Catering to billionaires, niche travel agencies will build sets, hire actors and write continent-spanning story lines—for the right price.

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TRAVEL AGENT Ricardo Araujo prides himself on “making the impossible possible.” But finding a mermaid at short notice was a stretch, even for him. 

Araujo had spent 10 months planning a cruise inspired by Homer’s “The Odyssey,” when his client—the elderly patriarch of a wealthy American family—requested a surprise for his 9-year-old granddaughter. 

Ricardo Araujo spends months putting together mind-blowing vacations for the 1 percent.
 

The trip was about to start, and Ricardo Araujo needed to find a mermaid.

His client, the heir to a large American family fortune, was embarking on a three-week cruise that would follow the path of the epic poem The Odyssey. Araujo, a luxury travel agent who specializes in bespoke vacations, had spent six months and millions of dollars planning the trip, and he needed something truly spectacular to finish it off. When he heard the client’s granddaughter loved mermaids, he knew what it was.

A luxury travel agent, who plans trips for some of the world's wealthiest individuals, has revealed how he has spent upwards of $44 million on a single vacation and sometimes the requests can be borderline bonkers. 

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Ricardo Araujo, 45, started his company Ariodante Travel more than seven years ago, and he told DailyMail.com that his team now works for 'a handful of extremely wealthy individuals, usually billionaires sometimes senior royals, who have a common interest in culture, beauty and having a positive impact on the world.'

After months of travel restrictions, luxury concierge service Ariodante Travel is helping many clients to book a trip of a lifetime. With some bespoke trips taking as long as five months to plan, Ariodante’s founder Ricardo Araujo says that clients should “use this time wisely and get planning now”.

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Ariodante Travel specialise in creating bespoke holidays that have an arts, culture, and history focus and they craft some of the most exclusive and luxurious travel experiences in the world. We spoke with Araujo to find out more about the amazing experiences and services they can offer clients.

The ultra-exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime package offers adventurers the chance to explore the furthest reaches of the Arctic

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Luxury globetrotting brand Ariodante, the self-described "travel alchemist", has launched an astonishing new adventure package that will break World records and put participants in the history books by offering the unique opportunity to drive to the northernmost point on land on earth by custom vehicle - an achievement that has never been attempted before and offers the chance to be in the Guinness Book of Records. How much does it cost to join? £15.3 million per person.

The full moon brings a layer of magic and mystery that fascinates mankind. VistaJet, the first and only global business aviation company, presents its top five unique full moon experiences not to be missed in 2022.

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The Oracles in Greece

A magical and thrilling adventure under the auspice of Selena, the goddess of the moon, where history blends with mythology and astronomy, designed as a journey of initiation into the ancient divinatory arts.

“I still remember one of my first clients, an extremely wealthy 85-year-old art collector, describing what I had arranged for him as ‘beyond luxury’. On hearing this, I knew I had created a valuable business concept without even knowing it.“

After months of travel restrictions, luxury concierge service Ariodante Travel is helping many clients to book a trip of a lifetime. With some bespoke trips taking as long as five months to plan, Ariodante’s founder Ricardo Araujo says that clients should “use this time wisely and get planning now”.

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Ariodante Travel specialise in creating bespoke holidays that have an arts, culture, and history focus and they craft some of the most exclusive and luxurious travel experiences in the world. We spoke with Araujo to find out more about the amazing experiences and services they can offer clients.

Anyone can visit a museum. Few are able to enjoy a sumptuous meal beneath a masterpiece, with the museum’s curator or a famous artist as host.

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A behind-the-scenes glimpse into the production of a world-class opera. A private and secret visit to the restoration workshops of one of Europe’s most important museums to witness the restoration of an Egyptian mummy. A private visit to Windsor Castle guided by a senior member of the British Royal Family. These are just a few of the travel dreams-turned-reality made possible by Ricardo Araujo and his team at Ariodante, a discrete and niche, ultra-luxury travel concierge service catering to those whose wanderlust (and pocketbooks) know no bounds. Here is how Araujo makes the impossible happen:

Ariodante Travel is a unique travel concierge service that specialises in creating bespoke itineraries that elevate luxury travel to previously unimagined heights. 

