Travel can be both profound and transformative. Exhilarating and unforgettable. But not always. The difference between a good trip and a great one—perhaps a life-changing one—is so often about tapping the right people to help plan it. It can be hard to know who to trust to create your dream adventure or even a jaunt back to your favorite destination. There are hundreds of travel specialists, after all, most of whom will argue convincingly that they have contacts and connections to open doors around the globe.
Only a handful of operators worldwide, however, have the expertise, clout and ambition to make the unimaginable real. To celebrate them, and to help you, we have brought them together under the banner of Travel Masters. There are fewer than two dozen, nearly all of them specialists in certain regions or types of journeys. They come with our endorsement.
This inaugural list of master operators, presented below in no particular order, will be refreshed and refined every year. We’ll be rolling out a series of new initiatives with them, as well as featuring their expertise and insights regularly. If you’re traveling this year, don’t leave home without contacting one of them.
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1. Christopher Wilmot-Sitwell, Cazenove & Loyd
Image Credit: AJ Heath/Courtesy of Christopher Wilmot-Sitwell The 25-strong, UK-based agency, steered by the three-decade veteran Wilmot-Sitwell, is known for deftly combining adventure travel—think long-haul jaunts to hard-to-reach Asian and African sites—with no-beat-missed luxury. It was an early champion of sustainability: The firm is committed to offsetting the carbon impact of its own research trips via CommuniTree, a Nicaraguan reforestation project (clients can sign up, too).
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2. Henry Cookson, Cookson Adventures
Image Credit: Courtesy of Cookson Adventures Henry Cookson worked as a horse-riding safari guide in Africa before establishing his London-based firm. He’s carved out a niche that focuses on a small number of elaborate adventures; a few dozen custom itineraries are developed on demand each year. If you want a private trip to Antarctica, there may be no team better to organize it: Henry holds the world record for kite-skiing to the Pole of Inaccessibility, and Cookson Adventures was the first private company to take a submersible to Antarctica. The firm’s also offering Octopus, the renowned 413-foot explorer yacht owned by the late Paul Allen, for charter in the polar reaches.
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3. Cari Gray, Gray & Co.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Gray & Co. If you’re outdoorsy, ready for anything and prepared to sweat, call Cari Gray. Few manage to design and book high-end active trips with more finesse than the Canadian, who lives in Santa Monica, Calif. Gray combines thrilling, adrenaline-powered programming with much-needed indulgence, whether that’s organizing biking in the mountains of Mallorca or chartering a fishing expedition in the waters off Chile.
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4. John Clifford, International Travel Management
Image Credit: Courtesy of John Clifford John Clifford has almost four decades of experience as a trip designer for high-net-worth folk. Over that time, he’s developed a particular reputation for catering to LGBTQ+ travelers. From his base in San Diego, Calif., Clifford works worldwide and he can as comfortably score you a last-minute Christmas vacay to Uxua in Trancoso as get you to Iceland’s Hotel Husafell in peak season. “My clients always get the best suite pre-blocked,” he says, “I often handpick it myself.”
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5. Gary Portuesi & Jennifer Schwartz, Authentic Explorations
Image Credit: Courtesy of Authentic Explorations Hungry for Italy? Authentic Explorations is a go-to for any gourmet keen to indulge in truffles, bresaola and Barolo, among other Italian delicacies. Portuesi co-owns an Italian cooking school in NYC and thus certainly knows his stuff. A buyout of Massimo Bottura’s impossible-to-secure Osteria Francescana is easy enough for this team, but they’ll also happily supply a curated list of restaurants to your tastes. Of course, they’ll take care of booking them, too. AE has a headquarters stateside, as well as satellite offices in Florence and Sicily, giving it a head start on the ground in Italy. The company, formerly known as Authentic Italy, has recently broadened to other European vacation spots in recent years, including Croatia, Spain and Portugal.
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6. Catherine Heald, Remote Lands
Image Credit: Courtesy of Catherine Heald If you’re heading to multiple countries in Asia—from Japan to the Maldives and everything in between—there’s no better counsel than that of Catherine Heald. “I have devoted my life to Asia since moving to Hong Kong in 1987,” she says. Heald and her team have expertise in major cities, but the farthest flung spots are a specialty. Think: Japan’s Yakushima or India’s Sikkim. Heald’s trips often support good causes: Clients who travel to Siem Reap, for example, may dig a water well for a local family as part of their journey. Of course, travelers can expect a good dose of luxury, too.
