Private travel
A trip that exists only for your party
Ninety per cent of what we plan is private. Here is exactly how it is built, what it costs to have it built, and what you get at the end.
How it works
Six steps, and no mystery about any of them
01
A conversation, not a form
Thirty to forty minutes on the phone. We ask what you did on the last holiday you loved, what you have already ruled out, and the two things you would be sorry to miss. That is more useful than a list of fourteen places.
02
A planning fee starts the work
Credited against the journey if you travel. It exists because a proper itinerary takes about twenty-six hours of one person's time, and we would rather charge for that than rush it.
03
A first draft, with the reasoning shown
Not a brochure. A day-by-day plan with the alternatives we considered, what each decision costs, and where we think you should spend more or less.
04
Two or three revisions
Most trips settle on the second. We will tell you when a change makes the week worse, and then make it anyway if you still want it.
05
Documents that are actually useful
One document, written for your trip: what happens each day, who meets you, what the alternatives are if the weather turns, and two numbers that reach a person.
06
Someone with you while you travel
The advisor who planned it, plus a local contact in the region. Both know your itinerary. Neither is a call centre.
What private actually buys
Mostly, it buys judgement
A private trip is not a group trip with the group removed. The difference is that every decision can be made for you specifically: the order of the islands, the direction of the walk, the night you sleep higher, the afternoon left empty because you will need it.
- Your own vehicle, guide and pace on every day that has one
- Dates chosen for the place rather than for a departure calendar
- Rooms held before they are released to anybody else
- An itinerary that can change at four in the afternoon
- One advisor who knows the whole trip, start to finish
Private departures
Journeys built for one party
Every one of these runs for your group alone, on dates you choose.
9 days · Private
The Aeolian Slow Coast
Salina, Lipari, Panarea and a night crossing to Stromboli, planned around the evening light rather than a list of sights.
Coast and islandsCulture and craft€4,850from, per person
12 days · Private
The Tyrrhenian Fortnight
The honeymoon version of the Aeolian week: fewer moves, later mornings, a private boat on call, and no schedule in the middle.
Honeymoons and twoCoast and islands€7,900from, per person
8 days · Private
Kyoto Craft Season
A week in Kyoto built around makers rather than sights: looms, knives, indigo and bamboo, with an interpreter and a great deal of walking.
Culture and craft€5,600from, per person
7 days · Private
Lofoten Winter Light
Rorbuer on a working harbour, a cod boat at first light, and six hours of blue twilight a day to spend outside in it.
Winter and northern lightCoast and islands€4,300from, per person
10 days · Private
Laikipia Conservancy Weeks
Two conservancies, three nights each minimum, with walking safaris and night drives that the national parks do not permit.
Wildlife and conservation€8,900from, per person
9 days · Private
Laikipia for Families
The same conservancies, restructured for families: tracking on foot, camel walks, a night in a fly camp, and no six-hour drives.
Wildlife and conservation€7,200from, per person
Who does it
The 5 people who plan
Or write straight to plan@marivela.example. It reaches the same five people.