About One Life Adventures
Small group tours built around real places, real people, and the kind of travel that stays with you.
We started One Life Adventures in 2016 with one group, one destination (the Philippines) and one belief: that travel is one of the best things you can do with your time on this planet. Today we run award-winning small group tours across Japan, Bali, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Morocco, Vietnam, South Korea, India, Nepal and Costa Rica. Ten years on, ten destinations, and a whole lot of stories from our 18-35+ guests along the way. Here’s ours.
We started One Life Adventures in 2016 with one group, one destination (the Philippines) and one belief:
Travel is one of the best things you can do with your time on this planet.
A timeline of adventures
From two legends with a dodgy laptop and a big dream, to a worldwide award-winning small-group tour operator — buckle up.
One Life Adventures is born
Two travel-obsessed founders, Pierre Araman and Sean Mulhern, decided the world needed something better than cookie-cutter tourism. One Life Adventures was conceived (on the back of a Great Barrier Reef tour boat) and soon born. Named after the one simple truth we all know but most of us forget: You’ve only got one life. Get out there. Love life and grow.
First ever tour — the Philippines
A handful of strangers arrived in the Philippines, island-hopped their way into each other’s lives, and flew home as friends. Nobody wanted it to end. The blueprint was set, and honestly? We feel we nailed it. The Philippines has been our home away from home ever since.
Glow-up season
New logo. New destination. New levels of chaos (the good kind). We launched Sri Lanka and ran our first-ever influencer tour back in the Philippines — with actors, models and internet famous faces in tow. The Travel to Evolve campaign landed worldwide media coverage and put OLA firmly on the map.
Japan opens — and the world notices
We launched Japan in August and it quietly became the best thing we’d ever built. Quietly being the operative word — because what happened next was anything but.
- ★ 2 x Top Cultural Guides Worldwide
Bali launches. Awards roll in.
We opened our Bali tour and closed out the year with a stack of hardware from TourRadar.
- ★ #1 Tour worldwide — Japan
- ★ #1 Tour in Asia — Philippines
- ★ #1 Tour Sri Lanka
- ★ Top 3 guides worldwide
- ★ TourRadar Platinum Operator
India launches. Then, well… you know.
We launched India. Everyone was buzzing. Then a certain global pandemic decided to crash the party. For nearly two years, tours were off the table — but we kept the team together, obsessed over every itinerary, and waited (im)patiently for the world to open back up.
We’re baaack.
Sri Lanka opened its borders in January and we were on the very first wave. By August, we’d opened our first-ever head office in Bali — a full-circle moment for a company that got its start island-hopping through South East Asia. No more Zoom calls from three different time zones. Well, fewer of them.
Going global — because you asked (nicely)
Our travellers had spoken: more destinations, please. So we delivered. Vietnam launched with a 12 and 15-day tour and promptly became a fan favourite. Morocco made us the first Asian-specialist operator to go… not Asian. And South Korea joined the lineup so you could finally ride the K-wave to Korea itself! You’re welcome.
New world, new tours, new style
We got smart about how we build trips. Say hello to four tour styles built for every kind of traveller: Snapshots for quick hits, Essentials for more itinerary flexibility, Classic for the full experience, and Expedition for those who want it all and have the time. Due to the popularity of our Philippines tour, we also expanded into the east of the country with the launch of Philippines East Classic.
- ★ 6 of the top 20 guides worldwide 2024
The ball keeps rolling (and rolling)
Costa Rica joined the family — our first ever tour in the Americas and proof we’ve fully outgrown our “small Asia tour company” era. Nepal launched too, because apparently trekking in the Himalayas has been on a lot of your bucket lists. The awards kept coming in hot.
- ★ TripAdvisor Travellers Choice 2025
- ★ #1 Japan tour 2025
- ★ Top 3 guides worldwide 2025
A decade of one-life moments
Ten years ago we ran our first tour with a handful of strangers in the Philippines. Today we’re a team running tours across 10+ destinations, and the reviews speak for themselves.
The People Behind OLA
One Life Adventures was built by people who believe that real travel changes you. Pierre Araman and Sean Mulhern started it in 2016, but the guides, the team, and the 12,000+ travellers who’ve come back and told their friends are the ones who built what it is today.
Meet our guides
The people who make our tours are the guides who lead them. Award-winning, locally expert, and genuinely one-of-a-kind humans trained in safety, knowledge and excellence.
What makes OLA, OLA
Small groups
Max 22 travellers. Intimate, flexible, and the kind of friendships that stick.
Solo-friendly
Arrive alone. Leave with a group chat and a standing invite back.
Real local culture
Kendo in Japan. Tea-picking in Sri Lanka. Conversations with locals in their community.
No hidden costs
What’s included on the itinerary is in the price. No hand-in-pocket moments.
What our travellers say about OLA group tours
12,000+ verified reviews across Trustpilot, TripAdvisor and TourRadar. Here’s what real travellers had to say.
I booked alone. I came home with 11 new friends, a Japan obsession, and a flight already booked for next year.
“Best decision I ever made. Booked solo, left with a family.”
“Morocco blew my mind. Every day was something I couldn’t have planned myself.”
We travel with purpose
Responsible tourism has been at the heart of what we do since day one — from the community projects we support to fighting plastic waste in every destination we visit.
Proud partner of OneTreePlanted — supporting reforestation as part of our commitment to a planet worth exploring.
Ready to get started?
Here’s how it works.
Browse our tours across 10+ destinations and find the one that calls to you.
Snapshots, Essentials, Classic or Expedition — pick the pace that suits you.
Reserve your spot online or book a free call with our team — no pressure, no commitments.
We’ve Got You
Not sure where to start? Our team’s always here to help plan your trip and answer any questions along the way. Book a free call with a travel specialist. Just part of what we do - no commitments required.
