Travel

Luxury Travel Passions

No matter our luxury travel obsession (glittering cruises, sleeper trains, safaris, music fests, antiques, shrines, royal gardens), today's specialized travel options let us follow our bliss.

Luxury Cruises
Upscale Airlines & Jets
Riding in Style: Luxury Trains
Road Trips & Motorcycling
Ecotourism & Green Travel
Safaris…It's Time
Food & Wine Travel
Cultural & Festival Travel
Heritage & Spiritual Travel
Swing It: Golf Travel

Biking & Hiking Travel
Game On: Spectator Sports Travel
Skiing & Snowboarding
Scuba, Snorkeling, & Surfing
Sailing & Private Yachts
The Cult of Sun Worship
Shopping & Collecting
Spa Travel & Spa Retreats
Customized Luxury Tours
Exclusive Travel Clubs & Bargains

Luxury Cruises

For many luxury travelers, there's one way to see the world, and that's onboard a luxury cruise ship. Cruises are easy: you don't have to sweat the itinerary-planning; you check in once (your room travels with you); and you get to see a lot, like dancing dolphins and small islands without airports. Warning: cruising is habit-forming.

Upscale Airlines & Jets

Don't believe the naysayers who insist that the golden age of aviation is behind us. Today's air travel is an elegant party for luxury travelers who fly business and first class on the right airlines -- and on (easy-to-book) private planes. Stretch your flight dollar by finding out which carriers' service (and lounges) are truly luxurious, and whether the upcharge to "upper class" is worth it.

Riding in Style: Luxury Trains

Hiram Bingham, the luxury choo-choo to Macchu Pichu.

If you're blessed with the ability to sleep aboard a rolling train, you've got it made. Today's luxury train journeys whisk passengers through picturesque countryside, with nary a truckstop in sight. And luxury trains are intensely social, with repeat passengers and proud service. Punch your ticket to one of these glamorous rail vacations.

Road Trips & Motorcycling

Road trips are an American tradition that appeal to our individualism. They let us create your own itineraries, make the rules, and follow our adventurous instincts. Plus, we get to spend precious conversational time with a loved one (and, if you so choose, your pet). With a road trip, the journey is the destination. Here are some deluxe wheel deals.

Ecotourism & Green Travel

From zoos to canopy lodges, ecotourism is booming.

Progressive, luxury travelers yearn to see this big world but leave a small footprint. Eco-lodges and environmentally responsible, sustainable travel programs have sprouted for these green tourists. Ecotourism's fundamental appeal? We can do good while having fun. And that's not a trend. It's good sense.

Safaris…It's Time

Aardvark Safaris' Duma Tau Camp in Botswana.

Luxury travelers can be sorted into two groups: those who have been on safari…and those who pine to. Start your African nature adventure right here. And join the others.

Food & Wine Travel

Wine tasting at Park Hyatt Palacio Duhau in Beunos Aires.

It's a big, delicious world out there, bursting with unforgettable dining and drinking experiences. If you yearn to taste what the world is serving up, you're a culinary traveler. Have a taste right now.

Cultural & Festival Travel

Traveling in pursuit of art and music festivals and cultural events is a genius way to organize your vacations. Festivals furnish so many nice things: ready-made entertainment, like-minded folks to mingle with, and great T-shirts to take home. Whatever you love to see, watch, and do...yep, there's a festival for that.

Heritage & Spiritual Travel

Statue at Babu Amichand Panalal Adishwarji Jain Temple in Mumbai.

The best kind of travel makes us think about the world and our place in it. Heritage travel, in pursuit of our own ethnic, family, and religious heritage, brings us closer to who we are. For life's big questions, heritage travel has some of the answers.

Swing It: Golf Travel

Swingin' at Golden Eagle at The Tides Inn, Virginia.

Luxury golf travelers are an especially discerning and demanding bunch. For them, a hotel can't be great without a championship course out back. If you're a traveler who "swings," hit some of these links.

Biking & Hiking Travel

Cycling through Taiwan's spectacular Taroko National Park and Gorge.

Imagine an eye-opening vacation that you come home from in better shape. Organized bike touring is a phenomenon because it's a win-win. Cycling supplies intense enjoyment…and exercise. Ditto hiking vacations, in which you can truly stop to smell the roses.

Game On: Spectator Sports Travel

Horse-racing is a religion in Argentina (along with tango and Malbec wine).

Are you a passionate fan of a certain team (or player or driver or jockey)? Give in to the urge to follow them (or him or her) on the road. Your stadium (or arena or track) seats -- and travel thrills -- await!

Skiing & Snowboarding

On a pair of skis, you're On top of the world.

If you simply crave the white stuff and consider "take a powder" a compliment, check out our picks of sensational slopes, and start some trail-travel planning. It's all downhill from here.

Scuba, Snorkeling, & Surfing

We agree, life's a beach. But it's not enough to sit on the sand and splash on the shore. Watersport acolytes insist you dive in. If you do, you'll discover a whole other world beneath the waves, a hushed, luminous world of fantastic fish, spectacular coral, and meditative thoughts. These are the world's best places to scuba-dive, snorkel, and catch a wave.

Sailing & Private Yachts

Sailing society at Punta del Este, Uruguay.

Luxury travelers who are already sold on waterborne vacations can tell you that there's nothing like gliding over the deep blue sea in your own craft. Sailing and yachting keep your body moving, your mind challenged, and your senses inspired by beauty and adventure. Consider these shipshape escapes.

The Cult of Sun Worship

Adulation of Old Sol is no longer a religion…or is it? Some of us – OK, many of us – follow the sun year-round to warm our bodies and gladden our spirits. After all, it's only human. These are some of the best beaches on the third planet orbiting the sun.

Shopping & Collecting

If it's made by hand, it will made in India, and well.

Some luxury travelers shop to find one meaningful keepsake of their visit. Others travel with shopping top of mind: for shoes in Paris, bags in Rome, bespoke garments in Hong Kong, silver jewelry in Mexico, sample sales in New York. If shopping and collecting stoke your luxury travel fantasies, see how we can help.

Spa Travel & Spa Retreats

Urban feet get a rest at Spa Merge in the New York Hilton.

A seductive, spice-scented destination spa multiplies the relaxtion quotient of luxury vacations. These stories bout far-flung, fabulous spas are intended for travelers who feel at home in hushed, votive-lit spas. You know who you are (and can't wait for your next facial or massage).

Customized Luxury Tours

Kensington Tour leader and friends in Papua New Guinea.

Organized tours are no longer one-itinerary-fits-all. Today, luxury travelers can choose a tour outfitter who shares their point of view, then work wth them to arrange a private or semi-private guided vacation Want to meet the locals? Volunteer? Visit temples or shops? Feast on street food or gourmet fare? Learn the whos, whats, wheres and hows of the custom tour game.

Exclusive Travel Clubs & Bargains

Ace Hotel Portland isn't for everyone, but the price is nice.

What's even better than a perfect, personalized luxury vacation? One that lets you save a few bucks (which you can then spend on some madcap indulgence). Here, About's travel insiders share their favorite vacation clubs and t strategies for economizing.

Luxury Travel