Luxury adventure vacations / destinations with a sense of place

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“Sense of place?” Most of these recommendations are for hanging out with fellow rich people. How do you get a sense of place on a $20,000 NG or Linblad cruise?

I haven't done one, but I assume it's because you're doing activities that you could only do in that place, as opposed to hanging out in the pool/on a beach at a carribbean cruise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looking for recommendations for luxury adventure destinations / trips with a sense of place - think a safari in Tanzania with Singita or Antarctica cruise with Lindblad or Quark or gorilla trekking in Rwanda.

I’d put experiences that are lower on the luxury side but high on the experience / intimate size scale here too, like Khutzeymateen Wilderness Lodge.

What else would you recommend? Or anything you did and wouldn’t spend the $ on in retrospect?

It depends how you prioritize “adventure” vs luxury.

Trekking in Nepal or Bhutan can be amazing, but involves a lot of walking obviously and sometimes basic accommodations.

A more luxury but less adventurous option in Nepal would be a luxury safari in the south of the country where there are rhinos, elephants, crocodiles, etc. (Nepal has had major riots, etc, lately… do your research)

Komodo is amazing (check out the Plataran Komodo resort) but getting there is going to be a multi-hop trip. Usually you route through Bali for the last hop so you could do both. (The Plataran Menjangan resort in Bali is also great but is 4-5 hours from Denpasar where the airport is.)

Sri Lanka has some outstanding parks. I have only been to Yala but it was a good experience… if you want to be driven around in a truck. You can’t actually hike around in the park, though there are other places in Sri Lanka where you can.

Borneo is another option though the security in parts of Borneo is… not great…

https://www.borneoecotours.com/visiting-borneo/travel-advisory/travel/

Have done this, but it's almost impossible to do this in "luxury". Which would also sort of void the experience, IMO.

[Anonymous]

We did a Galapagos cruise with Quasar. Their two ships hold 16 and 32 passengers. Would highly recommend them (or another small ship).

[Anonymous]

Usually luxury travel tends to be more sterile and less authentic. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/opinion/brooks-the-haimish-line.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Usually luxury travel tends to be more sterile and less authentic. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/opinion/brooks-the-haimish-line.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

OP. Agreed. There’s a few operators who nail the balance and I’m really only familiar with the Africa ones (Londolozi as probably the standard bearer given the ties to Mandela / focus on Ubuntu and “authentic luxury”, but also Chitabe in Botswana (ran by a couple and under the Wilderness portfolio) and the Great Plains portfolio (ran by Nat Geo couple). I made this post in the hopes of finding other places / operators around the world aligned with the ethos / “sense of place” of the “greats” above.

[Anonymous]

I have wanted to go to the oso peninsula in Costa Rica. We went to the Greentique hotel in manual antonio and liked it and they have a sister resort in oso that looks great.

https://aguiladeosa.com/

[Anonymous]

This place is on my if-I-win-the-lottery list:
https://www.sheldonchalet.com/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This place is on my if-I-win-the-lottery list:
https://www.sheldonchalet.com/

Same!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This place is on my if-I-win-the-lottery list:
https://www.sheldonchalet.com/

Well you could always stay here instead. 😂

https://www.sheldonchalet.com/mountain-house