Five Short Journeys That Pack A Lot Of Punch—To Africa, Antarctica, Caribbean, Scotland, and Patagonia.
Calling all multi-tasking travelers: We've got the trips for you. Yes, you can combine South Africa with Antarctica; visit seven Caribbean islands in as many days; combine three safaris in one; fly around four spectacular and hard-to-reach Scottish golf courses in four days; and do both the Chilean and Argentinian sides of Patagonia. Happy bucket-listing.
Africa—and Antarctica
(in 1 Day)
No kidding. First, spend five to seven days exploring South Africa’s Garden Route, a 190-mile stretch of shoreline with magnificent Indian Ocean beaches and the marine big five: great white sharks, seals, penguins, dolphins, and whales. November to February is summer here, and Birkenhead House (from the Royal Portfolio Collection) is an elegant base in Hermanus for shark diving and seeing whales breach. Grootbos, a hotel cum nature reserve 30 minutes to the south, is known for its family-friendly marine safaris and botanical tours (and a new florilegium).
Then it’s back to your base, Cape Town (stay at art-filled Ellerman House), from which Antarctica specialist White Desert’s “Greatest Day” tour will zip you in five hours via an Airbus A340 to its new Antarctic glamping site. You’ll have three hours to play polar explorer (with a mountain guide), toast the experience with champagne, then jet back to Cape Town for dinner. The seventh continent? Check.
Seven Caribbean Islands
(in 7 Days)
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Why settle for one island when you can have seven? The long-awaited Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s first ship, the Evrima, starts its sailings in November—the one from St. Martin to Puerto Rico stops in St. Bart’s, St. Kitts, Montserrat, and the BVI. In addition to the luxury essentials—a Michelin-starred chef, tricked-out gym, fab spa, and the legendary Ritz-Carlton service (there’s a nearly 1:1 staff-guest ratio)—you can also request bespoke excursions, like a deserted beach picnic on St. Bart’s or a naturalist-led hike in Montserrat’s rainforest. For more Ritz-Carlton cocooning, add a few nights at the chain’s Reserve property in San Juan, Dorado Beach.
The All-In-One Safari
(in 10 Days)
Only in small, superorganized Rwanda can you easily visit three national parks plus a thriving African city. Akagera has the Big Five (its war-decimated wildlife was restored by the extraordinary conservation organization African Parks, whose work you’ll learn about), Volcanoes National Park is home to mountain gorillas, and the stars of Nyungwe are monkeys and chimpanzees. All three parks have outstanding places to stay—including luxurt lodges from Singita and One&Only, and, in Akagera, a six-tent lakeside gem, Magashi, managed by Wilderness Safaris and African Parks. Top off the trip in the capital, Kigali, which delivers a historical and cultural punch (stay at the 20-room Retreat). An excellent family adventure. (Book with Cherri Briggs of Explore Inc.)
Scottish Golf Foursome
(in 4 Days)
You’ll ditch the kids for this one. The company Bravo Whisky Golf maximizes your time by teeing up four hard-to-reach courses with air strips, helipads, and the finest hotels. In 30 minutes they’ll zip you to Jura, an isle George Orwell described as “extremely un-get-at-able,” to play and stay at Ardfin, a 12,000-acre estate with an art-filled hotel and a challenging course designed by Bob Harrison. On neighboring Islay, you’ll play the dune-studded links of the Machrie and stay in its namesake hotel. Then on to Royal Dornoch and Castle Stuart. Between rounds, it’s VIP tastings at renowned whisky distilleries and pretty much any other experience you desire (dinner with a lord? A custom tartan fitting?). A golf obsessive? They’ll arrange a 19-day, 17-course extravaganza across four countries.
Complete Patagonia
(in 12 days)
Seeing the highlights of this immense, ridiculously scenic outdoor playground at the tip of South America, in Chile and Argentina, has required a major commitment of time. The new all-inclusive Explora Connects Super Itinerary, from South America’s pioneering luxury lodge operator, now connects both sides. A private plane transfers you in less than two hours (vs. 20 by commercial jet) between Explora’s 10-room lodge in Patagonia National Park and the 49-room Explora Torres del Paine, the first lodge ever on the shores of turquoise Lake Pehoé (both in Chile). The eight-hour car trip across the border to Explora El Chaltén, the brand’s newest property, in Argentina’s Los Huemules Conservation Reserve, doubles as a sightseeing tour of glaciers and snowcapped peaks. The payoff is a feast of adventures—horseback riding, hiking, kayaking, wildlife watching, rock climbing—in strikingly diverse landscapes.
This story appears in the October 2022 issue of Town & Country. SUBSCRIBE NOW
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