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7. Tanya Dalton, Greaves India
Image Credit: Courtesy of Tanya Dalton Dalton’s firm, with offices in London, Chicago and Delhi, has a firm handle on all things India. The family business, founded by her Mumbai-born grandfather and later run by her mother, has been around for more than four decades. As a result, Dalton has the ability to grant access to closely guarded sites in Southeast Asia’s largest country. Private palace? You got it. She can also wrangle suites in Rajasthani or program tiger-centric safaris. The choice is yours.
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8. Cedric Reversade, Unique Properties & Events
Image Credit: Courtesy of Cedric Reversade Some call him the villa whisperer, and for good reason. Cedric Reversade, who splits his time between London and Paris, has an unparalleled list of the world’s most exclusive private homes in every must-visit destination, from Saint-Tropez to Capri. Many of the lavish pads are only available (discreetly) via his firm. He and business partner Paul Maxime Koskas don’t simply rent out properties, either. The duo’s point of difference has long been the concierge service that comes bundled with the rental; it’s like having an ultra-connected EA in any place you vacation.
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9. Sandy Cunningham, Uncharted
Image Credit: Courtesy of Sandy Cunningham Sandy Cunningham’s firm Uncharted is aptly named, as it specializes in adventures and safaris in remote destinations. She began her career as a safari operator in East Africa, so she knows the game. Cunningham is adept at creating long-haul trips for large groups, too: She once booked a celebrity family into a private island in Seychelles without publicity, for instance. She has also proved she can safeguard a traveler’s privacy: She whisked the same family out a day earlier than planned, under cover of darkness, to avoid alerting any paparazzi.
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10. Max Rosenthal & Stacy Fischer-Rosenthal, Fischer Travel
Image Credit: Courtesy of Fischer Travel Max Rosenthal (center) is the third generation of his family to join Fischer Travel. The New York-based firm was founded by his grandfather Bill Fischer, but is currently run by his mom Stacy. The 30-strong operation is more like a members-only club than a conventional travel agency, with a $150,000 initiation fee and annual dues of $25,000. For that, the team opens up its little black book to create one-off experiences worldwide. Indeed, it was Fischer Travel clients who were the first to experience Camp Sarika at Amangiri a month before it opened to anyone else. Another client wanted to see Wadi Rum in Jordan, but the local hotel didn’t pass Fischer’s quality control, so the team shipped in 10 staff from the Kempinski in Aqaba to temporarily run the camp at a higher level.
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11. Jean Sanz Bernay, JSB Journeys
Image Credit: Courtesy of Jean Sanz Bernay US native Jean Sanz Bernay of the six-person boutique operation JSB Journeys has an affinity for all things Latin America. “I’ve traveled through, and lived in, every nook and cranny of South and Central America.” She has connections across the continent and continues to cater to all manner of requests. One client, for example, needed a last-minute, after-midnight jewelry store appointment in Lima to pick out his wife’s present, and another requested a strict kosher trip to Argentina with dinner at a local rabbi’s home.
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12. Jules Maury, Scott Dunn Private
Image Credit: Courtesy of Jules Maury The elegant, charming Jules Maury grew up globetrotting. She was the daughter of an ICI executive whose career took him (and his family) all over the world. Maury became a travel specialist by happenstance while living overseas; friends persistently asked her advice due to her insiderish knowledge and fine taste. Now she’s made it her career. Based in London, she runs the ultra-elite offshoot of Scott Dunn. Maury’s team focuses on custom itineraries worldwide, with an emphasis on forging access to the impossible.
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13. Deborah Calmeyer, Roar Africa
Image Credit: Courtesy of Deborah Calmeyer Zimbabwe-born Deborah Calmeyer is the go-to Africa expert for any ultra-high-net-worth traveler. She has on the ground offices in both Nairobi and Cape Town, plus headquarters in NYC. Roar Africa offers traditional safaris, but Calmeyer has also established a standalone division that ups the ante on the already-luxe trips. Roar Privé‘s focus is villa exclusive rentals in the bush. It also offers private-jet-based safaris, which have proven so popular that 2023’s itineraries are already sold out.
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14. Kevin Jackson, EXP Journeys
Image Credit: Courtesy of EXP Journeys When money is truly no object, EXP Journeys comes in. Jackson and his team create bespoke, one-time-only events in extraordinary locations, often with six-figure budgets or higher. Take the dinosaur dig in the southwest, for instance, in which guests helped discover a new species with a well-known paleontologist. Another standout was a dinner arranged in partnership with Navajo Nation that saw travelers break bread with the last living Navajo Code Talker from World War II.
