Inspiration
Three places we know cold.
We send people all over the world, but these are the three we're asked about most and the three we'd happily plan in our sleep. Here's how we'd do each one.
Japan
Japan, slower than you planned.
Most first trips to Japan try to fit in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and a mountain somewhere in ten days. The trains make it possible. They don't make it a good idea. We'd rather you pick three bases and stay long enough to have a regular coffee place.
Tokyo first, for three or four nights. Then Kyoto, early in the morning before the tour buses, with one day kept for gardens and nothing else. Then out to the countryside: a ryokan in the Japanese Alps where dinner is nine courses of things you can't name, or a slow finish in Kanazawa.
Cherry blossom season, late March into early April, is beautiful and booked solid. Autumn color in November is the better month, but you'll pay for it. Either way, plan six to nine months ahead.
- Best time
- Late March to early April, or November.
- Ideal length
- Twelve to fourteen nights, three bases.
- Book ahead
- Six to nine months for spring or autumn. Build a Japan itinerary →
Italy
Italy, past the postcard route.
Rome, Florence, Venice is a fine first trip, and most of our clients have already done it. The second Italy trip is the better one: fewer cities, longer lunches, and a region you can actually get to know.
Puglia for white towns, olive groves and a sea you can swim in until October. The Dolomites for walking from hut to hut and eating like you earned it. Or Sicily, if you want the food and the ruins without the queues.
Skip August if you can. Much of the country closes for Ferragosto in mid-August, the cities are hot, and the coast is full. May, June and September are the months we'd pick.
- Best time
- May, June and September.
- Ideal length
- Ten to twelve nights, two regions.
- Avoid
- August, especially around 15 August. Build a Italy itinerary →
Argentina
Argentina, on its own clock.
Buenos Aires eats dinner at ten and doesn't apologize for it. Give the city three nights, adjust your clock, and go to the steakhouse locals argue about rather than the one in the guidebook.
Then pick a direction. West to Mendoza for vineyards under the Andes, best during harvest in March and April. South to Patagonia for glaciers, Fitz Roy and wind you have to lean into. Distances are huge, so most trips fly between regions rather than drive.
Patagonia's season is short: November to March, with high summer in December to February booking up about a year ahead. Go in shoulder season and you trade a little warmth for a lot of space.
- Best time
- November to March for Patagonia; March–April for Mendoza.
- Ideal length
- Twelve to sixteen nights, two or three regions.
- Book ahead
- About twelve months for Patagonia in high summer. Build a Argentina itinerary →