For some travellers, the arrival was never the main point. The trips drawing the most attention for 2027 treat the departure lounge as part of the main itinerary, the dining car as the dinner reservation, and the ship’s deck as the best seat in the house. Fourteen of them follow, from private jets with a seven-continent flight plan to sleeper trains with silver service and expedition yachts bound for the Arctic (don't worry, we've also included some warmer destinations). Whether you're planning your honeymoon or just need an adventurous getaway, these expeditions take the saying, "it's not the destination, it's the journey," quite literally. The journey, however, is complete in luxury.
Private Jets
Aman Jet Expeditions
The ultra-luxury hospitality brand built Aman Jet Expeditions for those who want to travel the world in privacy. The hybrid itinerary pairs a small group in the air with private cars and expert guides on the ground, and spaces are capped at 18 guests. Remote Lands, Aman’s partner since 2013, sends hosts and local experts along for the whole ride. They launch several expeditions with unique destinations (complete with stays at Aman hotels, of course), but the trip to watch is The Grandest Tour: 21 days, from April 11 to May 1, 2027, across Japan, Vietnam, China, Bhutan, India, Uzbekistan, and Greece. It opens at Aman Tokyo with sushi masterclasses, samurai sword instruction, and an introduction to sumo culture. Further along, a private helicopter flight over the temples of Angkor comes before you settle into Amansara.
Four Seasons New World Icons
Four Seasons turns ten in the sky next year, so naturally the anniversary route goes big. New World Icons is a 20-day private jet journey for just 48 guests across seven destinations, and five of those stops are firsts for a Four Seasons jet. The 2027 departure runs March 26 to April 14 through Hong Kong, Langkawi, Jaipur, Venice, Iceland and Anguilla, ending in Los Cabos. The access is the main intrigue: a snowmobile ride across Iceland’s Langjökull Glacier, an after-hours visit to the Doge’s Palace, and a Four Seasons naturalist leading you through Langkawi’s Kilim Geoforest. Yes, that is a glacier and a private palace on the same trip.
Abercrombie & Kent
Ask anyone who has flown with Abercrombie & Kent (A&K) and they are probably already booked again—and the planned itineraries point to exactly why. The 2027 collection opens with a 22-day crossing of Africa from February 4 to 25, through Tunisia, Rwanda, South Africa, Botswana and Morocco. In May, Epic Islands and Landscapes circles the world over 26 days with up to 50 travelers, including the Galápagos, Easter Island, the Cook Islands, and New Zealand. September brings Wild Wonders, an animal-focused trip, and October brings Hidden Horizons, hosted by A&K's very own founder Geoffrey Kent. Then comes the big headliner: A&K’s first private jet journey to touch all seven continents, departing January 3, 2028. If something even smaller is more your style, A&K also runs 13 Small Jet Journeys for groups of no more than 12 to 13 guests, which open doors to places like Fogo Island Inn and Gorilla Forest Lodge that larger groups can’t reach.
Luxury Trains
Venice Simplon-Orient-Express
Chances are you've probably already heard of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, and it's easy to see why. The VSOE has always sold glamour by the carriage, and its newest chapter heads for the Italian coast. The Paris to Amalfi Coast route debuted on May 4, 2026, linking the French capital with Ravello over three nights across the French and Italian Rivieras. Marquetry panels, Lalique glass, and silver service fill three dining cars, and private Pompeii tours are on the Amalfi itinerary. The Italy list keeps growing: new three-night routes now link Paris with Venice, ending at Hotel Cipriani, and with Florence, ending at Villa San Michele.
Belmond Hiram Bingham
Machu Picchu deserves a grand entrance, and the Belmond Hiram Bingham supplies one. The luxury train carries 84 seats in 1920s Pullman-style carriages with wooden marquetry, and has two dining cars, two bar cars, and an observation carriage so you can enjoy the South American countryside rolling by firsthand. Peruvian fine dining and live music keep the mood up as the Andes mountains slip away. Trips run from Cusco’s Poroy station, the Sacred Valley’s Pachar station and Rio Sagrado to Aguas Calientes, with a private bus up to the citadel.
Rovos Rail
Rovos Rail offers the longest ride on this list practically crosses an entire continent. The world-class train line offers several luxurious expeditions, but the one at the top of our list is the Daar Es Salaam trip. The itinerary begins in Cape Town, South Africa, and runs 16 nights and 5,530 km across five countries, with stops at Matjiesfontein, Kimberley, Pretoria, Madikwe, Victoria Falls, Chisimba Falls, and Nyerere Game Reserve. All meals, drinks and guided excursions are included, so the only decision is whether to read in the observation car or watch Africa go by. 2027 departures run February 27 to March 15, July 3 to 19 and October 9 to 25, so you better book fast.
