The Ultimate Luxury Travel Experiences

Botswana, South Africa, Tanzania, Rwanda · 4 to 7 nights · From ~$2,500 pp per night

The single best-value use of a large travel budget. On a private concession there are no other vehicles at a sighting, night drives and walking safaris are permitted, and the guiding is at a standard public parks cannot match. Singita holds some of the finest concessions in Africa across the Sabi Sand, the Serengeti and the Grumeti, with a conservation model that funds the land it uses. Go May to October for game density, or the green season for newborns and photography light.

Global · 3 to 10 nights · From ~$30,000 per night for smaller properties

Exclusive use turns a hotel into a private estate: your own chefs, spa therapists, guides and boats, with no other guests. Aman's smaller properties — Amangiri in Utah, Amanpuri's villas in Phuket, Amankora's lodge circuit in Bhutan — are the most achievable buy-outs and the most convincing. For a milestone birthday or a multi-generation gathering, it is the experience most people remember longest.

Europe · 1 to 6 nights · From ~$4,000 pp

Belmond's restored 1920s carriages between London, Paris and Venice remain the most romantic single journey in travel, and the easiest to add to an existing European trip. The Grand Suites bring private bathrooms and 24-hour butlers; dinner in the 3674 dining car, black tie, is the point. Book nine to twelve months ahead for peak departures.

French Riviera, Amalfi, Balearics, Greece, Turkey · 7 nights · From ~$150,000 per week

A crewed charter is the only way to reach the coves, beach clubs and anchorages that define a Mediterranean summer without queueing for them. A 40-metre motor yacht with seven crew sleeps ten to twelve and costs roughly $150,000 to $400,000 per week, plus an Advance Provisioning Allowance of around 30 percent for fuel, food and berths. July and August are peak; June and September are quieter, cheaper and better.

Antarctica, the Arctic, the Pacific · 7 to 21 nights · From ~$1,000 pp per night

Modern small-ship cruising is unrecognisable from the mass-market image: 500 to 900 guests, all-suite accommodation, included excursions and genuine expedition access. Explora Journeys and Silversea's expedition fleet reach Antarctica, Svalbard and remote Pacific archipelagos with ice-class hulls and onboard scientists. Antarctica runs November to March; the Arctic, June to August.

Maldives and Thailand · 5 to 10 nights · From ~$2,000 per night

The private-island experience at its most considered: overwater and beach villas with private pools, an observatory, an in-villa chef, and a sustainability programme that is more than marketing. Soneva Jani's water retreats with retractable roofs remain the most photographed rooms in the Indian Ocean. November to April is dry season; May to October is cheaper with short daily rain.

Global · Per flight hour · ~$6,000 to $20,000 per hour

Private aviation is the experience that makes the others possible: a Serengeti airstrip, an Aegean island, a Rockies ski field reached the same day. NetJets and VistaJet sell fractional shares and jet cards for regular users; on-demand charter suits one or two trips a year. Expect around $6,000 per hour for a light jet and $20,000 for an ultra-long-range cabin, plus positioning.

Japan · 2 or 4 nights · From ~$8,000 pp

The experience for travellers who want craft rather than scale: fourteen suites in maki-e lacquer and Arita porcelain, kaiseki by leading Japanese chefs, and a route through onsen towns, pottery villages and volcanic landscapes. Allocated by lottery in high season, so plan roughly a year ahead. Pair it with a Kyoto ryokan stay for the strongest cultural itinerary in Asia.