So many far-flung luxury hotels take great pains to obscure the hardscrabble world just beyond their walls, but in the case of the Pellas family, it was a concern for this world – and a desire to invest in its fragile future – that anchored their vision. Now guests at their Mukul resort, located on the Pacific coast of Nicaragua, are invited to acquaint themselves with and even participate in the realities of local life. Indagare’s Cabell Belk

visited the lush Nicaraguan Emerald Coast and scouted special experiences—playing golf with howler monkeys, hiking volcanoes—and voluntourism opportunities—installing water filters, helping out in local schools—for Indagare’s upcoming Family Insider Trip, what is sure to be an unforgettable experience for parents and their children alike. Read about Cabell’s trip to Nicaragua and about our upcoming Family Insider trip.

As a Preferred Partner of the Four Seasons, Indagare has been given first dibs on their new Around the World by Private Jet trip so our members can snag seats before they are offered to the public. The twenty-five-day trip (August 30–September 23, 2014) will include stops in Tokyo, The Maldives, the Serengeti and Istanbul with travel on board an all-business configured jet and all Four Seasons accommodations. Among the highlights:

unrestricted access in the chambers of Beijing’s Forbidden City, a private tour of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg and an invitation to a perfume-making workshop in Marrakech. And for those among the 56 passengers who want to deviate from the plan, private excursions can be arranged. Rates from $89,950. Contact the Indagare bookings team for more details or to reserve a place on this special trip or the two other 2014 Four Seasons jet trips.

Spring skiing is one of the American West’s great gifts, and those heading to Colorado in the next few weeks will enjoy warmer temperatures, longer days and less crowded slopes. Indagare’s Henley Vazquez just returned and writes in with updates on the town’s cowboy-chic hotel (a favorite of John Wayne’s), culinary hot spots importing the world’s top chefs and pop-up

Champagne bars. City-slickers who can’t get there until later in the season won’t be missing out; many attest that summer is an even better time to visit with the Aspen Ideas Festival and active outdoor pursuits like white-water rafting. Read Henley’s dispatch: 2013 Aspen Update. Read More

For a classic capital, Paris is surprisingly trendy, especially when it comes to its culinary offerings. Sure, there are eternally popular standards, but newcomers keep raising the bar, and the best of the crop transform into mainstays. We’ve rounded up ten Indagare favorites

ranging from reliable classics (L’Ami Louis in the 3rd arr.) to intimate romance-inspiring temples (Jean-François Piège in the 7th arr.), all of which are sure to inspire you during your next trip to the City of Light. Read More

Visiting places on the eve of great change affords a different view, and now is the time for Myanmar. Indagare’s founder Melissa Biggs Bradley recently returned and writes, “I have long believed that the best moments in travel are those that are unscripted, the chance encounters or sudden disruptions that send you on an unexpected course and allow for the most memorable discoveries.” We are finalizing the details for

a November 2013 Insider Trip to Myanmar, which will include time in Yangon, aboard the ship Road to Mandalay, in the temple-strewn fields of Bagan, the ancient capital of Mandalay and the water gardens of Inle Lake. Reservations will be opened in the next week for Insider Alumni and Connoisseur members. Read Melissa’s Just Back From her recent Insider Trip to Myanmar and about the upcoming Myanmar Insider Trip. Read More

As it becomes more difficult to disconnect with reality, savvy travelers are journeying further afield. The Seychelles, a group of over a hundred islands in the Indian Ocean, has long been a popular stop for relaxing post safari in Tanzania or South Africa, but it deserves to be a destination in its own right. Indagare’s Tara Tunney

recently visited and reports on a stunning resort and the place’s glorious beaches and rich culture. For help planning a trip to the Seychelles (with or without a layover in Dubai), contact our Bookings Team and read our Seychelles destination report. Read More

In today’s ever-connected world, the destinations that feel truly remote are increasingly rare (and therefore precious). The Kingdom of Bhutan, a tiny blip between the superpowers of India and China, remains one of those places. It’s not as undiscovered as it was, say, twenty or even ten years ago, but its landscapes and spirituality are of such otherworldly beauty and intensity

that travelers are changed by their journeys (and only too happy to leave their iPhone unplugged). Indagare’s Brooke Pearson recently returned from the Kingdom, full of information on how best to map out a trip there. Contact our Bookings Team for help planning a Bhutan adventure. Read More

English jeweler Pippa Small finds treasures wherever wanderlust takes her. She works with local craftspeople in indigenous communities in such places as Afghanistan, Rwanda, India and Kenya to create stunning gems. In Kabul, for example, Small works with Turquoise Mountain Charity, an organization that trains

young people in jewelry making, as part of the charity’s broader efforts to battle unemployment and heroin addiction. Indagare’s London-based contributor Elena Bowes caught up with Small, who has shops in London and in LA (at the Brentwood Country Mart). Read More

Family vacation can be equal parts learning and leisure when taken in destinations like Scotland, a place as abounding in ancient culture as in genteel outdoor pursuits. Summer days in the Scottish Highlands are long enough to include a morning field trip to a medieval castle, afternoon trout fishing on a peaceful loch and a round of golf with stunning views from every tee— all

before the sun sets around 10:00 pm. Meanwhile Scotland’s capital Edinburgh has long been—and still is—a hotbed of literary and scientific ingenuity, living up to its Enlightenment-era reputation as the “Athens of the North.” Indagare’s Cabell Belk shares highlights from the bonnie land. Read More

Some destinations still epitomize the expression “far-flung” and Bora Bora—an 8-hour flight from Los Angeles, followed by a puddle jumper and/or a boat—certainly qualifies. Much like the Seychelles or the Maldives, if you’re going to go all this way, it’s crucial to choose

the resort that’s right for you. The large reef surrounding the main island of Bora Bora is scattered with resorts, including the stunning Four Seasons (above). For help finding the resort that’s right for you, contact our Bookings Team and Read More

Spring is a season of renewal in London, when days start getting longer and buds brighten the city’s squares and gardens. New hotels, restaurants and cafés come online and some of the year’s most exciting theatrical and artistic shows debut. Our London-based contributor,

Elena Bowes rounds up what not to miss during this spring in London, from Michelin-starred Catalonian dining and gourmet bakeries to Roy Lichtenstein at the Tate Modern and Dame Helen Mirren reprising her role as Queen Elizabeth II. Read More