Photo: Getty Images/Unsplash
Nature- and adventure-based trips involve complex logistics, and when so much depends on elements outside your control (canceled flights, weather-dependent activities), there's a thin margin of error. But when those itineraries come together, they can yield truly singular moments like watching your skipper thread a RIB through Irish sea caves or standing at the edge of a Wyoming wilderness at sunrise with a spotting scope trained on a grizzly.
More travelers are seeking wilderness escapes this summer, and they want more than your run-of-the-mill camping trip. The best nature trips being planned by Fora Advisors right now are all about private access and places that most people wouldn't know to ask for. Here are four examples to spark your imagination.
Ease and adrenaline in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park
“The American West tends to be a showstopper with broad appeal, and this summer, I'm building trips for two separate multigenerational families that hit the highlights. Night one centers on the Jackson Hole Rodeo, a crowd-pleaser for every age. The days that follow alternate between adrenaline and ease—private wildlife safaris through Grand Teton at sunrise and golden hour, whitewater rafting on the Snake River, dinner at Piste Mountain Bistro reached by gondola. The drive from Jackson to Montana is filled with awe-inspiring sights: West Thumb, Old Faithful, and finally Grand Prismatic Spring before the group arrives at Sage Lodge in Paradise Valley. They’ll wrap up with fly fishing, a full-day Hayden Valley guide, axe throwing, and a final morning on horseback through Strickland Creek.” — Rachel Gordon, Atlanta (@imera.luxury.travel)
A whirlwind spin through Western and Southern Iceland
Photo: Yves Alarie/Unsplash
“I planned a 12-day self-drive through Iceland for two close families—four adults, seven kids in all—working with my partners at 50 Degrees North. The Golden Circle guide was incredibly funny, knowledgeable, and thoughtful. He managed to pack waterfalls, puffins, black sand beaches, and a glacier ice cave into a single South Coast day and even made an unplanned ice cream stop simply because the kids had mentioned it in passing. When a flight got canceled mid-trip, my partners had Plan B fully arranged before I'd even seen the 5:30 a.m. WhatsApp message. The families called it their favorite vacation ever.” — Elizabeth Hills, Charleston, S.C. (@elizabethchills)
Meeting wolves in the Arctic
Photo: Federico di Dio PhotographyUnsplash
“I recently placed a client at Norway's Wolf Lodge, an exclusive chalet at the northernmost Polar Park in the world. Wolves come to the window in the morning, and specialist guides lead close-up encounters with the resident pack. Bears, lynx, moose, and reindeer are other common sightings. Depending on the season, the itinerary can extend to dog sledding, whale watching, fjord cruises, or Northern Lights chasing. For sheer singularity, I haven’t found anything that comes close.” — Kirsty Cowie, Charleston, S.C. @curatedbycowie)
Going big in Ireland
“Last August, I had 50 clients—plus myself—in Ireland at the same time, all on independent, customized itineraries. The groups ranged in size from four people up to 25, comprising everything from multigenerational families to friends. The clients who did a private rigid inflatable boat cruise had such perfect weather that the skipper could take them through the caves and up close to the dramatic cliffs off the coast—the first time he could get that close in years. Afterward, they had lunch on Skattery Island with the only private landowner on the island whose relatives were the island's last inhabitants. The day finished with a champagne cruise aboard a private yacht back to the Irish mainland.” — Julie Crotts, Dodge City, Kan. (@journeys.by.julie)
