Our guiding principles
Our goal is to share incredible experiences in spectacular wild areas with you.
We believe we have a responsibility for how we care for these places.
We seek to meet wildlife on their terms. We strive to minimize invasiveness and value quality over quantity.
We believe this thoughtful approach creates extraordinary moments you can be proud of.
What makes a Thoughtful trip different
You will experience something truly incredible
We curate incredible experiences to create “wow” moments above and below the water.
You will be proud of how we did it
We meet wildlife on their terms. We do not force anything that is not there.
You will learn every day
We connect sightings to science and place with talks and excursions.
We will make it worth it
We know this is a major investment of your time, money, and energy. We strive to make every day worthwhile for you.
We will be good partners
We strive to be good partners to you, our local operators, and the incredible wildlife and wild places that host us.
Why I started Thoughtful
My name is Alex Pham.
I started Thoughtful to help people experience incredible, perspective-changing moments and find more of what makes the world such a joyful place.
Before Thoughtful, I advised government policymakers, led investments at large investment funds, invested in social impact businesses in Africa and Asia, and lived in 10 countries. I studied at Harvard, INSEAD, and UCLA.
Now I get to meet incredible, inspiring people (like you) and help you experience things you never thought were possible.
What I’ve been lucky to experience
Humpback Whales in Tonga, French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Niue, Comoros
Sperm Whales in Dominica, Timor Leste, Sri Lanka
Blue Whales in Sri Lanka, Timor Leste
Southern Right Whales in Argentina and Brazil
Orcas in Norway and Baja
Amazonian River Dolphins in Brazil
Gray Whales in Baja
Minke Whales in Australia
Bryde’s Whales in Sri Lanka
Mountain Gorillas in Uganda, Rwanda