ILX Travel

09/04/2026

Some trips get better after sunset. A glowing shoreline, northern lights, a clear desert sky, and streets filled with lanterns can be the reason to travel in the first place.

Night experiences ask for more planning than the photographs suggest. Moon phase, weather, light pollution, seasonal timing, transportation, and the location of the hotel all affect what clients can actually see. Even an illuminated city garden benefits from choosing the right hour.

We treat after-dark plans as real itinerary anchors, not extras added after dinner. That may mean a late start the next morning, a remote cabin, or an extra night to improve the odds of good conditions.

If the night sky is on your list, let’s plan the trip around seeing it properly. Reach out.

09/03/2026

The conversation clients dread most is the one that helps us most: the budget talk.

Here’s why it matters. A clear number lets us make smart trade-offs on your behalf: where spending more genuinely changes the trip (the right room category, the private guide, the once-in-a-lifetime day) and where it quietly doesn’t.

Without it, we’re guessing. And a vague budget tends to produce a generic proposal, because we can’t tell whether to show you the very good option or the truly exceptional one.

There’s no judgment attached to any number. Every budget has a best possible trip inside it, and finding that trip is exactly what we do.

Tell us the number. We’ll show you what it can really do.

09/03/2026

San Francisco has always known how to reinvent itself, and the city is in the midst of another comeback. New art trails, illuminated landmarks, buzzy restaurants, and revived neighborhoods are bringing a renewed sense of energy to the Bay Area's beauty. 🌁🥂

Read on about its new golden age, then let’s work together to plan your next vacation:

📷: Natasha Lee

New restaurants, buzzy bars, and fresh openings – from JouJou and Frankie’s to the Big Art Loop and A Bathing Ape’s new flagship – are fueling a comeback in this Bay Area beauty.

09/02/2026

What happens when you cross a classic safari with the Australian Outback?

You get Bamurru Plains, a ten-bungalow camp on a private station in Australia's Top End. The early wake-ups and the sundowners made the trip from Africa. Everything else is pure Australia.

Game drives by airboat, flying over floodplains at speed with your guide spotting wildlife the whole way. Wild buffalo on the banks and saltwater crocs in the shallows, sometimes close enough to count their teeth. And serious birdlife, over 230 species on this one station, including sunrise takeoffs of magpie geese by the thousands.

Back at camp, the bungalows are raised above the wetlands with mesh walls in place of glass, so you fall asleep to the sounds of the floodplain and wake up to wallabies grazing below your deck.

The season runs roughly May through October, and we like to pair it with Kakadu's ancient rock art and a night or two in Darwin. Message me to start planning.

09/01/2026

In the heart of Rome, Hotel Hassler Roma offers a welcome sense of calm, with gracious service, elegant rooms, and aperitivi served just so.

Here are five reasons this storied stay is a must-visit, from its vast w**e collection to its enviable location above the Spanish Steps. 🇮🇹❤️

The Roman standby recently reopened with two refashioned lounges and a facelift for Michelin-starred Imàgo.

09/01/2026

Planning a first trip to Vienna? Our advice is almost unfair in its simplicity. Stay at the Sacher, because the location cannot be beat.

The State Opera is directly across the street. The Albertina is around the corner. The old city starts at the door. You can walk to nearly everything that made Vienna famous and be back in time for a nightcap at the Blaue Bar with the after-opera crowd.

The hotel holds up its end with richly layered interiors, an art collection worth a museum visit of its own, and the kind of formal Viennese welcome that makes the whole trip feel like an occasion.

Advisor tip: the original Sacher-Torte lives here. Don't stand in the café line with the tour groups; guests can have it served in the Blaue Bar or sent to the room.

Vienna, from the exact center of it. Reach out, and we'll plan the rest.

08/31/2026

If Australia has been on your list for years, consider this your sign. Here’s the geography quirk that trips people up: their summer is our winter.

December through February is Australia’s peak season, and it’s booking right now. The dream version of the trip: Sydney Harbour on a warm evening, the Great Barrier Reef in prime visibility, w**e country lunches in the sun, during our coldest months, and the best properties are small enough to sell out nearly a year ahead.

The distances are the other reason to start early. A well-built Australia trip usually covers three or four regions, and the internal flights, island lodges, and reef experiences all need to line up.

August is exactly when this planning should happen. Message us and let’s get started!

08/30/2026

Big anniversary? First trip without the kids? A honeymoon worth the 20-hour journey? Our answer is an island that's still flying under the radar: Mauritius.

Off the coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean, Mauritius has long been where Europeans go for their most special beach trips, and One&Only Le Saint Géran is one of the reasons why. The resort occupies its own private point on the island's northeast coast, with a calm lagoon on one side and the open Indian Ocean on the other. That geography means protected swimming, sailing, and paddleboarding in the lagoon.

The service is what clients remember. Butlers with every room category, a kids club that parents genuinely trust, and a level of polish that made this the property that put Mauritius on the luxury map in 1975.

Mauritius pairs beautifully with South Africa. Safari first, beach after. Get in touch to start planning!

08/29/2026

Did you know one of Africa's greatest safaris happens almost entirely on water?

Eagle Island Lodge, a Belmond property, occupies a private island deep in the Okavango Delta, one of the most remarkable ecosystems on Earth: a desert that floods every year into a maze of channels, lagoons, and islands teeming with wildlife.

The safari itself is unlike anywhere else in Africa. Gliding through the reeds in a mokoro, the traditional dugout canoe. Boat safaris through papyrus channels. And the lodge's signature: helicopter flights over the Delta with the doors off, which clients consistently call the highlight of their entire trip.

Water, wildlife, and almost no one else around. Reach out to start planning.

08/28/2026

Here’s a piece of hotel trivia we love sharing with clients: Ritz-Carlton has around 100 hotels worldwide. Fewer than ten carry the word Reserve. Zadún is one of them.

The Reserve designation is the brand’s most exclusive tier, and it changes the experience completely. At Zadún, in San José del Cabo, that means villa-style rooms built into the desert dunes above the Sea of Cortez, a personal host assigned to your stay, and a pace that feels nothing like a big resort.

The spa, Alkemia, is a destination on its own, and dinner at Humo, the wood-fire restaurant, is one of the best meals in Los Cabos.

Advisor tip: winter brings whales right offshore, and this stretch of coast near Puerto Los Cabos is calmer than the Cabo San Lucas end. Reach out to learn more.