Around The World With By Georgie
I’ve asked each of the DMCs in the By Georgie portfolio to pick out an ‘ultimate experience’ that would, in effect, play its part in a round the world trip par excellence. This isn’t just about the biggest or best, but experiences that carry with them a net-positive impact on the people they work with and the nature they adore…
BAY HOPPING ON THE TURQUOISE COAST
ITEM, Türkiye
The littoral between Antalya and Fethiye is Türkiye at its most arresting, but it can get busy. You need a traditional wooden gulet boat – “beautiful enough to make even Armani jealous” – to tack in peace and then moor up in its uninhabited bays.
Gentle hikes from the beach usher guests to some of the most stunning ruins in Europe, before looping back round to your boat for lunchtime. ITEM offers summer sailing on an entirely different level.
A PERFECT DAWN IN JAIPUR
Banyan Tours, India
Roses and marigolds are the first thing you smell in the pre-dawn markets of Jaipur. Banyan Tours then invites groups to a local park for a laughing yoga class. From here, it’s a rickshaw over to a public temple to feel the extraordinary energy of the dawn prayers. The perfect Jaipur morning ends with a private blessing.
It’s then back to the hotel for a lazy breakfast, feeling as though you’ve done a whole day’s exploring – but with the day still ahead of you. The whole thing is carefully curated and yet manages to feel entirely flexible.
ADVENTURES IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS
The Tailor, Australia
Imagine waking up to views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and being in Unesco-protected wilderness for elevenses? That’s The Tailor’s favourite way to go all out in Oz. A two-hour helicopter ride gets you out to the heart of the Blue Mountains, where a certain James Castrission lives.
Holder of two Guinness World Records (one of which was for kayaking with his friend from Australia to New Zealand), James loves nothing more than taking groups canyoning, abseiling, bush hiking and more in some of Australia’s most beautiful settings. But the best bit? You’ll be back at a swanky restaurant in the city by dinner.
SEARCHING FOR THE SACRED STONE
Ahipara, New Zealand
There are two things that get people excited in New Zealand: Māori and helicopters. Ahipara founder Jean-Michel invites guests to do both in a knock-out experience that begins in the pristine wilderness of the Fiordland, in the southwest of the south Island. Here, they’ll join a Māori master carver to go in search of jade, New Zealand’s sacred stone.
Jean-Michel favours super-remote locations, where he’s previously found boulders of green stone the size of small cars. “The vibration coming off these things is startling – wild energy.”
ANCIENT CIVILISATIONS OF THE NORTH
Enigma, Peru
Indiana Jones eat your heart out. Enigma invites a select few guests to retrace the steps of ancient civilisations in Northern Peru. They’ll visit a series of Pre-Incan archaeological sites for the chance to immerse themselves in what founder Silvia is calling a “completely unchartered experience”.
How about a day exploring the largest adobe-built city in the Americas with an archaeologist who was part of the team that first discovered it? Elsewhere you can uncover ornately decorated temples still under excavation. This kind of access beggars’ belief.
A TREK TO THE LOST CITY
Galavanta, Colombia
The adventure begins by helicopter, followed by a two-hour trek (it would otherwise take 3-5 days) to the Lost City. It’s then onto Galavanta’s fly camp beside the Lost City’s terraces (built 650 years before Machu Picchu!), giving guests morning access before anyone else.
Your group could be guided by Dr Santiago Giraldo, a world expert in the Sierra Nevada’s archaeology. The trip also includes a day kayaking down the Don Diego river to see (and hear!) howler monkeys. Or to visit a Kogui community, descendants of the Tayrona Civilisation, who built the Lost City.
THE WHALES OF SAMANÁ BAY
Bonvidó, Dominican Republic
No one I know does it better than Bonvidó. This extraordinary experience is led by a local expert, who’ll take your clients out to witness the annual mating ritual of North Atlantic humpback whales.
Guests will head out to Samaná Bay, one of the largest and most renowned breeding sanctuaries in the world. The season’s tight, though (January to March), but what a way for your guests to kick off 2025.
ALASKA BY LAND AND SEA
EXP Journeys, USA & Canada
Half the trip by land, half by sea. EXP Journeys’ blow-out adventure begins with a private yacht charter “to get to all the places that are normally totally inaccessible”. A week later you’re back on land and heading to Bond villain lair Sheldon Chalet for a couple of days.
“Alaska’s only true five-star property” its as remote as it gets, smack-bang in the middle of the vast Ruth Glacier. From there, it’s onto Ultima Thule, an adventure-focused lodge 100 miles from the nearest asphalt road. Travelling there in a two-seater bush plane (with huge winter tyres) is an experience in itself.