Belmond Eastern Oriental
Green-and-cream carriages, a tropical coastline, and a bar car: this is the Orient Express with a Southeast Asian accent. The Belmond Eastern Oriental train travels through Malaysia to discover Langkawi and Penang before returning to Singapore, on round trips out of Singapore via Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi, and Penang. The classic version starts with a Singapore Sling in the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel (which is the right way to begin any train journey, in our opinion). The carriages have history: Belmond founder James Sherwood found and restored them, and when the train launched, it became the first luxury train to run the 1,943 km Bangkok to Singapore route.
Belmond Royal Scotsman
Another Belmond train on our list invites you to discover Scotland by sleeper train, with a guest list you could fit around one long dinner table. Only 36 passengers are on board the Belmond Royal Scotsman, and the train has two dining cars, a bar car and a library, with 24-hour steward service. The Highlands do the rest: the West Coast journey crosses the Glenfinnan Viaduct. For food people, chef-hosted A Taste of Scotland departures run May 3 to 5, 2027 with Tom Kitchin and August 23 to 25, 2027 with Lorna McNee. Be sure to pack a good coat and an appetite.
La Dolce Vita Orient Express
Italy now has its own Orient Express and the name couldn't be more fitting. The La Dolce Vita Orient Express has interiors drawn from the Italian design of the 1950s to the 1970s, and the train has capacity for only 62 passengers with 28 cabins, all with en-suite bathrooms. Three-Michelin-star chef Heinz Beck runs the culinary direction. The big move for this season is abroad: a five-day, four-night Rome to Istanbul route that retraces the 1883 passage connecting Western Europe to Constantinople, with the first departure scheduled for October 22. For 2027, the train adds a Portofino loop and brings its Truffle Route to Alba, in Piedmont’s Langhe.
Yachts & Cruises
Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection
The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection is already booking 2028, so if one of the luxurious yachts were on your radar, this is your sign to book it. Its Summer 2028 season brings 52 voyages aboard two of its vessels across the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, with new ports in Gijón, Spain and Portovenere, Italy, plus more time in the Greek Isles and the Adriatic. The winter 2027 to 2028 lineup is just as busy, with more than 60 voyages and 14 new ports, and Evrima sailing the Hawaiian Islands and the South Pacific. Three yachts (Evrima, Ilma, and Luminara) now sail for the brand, and Ilma earned the first Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star rating ever awarded to a yacht.
Aman at Sea
If Aman's luxury hotels and private jet experiences weren't enough, their first yacht, Amangati, is nearly here. The vessel launches in spring 2027 as the first of Aman at Sea, complete with 47 suites, hybrid engines, and a spa on Deck 8 that opens onto a Japanese serenity garden with eight treatment rooms. The dining runs from Alira’s Mediterranean menu to Hiori’s teppanyaki and Akari’s omakase counter with a sake bar. If the yacht is not your speed (or you simply can't wait for the launch), Aman also runs Amandira, a two-masted Phinisi with five cabins and a crew of 14, exploring Indonesia’s Flores Sea.
Nour El Nil
Sail the Nile the way travelers did before engines on the Nour El Nil. Six dahabiyas make up the fleet, and the cruise runs five nights from Luxor to Aswan. The boats sail with their iconic red and white sails, spaced apart so each has privacy, and their small size allows quiet anchorages at spots like Gebel Silsileh, where the sandstone quarries are. A dahabiya, for the record, is a flat-bottomed sailboat specifically built for the Nile, meaning it is slow travel at its most literal.
Aqua Lares
If your dream is to embark on an arctic expedition in luxury, let us introduce you to Aqua Lares— a superyacht with a Michelin-starred chef, which is as far from a standard polar cruise as it gets. Sailing Svalbard and the Arctic Circle from June to September, the Aqua Lares is the only superyacht in the Arctic Circle offering both private charters and individual cabin bookings. The yacht carries 30 guests across 15 cabins with a one-to-one crew-to-guest ratio, meaning service will be top-knotch. Voyages run five to 14 nights, with polar bears, migratory whales, and Arctic foxes included on the sighting list.
Al Mourad
The newest dahabiya here is also the most privacy-minded. Al Mourad is another Nile cruise on our list and a newly built, traditionally crafted sailing vessel that prioritizes relaxing navigation. Its size lets it moor beside small river islands and lesser-known stretches of the Nile that larger ships cannot reach. The name means “the desired” in Arabic, which is just about perfectly sums up this ship.
