2025 Luxury Travel Trends

Anne Marie Brown
Jun 3, 2025
4 min read

Travelers are more frequently looking not just for luxury hotel stays, but meaning, adventure, and unique experiences in far-flung corners of the world.

Trend 1: All About Africa

While Singita lodges have long held the crown for highest-end experiences, newcomers like Few and Far Luvhondo are giving them a run for their money.

We also love Wilderness Safari lodges, and animal encounters like gorilla trekking in Uganda and Rwanda.

If it seems like everyone you follow on Instagram is heading on safari, you might be right. Even Sydney Sweeney recently ventured into the wild on a safari experience that many of our clients have been seeking to recreate.

Why are safaris so special? There is something incredible about the quality of luxury these lodges provide in the middle of the remote wilderness.

You can sip tea from porcelain cups while watching zebras casually graze in the distance, so encounter an elephant while on your way from your tent to sundowner cocktails. Plus, the service at these lodges is absolutely top-notch, leaving the experience feeling both intimate and upscale.

And, it’s not just about seeing the Big 5 anymore. Properties like Shipwreck Lodge, Serra Cafema, and Little Kualala in Namibia offer a unique take on the safari experience.

To top off your safari adventure in true luxury, head to Zanzibar or the Seychelles for a beach escape at the end of your trip so you can return rested.

Trend 2: Beating the Crowds in Italy and Greece

If you want to dodge the Amalfi coast crowds this summer, head to Puglia.

Puglia is an under-the-radar region in southern Italy often overlooked by tourists. But with its charming towns, amazing beaches, fantastic food and wine, and wealth of history, Puglia has so much to offer. Around its lengthy coastlines you’ll find some of Italy’s most pristine beaches, from soft white sand to rocky plunge pools with crystal clear water.

For some great, hotels, check out Conde Nast's List of Puglia Hotels Worth Visiting.

Another great escape is the Rosewood Castiglioni de Bosco, located in the Tuscan countryside.

Nestled in Montalcino, Tuscany, in the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Val d’Orcia, Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco is set within a 5,000-acre 900-year-old Italian estate featuring rooms and villas.

In Greece, Milos and Antiparos are great options to beat the crowds in Mykonos and Santorini, and are favored by celebrities who want a bit more peace and quiet along with their white washed walls and cobblestone streets.

And the shoulder season secret is out - more people are booking into May and September, raising prices for months that historically have been more of a bargain. Now, if you want a discount, you're looking at late April and October.

Trend 3: Experiential Luxury

When the journey to get somewhere itself is part of the adventure, trains, barges, and sail boats provide a unique way to experience the world.

Private cruises down the Nile in Egypt, adventure cruises Antarctica, the Belmond train to Machu

Picchu, exclusive barges to tiny towns along french canals - our clients are eager to experience transportation in style.

With La Dolce Vita - an Orient Express Train in Italy - opening for booking this year, we continue to see the emergence of a golden age of luxury train trave l. Train travel operators, including Railbookers, have reported significant increases in bookings, particularly in the luxury segment, and celebrities like Katie Perry are choosing to celebrate milestones on the Venice-Simplon Orient Express.

The Belmond Venice-Simplon Orient Express Train

Trend 4: Mountain Highs

The Dolomites and Swiss alps are having their moment. Whether it's heli-hiking in the Dolomites or bouncing between apres ski spots in the alps, travelers in 2025 cannot get enough of European mountains.

The new Aman Rosa Alpina opens in the Dolomites in July, to much fanfare. With climate change, historic ski spots in Europe are seeing fewer travelers and they are heading to the Dolomites for more preidctable snow.

And, as U.S. ski prices continue to climb ski-high, we are seeing much more interest in skiing in areas of Japan, like Niseko, where ticket prices and lessons remain approachable, but you can still find luxury accommodations.

Trend 5: Super Yachts

You don’t have to be Jeff Bezos to yacht like a billionaire. With luxury super yacht products like Ritz Carlton, Aman, and Four Seasons entering the game, small-ship cruising is in its luxury era, and we are here for it!

Forget the days of YMCA on the deck and giant groups bustling around European ports, these new ships bring elevated dining, small-group and custom excursions, and a gentler pace to explore or relax.

Trend 6: The New Travel Agent - Alpenglow Travel

We are not your mama’s travel agent. We are a passionate group of travel experts who have traveled around the world and back again, and bring deep industry knowledge to our craft.

We know what it's like to plan your own family reunion, or take your kids on an overnight flight to Europe, or find that perfect multi-generational-villa to celebrate your parents' anniversary.

We work with some of the best partners worldwide in luxury travel, and spend all our free time establishing these relationships and doing our research so that we can best help YOU.

From expeditions in Antarctica to barges in the French countryside, from seeing the sunrise over Angkor Wat to heli-skiing in British Columbia, whatever your bucket list experience is, we are here to lend our expertise and help you realize your travel dreams.

Reach out to us to begin planning your adventure, hotel stay, or weekend getaway.