9 Trips Best Planned More Than a Year in Advance

by Lauren Kroger, Luxury Travel Advisor

If there’s one thing we can be sure of in 2020, it’s that experiencing this planet is an enormous privilege which we will never again take for granted. While we prepare for travel in America’s backyard in the short term, we’re also looking forward to experiences in remote destinations that celebrate nature as well as our own wellbeing. After all, who doesn’t need something to look forward to?

Safari in Botswana
When Botswana’s Okavango Delta floods, the channels of “the river that never finds the sea” glimmer under the African sun. Safari-goers can explore the grassy floodplains on a traditional game drive or on foot, but we believe the papyrus-fringed banks are best seen by mokoro — a traditional dugout canoe. Pair your time in the Delta with a meerkat safari in the Kalahari, a picnic under baobab trees on the Makgadikdgadi Salt Pans, or a visit to elephant-rich Chobe National Park. Our favorite camps are small, and often fill up more than a year in advance, but Botswana is well worth the wait.

Private Jet Expedition with Aman
The Aman Private Jet experience is more akin to a charter, with a 12-person maximum and an extension of the brand’s passion for privacy, wellness, and remote locales. Our favorite journeys combine a spiritual escape in Bhutan with a beach break in Phuket; the legendary island of Bali with lesser known corners of Indonesia, and Southeast Asia’s most fascinating sites — from Luang Prabang in Laos to Cambodia’s temples of Angkor.

Galápagos Islands
In the archipelago made famous by Charles Darwin, the blue-footed boobie, sea lion, and giant tortoise take center stage. Galápagos National Park guides mitigate crowding and environmental stress with strict rules limiting the number of people on each island at any given time. In fact, it’s rare for one group of travelers to come across another while exploring the islands’ dramatic landscapes. Our favorite yachts and catamarans are small, with less than 20 cabins, and they are required to rotate their itineraries. This means that travelers who want to see a particular species, like the penguins primarily found on Fernandina Island, must plan their visit well in advance.

Ancient Egypt
The pyramids, sacred temples, and bustling souks of Ancient Egypt have captivated imaginations for centuries. After years of political uncertainty, travelers have begun flocking back to Cairo, Aswan, and Luxor. However, visiting the Great Sphinx of Giza with a well-regarded Egyptologist or sailing the Nile on a top-of-the-line ship often requires months of foresight.

Churchill, Canada
Two words: Polar bears. In the northernmost region of Canada’s Manitoba Province, arctic safaris in rovers built for the tundra allow the uber-adventurous to track the King of the Arctic. Each fall, the world’s largest concentration of polar bears convenes on the western edge of the Hudson Bay, waiting for the ice to form and their winter seal-hunting season to begin. Small groups, guided by expert naturalist guides, have the opportunity to view the bears — and, when the conditions are right, the magnificent Northern Lights. The Churchill polar bears’ migration pattern creates a travel window of just two months each year.

Patagonia
Luxury Lodges in Chile’s breathtaking Torres del Paine National Park are rare and small. While fewer people means more exclusivity and space to enjoy Patagonia’s snow-capped mountains, blue glaciers, and sparkling lakes — it also means that journeys to “The Land of the Giants” must be planned in advance in order secure availability during the region’s relatively short mild season of October — April.

Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda
It’s 8:30 a.m. and you’re hacking your way through a thicket of bamboo in Volcanoes National Park. As the mist clears, you round a corner with your Singita Kwitonda guide and the adrenaline kicks in, awakening every sense. No more than 30 feet ahead is a band of gorillas, bathing in the morning light. Access to this park is highly regulated, with just 80 trekking permits issued per day. Rwanda — home to silverback gorillas, golden monkeys, and a growing number of luxury lodges — is rewriting its legacy as the safest country on the continent with special appeal to high-end travelers.

Antarctica Expedition Cruise
Whether you prefer Silversea’s all-suite accommodation or the luxury of having a National Geographic photo instructor onboard Lindblad, expedition cruises to Earth’s last great wilderness frontier are the ultimate Bucket List experience. After all, you can’t visit all seven continents without Antarctica! It is for this reason that intrepid travelers are willing to wait a year, and sometimes more, for limited cabin space in a short travel season. Luckily for Huffman Travel clients, the best cruise lines alert us to new sail dates well in advance.

Machu Picchu, Peru
The popularity of this 15th-century Incan citadel nestled high in the slopes of the Andes motivated Peru’s Minister of Culture to issue new rules governing visits to Machu Picchu in recent years. While Huffman Travel advisors handle the logistics, trail permits, guides, and train tickets are best secured with a long lead time. Our suggestion: pair this tourist mecca with the culinary capital of Lima, colorful Cuzco, and a respite in the Sacred Valley.