30 March 2026
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For the seasoned traveler who has seen and done it all, what level of luxury does it take to up the ante — and cater to those who have everything? If you’re already traveling privately (whether it’s by jet or yacht), some of the most discerning brands in the luxury realm have designed experiences that’ll have you quickly trading in your own mode of transport and clamoring to book theirs — which come complete with MICHELIN-worthy dining and private tours of everything from Machu Picchu to Easter Island’s famed statues.
From an around-the-world tour in 24 days to week-long barge and yacht cruises through Burgundy and the Mediterranean to a safari so stylish you’ll want to shop specifically for the occasion, these eight luxurious travel experiences are some of the most swoonworthy on Earth.
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1. Ride on a Retro Rail Journey Through Tuscany
The golden age of travel evokes images of monogrammed, stackable Louis Vuitton trunks and ensembles practically plucked off the runway. The revival of vintage-style rail journeys caters to the growing desire for slow travel, where the journey is as much a part of the experience as the destinations you’re rolling through. On board La Dolce Vita Orient Express, peer out your suite window as you venture from Rome to Tuscany’s hilltop town of Montalcino, where you’ll sip local wines before taking part in another favorite Italian pastime, aperitivo, back on board. And the evening is just getting started: The highlight is an elegant meal in the dining car designed by Chef Heinz Beck of Three-MICHELIN-Star La Pergola — which, of course, you’ll also have to try when you pull back into Rome.
Another spot to add to your Rome itinerary: Il Ristorante – Niko Romito, from the Italian chef who claims a coveted Three MICHELIN Stars at flagship Reale in Abruzzo. Sprawling across the fifth floor of Three-Key Bvlgari Hotel Roma, the pared-back dining room opens to an expansive terrace overlooking the world’s largest circular tomb, the Mausoleum of Augustus, whose scene-stealing views are topped only by Romito’s spaghetti al pomodoro.
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2. Slip Away to a Hollywood-Famous Private Island in French Polynesia
When neighbors include Tahiti and Bora Bora, expectations are high — but The Brando, named after legendary actor Marlon Brando, who once called Tetiaroa home (after he discovered the atoll while shooting Mutiny on the Bounty), delivers the kind of barefoot luxury most private islands strive to capture. The carbon-neutral pioneer’s 35 thatched-roof villas spill along the beach with a modern take on traditional French Polynesian design. From your bed (or infinity plunge pool), you’ll see waves lapping in the distance, and while you can expect all the creature comforts you’re used to and more (media room, private outdoor bath), the resort’s relaxed spirit will have you relishing every moment being ensconced in nature.
While the culinary team’s resume includes stints at Three-Key properties Cheval Blanc St. Barth Isle De France and Le Plaza Athénée in Paris, the cuisine stays true to the soul of Polynesia — with elevated French touches, of course. When you’ve got an entire island to yourself, possibilities are nearly endless, from secluded seaside picnics to sunset cocktails on a motu, or reef islet. One of the best times to visit is between August and October, when you can snorkel around the atoll with its famous annual visitors: humpback whales.
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3. Cruise Through Burgundy by Boutique Barge
Sip Burgundy’s finest wines while lounging poolside on the deck of your own luxury barge, Lilas, A Belmond Boat, slowly sailing through France’s Beaujolais region. On the weeklong Epicurean Journey — tailored exclusively to groups up to eight — you’ll cross 12 MICHELIN Stars off your list, dining at some of Burgundy’s most lauded tables, including Three-Star Maison Lameloise and Table de Levernois, whose cheese trolley is legendary. The haute cuisine doesn’t stop there: You’ll be treated to two onboard menus designed by Chef Dominique Crenn of Three-MICHELIN-Star Atelier Crenn in San Francisco. If you’d prefer a gourmet picnic basket, the boat’s chef can pack some of their favorite recipes to enjoy on shore.
While the waterways (and dining) are the highlights here, there’s no denying the charm of the Route des Grands Crus, the wine route that winds its way through the region’s rolling vines and most esteemed estates — and you’ll have a chance to sample the renowned wine at the source, pausing for a tasting at a local producer along the way. While the barge’s four elegantly decorated rooms are as elevated as any five-star hotel, when you’re ready to spend time on land, sleep in the heart of a Grand Cru vineyard at COMO Le Montrachet (One Key), where suites are modeled after traditional village homes. Think gorgeous wooden beams and French country-chic wallpaper.
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4. Dance to Top DJs at a Fancy Festival on Mexico’s Costalegre
Forget Burning Man. Instead of the desert (and camping, for that matter), sway to some of the world’s most sought-after DJs at a festival that feels like it was plucked out of Ibiza — yet is capped at fewer than 700, and invite-only. Ondalinda’s daily dress code is as much a highlight as the extravagant parties unfolding in the Mexican jungle and along the coast. While many festivals create fairytale-like settings, the exclusive enclave of Careyes, with its Gaudí-esque sea castles, is a real-life version of one — and you can stay in the beachfront Bungalows & Casitas de la Flores, a collection of One-Key crayon-colored villas, beachside bungalows and casitas steps from (or directly on) the coast.
Nearby, MICHELIN Key-awarded Las Alamandas (a favorite of celebrities like Cindy Crawford and Brad Pitt) sprawls across 2,000 untouched acres and features four private beaches — plus crystal-clear snorkeling around nearby Cocinas Island and, being the Pacific coast, spectacular surfing. Sample Mexican wines while indulging in elevated farm-to-table spins on regional favorites — served by the sand at La Palapa Beach Club or under the stars at the rooftop bar and lounge.