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15. Jonathan Alder, Jonathan’s Travels
Image Credit: Courtesy of Jonathan’s Travels Florida-based Jonathan Alder is another Africa insider: He once dropped everything to fly to East Africa to scout private aircraft for clients to use on a month-long trip across the continent. He recommends camps like Angama in the Masai Mara: Come for the walking safari, stay for the glass of champagne overlooking the valley. “It’s the exact spot where the movie poster for Out of Africa was taken,” he says. As a bonus, Alder is also an expert in Japan.
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16. Stuart Rigg, Southern Crossings
Image Credit: Courtesy of Stuart Rigg For more than 30 years, Sydney-based Stuart Rigg has helped travelers explore Australia and New Zealand. Logistics and connections of all kinds are tricky Downunder, so his assistance is particularly welcome. There’s virtually no request he can’t find a way to fulfill. In fact, one celebrity tasked Rigg with organizing his 50th birthday at a mansion in Sydney. The manse’s gym had to be fully refitted and the A/C recalibrated to ensure the traveler’s ideal temp. The birthday bash itself was on a private island right in the heart of Sydney Harbour.
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17. Julian Harrison, Premier Tours
Image Credit: Courtesy of Julian Harrison Julian Harrison was born and raised in South Africa, before working as a guide there. This primed him to run a travel firm focused squarely on the continent. Beyond luxe safaris, Premier Tours offers trips to often-overlooked islands, like the Bazaruto Archipelago. Harrison is also known for working wonders when problems strike; whether that’s commandeering an aircraft to whisk clients from an unexpected flood in Kenya or handling immigration issues when a pet-chewed passport prevented a traveler from entering Johannesburg. (Harrison arranged a special appointment at the US embassy to replace the passport in situ.)
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18. Alex Wix, Wix Squared
Image Credit: Courtesy of Alex Wix Longtime luxury travel specialist Alex Wix only launched her firm six years ago, but she has become a go-to for trips to Morocco (where she’s based), Australia and Asia. Her expertise is in the hard-to-reach spots in those three territories, though it’s in Morocco where her connections are truly unmatched. For example, she can arrange a candlelit canyon dinner near a luxury camp in the picturesque Agafay desert. Wix loves a personal touch, too: She once organized silver and gold Temari (Japanese ornaments) for one couple traveling to Japan.
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19. Ashley Isaacs Ganz, Artisans of Leisure
Image Credit: Courtesy of Ashley Isaacs Ganz Artisans of Leisure is known for its ultra-luxe private tours of Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The NYC-based firm has previously arranged a visit to a nuclear research lab in France (CERN) and a rendezvous with a well-known Bernese Mountain Dog for some Silicon Valley-based millennials. It has also coordinated a wealthy family’s private-jet adventure to Greece, France and the UK. If you’ve always wanted to score the best room at the Ritz Paris or Claridge’s in London, Ashley Isaacs can guarantee it.
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20. Edward Granville, Red Savannah
Image Credit: Courtesy of Edward Granville Red Savannah’s emphasis on discretion is reflected in its focus on buyouts and private charters. Edward Granville’s 20-strong team is based in Cheltenham, England, though the company’s itineraries cover much of the globe. For example, Granville planned a celebrity honeymoon in Croatia and kept the paparazzi entirely at bay by flying in a special, kitted-out car for the couple. He also organized a family trip aboard an ex-Swedish Navy Minesweeper that sailed along the Norwegian coast assisted by a local guide and support team on land
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21. Jaclyn Sienna India, Sienna Charles
Image Credit: Courtesy of Jaclyn Sienna Jaclyn Sienna India’s clients pay an annual retainer to keep her on speed dial, as she doubles as a lifestyle concierge and travel agent. If a villa on the Côte d’Azur in summer or a yacht in Sardinia’s seas is your focus, consider adding the Beverly Hills-based firm to your contacts. Sienna focuses on villas more than hotels, explaining: “It’s hard to get someone who has three homes worth $30 million or more each excited about a new hotel—hotels don’t offer the level of service they once did.” Another key differentiator when it comes to Sienna’s programming is the fact that all the guides she recommends have been sourced first-hand. That way, she can vouch for their quality without concern.
