| Tours of Beauty |
Ah, the good old days of luxury travel. When a butler, a plush tent next to the lions and an outdoor shower Karen Blixen would have been proud of, made the grade as an extraordinary travel adventure.
That was before bespoke travel became fashionable — contemporary parlance for an impeccably fitted, utterly customised holiday, perfectly aligned to your travel contours yet with enough give in all the important places. And always, an element of surprise somewhere. Much like the exclusive tailoring industry from which the term is borrowed, bespoke travel has come to ultimately mean, inspiring, luxurious and even impossible.
The trend has hit the travel industry like a ton of cashmere blankets — a soft, yet discernable thud of a growing group of trip designers whose business it is to create unique experiential vacations for affluent, highly discriminating clients who have the cash to splash, have done it all, and want direct access to the incredible, off-the-beaten track.
There are two kinds of bespoke clientele — those who want to be fed with a mother-of-pearl spoon from start to finish, and those who have definite ideas about just how they want to spend their time. All require their journeys in the style they are accustomed to. For some, this means private jets and super suites, and for others, this translates to getting high on hidden treasures and the near impossible.
The beauty of bespoke travel arrangements is that impossible really is nothing because the service is all about meeting your needs as creatively as possible and creating a no-rules environment — all while seamlessly staying one step ahead of your likes, dislikes and habits. With these details usually established right at the beginning of your association, the way remains effortlessly paved by your specialist agent who will make sure your Egyptian cotton sheets and organic eggs go on location with you.
Here are four of the best private travel services in the world to cater to every bespoke junkie.
Abercrombie & Kent
What they do This luxury travel agency was established by Colonel John Kent in Nairobi in the 1960s as a luxe safari operation. Today, his son Geoffrey is the driving force and inspiration behind the brand. After 40 years at the helm, Kent has established Abercrombie & Kent and its 50 offices across the globe as one of very few on the elite traveller’s go-to list for journeys above and beyond the ordinary.
Privacy please They have done luxury for decades so they intimately understand the needs of those who have seen and done it all, and want more. Their private travel specialists have access to the most intriguing insider journeys that you have not thought of yet, largely in Europe, the Americas and their specialty, Africa. Fancy a private viewing of Nefertari’s Tomb in Egypt’s Valley of the Queens on Luxor’s West Bank? It is permanently closed to the public but, of course, something can be arranged. www.abercrombiekent.co.uk
Remote Lands
What they do Based in Manhattan, they specialise in ‘white glove’ bespoke travel itineraries to Asia. Founded by Catherine Evans Heald — who spent seven years in Hong Kong — and Jay Tindall, their passion is off-the-beaten track, exclusive insider access, extraordinary and exceptionally difficult-to-arrange experiences from Papua New Guinea
to Bhutan.
Privacy please A Papua New Guinea animiste offering ceremony, or perhaps a spot of crocodile hunting in the moonlight? They will be doubly sure to remember your favourite bottle of Krug is waiting when you return. Or fly from your luxury tented camp in Bumthang, Bhutan via helicopter to Gangtey to witness populations of five-feet-tall black neck cranes before heading to the Goemba monastery for a private session with its senior monks. www.remotelands.com
Our Personal Guest
What they do The brainchild of India-born, New York-based Pallavi Shah, a former airline executive, the quirky, whimsical company logo — a canopied palanquin borne aloft by attentive staff — is an insight to their credo of bespoke travel with style and a touch of humour, to present the magic of India like no one else.
Privacy please Using her network of stylish, wealthy, connected and cultured contacts across India, Shah has arranged everything from a meaningful religious pooja in a Jaipur temple for Thomas Preston, president and chief executive of Viacom, to a trekking trip through the Himalayas for chief executive members of the World Presidents’ Organisation. In a 2007 interview with Forbes magazine, she succinctly details her clientele as “people who can afford to go anywhere in the world and at any time they wish. They are not looking for thrills… but to participate in the customs and traditions of local cultures.”
They also promise to travel to the ends of the earth for you, all within the confines of ultra pampering and stylish elegance, of course. Should your heart desire a trek though Southern India’s sandalwood forests before jetting up north to get cosy with a maharajah in a glittering palace, then heading out by air to spot tigers in Ranthambore, look no further. www.ourpersonalguest.com
Butterfield & Robinson
What they do Private trips made to fit, as their tag line goes. Established in 1966, George Butterfield was a man already ahead of his time, seeing the beauty in experiencing the full force of a destination through walking and biking journeys that allowed travellers to slow down and really see the world. What began as a student trip among Butterfield and some friends turned into a 59-day biking odyssey from Naples to London. It later inspired the launch of Butterfield & Robinson (B&R) and established their DNA — a yen for the unusual, the unexpected and always, the best.
Their repertoire has since expanded to include sea journeys, but it is through their bespoke travel arm that their natural ability to eke out the private, the special and the discreet, comes
full circle.
Privacy please This is customisation at its most intimate and intuitive across the most compelling destinations in Eastern and Western Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Italy, France and even the Black Sea. Last year, planners worked on a private plane-fuelled photo odyssey across Argentina for a family of photographers, to capture the glaciers and condors of Torres del Paine, the giant petrels of the Falklands and the flamingos of Laguna de Tuyalto. In the words of B&R’s founder: ‘I never wanted to be the biggest, just the best.’ Indeed. www.butterfield.com
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