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woman on luxury safari overlooking scenery
Marian Galovic/Shutterstock

10 Over-the-Top Private Tours to Take (If You Can Afford Them)

Far beyond the standard hotel and flight package, these unbelievably over-the-top private tours will give you some serious trip envy.

Golden Eagle Luxury Trains’ Trans-Siberian Express

If you’ve ever been stuck in coach class on a severely delayed Amtrak train, you may wonder exactly what is supposed to be so romantic about train travel. Golden Eagle Luxury Trains will take you back to the golden age of rail travel by offering a private carriage that you can rent out. The Romanov Suite is an entire train car with its own kitchen, chef, lounge, dining room, and two bedrooms.

For around $91,345 up to four passengers can spend 12 nights traveling the Trans-Siberian railway between Moscow and Vladivostok in comfort, disembarking for opulent activities such as sipping Champagne with one foot in Europe and one in Asia.

Remote Lands’ Aman Private Jet Expedition

Dedicated to getting your Aman hotel points? Remote Lands’ Aman Private Jet Expedition will fly 16 guests in a private jet to 10 of the chain’s most luxurious resorts. Each couple will receive their own private car, driver, and guide on each stop of the trip. Experiences include a gourmet lunch in Shanghai, a hike up to Tiger’s Nest monastery in Bhutan, a tiger safari in India, shopping in Jaipur, and a yoga session in an ancient ruin in Sri Lanka. Prices start at $71,888 per person.

Frontiers International Travel’s Quintessential Cotswolds

Cotswolds
Frontiers International Travel

Live like English royalty for six nights with this private trip from Frontiers International Travel. Gather up to eight of your closest friends for a stay in a 16th-century manor house in the Cotswolds, where you’ll be catered to by a private chef and driven around by your personal chauffeur. Your house staff (yes, you’ll have one to help live out your Downton Abbey dreams) will help build a custom itinerary for you as you explore the surrounding countryside. All excursions, drinks, meals, and transportation from London are included at a price of $60,000 for the group.

Silversea’s World Cruise 2020

What’s your yearly budget for food, housing, and transportation? If it’s more than $62,000, you may wish to save money by taking Silversea’s round-the-world cruise in 2020. Fares start at just over $60,000 per person, but that includes butler service, beverages, all meals, gratuities, expeditions, and transportation to 32 different countries. Sounds like a bargain!

Casa de Campo’s In Your Shoes Experience

If choosing which shoes to packis your biggest vacation struggle, book the In Your Shoes Experience from Casa de Campo immediately. This Dominican Republic resort is offering a $350,000 package based on itineraries from celebrities who have stayed there (including Bill Clinton, Michael Jordan, and Frank Sinatra), and it includes a designer footwear collection that’s customized to your taste, so you don’t have to worry about bringing any—unless you want some that have been broken in.

In addition to $10,000 worth of shoes, you’ll get seven nights in a villa, roundtrip helicopter transfers, butler service, a personal chef, a private driver, a private yacht day trip to Catalina Island, daily spa treatments, unlimited golf, and more. Lest you feel a little too decadent, the resort will also make a $10,000 donation in your name to a local charity of your choice to help appease any one percenter guilt.

Touring Treasures’ Seamlessly Australia

Australia—such a dream destination, yet so far away and hard to explore in limited time due to its large size. If taking a couple of months to road trip around the continent isn’t your style, book Touring Treasures’ Seamlessly Australia private tour, which covers the best of Australia. The distances between regions don’t seem so vast when you’re covering them in a private jet that allows you easy access to remote locations.

This private jet tour can host up to eight travelers, and will take them to Sydney, Tasmania, Kanagroo Island, Barossa Valley, Uluru, Kimberley, and Hamilton Island.

You’ll need 21 days and $94,000 per person to complete this adventure.

Smithsonian Journeys’ Around the World by Private Jet

Explore five continents in 24 days with Smithsonian Journeys’ Around the World by Private Jet. You’ll check off the ultimate bucket list destinations, including Machu Picchu, Easter Island, the Great Barrier Reef, Angkor Wat, the Taj Mahal, Petra, and an African safari. A Smithsonian expert will accompany you along the private trip so you can learn the fascinating history behind each stop.

International Expeditions’ Flying Safari

Increase your odds of spotting all of the Big Five (Africa’s most famous animals: lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo) by flying between four of the best wildlife parks in Tanzania. International Expeditions’ 12-day safari shuttles private tour guests between parks in a their own personal plane. The journey costs around $20,000 per person and covers everything from private guides to a hot air balloon ride with Champagne.

Trapper’s Cabin’s White Glove Package

How much are first tracks worth to you? If the answer is $50,000, book the White Glove Package at Trapper’s Cabin in the ski resort town of Beaver Creek, Colorado. The vacation includes first-class airfare, four nights’ accommodations, a private helicopter transfer to the mountain, four Epic ski passes, ski outfits, Golden Ticket First Tracks, private ski lessons, a starlight snow cat tour and dinner, and more.

Naya Traveler’s South America Natural Highlights

Get deep into the heart of South America on a specially outfitted private jet that’s designed to reach ultra-remote locations. Naya Traveler’s three-week exclusive, $94,000-per-person trip takes you through the highlights of the region, including a journey through the Amazon jungle, Iguazu Falls, Patagonia, and the Atacama Desert. The trip finishes off in the legendary Galapagos Islands. 

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Caroline Morse Teel wants to take all of these luxurious private tours. Follow her on Instagram @TravelWithCaroline for photos from around the world. 

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