Every luxury travel seller has hard-to-please clients on his or her repeat customer list. These are affluent folks who've been almost everywhere and who set high standards for experiential travel. So we've been compiling a list of unique trips that will make even the most discerning traveler sit up and take notice. Check these out:
• TravelQuest already is taking bookings for a charter cruise aboard the Paul Gauguin, which will be positioned in the South Pacific to rendezvous with a total eclipse of the sun in November 2012. (It's never too soon to start pitching an offer.) The 330-passenger luxury ship will visit Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia during the voyage, from Nov. 10 to 20.
The solar eclipse of 2012 offers few viewing opportunities, given the extremely remote region of the South Pacific through which its path travels. Land-based eclipse 2012 travelers will gather near Australia's Great Barrier Reef to witness the event, and passengers aboard the TravelQuest charter will take advantage of the ship's mobility on eclipse day.
From the viewing site at sea, south of New Caledonia, passengers will observe totality for three minutes, with the sun 40 degrees above the horizon at mid-eclipse.
TravelQuest is paying commission of $500 per passenger, regardless of the accommodations booked. Per person rates for a porthole stateroom is $5,295; for a balcony stateroom, $7,295; and for the owner's suite, $19,395. Agents can call the tour firm, (928) 445-7754, or see details at www.travelquesttours.com.
• There are corners of South America that have been off the tourist map for a long time, including Colombia. But now Gap Adventures is featuring a tour of some of the country's coffee plantations, coupled with the hot springs of Santa Rosa del Cabal and the museums and cultural pursuits of Medellin, Cartagena and Bogota.
Created for coffee lovers and for those who want to get off the beaten path, the company's Colombia Coffee Trails adventure will appeal to clients who want to do some exploring in an emerging destination.
This isn't a five-star hotel experience; most of the cross-country travel is by bus or Jeep, and the trip includes lodging in a coffee plantation farmhouse, for example. But the itinerary oozes authenticity, and that's what certain luxury clients are looking for.
The 13-night tour is priced from $2,339 per person, double, including in-country transportation. March and April departures are planned. Review the trip details at www.gapadventures.com.
• In the 1920s, sled dogs carried mail and supplies to remote regions of Alaska along a trail now called Iditarod, and the annual Iditarod race has become a major event. The 1,150-mile wilderness trek from Anchorage to the Bering Sea commemorates a race against death by diphtheria in 1925, when sled dogs brought life-saving serum to Nome, Alaska.
Not everyone can (or wants to) participate, but here's a soft adventure tour from AdventureSmith Explorations that lets clients witness the start of the historic event this year.
The Iditarod and Northern Lights Tour 2011 begins Feb. 27, and activities include dog sledding, cross country skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling, with stops along the way to see the northern lights. Lodging is at several of Alaska's top hotels.
From Fairbanks, the arrival and departure city, and a stay at the Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge on the Chena River, the tour travels to the Chena Hot Springs Resort, where clients can view the aurora borealis and enjoy the hot springs.
A flight to Anchorage includes lodging at the Captain Cook Hotel and an invitation to attend the Musher's Banquet, which celebrates the successful journey to Nome. The life and work of mushers who drive the teams will be explored, along with insights into the characteristics of sled dogs and the years of breeding and training that go into putting together a team. Mushers will describe the strategy, hardships, technical aspects and joys of life on the trail. At the banquet, guests can bid at an auction for a ride with a musher as they leave the race start chute.
The ceremonial Iditarod start begins in downtown Anchorage. The per person rate begins at $2,699 for eight nights lodging and breakfasts, two dinners, escort, private transfers, air between Anchorage and Fairbanks plus all admissions to events and lectures. View the full program at www.adventuresmithexplorations.com.