When we arrived at The St. Regis Bora Bora on our honeymoon, the staff had printed and framed one of our wedding photos and set it on the dining table in our overwater bungalow. I still think about that! It was a small thing, but it’s what I picture every time someone asks me what luxury travel really means. Most people think oceanfront suites, first-class flights, and five-star hotels, and those absolutely have their place. But the trips people talk about for years are the ones full of moments that make them stop and think, I can’t believe this is actually happening. That’s what I’m planning for when I design a trip just for you!
So, what does a custom itinerary actually look like?
One of the questions I hear most is what a custom itinerary actually includes. A lot of people assume it means I book the flights, reserve a beautiful hotel, and suggest a few excursions. I take care of all of that, of course, but it’s only the starting point! A custom itinerary is built around who you are: what excites you, how you like to travel, and the experiences you’ve been dreaming about. Nothing I do is cookie cutter, which is exactly why I don’t send out sample itineraries. For some couples, a custom trip means slowing way down and settling into one place. For others, it means experiences so special they didn’t even know they existed! And when it comes to the room? I’ll tell you straight up: THIS is the room you want, don’t even bother digging.
The experiences you can’t find on a booking website
Some of the best moments in travel come from access, and that’s where our Virtuoso partners come in! Through them, travelers can float over the Serengeti in a hot air balloon at sunrise and land to a champagne breakfast in the bush, take a helicopter over New Zealand’s cliffs to a private waterfall landing, watch the Northern Lights from a glass-roofed igloo in Finnish Lapland, or sail the Greek Islands on a private yacht, anchoring in a different quiet bay every night. There are smaller, more personal experiences too, like dinner in a Michelin-starred chef’s home, making fresh pasta with a family in their Tuscan villa, after-hours access to a world-famous museum, or snorkeling with whale sharks alongside a marine biologist who’s studied them for years. Most people never realize these things are possible, and helping you find the one that’s meant for you is one of my favorite parts of this job!
Celebrating life’s biggest moments
Some of my favorite trips to plan are built around big milestones! Honeymoons are my specialty, but anniversaries, retirements, and birthdays all deserve that same level of care. And honestly, some of the most meaningful moments I’ve seen are the small surprises. For one anniversary trip, we quietly asked the husband for their wedding photo and worked with the hotel to have it printed, framed, and waiting in their room with a handwritten note, and she had no idea it was coming! When I stayed at Nanuku in Fiji, there was a chalkboard sign on our door welcoming each of us by name and stones arranged in our pool to spell out “Bula!” Those details stick with you. Through our partners, the bigger surprises are possible too, from a private candlelit dinner on a sandbank in the Maldives to a proposal planned months in advance, so that moment feels completely effortless for the person being surprised.
The magic is in the details
The experiences are incredible, but what makes a custom trip special is how every piece fits together! It’s scheduling your spa treatment after the big hike instead of before it. It’s booking dinner on the right night to catch the sunset from the terrace you’ve been dreaming about. It’s booking a night on Tahiti after your long international flight so you can go straight to bed instead of rushing to a 4am ferry. And sometimes it’s remembering that months ago you mentioned your favorite champagne (or mocktail!) or that you’ve always wanted to see sea turtles in the wild, then quietly working it into your trip without you ever having to ask. Those thoughtful touches are usually what people remember most.
How Virtuoso helps me make it happen
Susan’s Travel Services is a Virtuoso agency, part of an invitation-only network of luxury travel advisors and travel partners around the world. Over the years, those relationships have connected my mom and me with destination specialists, hotel general managers, expedition leaders, safari experts, private guides, yacht charter companies, and local insiders who know their destinations better than anyone. Those partnerships let us arrange things that just aren’t available on a booking site, whether that’s a hard-to-get reservation, a surprise celebration, special access, or the right local expert for you. And because of who we are, our clients get VIP treatment at partner properties. Luxury, to me, is having the right people in your corner, and I love being that person for my clients!
Every trip starts with a conversation
The first thing I want to know is what excites you! Have you always dreamed of seeing gorillas in Rwanda? Would you rather spend an afternoon cooking with an Italian grandmother than visiting one more famous landmark? Is there a destination you’ve been saving for your honeymoon, your anniversary, or your retirement? The more I learn about you, the more personal your trip becomes, and the more likely you are to come home with stories that are completely your own.
If you’re ready to dream a little bigger for your next trip and aren’t sure where to start, that’s where I come in! Book a complimentary consultation with me! We’ll get to know each other, I’ll walk you through how Susan’s Travel Services works (including what being a Virtuoso agency means for you), and we’ll talk about next steps.