Howzit! Between us, we are suspicious of the perfect trip. The one that looks good on paper. Filled with all the right hotels, the best restaurants, all the places you are supposed to go.
Because people are far more interesting than that.
Our team has been moving around quite a bit - and we have been reminded just how personal travel can be. Put the trips we have all taken over the last few months side by side and they have almost nothing in common. That is the point.
You should not travel like everyone else. Your trips should carry some evidence of you.
Where you have been. What you are loving in this moment. The things you have outgrown. The people you want beside you. The moments you want entirely to yourself.
At Travel Sommelier, we start with your individuality. The magic is in the specificity.
There is no template for a life, so why should there be one for how you travel through it? There may be no perfect trip for everyone - but we do know how to design the ideal moments just for you.
Here are a few that have been on our minds lately…
Cheers!
Darren & the Somms
Darren, Charlie, and Soren are fresh off a very special father-son journey through South Africa - centered around rugby, old friendships, and all the things they love.
For a family of rugby fans living in America, loving the sport can sometimes feel like marching to the beat of your own drum. Charlie even missed the start of 4th grade tackle football for the trip. But that, in a way, was the plan behind it.
The best trips are built around what is distinctly yours.
They watched matches, spent time surfing, Darren caught up with old friends, and together they experienced just how deeply rugby runs through South African culture.
The welcome. The kindness. The pride. The sheer physical presence of the sport.
It is part of the fabric of the place.
Perhaps the most meaningful stop was Manenberg Rugby Club, a nonprofit and vital community hub using rugby to give young people a sense of purpose, belonging and a way forward in one of Cape Town’s hardest-hit communities. We have shared the story of the club before, because of the extraordinary work happening there…and the people creating opportunity for the next generation.
That work is already bearing fruit. The club has helped develop a young female player who has since been selected to represent South Africa. It is an extraordinary achievement, and a reminder of what can happen when someone creates a path where there was not one before.
Bringing the boys there to meet the kids made the journey personal in a different way. That may be one of the most important things about travel. It does not have to look like anyone else’s.
The most memorable journeys are often built around your obsessions, your history, your people, your curiosities.
For Darren, Charlie, and Soren, this trip to South Africa was both a return to something old - and something new to share.
A Different Side of Morocco
There is a stretch of Morocco that feels like a more unexpected Mediterranean - familiar enough to feel effortless, but different enough to keep surprising you.
Darren recently returned and came away particularly taken with the country's northern coast. From east to west, three very different worlds unfold, all surprisingly close to one another:Tamuda Bay on the Mediterranean, Tangier, where the Med meets the Atlantic, and the Atlantic coast around Larache.
Tamuda Bay delivers the pleasures of the Med without the same sense of crowds - polished resorts, beautiful beaches, and a coastline that still feels pleasingly undiscovered. Here, wellness gets a distinctly Moroccan rethink. One remarkable spa goes well beyond the traditional treatment menu, offering full physical assessments, body scans, movement testing, and personalized recommendations around nutrition, exercise and injury prevention. It is an experience worth the trip alone.
Then comes Tangier - Arabic at its core, with Spanish and French influences woven throughout. Its medina rewards lingering…tiny cafés, unexpected corners, and, according to Darren, the best cup of coffee he had in Morocco.
Further west, the Atlantic coast feels like the Greek Isles or Comporta - effortlessly chic beaches, sweeping coastal views, understated villas and beautiful places to stay, all with a distinctly Moroccan sensibility. Add acres of olive groves, local makers, and the option to stay within a Moroccan village with your own private chef, and the experience becomes both deeply local and indulgent.
That is what makes the northern coast so compelling: you get the sun, sea, and beach life, but with far more texture - history, culture, and eccentricity.
For travelers who feel like they have done the obvious, Morocco’s coast is the detour.
The calendar has a funny way of sneaking up on you. One minute it is September, and suddenly Thanksgiving is around the corner, Christmas is on the horizon, and 2027’s spring breaks are already asking the same question: where are you going?
From Thanksgiving through April, our Sommeliers know where to go when the calendar gives you an excuse to leave…and when to go for the best of it.
+ Thanksgiving — Iceland, the Cotswolds, Scotland For gathering close, going far, and remembering what matters.
+ Christmas & beyond — Nicaragua, Panama, Guatemala Trade the holiday rush for wild landscapes and warm sunshine.
+ February Break — Lapland, Iceland, Japan Lean into winter and let the snow take center stage.
+ March Break — Egypt, South Africa, Sri Lanka Go somewhere that feels much further away than spring break usually does.
+ April Break — Morocco’s coast, Botswana, Uzbekistan Get there in the in-between…before the season everyone else is waiting for.
There is no one right way to spend a break - only the one that sounds right to you.Reach out to our Somms at info@travelsommelier.com to start planning.