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5. Cruise Around the Mediterranean in a Hotel-Inspired Yacht
These days, a private island or plane isn’t enough for most haute hospitality brands — they want to conquer the seas too. Next spring, Aman, the epitome of quiet luxury, is extending is signature minimalist-chic style to a 47-suite yacht in the Mediterranean. There’s no question which cabin to book aboard Amangati: The expansive Aman Suite is like a floating residence. You’ll have privacy thanks to your own personal elevator, a whirlpool on your own teak terrace and an outdoor dining space seating 10 — meaning dinner parties come to you. (The suite is equipped with a professional chef’s kitchen, in case you were wondering.)
If you’ve stayed at Three-MICHELIN-Key hotel Aman New York, you’ll find similar amenities on board — as well as a nautical take on the acclaimed Jazz Club, plus rare spirits at the Cigar Lounge. Now the real challenge: Where will you cruise to? Greece’s whitewashed villages and iconic islands like Mykonos? Sicily and the Adriatic, pausing in the medieval town of Kotor in Montenegro? If it were up to us, there’s no better way to watch the drivers whipping around the Grand Prix in Monaco than on your own (or, rather Aman’s) yacht, and the roundtrip Nice voyage falls right over the race weekend and continues to some of the French Riviera’s lesser-explored gems, like Beaulieu-sur-Mer, where you can hole up in Belle Époque style at La Réserve de Beaulieu — one of the Côte d’Azur’s original grande dame hotels.
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6. Embark on a Luxe Expedition to the Edge of the Earth
The age of exploration may have been centuries ago, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any truly wild or untouched stretches left to discover. At the southernmost tip of South America, Tierra del Fuego is dubbed the “End of the Earth” — so remote that capital Ushuaia is the gateway for cruises to Antarctica. For an expedition that’s every bit as much of an adventure as when Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan first discovered the archipelago, Explora’s expertly designed trip through this part of Patagonia traverses high-altitude lagoons and glacier-filled fjords. You’ll come across leopard seals, elephant seals and king penguin colonies — which you won’t even find in Antarctica.While this is about as luxurious as it gets while still being an expedition (meaning you never know what you’ll get, weather-wise), the real pampering starts after the journey wraps up. Make it a two-part trip visiting another side of Chilean Patagonia by staying at Explora Torres del Paine, a Two-MICHELIN-Key lodge with enviable views of the surrounding waterfalls and snow-capped peaks. You’ve certainly earned a spa day (or two), and the property’s four open-air hot tubs — showing off views of the Paine River — are sure to relieve any lingering tension from the trip’s hikes.
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7. Set Off on a Stylish Safari in South Africa
Fashion designer and hotelier Liz Biden is behind some of South Africa’s most esteemed estates, from a Provence-inspired hotel and winery in the Cape Winelands to glass-encased The Silo Hotel in Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront. Stay where the family’s portfolio of properties began: the African bush in Greater Kruger, where they converted their former home into Royal Malewane. The Three MICHELIN Key-awarded camp features four lodges and three private bush villas — all clad in contemporary artwork that’s as museumworthy as what you’d find in Cape Town’s Zeitz MOCAA. Biden has curated what’s arguably among the top collections of contemporary artists in the country.One of the newest safari villas to debut, Africa House, was the family’s original homestead and now opens up to six color-themed rooms in shades like turquoise (inspired by the malachite kingfisher bird) and burnt orange, mimicking a safari sunset. While a walking safari offers a close-up of South Africa’s largest protected wilderness area, one of the best ways to soak up the high-altitude grasslands and waterfalls is from above, over the Blyde River Canyon — one of the world’s largest. “Big five” sightings are never guaranteed, but at Royal Malewane, the odds (and experts) are in your favor thanks to master trackers and a guiding team of pros who have earned the lodge the nickname the “Harvard of the Bush.” You don’t have to roam too far to get a snapshot of South African wildlife, either — elephants often graze around the pool.
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8. Take a Private Jet Tour Around the World
Why narrow a bucket-list trip to one sole locale when you can jet around the world checking off one once-in-a-lifetime experience after the next? The tapped-in team at Safrans du Monde have earned a reputation for curating the best of the best, from India’s marble-etched Rambagh Palace, Jaipur (a former guest house for royals), to its own jet with a private chef crafting multicourse meals that blend cuisines from the country you just visited and the one you’ll soon be landing in.On the 24-day World Tour Grands Classiques, you’ll set off in the comfort of a private plane (limited to a mere 50 guests) from Rio de Janeiro, jetting south to Machu Picchu — one of the New Seven Wonders of the World — before landing on Easter Island to see the defining moai statues in the ancient village of Tahai. The world’s greatest-hits tour packs punch after punch, from overwater bungalows at The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort to the Taj Mahal in India and a party under the stars in Petra, Jordan. If you’re wondering when the fine dining comes into play, the answer is at practically every stop — and in the air. You’ll feel the rush of Hanoi as you roll around Vietnam’s capital by rickshaw before taking a seat at One-MICHELIN-Star Hibana by Koki, an intimate, 14-seat counter spotlighting the best of Japanese technique and flavors, from teppanyaki grills to exclusively imported beef flown straight from Okinawa’s Ishigaki Island.
Hero image: A stay at the legendary The Brando hotel is one of those luxury travel musts. © The Brando
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