In a world where luxury consumerism is becoming more democratic, and the once inaccessible is becoming increasingly accessible, their aim is to elevate themselves and rely on what we believe has been the essence of luxury for centuries: exclusivity, rarity, flawless quality and above all else, elevation above the ordinary.

A sleepover atop the Arc de Triomphe, a private concert with the Pope in the Sistine Chapel, a spacewalk off the International Space Station – these seemingly impossible feats are just a few of the experiences that Ariodante founder Ricardo Araujo can arrange for his clients.

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Founder of Ariodante, one of Europe’s most exclusive ultra-luxury travel companies, Araujo’s journey from classical pianist to CEO has been filled with twists of fate. Raised in Bogota, Columbia, Araujo developed a passion for music at a young age. He started conducting 17 and moved to Paris followed by London to pursue his dream, spending 20 years travelling across Europe conducting world-leading orchestras.

Last year was all about reaching new heights in space tourism, but next year might just be about setting foot in a different frontier. With a new itinerary from Ariodante Travel, participants will drive to undiscovered lands in the Arctic, capturing new records for walking on the northernmost region of the planet, as well as taking part in scientific discoveries that will advance the understanding of climate change. The catch: the history-shattering adventure starts at $21 million.

Ariodante, a luxury tour company, is launching private Arctic Circle tours featuring an unforgettable cruise onboard an icebreaking motor yacht, combined with a range of thrilling land and water-based activities including swimming with orcas, wildlife spotting and submarine and helicopter explorations.

Many of the world’s best tour operators consistently push the boundaries with their itineraries, but this is one—quite literally—does it for the record books. Ariodante Luxury Travel, also known as ‘The Travel Alchemist,’ is offering the chance to drive to the northernmost point on Earth by custom vehicle, a feat that has never been attempted before.

A mystery to solve! Traveling should be an adventure or an experience of luxury. Perhaps many people associate trains with the transport of the past, but what the best of them have to offer will make you thunderstruck. Exclusive trains evoke images of old times when journeys were more than just moving from one point to another. They are associated with great expeditions like from novels by recognized writers. The most famous luxury train is certainly the legendary Orient Express and its route from Paris to Istanbul. The most famous train in the world, the Orient Express, carried the most eminent representatives of the upper classes and diplomacy such as Mata Hari, Edith Piaf, Charlie Chaplin, Coco Chanel, Winston Churchill, and as famous as him, literary hero, Hercule Poirot.

Luxury tour company Ariodante offers culture and art-focused sabbatical tour – a totally new and unique style of sabbatical in the travel sector. Guests will explore culture, historical periods, and the work of the greatest artists while traveling to any parts of the world they desire. Using its unrivaled book of contacts, Ariodante can obtain access to some of the world’s most exclusive cultural sites often closed to the public and meetings with luminaries who can offer unmatched insights. From Nobel Prize winners to renowned historians, curators, artists, and the descendants of key historical figures, these are the voices that bring the stories and locations to life.

La historia de Ariodante es un poco caótica y quizás, sorprendente, nos cuenta Ricardo Araujo, fundador de una agencia europea que crea experiencias de lujo totalmente personalizadas, única en su estilo, y que ya opera en más de 4 países creando experiencias por toda Europa, incluso Egipto y Asia.

Luxury tour company Ariodante has launched sabbatical tours with an arts and culture focus.

This offers the chance to be 'immersed in and learn about culture, historical periods and the work of the greatest artists while travelling in luxury to any parts of the world they desire'.

The sabbatical will appeal to those wanting 'meaningful' extended time out from their business or careers, retirees, and families wanting to spend quality time together.

