http://www.forbestraveler.com/2006/0...801_story.html
Burgundy, France
Price: $500,000, land only
Number of people: 41, a three-generation family reunion
Length of trip: One week
($1742pppn)
Highlights: Candlelight buffet dinner at 14th-century Chateau Savigny les Beaune; a children's initiation to "how we taste things"; private guided visit with the Countess de Loisy in her enormous 3,000-barrel cellar in Nuits St. George; "Medieval Lunch" in the King's Chamber of the Hospice de Beaune; all-day excursion by privately chartered 50-passenger canal barge on the Burgundy Canal; lavish "picnic" supper served in hot-air balloons.
Company: Buddy Bombard's Europe
Indian Himalayas & West Bengal
Price: $40,000, land only
Number of people: Four (two couples)
Length of trip: Eight days
($1250pppn)
Highlights: Lunch with the Maharaja and a match at the Calcutta Polo Club, the oldest polo club in the world; attendance at an Indian wedding; ride on the Toy Train, the world's narrowest gauge railway; stay at the summer palace of the Maharaja of Burdwan, perched 7,000 feet over a gorge; private tour of the Ghoom Monastery and tea with senior monks; informal cooking class with one of Sikkim's top chefs; helicopter flight to a peak on Kangchenjunga, high in the Himalayas.
Company: Remote Lands
Peru
Price: $38,000, including airfare
Number of people: Four (two couples)
Length of trip: One week
Highlights: Private visit with residents of Casa Aliaga, one of the oldest colonial mansions in Lima; dinner at the city's finest restaurant, Rafael, and discussion with owner/chef de cuisine about Peruvian cuisine; overnight at the 17th-century Hotel Monasterio del Cuzco, arguably Peru's most beautiful hotel; private tour of the most important Inca sites in Cuzco, such as the ruins of Quenco, Puca Pucara and Tambomachay; ride through a cloud forest and Andean valleys on Orient-Express' new train service, the Hiram Bingham, to Machu Picchu; afternoon tea at the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge overlooking the ancient Incan citadel.
Company: Linden Travel
Sub-Saharan Africa
Price: $75,000
Number of people: Two
Length of trip: Three weeks
($1785pppn)
Highlights: Safari by elephant at Abu Camp in Botswana; luxury suite on the Blue Train from Pretoria to Cape Town; flying fighter jets over Table Mountain; cage diving with great white sharks; private guided whitewater rafting adventure down the Zambezi River at sunrise; Ultralight sunset flight over Victoria Falls; private sunset "bush" cocktail reception complete with roaring fire, fine scotch and a three-piece orchestra playing the soundtrack from "Out of Africa"; presidential suite at Sun City resort, with a private round of golf with the resort professional that includes special tips how to "clear" the crocodile breeding pit; accommodations in Richard Branson's suite at Ulasaba.
Company: Largay Travel, Inc.
Thailand and New Zealand
Price: $60,000
Number of people: Two (25th anniversary celebration)
Length of trip: Two weeks
($2143pppn)
Highlights: Horseback ride on Harakeke Farm with a former member of the New Zealand Olympic Equestrian Team; guided fly-fishing trip on the Wilderness Rivers; picnic atop a glacier; tandem paraglide over dramatic South Island landscape; helicopter ride over rain forest and mountain peaks to Milford Sound; jet boat ride on the world famous Shotover Jet; gourmet lunch at Amisfield Winery on Lake Hayes; private long boat ride through Bangkok's Thonburi canals; accommodations and Thai cooking class at the Oriental Hotel (still ranked the best hotel in the world); traditional morning offering of food to Buddhist monks; 4xWD safari to hill tribes in Northern Thailand at Lisu Lodge; bamboo raft trip down a stretch of the Mae Tang River; daily massages.
Company: Our Personal Guest, Inc.
Tour de France
Price: $85,000, includes first-class airfare
Number of people: Three (a family)
Length of trip: Five days
Highlights: Behind the scenes with Lance Armstrong and Team Discovery in the official team van; helicopter ride for a view of the peloton from above; refreshments at l'Espace Izoard, the two-story VIP hospitality suite at the finish line; day tour of Burgundy with private driver and dedicated oenologist; dinner at Paul Bocuse; accommodations in the 13th-century Château de Bagnols in the heart of the Beaujolais countryside; dinner at Michelin-star Salle des Gardes restaurant.
Company: Paul Klein Travel
Brazil
Price: $150,000, includes private charters
Number of people: Four (two couples)
Length of trip: Two weeks
Highlights: Cable car ride to top of Sugar Loaf Mountain overlooking Rio beaches; Brazilian fusion dinner at Zuka in Santa Teresa, Rio's hottest neighborhood; accommodations at the exclusive Pousada Sitio do Lobo on Ilha Grande, accessed only by helicopter and with some 2,000 beaches on 365 nearby islands; sample the freshest seafood "tidbits" on Almirantado, a floating restaurant; day at Lopes Mendes Beach surrounded by exotic flora; full day with access to personal chef on Ilha does Desejos, a private island; surfing lessons in Itacare; New Year's celebration at the high-design, ecofriendly Transamerica Comandatuba Resort complete with a traditional offering to Yemanja, deity of the sea.
Company: Cox & Kings (since 1758)
Alaska
Price: $145,000, including private airfare to Alaska on a Gulfstream IV
Number of people: Four (family)
Length of trip: One week
Highlights: Three nights in the Presidential Suite at the Alyeska Lodge; luxury yacht with huge fireplace and suite quarters for 12 guests; client's favorite wine and champagne were flown in for New Year's celebration; helicopter excursions to the shores of Prince William Sound for the salmon run; seaplane excursion to Denali National Park around Mount McKinley; Skita Sound cruise to view sea lions, sea otters and puffins in the St. Lazaria Wildlife Refuge; kayaking to explore the ice waterfalls at Tracy Arm National Wilderness Area; all meals prepared by private chef.
Company: American Express Centurion Travel Service; contact counselor: Tracy Zeiler
South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, East Africa and the Seychelles
Price: $150,000, including first-class airfare
Number of people: Two
Length of trip: Five weeks
Highlights: Accommodations at Manoir Aux Quat Saisons; suite with panoramas of Table Mountain at Cape Grace Hotel; Sefofane charter flight to Jao Camp in a private game reserve in the Okavango Delta in Botswana; guided tour through rain forest to Victoria Falls; sundowner cruise onboard the luxurious "African Queen"; stay at Singita Boulders Lodge with fine collection of antique books on Africa and a 12,000-bottle cellar of South Africa's best wines; walking safaris with Shangaan trackers; cottage in Kenya with private infinity pool at Sasakwa Hill Lodge on the Serengeti; horse rides into the bush; 4x4 vehicle safari through Iraqw tribe farms to the Rift Escarpment; picnic lunch in the Ngorongoro Crater; private charter to five-star tented camp in the Masai Mara; morning balloon ride across the Mara and champagne breakfast in the savannah; stay in beachside villa with full butler service on "the most beautiful island in the world," the granitic North Island in the Seychelles
Company: Poe Travel
Oslo, Lapland, Bergen & St. Petersburg
Price: $172,000, land only
Number of people: Four
Length of trip: Thirteen days
($3307pppn)
Highlights: Private piano recital in Troldhaugen; Norwegian Fjord Cruise by private yacht; Private Lapland Safari to reindeer fields; Access to the Amber Room workshop of Catherine's Palace and its artisans; After-hours admission to the Gold Treasures Rooms of the Hermitage.
Company: Protravel International
