Super Yachts, Space Tours And Stem Cell Infusions – This Is How The One Per Cent Travel

Harpers Bazaar Arabia

21-07-2025

With budgets of over a million dollars, and destinations including Antarctica and Outer Space, the ultra-wealthy are looking for holidays that have a lasting emotional impact
Ironically, for the super rich, travel is not really about where they are going. 'We start not with a destination, but a question: 'What feeling are you chasing this time?'' says Lionel Guirard, Chief Commercial Officer at Lartisien, a high-end travel company known for crafting bespoke journeys. 'Our members aren't looking for checklists, they're seeking emotions.'
Incredible food, unique access to the world's most iconic sights and luxury accommodation are taken as a given because, along with these, UHNWIs are searching for experiences that last long after their private jet touches back down on home soil.
'They're looking for transformation, not just recreation. A sense of privacy, of course, but also a heightened emotional connection: to a place, a culture, a moment,' says Lionel. In the past, he's organised bespoke trips, such as 'a week of visual poetry' in Japan, for a contemporary art collector client, which included private access to Naoshima's best installations, studio visits in Kyoto, and a silent tea ceremony in a hidden pavilion suspended above a moss garden. 'One recent request was to privatise a stretch of the Mekong for a multi-generational journey through Laos and Cambodia. We transformed it into a floating salon, complete with on-board chefs, a visiting Khmer dancer troupe, and storytelling evenings with local historians,' he adds.
Multi-generational trips are a popular choice for this demographic so the needs and interests of everyone travelling need to be carefully considered in the planning. 'We are receiving more multi-generational families, where we customise the itinerary to cater for each individual yet ensure there are opportunities for rich deep bonding,' says Lori Laius, Co-Founder of TJB Private Travel.
To accommodate the needs, not just of an individual but of an entire group, takes an exceptional list of contacts and expertise. 'We orchestrate everything like a composition, each touchpoint deliberate, each partner hand-picked, each moment carrying a rhythm,' says Lionel. 'Behind the scenes, we rely on an exceptional internal team and a network of insiders, from chefs and artists to conservationists and monks. We don't just book trips, we design emotional landscapes. That's our art.'
So, where do the super rich holiday to achieve this emotional connection? The unrivalled art, culture and history of Italy means it's remained a perennial favourite, but Thailand, Bhutan and Japan are rising stars, as their cultures prioritise the experience, narrative and spiritual recalibration many often seek. There's also been a shift towards meaningful luxury with New Zealand becoming increasingly sought after thanks to its unique nature and sustainability. The Arctic and Antarctica are also highly regarded for their environmental importance and distinctive landscapes.
With budgets starting from $500,000, Lori's team can arrange for guests to fly on a private Gulfstream jet to the super luxury ice camp White Desert on Antarctica, where they can enjoy champagne picnics on glaciers, hosted by the world-renowned explorer and TV personality Levison Wood. This is followed by a private submarine dive below the ice sheets and a luxury yacht expedition cruise to even remoter regions for some heli-skiing.
Mount Everest is also a bucket list destination for many superwealthy travellers and Laius can organise a 30,000-feet sky dive over the summit, followed by a stay in a private geodesic dome near Everest Base Camp. Clients are then guided down the mountain by Kami Rita, the most experienced Sherpa who ever lived, having scaled Everest 31 times. 'With adventure trips it's about combining ultra luxe comfort without the flash.'
Nothing typifies this quiet luxury more than a trip into Space. 'With the recent media around Katy Perry, Gayle King and Lauren Sanchez doing the Blue Origin Space Tour, we too are seeing more enquiries for adventures into orbit,' says Lori. She's already taken bookings in 2026 for a $200,000, 90-minute journey into space with Virgin Galactic that sees clients experience weightlessness. Also, Space X now offers a range of experiences, including astronaut training, and is set to partner up with Axiom Space, the soon-to-launch private space station, where guests can stay in space for up to two weeks.
Back on earth, one-of-a-kind interactions with nature are a popular choice for hyper-luxury travellers. At Soneva Secret in the Maldives, guests with an interest in marine conservation can join researchers tagging mantra rays or zipline to the overwater observatory and have a chef craft dishes, based on their personal preferences.
Tanya Carr-Hartley, Director of The Safari Collection, organises privately guided safaris following the migration in Kenya. 'There's a new definition of luxury, especially for US and UK clients. They enjoy unusual experiences and details… Every day the sightings are different; it's curated drama that is authentic.'
Of course, Tanya won't name-drop, but her clients include royals, actors, designers, politicians and musicians, and the camps are the ultimate in luxury with swimming pools, spas and food from world-renowned chefs. Safaris are completely personalised too. 'If they have an interest in a cultural experience, we can get quite close to the Pokot tribe. They're very isolated as they live on the side of a ridge in the North Country. There are no transport routes there and you can't see them without special access,' says Tanya. Alternatively, clients can also enjoy sundowners in a vintage truck with the rhinos, or a helicopter trip up to Mount Kenya where they can fly-fish at 14,000 feet.
For those who prefer high fashion to high altitudes, Lori can orchestrate a one-of-a-kind haute couture experience, with a starting fee of five million dollars. 'Leveraging our extensive contacts, our clients can create their own one-off fashion house for a single season. Led by a retired Christian Dior or Chanel couturier, the full five-day atelier experience includes a private jet to Paris, accommodation in an exclusive apartment or a suite at Cheval Blanc with a private 1:1 tutorial, covering the full design process.' The finale of the trip is the client seeing their own designs on working models at a private runway show.
Wellness is also an important consideration for the ultra-wealthy. Lori organises extreme, bio-hacking wellness on board super yachts, where a personalised team is on-hand to do full-body cellular testing, microbiome testing, IV drips and regenerative therapies, including stem cell infusions flown in with your private biobank. All this is done while you are being served by a Gault&Millau-level chef trained in nutrigenomics. Costs start at around one million dollars but, of course, money is no object for these clients in search of something that you can't put a price on.
Instead, the value comes from the authenticity and uniqueness of the experience, plus, how it's made them feel, both during and after. Lionel sums it up perfectly: 'The ultra-wealthy are paradoxical; they crave both the iconic and the undiscovered… It has to feel unreproducible. And ideally, invisible to others.'