If you’re tired of feeling hemmed in, think about taking a charter to the Arctic Circle this summer on a luxurious 253-foot, ice-breaking yacht, fully equipped with a helicopter, a submarine and a 16-person Jacuzzi.

Ariodante Travel has just announced Arctic Circle tours on Legend, an expedition yacht with a Lloyds 1A ice-class hull. The tours start in the Svalbard archipelago (pop: 2,642), midway between mainland Norway and Iceland. From there, Legend can go just about anywhere in the Arctic Circle, including the North Pole, Greenland, the North Cape and Spitsbergen.

Ahora puedes hacerlo con la compañía de viajes de lujo Ariodante Travel. Una semana de lujo recorriendo los puntos más gélidos de la Tierra.

If successful, this history-making trip will guarantee the explorer a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Last year was all about reaching new heights in space tourism, but next year might just be about setting foot in a different frontier. With a new itinerary from Ariodante Travel, participants will drive to undiscovered lands in the Arctic, capturing new records for walking on the northernmost region of the planet, as well as taking part in scientific discoveries that will advance the understanding of climate change. The catch: the history-shattering adventure starts at $21 million.

The ski season is almost upon us and the ultra wealthy are determined to enjoy it come what may.

Ariodante Travel is launching a France-based Covid-proof ski holiday that isn't dependent on whether the resorts are open. Available for a group of up to 10, you'll fly to Geneva by private jet from a UK airport of your choice and will then be whisked by chopper to a luxury chalet in Megeve, from which your group will take daily excursions to remote slopes in Switzerland, Italy and Austria, to help-ski under the supervision of world championship and Olympic medallists instructors.

Featuring an on-board helicopter and submarine for the ultimate Arctic adventure–including swimming with orcas and polar bear sightings.

While the future of the cruise ship industry remains in flux due to the coronavirus crisis, deep-pocketed travelers seeking a far more exclusive getaway can charter a private expedition yacht to explore the Arctic Circle.

While the future of travel by cruise may be on hold at the time being, the much more personalised alternative—chartering a private yacht to unknown corners of the world—has just become a whole lot easier.

Luxury tour company Ariodante Travel has just launched private Arctic Circle tours that feature an ice breaking megayacht. The expedition yacht, known as Legend, will be accompanied by a full crew with experience sailing the Arctic and two expert Arctic Circle guides to ensure you get the most out of the expedition.

You may remember our announcement recently about our latest partnership to bring incredibly unique and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to clients thanks to Ariodante Travel. Well, we are very happy to announce that the Founder and CEO of Ariodante Travel, Ricardo Araujo joined us on the podcast recently to chat about some of these fantastic experiential travel opportunities and how you too can be the architect of your wildest vacation dreams!

While the future of travel by cruise may be on hold at the time being, the much more personalised alternative—chartering a private yacht to unknown corners of the world—has just become a whole lot easier.

Luxury tour company Ariodante Travel has just launched private Arctic Circle tours that feature an ice breaking megayacht. The expedition yacht, known as Legend, will be accompanied by a full crew with experience sailing the Arctic and two expert Arctic Circle guides to ensure you get the most out of the expedition.

Get your glad rags ready for a trip back to 1920s France to help solve a murder based on a classic Agatha Christie novel.

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Agatha Christie fans, brace yourselves. Bookings are now open for the second murder mystery party hosted by bespoke luxury tour company Ariodante onboard the original Orient Express train—1920s costumes and all. 

Between 1883 to 1977, the Orient Express hosted the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Coco Chanel along its famed Paris to Istanbul route. Although the original train is rarely used these days, it is being brought back for this special event. From March to November each year, a different train called the Belmond Venice Simplon-Orient-Express operates along that original route also in restored 1920s train cars.

All aboard the Orient Express!

On May 17, the iconic train is hosting a new murder-mystery party on a trip from Paris to Nice. So, pack your favorite magnifying glass, because you can be on it.

Poirot is unavailable, so the buck stops with you.

