Luxury, off the grid
Some trips need distance. Not the kind sold in glossy brochures — the kind that means one more flight, one more transfer, one more unsealed road. And then a lodge that earned its place there. Solar-powered, staffed by people from the region, with a chef who forages in the morning and cooks from the local pantry at night. Wild Places is that category: serious remoteness, wrapped in serious comfort.
Where I work
Four regions I plan toward — plus a wider field I'm always learning.
Southern & East Africa
Private concessions, walking safaris, mobile camps — and the coast afterward. See also the Belmond Safaris circuit.
Patagonia & the Southern Cone
Fjords, estancias, the Atacama at altitude. Long horizons, shoulder seasons, lodges that make the wind worth it.
Australia
Outback lodges, reef-edge camps, Top End wetlands. Single-property stays where the country does the heavy lifting and the food keeps up.
Farther Still
The trips that start with a phone call in spring and take off a year later.
Trip shapes I'm planning right now
Five wild trips in motion this season — pick the one that sounds like yours, take the quiz if it doesn't.
Alaska by Small Ship in March
Aurora, snow, and the parts of Alaska a 4,000-passenger summer cruise can't reach. The trip we're building for March 2027.
See the hosted trip →︎ Small ship · 7 nights · Year-roundAnti-Resort Hawaii by Small Ship
Molokai, Lanai, Maui's south coast — the islands an all-inclusive can't reach. Hiking boots over poolside loungers.
Read the dispatch →︎ Lodge · varies · variesThe Luxury Lodge Spectrum
From a Patagonian explorer's lodge to a Botswana tented camp. Same ceiling of service, very different rooms with a view.
Read the dispatch →︎ Safari · 7+ nights · by regionA Safari Property Worth Flying For
The lodge, the camp, the reserve — what each one is actually for. Pick the right shape, not just the right country.
Read the dispatch →︎ Expedition · 7–8 nights · Nov–AprThe Sea of Cortez Under Sail
Steinbeck's Baja, blue whales, paddleboards off the back of the ship at sunset. A wild trip masquerading as a cruise.
Open the guide →︎What makes a wild trip mine
The lodge is the itinerary.
In these places, the bed is the experience. I choose lodges for the guides, the sightlines, the food, and the ethics.
I vet the operator, not just the destination.
The lodge on the cover isn't always the one that delivers. Chefs change. Fleets age. Properties trade hands. Across every region on this page, I stay current with the people who run these places — directly, and through the partners who plan in them every week. By the time a lodge lands in your itinerary, I know what's happened there in the last six months and what's coming next.
Pacing is the quiet luxury.
Three nights, not two. Afternoons without an excursion. A slow lunch on the deck. Wild trips don't reward ambition. They reward restraint.
On safari, the natural anchor is the Belmond Safaris circuit. UnCruise covers Alaska and the Galápagos →︎
Trips like these are planned on a fee that scales with their complexity — here's what it actually buys →︎
For the longer version of how I think about all this — the manifesto →︎
Who this is for
Couples planning a first safari and wanting to do it once, done right. Repeat safari travelers ready for something farther — Namibia, Rwanda, South Luangwa. Families marking a milestone with grandparents in tow. Solo travelers who want remoteness that still includes a sommelier. Hikers, photographers, birders, and people who've simply never seen the sky that dark. Anyone willing to go further to find quieter.