Eight countries we know quietly well.
We'd rather go deep than wide. In each of these places we work with one trusted planner who lives there, and every trip below ends with a sketch of how yours might take shape.
Japan
Old wood, neon nights, and a stillness you can hear.
Most travelers spend a week trying to see Japan. We'd rather you spend two weeks letting it find you: through a tea master in Uji, a ramen counter in Osaka, a morning train through paddies most guidebooks miss.
- Best seasonMarch–May · Oct–Nov
- Suggested length12–16 days
- From£6,400 pp
- PaceSlow / cultural
Tokyo
Hidden bars in Shibuya, breakfast sushi at Tsukiji, a tailored evening in Ginza.
Kyoto
Tea ceremonies, temple stays, the lanes the day-trippers don't reach.
Hakone
A ryokan night with private onsen and kaiseki dinner under Mount Fuji.
Hokkaido
Powder days in Niseko or summer hikes across volcanic plains.
One shape the trip can take · 14 days
- Days 1–4TokyoLand softly: a small hotel, the city on foot, dinner counters booked before you ask.
- Days 5–8Kyoto & UjiTemples at opening time, a private tea ceremony, an evening in the lanes of Gion.
- Days 9–10HakoneThe ryokan night: private onsen, kaiseki, and Fuji through the morning mist.
- Days 11–14HokkaidoNorth for snow or wildflowers, then one last Tokyo night before the flight home.
Italy
A long lunch, a slow road, and nothing rushed.
We design Italy for people tired of the highlight reel. Our planners trade hotels for converted farmhouses, queues for back roads, and the famous trattoria for the one three streets over where the chef's mother is in the kitchen.
- Best seasonMay–June · Sept
- Suggested length9–12 days
- From£5,900 pp
- PaceRelaxed / culinary
Tuscany
A villa on a working vineyard, cooking days, chauffeurs who know the back lanes.
Amalfi Coast
A lemon-grove hotel above Positano, private boats, dinners in Praiano.
Sicily
Baroque towns, sea-salt pasta in Noto, a winery on Mount Etna.
Dolomites
Alpine huts, slow walks, dinners three thousand metres up.
One shape the trip can take · 10 days
- Days 1–4TuscanyA villa on a working vineyard, two cooking days, back-lane drives between hill towns.
- Days 5–7Amalfi CoastSouth by train and driver: a lemon-grove hotel, a private boat day, dinner in Praiano.
- Days 8–9SicilyA short hop to Noto for baroque streets and an evening winery on Etna.
- Day 10Rome, brieflyOne golden-hour walk and a last long lunch before the airport.
Vietnam
Lanterns, limestone, and street-food midnights.
Vietnam isn't one country, it's three. Our planners design the rhythm: north for mist and mountains, centre for craft and coastline, south for the food and the river. Twelve days, properly paced.
- Best seasonFeb–April · Oct
- Suggested length10–14 days
- From£4,200 pp
- PaceActive / culinary
Hanoi
Old Quarter walks, midnight phở, a private cyclo tour with a historian.
Hạ Long Bay
A two-night private junk through limestone karsts. No other boats in sight.
Hoi An
Tailoring days, lantern-lit dinners, cycling through rice paddies at dawn.
Mekong Delta
A homestay on the river, floating markets, the world's best fruit.
One shape the trip can take · 12 days
- Days 1–3HanoiThe Old Quarter on foot, a historian's cyclo tour, midnight phở when only locals are out.
- Days 4–5Hạ Long BayTwo nights on a private junk between the karsts: swim stops, squid fishing, silence.
- Days 6–9Hoi AnFly south to the lantern town: tailoring days, dawn cycling, a cooking morning at the market.
- Days 10–12Mekong & SaigonA river homestay and floating markets, then one big Saigon night before home.
Morocco
Riads, red rock, and a silent night in the dunes.
Morocco is loud and quiet in turns. We tune the trip so the cities arrive in small doses, and the spaces between them, from Atlas valleys to Saharan camps to the Atlantic coast, are where you actually land.
- Best seasonMar–May · Sept–Nov
- Suggested length9–12 days
- From£4,800 pp
- PaceVaried / sensory
Marrakech
A riad we keep almost to ourselves, hammam afternoons, dinner above the medina.
High Atlas
Berber villages, mule walks, lunch with a family who's lived here for generations.
Sahara
A luxury desert camp, a dawn camel ride, the kind of stars you can't photograph.
Essaouira
Atlantic winds, fresh-grilled sardines, and an artist quarter that hasn't been polished.
One shape the trip can take · 10 days
- Days 1–3MarrakechA quiet riad in the medina, hammam afternoon, dinner on a rooftop above the souks.
- Days 4–5High AtlasInto the mountains: Berber villages, a mule-track walk, lunch with a local family.
- Days 6–8SaharaOver the pass to a luxury camp at the dunes' edge. Camels at dawn, silence at night.
- Days 9–10EssaouiraWest to the Atlantic to decompress: sea air, grilled sardines, slow goodbyes.
