Venice Simplon-Orient-Express
Europe read at the pace of the 1920s.
The Royal Scotsman
A small country house that happens to travel by rail.
The Maharajas' Express
India at a measured distance, without losing closeness.
Belmond Andean Explorer
South America's highest rail journey, taken slowly.
Rovos Rail
Southern Africa at full breadth, from a train that hurries no one.
Eastern & Oriental Express
Southeast Asia in its long dusk.
The Collection
Journeys
Journeys in which the passage itself is the place — classic trains across Europe and Asia, quiet vessels that move with the light. They ask nothing of you but time.
Journeys
How you travel often matters more than where.
The same region feels entirely different depending on whether you are on a train, in a camp, aboard a small ship or driving yourself. That is the first decision we make with you.
We recommend journeys the way we recommend retreats: with reasons. On the pages that follow you will find a handful of journeys we know for each way of travelling — who they suit and when to go.
Every journey
Every journey we recommend
Twenty-four journeys we recommend: by rail, in camp, on small ships and on roads worth driving yourself.
22 journeys
London, Paris, the Alps, Venice
Venice Simplon-Orient-Express
Europe read at the pace of the 1920s.
- Length
- One night on board, set within eight to ten days between Paris and Venice.
- Best season
- March to November. The Alpine stretches are finest in May and early October; the historic carriages grow warm at the height of summer.
Scottish Highlands, from Edinburgh
The Royal Scotsman
A small country house that happens to travel by rail.
- Length
- Two to four nights, best paired with three nights on the west coast.
- Best season
- April to October. May and September bring long light and empty roads; August fills Scotland, though not this train.
Rajasthan, Agra, Varanasi
The Maharajas' Express
India at a measured distance, without losing closeness.
- Length
- Four to seven nights, with three nights in Delhi or Udaipur before or after.
- Best season
- October to March. December and January are cool and clear; from March Rajasthan turns very hot by day.
Cusco, Lake Titicaca, Arequipa
Belmond Andean Explorer
South America's highest rail journey, taken slowly.
- Length
- One or two nights, set within ten to fourteen days in Peru.
- Best season
- April to October, the dry months. May and September are clear and quiet; January to March brings rain.
Pretoria, Victoria Falls, Cape Town, Dar es Salaam
Rovos Rail
Southern Africa at full breadth, from a train that hurries no one.
- Length
- Three nights Pretoria–Cape Town; nine nights to Dar es Salaam. An ideal overture or finale to a safari.
- Best season
- The Victoria Falls routes are best May to September — dry air, clear light. Cape Town works year-round; February and March are loveliest.
Malaysia, Singapore, rainforest and rice fields
Eastern & Oriental Express
Southeast Asia in its long dusk.
- Length
- Two to three nights, combined with islands or Bangkok.
- Best season
- February to September, outside the heaviest rains.
Okavango Delta, Linyanti, Kalahari
Botswana by Air
Three landscapes in one journey, linked by short flights in small aircraft.
- Length
- Nine to twelve days, three to four nights per camp. Fewer than three nights does not justify the flight.
- Best season
- May to October for the dry season and concentrated game. The green season, December to March, brings young animals, birds and markedly lower rates.
Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Masai Mara
The Great Migration
Not an event but a movement that lasts all year.
- Length
- Ten to fourteen days, across at least two Serengeti locations.
- Best season
- January to March for calving in the south; July to October for the river crossings in the north and the Mara. April and May are wet and quiet.
Volcanoes National Park, Nyungwe, Lake Kivu
Rwanda — Gorillas in the Cloud Forest
One hour you will still recall precisely years later.
- Length
- Seven to ten days; two permits on two days beat one.
- Best season
- June to September and December to February — the drier months. The cloud forest stays wet regardless.
South Luangwa, Lower Zambezi
Zambia on Foot
The safari with nothing between you and the bush.
- Length
- Eight to ten days across two or three camps, ideally linked on foot.
- Best season
- June to October. From late October it turns very hot; many bush camps close November to April.
Sossusvlei, Damaraland, Skeleton Coast, Etosha
Namibia with a Private Guide
A country that is more landscape than wildlife — and remarkable for exactly that.
- Length
- Ten to fourteen days. Under ten leaves too little room for the driving.
- Best season
- May to October, cool nights and clear air. January to March can be hot and wet, but shows a green desert.
Botswana and the Zambezi
Okavango & Victoria Falls
Water in two forms: still in the Delta, thunderous at the falls.
- Length
- Ten to twelve days: six in the Delta, two in Chobe, three on the Zambezi.
- Best season
- May to October for wildlife; the falls run highest March to June. If you want both, travel in June.
Vietnam and Cambodia, the Delta to Siem Reap
Aqua Mekong
A small ship on a river that carries half the life of two countries.
- Length
- Three to seven nights aboard, with Saigon before and Siem Reap after.
- Best season
- August to December in high water (more side channels navigable); January to May in low water with more time ashore.
Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia, Falklands
Antarctica Expedition
The only place where silence has a size.
- Length
- Eleven nights for the peninsula; eighteen to twenty-two including South Georgia.
- Best season
- November to March. November: untouched ice. December and January: chicks and longest light. February and March: whales.
Ecuador, Pacific
Galápagos by Private Yacht
Sixteen guests rather than a hundred — the same islands, an entirely different experience.
- Length
- Seven nights aboard, plus two in Quito and, if possible, three in the highlands.
- Best season
- Year-round. December to May: warmer water, calm seas. June to November: cooler and windier, but the most active season for marine life.
Cyclades, Dodecanese, Ionian Sea
Greek Islands under Sail
Bays reached only from the water — and harbours that empty in the evening.
