www.la-residence-hue.com During your stay in Hue, take guided tours of tombs, pagodas and a citadel that served as the seat of Vietnam power from 1802 to 1945 while luxuriating at La Residence Hotel & Spa - MGallery by Sofitel.

2. 40 I GLOBAL TRAVELER I July 2016
The Big Splurge
When price is no object, exclusive travel knows no bounds.
I
fyoucandreamit,andyouhavethemoney,youcandoit.Onceonlyaselcctgroupof
elitetravelerswereprivytoultra-luxurytrips,withprivatejetsand hclkopters.opukm
accommodations and a personal concierge to ensure every need is met These days. any
intrepidtravelerwithdeeppocketsi;canfinde~dusivepackagesthrough touropemtors,hotcls
and cruise lines.
Abercrombie & Kent sets the bar high, starting with 50 handmade. first-class leather
seats on its privately chartered Boeing757,centerpicceofA&K'sPrivateJct/ourncys. In
20l6and20l7, thecompanywilloffertourssuchasAroundtheWorldbyPrivate/e1:
Islands, Sa1•annas & the Amazon - a 26-day trip (starling at S 17,000 per pt>rson) to
some ofthe most remote places on Earth. Stops include the Amazon River, Easter Island,
Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Bali, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Kenya and Monaco
With flight times of eight hours from Nairobi to Nice or 10 hours from Easter Island
toSamoa,theprivatejetoffersahomeintheskywithseatsthatredineafulllSO degrees
into a completely flat 6.5-foot-long bed, plus an onboard executive chef, a fully stocked
SKY'S THE LIMIT: Many hig/Ho/IBr roors begin m 11 prMJte1m ltOP!. wh1eh 11/lows tr11veito remore
placess...ch11sS/lmoalleft!
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3. ISLAND ADVENTURES: S6vetalcomparnes offer
exdusiverours ro Easrerls/and{l<Jp/;andlfOn/>ttakes
pollers0r1theUltm'l8reGolfGer,,....,aya1Sea/s/and
/mldd/6/,wtnchoffers shoorlflg!eSS<XJs(txm omlehJora
poll!essonar tl>eLeam"'fJCllmllf(bo rromright}
baraod indi1•idual iPads loaded with entertain-
ment options.
A&K's The Tropics to the Arctic journey takes
participantsstargazinginMongoliaandauending
aprivatcconcertandfashionshowinUzbckis1an
Other stops include Colombia, Easter Island,
FrenchPolynesia,theSolomonlslands,thePhilip-
pines, Russia and Iceland. The26-dayadveoture
costs Sl29,000. The Cuba & South America by
Private/ettourtakesguestssouthfrornMiamion
a 23-dayodysseyand visits Sil( countries, starting
at S99,SOOperperson.
On a new selection of A&K lul(ury journeys
brandedWings0vcrthcWorld,groupsofl4tol6
board privatelychartcrcdsmaller aircraftsuchas
a GulfstreamG450toexploreexoticdestinations
noteasilyaccessiblebymajorcarriers.WingsOver
lndiastartsat $28,995, and Wings01·crChina
startsatS27,995.
For $79,950perperson,youcanjoinNational
GeographicExpedition'sAroundtheWorldbyPri-
vate/et,a24-daylllJ(uryg!obalodysseytoMachu
Picchu;Eastcrlsland;Samoa;Australia'sGreatBar-
rier Reef; Angkor Wat, Cambodia: Lhasa, Tibet;
theTajMahal;theScrengctiPlain;PetraandWadi
Rum, Jordan; and Marrakech. A team of National
Goographicexpcrtstravelswith }'ouon a Boeing
757conflguredfor7Spassengers. Plus, you meet
researchcrsandgrantcesinthefleld
Alreadyvisitedoneoftheplacesontheitiner-
ary? No problem. An alternate stop or activity can
usually be arranged
lfOnly, a San Francisco company, packages
one-of-a-kindtripsthatalsobenefitworthycauses.,
meaningyoumayscoreanextradeductioncome
tax time. The Ultimate Golf Getaway at Sea lsland,
Ga., rings up at Sl00,000 for three duffers and
includcsfournightsatthe lodgeatSealsland.
Play on three championship courses, including
a round with PGA legend Davis Love Ill. whose
Davis Love Foundation is the beneficiary. Hone
yourgamewithlessonsa1 Sea lslandGolfLearn-
ingCentcr,befluedforanewsetofcustorndubs
and outfitted by Nike and Peter Millar. Enjoy an
in-room massage, pri>'ate bourbon tasting and
cigarrollingsession,shootinglessonsoraflshing
expedition,airfarestipendandaprivatecarand
driverforyourthreesomeduringyourstay.
globaltravelerusa.com July 2016 I GLOBAL TRAVELER I 41