Patagonia
Wind-bent peaks, and the edge of the map.
Patagonia rewards travelers who don't over-pack the schedule. We design days that breathe: a long hike, a long lunch, a long drive between two places worth being. The wind does the rest.
- Best seasonNov–March (austral summer)
- Suggested length10–14 days
- From£7,200 pp
- PaceActive / wild
Torres del Paine
A lodge inside the park, guided treks to the towers, dinners by a glacial lake.
El Chaltén
Trekking capital of Argentina, with views of Fitz Roy from your front door.
Estancia stay
A working ranch, an asado dinner, gauchos who actually ride.
Bariloche
Andean lakes, a chocolate-shop town, and the start of the Lake District road.
One shape the trip can take · 12 days
- Days 1–4Torres del PaineA lodge inside the park: guided days to the towers, glacier lookouts, early nights.
- Days 5–7El ChalténAcross the border to Argentina's trekking town, Fitz Roy filling the window.
- Days 8–9EstanciaA working ranch: horses, asado, and the biggest sky you've ever slept under.
- Days 10–12BarilocheNorth to the Lake District for soft days: boats, forests, chocolate, rest.
Iceland
Fjords, fire, and the quietest nights of your life.
Iceland's problem isn't the country; it's the Ring Road. Our planners pull you off it, into the Westfjords and the Highlands, where you can drive an hour without seeing another car. That's the Iceland we love.
- Best seasonJune–Aug · Sept (auroras)
- Suggested length7–10 days
- From£5,400 pp
- PaceScenic / wild
Reykjavík
A two-night soft landing: a small hotel, the best restaurant in town, the harbour walk.
Westfjords
Empty roads, sea-cliff puffins, a fjordside guesthouse with one chef.
Highlands
Super-jeep into the interior, hot springs nobody's tagged, glacial lagoons.
South Coast
Black-sand beaches, the famous waterfalls, an aurora-watching cabin off the grid.
One shape the trip can take · 8 days
- Days 1–2ReykjavíkA soft landing: harbour walks, one great dinner, the city at its smallest and best.
- Days 3–5WestfjordsNorth to empty roads and puffin cliffs, a fjordside guesthouse with one chef.
- Days 6–7HighlandsSuper-jeep into the interior: untagged hot springs, glacial lagoons, lunar quiet.
- Day 8South CoastBlack sand and waterfalls on the way back, with auroras if the season allows.
Kenya & Tanzania
Migration mornings, and an ocean to land in.
A safari shouldn't feel like a queue. We design Kenya & Tanzania around small, owner-run camps in private conservancies: fewer vehicles, longer game drives, real time with the Maasai families who run them. Then a beach to soften the landing.
- Best seasonJuly–Oct (migration)
- Suggested length10–14 days
- From£8,900 pp
- PaceAdventure / luxury
Maasai Mara
A tented camp inside a private conservancy. Game drives, walking safaris, sundowners.
Serengeti
A luxury mobile camp that follows the migration. Hot-air balloon at dawn.
Ngorongoro
A crater lodge night, descending into the world's largest unbroken caldera.
Zanzibar
Stone Town for a night, then a beach lodge on the north coast for five.
One shape the trip can take · 12 days
- Days 1–4Maasai MaraTwo camps in a private conservancy: dawn drives, walking safaris, firelit dinners.
- Days 5–7SerengetiA bush flight south to a mobile camp tracking the migration. Balloon at first light.
- Day 8NgorongoroOne crater-rim night, then down into the caldera before the crowds arrive.
- Days 9–12ZanzibarStone Town for an evening, then a beach lodge to let the savannah settle in.
France
Long lunches, lavender, and a country that lingers.
Everyone thinks they've seen France after a weekend in Paris. Our planners spend it the way the French do: a market morning, a two-hour lunch, an afternoon that goes nowhere in particular. The cities are the start, not the trip.
- Best seasonMay–June · Sept–Oct
- Suggested length9–13 days
- From£5,600 pp
- PaceRelaxed / culinary
Paris
A small hotel in the Marais, the museums before they open, dinner where no menu is in English.
Provence
Lavender roads, a farmhouse table, hilltop villages with a market in every one.
Loire Valley
A night in a château, vineyard lunches, and the gardens between the great houses.
Côte d'Azur
Old-town Nice, a boat off Cap Ferrat, and long Mediterranean evenings.
One shape the trip can take · 11 days
- Days 1–4ParisThe Marais as a base: early museums, market mornings, dinners three streets off the guidebook.
- Days 5–6Loire ValleyA château night among the great houses, vineyard lunch included.
- Days 7–9ProvenceSouth by fast train: lavender roads, hilltop markets, a farmhouse table.
- Days 10–11Côte d'AzurFinish by the sea: old-town Nice, a boat off Cap Ferrat, one last long dinner.
If it's not on the list, ask anyway.
These eight are where our planners live. For anywhere else, we'll tell you honestly whether we can design it well, and point you elsewhere if we can't.
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