A US-based travel company is pairing travellers with actors, chefs, authors and athletes for ultra-tailored trips to places like Paris, Marrakesh and Iceland.
The Luminary Experiences, from travel company Discover 7, launched this year with tailor-made trips led by select "Luminaries" or celebrity experts, who the company say are "some of the greatest minds and personalities across the culinary, wellness, athletic, political, and entertainment spaces today." For 2020, the company has opened with seven four-to-nine day packages, limited to 10 to 12 guests, with a focus on food, history, the outdoors, fashion and wellness through local experiences not usually available to the public.
The first trip brings guests to Paris and Normandy with world-renowned presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin. Taking place in August, the trip will include a VIP visit to the Eiffel Tower with a descendant of Gustave Eiffel, as well as tours of iconic World War II sites and stays at five-star hotels like celebrity favourite Le Bristol and the Château d’Audrieu, an 18th-century palace in Normandy.
Guests can also join professional strongman and Game of Thrones star Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson to explore the black lava beaches and south coast waterfalls of his home country Iceland. It's a trip packed with outdoor adventures, wildlife spotting, gourmet healthy eating and spa treatments. Taking place in September, guests will be put through their paces in Iceland's rugged terrain but there's also time to relax at the five-star The Retreat at The Blue Lagoon.
Other packages include a foodie tour of Naples and Sorrento with Eataly top chef, Simone Falco; a fashion-focused tour of Milan with model and actor Jeffery Bowyer Chapman, visiting local ateliers and fashion houses like Armani and a trip to Marrakesh and the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco with Tony Award-winning actor BD Wong.
"By adding a Luminary that attends the entire trip with the guest, not only are they getting to share a destination with someone they admire which is a huge draw (and are unable to purchase anywhere else), they also get actual one-of-a-kind experiences that aren't open to the public because that Luminary often has ties to the destination to make them happen," CEO Cameron MacMillian told Lonely Planet. "For example for Simone's trip to Naples, that's where he grew up. You'll be visiting his absolute favorite places to eat while enjoying some behind-the-scenes looks since he's so familiar with the establishments. It's a foodies' dream."
Trips start at $7950 (£6093) per person. For more information, see here.