If the first thing that springs to mind when you hear ‘The Orient Express’ is ‘murder’ followed by ‘Agatha Christie’, this one’s for you. Luxury Bespoke Tour company Ariodante is launching a series of 1920s immersive murder mystery parties onboard The Orient Express. Moustache and Homburg hat at the ready…

After months of travel restrictions, luxury concierge service Ariodante Travel is helping many clients to book a trip of a lifetime. With some bespoke trips taking as long as five months to plan, Ariodante’s founder Ricardo Araujo says that clients should “use this time wisely and get planning now”.

Ariodante Travel specialise in creating bespoke holidays that have an arts, culture, and history focus and they craft some of the most exclusive and luxurious travel experiences in the world. We spoke with Araujo to find out more about the amazing experiences and services they can offer clients.

Do you fancy yourself a sharp-brained detective from the 1920s? Did you grow up watching episodes of moustache-twirling Hercule Poirot deciphering clues and solving murders? Now is your chance to put these dormant skills to use, with a murder mystery party on the actual Orient Express train happening this year.

The fabled Orient Express made famous by Agatha Christie’s cult murder-mystery novel, Murder On The Orient Express, is making a comeback after decades of halted service. The train line that ran from the late-1800s ‘til the Seventies reached its heyday in the Roaring Twenties, frequented by the likes of F Scott Fitzgerald and Coco Chanel on the storied journey from Paris to Istanbul. Its position would later be solidified in pop culture with the release of Christie’s novel in 1934. Now, luxury tour company Ariodante is launching a series of murder-mystery parties on board the original Orient Express train, complete with Twenties garb and all of the vintage grandeur.

Un viaje de 750 km acompañado de un equipo de 22 personas -incluidos científicos, un médico polar, un chef increíble y un equipo de filmación- para inmortalizar un logro: así de exótica es la experiencia propuesta por Ariodante, una agencia de viajes con diseño de experiencias de lujo. ¿El desafío? Explorar el punto más septentrional del mundo. En esta nota te contamos de qué se trata este viaje y cómo es la logística para llevarlo a cabo.

Když se řekne Agatha Christie a vlak, většina z nás si nejspíš vybaví její nejslavnější literární kus Vražda v Orient expresu. Ve skutečnosti ale tato anglická spisovatelka napsala ještě jednu novelu s železniční tematikou, rovněž v čele s brilantním Herculem Poirotem – Záhadu Modrého vlaku.

A přesně podle tohoto jejího románu rozjíždí letos luxusní cestovní společnost Ariodante řadu záhadných výletů ve stylu 20. let minulého století.

Ariodante has announced that its second 1920s immersive murder-mystery will take place on Sunday 17 May onboard the iconic, Grade 1 listed, Orient Express train. 

Guests will travel from Paris to Nice on the French Riviera for an unforgettable experience over the course of the day, with decadent three-night hotel stays available in Paris and Nice. The experience will appeal to fans of Agatha Christie and those seeking a truly luxurious and unique travel experience.

IF HERCULES POIROT’S exploits in The Murder on the Orient Express and The Mystery of the Blue Train have you oohing and ahhing, here’s your chance to transform yourself into a mustachioed Belgian detective and enjoy some train luxury for yourself.

Una increíble fiesta de crimen totalmente inmersiva, ambientada en la década de 1920 donde nada será lo que parece. Vestido para la ocasión como en un set de película, te convertirás en el héroe de tu propia aventura resolviendo el misterio y descubriendo al asesino antes de que pueda atacar de nuevo para cubrir sus huellas.

