm introduction to our Cape Town team, whose first-hand knowledge and trusted relationships shape every detail around you.

A relationship, not just a reservation

Someone who
knows your journey.

Your journey curator is your point of contact, from the first ideas to your return.

We coordinate stays, regional flights, transfers, guides and experiences, and explain what is included before you book. While you travel, our team and local partners provide 24-hour support.

When you return to Africa, we build on what you enjoyed and what you would like to discover next. Getting to know your preferences helps us make each new journey more personal.

Tell us what you have in mind
A gardener tending plants beside a polytunnel

Our founding belief

We belong to
this world.

Taking time to understand a place also means considering our part in its future. We travel as guests, with respect for the people, wildlife and landscapes we encounter.

If conservation or community projects are important to you, your curator can help you understand the specific programme, who runs it and how any contribution is made. We distinguish the work of individual initiatives from the wider impact of a journey, so you can choose with clear information.

Travel with purpose