- Length
- Seven to ten nights aboard, with three nights on an island before or after.
- Best season
- May, June and September. July and August bring meltemi and full harbours; early October is warm and very quiet.
Val d'Orcia, Chianti, Maremma
Tuscany from Place to Place
Short drives, long lunches — the landscape sets the timetable.
- Length
- Ten to fourteen days, three to four nights per base.
- Best season
- Late April to June and September to mid-October. August is hot and busy; November brings truffles and empty roads.
Seville, Ronda, Sierra de Grazalema, Cádiz
Andalusia by Road
White villages, olive slopes and cities that wake in the evening.
- Length
- Nine to twelve days.
- Best season
- March to May and October. High summer is very hot inland; December to February is mild on the coast.
Cape Town, Winelands, Garden Route, Kruger
South Africa Self-Drive
Africa's most accessible country — and the one with the most variety per kilometre.
- Length
- Fourteen to eighteen days.
- Best season
- October to April for coast and winelands; May to September for the best game viewing in the Kruger. November and March are the best compromises.
South, East, North, Snæfellsnes
Iceland, the Ring Road
A country that shows four landscapes in a day and explains none of them.
- Length
- Ten to fourteen days for the full ring; eight for south and west alone.
- Best season
- June to August for midnight sun and open highlands; September and October for autumn colour and first aurora. In winter, the south only, with a driver.
San Francisco, Big Sur, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles
The California Coast
Highway 1, driven in the direction that keeps the ocean on your side.
- Length
- Ten to twelve days; under eight, Big Sur becomes a transit.
- Best season
- April to June and September to November. July and August often hold coastal fog all day, and the roads are full.
Perthshire, Speyside, Wester Ross, Skye
The Scottish Highlands
Single-track roads, passing places and light that changes by the hour.
- Length
- Ten to fourteen days; combines well with two nights on the Royal Scotsman.
- Best season
- May to September. May and June are dry and midge-free; from July the midges arrive. October brings colour and quiet.
Your options
By Rail, Safari, On the Water, At Your Own Pace
Each way of travelling has its own pace. They do not exclude one another — the finest journeys combine two, and that is where we help.
Botswana by Air
Three landscapes in one journey, linked by short flights in small aircraft.
The Great Migration
Not an event but a movement that lasts all year.
Rwanda — Gorillas in the Cloud Forest
One hour you will still recall precisely years later.
Zambia on Foot
The safari with nothing between you and the bush.
Namibia with a Private Guide
A country that is more landscape than wildlife — and remarkable for exactly that.
Okavango & Victoria Falls
Water in two forms: still in the Delta, thunderous at the falls.
Aqua Mekong
A small ship on a river that carries half the life of two countries.
Antarctica Expedition
The only place where silence has a size.
Galápagos by Private Yacht
Sixteen guests rather than a hundred — the same islands, an entirely different experience.
Greek Islands under Sail
Bays reached only from the water — and harbours that empty in the evening.
Tuscany from Place to Place
Short drives, long lunches — the landscape sets the timetable.
Andalusia by Road
White villages, olive slopes and cities that wake in the evening.
South Africa Self-Drive
Africa's most accessible country — and the one with the most variety per kilometre.
Iceland, the Ring Road
A country that shows four landscapes in a day and explains none of them.
The California Coast
Highway 1, driven in the direction that keeps the ocean on your side.
The Scottish Highlands
Single-track roads, passing places and light that changes by the hour.
How many nights on board make sense?
One or two. A single night is an event, three become routine — the cabins are beautiful but small, and the appeal lies in the alternation between travelling and arriving. The best shape is a combination: one night on the train, then three in a hotel at the destination. And keep luggage small; the rest travels ahead.
Noted by Pure Voyage
On the Water
Small ships, quiet harbours
We almost always recommend the small ships. They call at the harbours the larger ones pass by: the stone quay, the fishing village, the bay reached only from the water.
A good voyage asks little of you. No itinerary to keep pace with — a deck in the early morning and an afternoon that is entirely yours.
Yachts
Yacht Voyages
Seven ships we know well, run the way a good house is run. Some sail, some go as far as the ice allows. We will tell you which one suits you.
At SeaThe Aman silence, carried offshore — a dark hull, an empty bay, and mornings that begin without announcement.
YachtsA hotel at sea in the truest sense: oak underfoot, water at the threshold, and the reassurance of a thing done properly.
The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection
Small harbours the larger ships cannot enter — stone quays, cypress light, and dinner ashore without ceremony.
Explora Journeys
European calm rendered in travertine and pale wood, with the horizon treated as the only decoration required.
SeaDream Yacht Club
Sail rather than schedule. A small vessel, a barefoot deck, and the pleasure of arriving whenever the wind allows.
Ponant
French restraint in the far latitudes — ice, silence and a dining room that behaves as though it were in Paris.
Aqua Expeditions
Rivers instead of oceans: mist on the water at six, and a landscape that changes while you are still at breakfast.
What makes a slower journey better?
Fewer bases. The usual reason for exhaustion is not distance but the number of moves. As a rule: no more than two addresses per week, and the day after arrival stays free. What follows cannot be booked — the second morning in a place is almost always the better one.
Noted by Pure Voyage
When should planning begin?
For European summers, six to nine months ahead; for safaris and Japan, nine to twelve; for the festive season, a year. It is rarely about availability alone: deciding early gives you the choice of categories, orientations and dates — and that is the difference between a good stay and the right one.
Noted by Pure Voyage
An Invitation
Once a month: hotels, new openings and travel ideas
One hotel that convinced us. One new opening we are watching. And one travel idea for the right season. Carefully selected and reduced to the essentials.