Así es como Ariodante Travel, una agencia de viaje con experiencias realmente únicas en el mundo, describe este tour único donde te harán sentir dentro de una novela de Agatha Christie. La salida del 18 de Enero se agotó rápidamente aunque aún hay lugar en la que saldrá el 17 de Mayo 2020

Specialising in hidden travel experiences for the travel elite, Ariodante create custom itineraries and experiences with an arts and culture focus, affording a privileged few with access to monuments and historic sites often closed to the public. While cultural institutions might not be open to visitors right now, Ariodante has created videos of the Palace of Versailles and the underwater ruins of the City of Baia in Naples to give art and history enthusiasts some virtual escapism. Click the link for a Private tour of the Palace of Versailles with tours of the Hall of Mirrors, Versailles Chapel and the Queen’s Rooms and Apartments.

Ariodante, a luxury tour company, is launching private Arctic Circle tours featuring an unforgettable cruise onboard an icebreaking motor yacht, combined with a range of thrilling land and water-based activities including swimming with orcas, wildlife spotting and submarine and helicopter explorations.

While vacations are off the table for a while, we can still look to plan for the future. Many of us will be itching to travel once again and dreaming about trips for 2021. 

Ariodante, a concierge travel service that specializes in ultra-luxe itineraries, has collaborated with Oceanscape Yachts to create a thrilling tour into the Arctic Circle.

On the 26 May, the historical Orient Express will depart from Gare de Lyon in Paris for its first journey towards the French Riviera since the famous 'Calais-Mediterranee-Express', also known as Le Train Bleu, stopped decades ago.

​On board this renowned and beautifully restored train, a handful of travellers will have the opportunity to travel back in time to the Roaring Twenties for an extraordinary and ultra-luxurious immersive adventure. A murder mystery like no other where each participant will try to solve a crime before the train reaches its final destination of Nice or before the murderer strikes again.

Despite the fact that art galleries are accessible to almost everyone, specialist tour company Ariodante has designed a hyper-elite Picasso-themed tour that offers a “unique insight into the artist’s genius.” Jenny Southan reports

Similar to the “enlightenment journeys” offered by luxury educational travel start-up The Luminaire, Ariodante is promoting a new ten-day tour that will explore the life, work and legacy of Pablo Picasso. But it will cost £450,000 based on a group of up to six people (£75,000 each).

An exciting new tour of discovery by specialist travel company Ariodante, will explore the life, work, and legacy of the legendary Pablo Picasso, offering an intimate insight never offered before. Participants will meet with some of the world’s most renowned Picasso experts, members of the artist’s family, associates, and other respected artists, as well as enjoying amazing gastronomic experiences and wine tasting events. This historical tour which crosses several countries, will give a unique insight into the artist’s genius, his influences and how he inspired others through his work.

The full moon brings a layer of magic and mystery that fascinates mankind. VistaJet, the first and only global business aviation company, presents its top five unique full moon experiences not to be missed in 2022.

There are numerous full moon rituals across different cultures, with many celebrating the joy of family reunions. VistaJet Members can make unforgettable memories with once-in-a-lifetime adventures across the globe to mark the upcoming Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. These experiences cover a range of fascinating destinations – from bespoke staycations in China and learning the ancient traditions of Japan, to exploring the extraordinary natural wonders of Southeast Asia and discovering the myth of Greek Oracles and the incredible civilization of the Incas.

With the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival starting next month, the world’s leading business jet aircraft operator VistaJet is partnering with some of the world’s leading hotels and tour operators to create five distinctive travel experiences to celebrate the full-moon festival.

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In Southeast Asia, VistaJet curates a tour, “In Pursuit of the Moon Queen”, where you will fly from Kuala Lumpur – on board one of VistaJet’s super-premium business jets to the far eastern Indonesian city of Ambon: the gateway to some of the most amazing, secluded and beautiful parts of Indonesia.

From Ambon, guests will board a superyacht and explore the Spice Islands in search of Yoisi, the Moon Queen in Javanese mythology, and then explore Raja Ampat, an archipelago of tiny jungle islands within a beautiful and diverse marine ecosystem. The trip ends in Sumatra, where guests can participate in a project to protect the last majestic tigers of Sumatra in a private conservation area in the Sumatran rain forest.