This is how the super rich holiday now

For people who spend their lives calling the shots, the dream vacation often involves relinquishing all control. ‘We guarantee how clients are going to feel during and after their trip — but we don’t tell them where they are going,’ says Philippe Brown.

Besides, as Jenny Graham, Director of Quintessentially Travel, points out: ‘Doing something hardcore and out of your comfort zone means you have to focus on the right now, so for some people it’s actually more relaxing than lying on a beach.’ The company has offices in Portland Place and 66 locations around the world. ‘We’ve arranged for clients to travel around Rajasthan by rickshaw, to take part in the Baja 1000 challenge (an off-road buggy race in Mexico) and for one City boy to spend seven days living with a tribe in Ethiopia.’ She booked a trip for one couple who spent their honeymoon deep-sea diving amid remote archipelagos in Indonesia with marine photographer Shawn Heinrichs — a kind of experience that costs more than £100,000 per person, per week. ‘At the end of the day it’s not like new countries are popping up, so it’s about what you can do in those destinations to make them exclusive and extraordinary.’

Doing battle on a pirate ship, being ambushed by ninjas on a high-speed Japanese bullet train or shaving the heads of novice Buddhist monks in Burma are just some of the ‘waking dreams’ arranged by Based on a True Story in Queen’s Park. This ultra-elite ‘experiential’ firm stages trips that are almost like theatrical productions in an attempt to cure ultra-high-net-worthers of the ennui that can come with immense privilege.

‘Our clients have already travelled extensively, they’ve experienced the best luxury money can buy, so it’s about finding a way to make them excited by the world,’ says Oliver von Holzing, MD of Based on a True Story. ‘One particularly memorable trip was for the maiden voyage of a superyacht starting in Greece, so we based their adventure on The Odyssey and Greek mythology. We worked with a historian from Oxford University to devise a treasure hunt that involved the children learning to fight like Spartans, overcoming Medusa, making a deal with a Cylops and singing a lullaby to pacify a Minotaur. It included exclusive access to the ruins of Olympia where we hosted a fully costumed mini-Olympics and culminated in a five-headed fire-breathing pyrotechnic Scylla. Besides the hundreds of actors involved, they didn’t see another tourist at all, and this was in August — high season.’

Although this clientele is cosseted in extreme luxury, many are keen to slum it in return for a slice of local colour. ‘I just organised a trip around South America for two very high-profile guys,’ says Von Holzing. ‘It was based on The Motorcycle Diaries and they were happy to sleep in hammocks. We’ve taken two princesses on an Amazonian expedition via Ecuador and Bolivia, where they spent months training in kayaking and outdoor skills in preparation. On one expedition we arranged for guests to spend time with a tribe in the jungles of Papua New Guinea. There was a surprise ambush, then a battle scene was re-enacted, before our guests took part in celebrations involving ancient customs and sacrifices. Accommodation was set up for them in an abandoned village, but was luxuriously upgraded.’

It seems even when you’re roughing it in the middle of nowhere, you still need your creature comforts. ‘One client chartered a boat down the Amazon and decided they wanted a running machine on board — that caused a few headaches,’ recalls Graeme Bull. ‘Another client was sailing around Palau but requested a particular kind of wine and a £20,000 bottle of whisky, which was tricky to get through customs. Recently a couple wanted to go to the North Pole for 24 hours. We made it happen but at the cost of £600,000 — we had to charter an army plane and a helicopter.’

Clearly for some people that’s a drop in the (Arctic) ocean, but sometimes the costs are prohibitive, even for thrillionaires. ‘We were planning a trip on a submersible research vessel around Galápagos for one client, but the charter fee was just too high so it didn’t happen,’ laments Von Holzing. ‘We all want to be David Attenborough, but there are limits.’