4. SUITE DftEAMS: AKA r.-.- ~offers .... t.lirirnMll!
B~41r~flol:>'.llf1dThll!Ouon1""*>1""ColKt.oon
.Sel,,...,,:tfl/fer,i111t1 ... lf>ll!PinoramaS:m111•1Tllll!Rlllver!fl
~(l7WJdlll!endbonomJ
For those who want to circumnavigate the globe
butunpackonlyonce,thc FullWorld2017'0Yage
aboardtheQ11u11M11ry2sailsmorethan37,000
nautical miles. The 132-night roundtrip from New
York City takes in 40 ports in 23 countries, 33
UNESCO World Heritage sites, nine maiden calls
andthrecO'cmightMa)'$.QM2featuresli'edupltx
apartments., nch 'ith its own txtTcist am, marble
bathroom with whirlpool tub and private library.
Of course, the accommodations include a butler
andexduSi'cacccs.stotheQueensGrilJRestaurant
and theGrills Lounge.Faresforaduplexstartat
S84,l98perpcrson, doubleoccupancy;butifyou
want the 2,2SO·square-foot Grand Duplex Suite
(and what high roller wouldn'tn_ it will set you
backS270,799perperson.
F.legancrataleisurelypaccdescribesa22-day
private train tour of the Silk Road ia Golden fagle
J.uxury Trains. Follow in the footsteps of Alex-
ander the Great and Marco Polo, crossing Russia
and China as well as some of the remotest former
Soviet republics such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan
and Turkmenistan. Trn'd 6,800 mill's across 1i1·e
countriesandsixtime1.0nes,thebulkofyourtrip
spcntonboardtheGo/denEugleandthe Sl11111gri·
Lu Express. Tour operator MIR Corp. can book
your spot for $24,595 per person.
Hotels arc bundling their own ultra·high-end
upericnct>s. AKA TimcsSquan: touts an Ultimatl'
Broadway offer, including a st'cn-night stay in
a one-bedroom suitc,K1·en nights of Broadway
showticketsandVIPdi11JJerpairings(prdern:d
Sl'ating). For example, attend ~An America11 in
Paris." with dinner al Alain Ducassc's Benoit for
anauthenti,Parisianbistroexperience.Rounding
out this SI0,000 itinerary for two: a designated
fashion stylist helps you pull together your look, a
backstage tour of a BroadwayshowandaUvclt!
exprriencl' si.Kh as dance classes through Alvin
AilcyDanceTht>ater ortrapeulcssons.
Fil'eluxuryh01dsthatformlbeQuintessen1lal
Collection Vietnam devised a discriminating offer
1ohclplra't:'lentravl'rsethecoun1ryinstyle, with
transfers in Bentleys and Rolls-Royces. Cm:ting
$19,358, lhetripstartsinaPanoramaSuiteatThe
Reverie Saigon. In Nam Hai, a local artist uses a
photoscnttwowecksbcforeyourarriwl,thenan
in-person session, to finish your portrait before
42 I GLOBAL Tl'IAVELER I July 2016

5. AROUND THE WORLD: Amanot d1ff pool. 1etnam /top 1811/; Aman Tokyo /fop rlrJhf/. a Remore Landspm,me /tJI lbmrom
lefr/; andanH<"l/I! vrewof Angil:°' Wil/ 1emple, Ctmbodi.I {bol/om ngh//
youleavethelx:achfrontresort. Duringyourstayin
Hue,1akeguidedtoursoftombs,pagndasandacita-
delthatscrved astheseatofVictnamesepowcrfrom
1802to l94SwhilcluxuriatingatLaResidenceHotcl
& Spa. Venture on to Hanoi and the Sofi1d Legend
MetropoleHotclfortwonightsina LegendarySuite
andahalf-daycitytourinaBMW7scries scdan.
Exclusive Emirates is a nine-day itinerary with
dailydepartures offeredthroughArtisans ofLeisure.
lt includes stays at One&Only The Palm and the
Burj Al Arab )umeirah in Dubai and Emirates Pal-
ace in Abu Dhabi, as well as two nights in a private
1entcdbungalowatAIMahaamong the sanddunes
of the Arabian Desert. A private guide and driver
andcustomizcdactiviticssuchas avisittothe topof
theBurjKhalifaortestingyourfakonryanda«:hery
skillscanlx:yoursforS l3,090perperson.
globaltravelerusa.com
Luxury tour operator Remote Lands partners
with Aman, proprietor of 30 resorts, hotels and
private residences worldwide, for a Pan Asia jet
trip through Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, 1he Philip-
pines and Japan. For SS8,888 per pcrson, up to l6
guestsflyontwoGu!fstreamprivatejets.Hclicopter
overAngkorWatandlandatalosttempleinthe
jungleforagourmetpicnic lunch. Participateina
traditionalLaobaciceremonyperformedbyaBud-
dhist monk and get an insider's view of the Asian
contemporary art sceneat someoflQkyo's topgal-
leries. Each couple has its own private car, driver
and guide on each touring day. Guests gather at
nightforcocktailpartics, dlnnersand,presumably,
toswap stories of theday's adventures andmapout
theirnextmoney-is-no-objectl'acation,
Abercrombie & Kent
abefcrombiekentcom
AKA Time5 Square
stayaka.com
Artis.ans of leisure
artisansofleisure.com
lfOnly
ifonly.com
MIR Corp.
NationalGeographic:bpedition5
nationalgeographiooxpeditions.com
QueenMary2
cunard.com
The Quintene ntial Collection Vietnam
qumtessentiak:ollectionvietnam.com
July 2016 I GLOBAL TRAVELER I 43