Gifting a foodie or oenophile with luxury tastes can present a basic challenge: where to begin? A luxury gastronomic gift can begin anywhere. If the world is your oyster, where is the best place on the planet to find, say, the best oyster? Options for luxury food tourism abound: Here are 11 of the best options for luxury gastronomic vacations for travelers in 2025.
Explora Journeys Chef Invite Series
The new Chef Invite Series with Explora Journeys introduces guests to some of the world’s most celebrated chefs from around the world with one-off gastronomic journeys.
Explora Journeys
Guests aboard Explora Journeys can dive deep into gastronomy with local market experiences, private dinners, culinary workshops and meaningful discussions with world-renowned leaders of the culinary universe. The first Chef Invite Journey is with multi-Michelin-starred Chef Thierry Marx onboard Explora II in the Caribbean from Jan. 24 to Feb. 4, 2025.
In Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, guests explore local markets on guided tours and Chef Tjoerru Marx demonstrates how to select the finest local ingredients. In Antigua, guests enjoy a private visit to a local herb and vegetable producer for a hands-on experience, including tastings. Then, learn about the island’s fresh catches of lobster and fish with a visit to a renowned fisherman’s dock.
Black Tomato Tasting Notes: Slovenia
Black Tomato’s Tasting Notes: Slovenia is a 10-day gastronomic journey through Slovenia with acclaimed Chef Janez Bratovž
TOMO JESENICNIK
Surprise a serious culinary foodie with a little-known journey into the tastings of Slovenia with Tasting Notes: Slovenia through Black Tomato. The tour is done in collaboration with Chef Janez Bratovž. For $6,710 for a group of two for up to nine nights, the incredible journey will include coveted reservations and VIP experiences alongside Chef Bratovž. Wine, cheese and oil tastings, along with serious truffle hunting, are among the menu items for guests of this tour.
New Les Bateaux Belmond Culinary Itineraries, France
Aft deck of the Amaryllis, a Belmond boat for privileged experiences to vineyards and private cellars from St-Léger-sur-Dheune to Dijon
Copyright © Richard James Taylor.
Ultra-luxury brand Belmond recently introduced new culinary itineraries with Belmond Boats. “La Semaine Des Grands Crus” aboard the Amaryllis and Fleur de Lys give wine connoisseurs a rich journey into Burgundy’s wine heritage. The weeklong journey on the Amaryllis departs on May 4 and on the Fleur De Lys on July 13. Rates for either start at $145,945 for a private charter of up to six guests. Guests on either boat sample all 33 Grands Crus wines with access to vineyards and private cellars. The new curated menus from Chef Dominque Crenn will also be introduced.
Gastronomic Delights With Le Meurice And Chateau Latour – Ponant Cruise Line
PONANT’s Gastronomic Delights With Le Meurice And Chateau Latour introduces guests to a 10-day journey along the coasts of Portugal, Spain and France.
LAURENCE_FISCHER
At $6,080 per person, the 10-day immersive gastronomy itinerary of Ponant’s Gastronomic Delights is the result of the partnership between luxury hotels Le Meurice and Château Latour, with special appearances of Amaury Bouhours, Executive Chef at Le Meurice and Michelin-starred Chef Jérôme Lacressonnière, head of executive chefs at Ducasse Conseil. Traveling the coasts of Portugal, Spain and France, guests will experience nothing less than the most extraordinary dinners, wine tastings and demonstrations from these celebrated chefs.
Taste Your Birthyear – Seppeltsfield – South Australia
Seppeltsfield is Australia’s iconic wine estate dates back to 1851. Seppeltsfield is famed for the Centennial Collection – an irreplaceable and unbroken lineage of Tawny of every vintage from 1878 to current year.
Australia Tourism
Can you imagine what the year of your birth tastes like? The Imagineer-style vintners with Seppeltsfield in South Australia can help you do just that. The $149 experience offers guests a unique opportunity to sample a Tawny from their birth year, straight from the barrel in the Centennial Cellar. The experience includes an exploration of the world’s longest lineage of single-vintage wines dating to 1878. Guests booking for 2025 can stay at The Oscar Seppeltsfield, Barossa Valley’s first six-star luxury resort. More than just a funky obelisk in Barossa Valley, the twisted, roller coaster-like 12-story hotel will feature 71 rooms surrounded by century-old bush vines.
Heli-Foraging – Northern Territory, Australia
Heli-foraging with Darwin Distilling Co. in Northern Territory, Australia combines the art of distilling with the thrill of exploration.
Australia Tourism
Gin lovers explore remote, untouched locations that can only be reached by helicopter on this unique heli-foraging adventure from Darwin Distilling Co. You’ll forage for unique botanicals in Top End, Australia’s northernmost section of the Northern Territory. From the gathered ingredients, guests make gin to enjoy alongside selections from the gourmet menu at Charlie’s of Darwin. As a bonus, you’ll take home a 16-oz bottle of gin.
Sapphire Freycinet Marine Farm – Tasmania, Australia
An unforgettable experience at the Saffire Freycinet Marine Farm in Tasmania, Australia where guests have a hands-on experience while learning about oyster farming.
Tourism Australia
A stay at Saffire Freycinet, Australia’s luxury lodge on Tasmania’s East Coast overlooking the Freycinet Peninsula, includes experiences like an afternoon learning how to harvest oysters. The Saffire Freycinet Marine Farm in Coles Bay is a working oyster farm with stunning vistas where guests immerse themselves in how to produce the world’s finest oysters and enjoy them at the same time. Guests don a pair of waders and step into the heart of the oyster farm to learn about the relationship between oysters and their environment. The unique ecosystem is best appreciated by those who covet the truest farm-to-table experience, as the oysters are shucked before you and eaten immediately. According to the lodge website, suites start at $3,100 per night, all-inclusive. There’s also a beekeeping experience and personal tour and pairing at the Craigie Knowe Vineyard.
Cooking Class At Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons – Oxfordshire, England
Cooking Class at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, A Belmond Hotel, Oxfordshire
Tourism Australia
At Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, A Belmond Hotel in Oxfordshire, England, Michelin-star chef Raymond Blanc OBE, curated an intense fine dining experience. The sustainable cooking and garden-to-plate experience can be best experienced through a class at The Raymond Blanc Cookery School. Cuisine draws from the 11 gardens, including a two-acre vegetable garden that produces more than 90 types of vegetables. There’s also a heritage orchard of 2,500 apples, pear trees and a Japanese tea garden with ponds. Among the delightful classes is a vegan masterclass that hones in on zero-waste and fresh, seasonal produce. Other lessons available include Advanced Bread, Patisserie, Kitchen Secrets and Chocolate Heaven. The most intensive culinary retreat is a five-night residential course for aspiring chefs. Cooking classes start at roughly $250 and up for a weekday three-hour course.
Etereo Auberge Resorts Collection – Riviera Maya – Mexico
Kensington Tours Food and Wine Wonders of Spain through Kensington Tours is a 12-day journey, which includes stops in Madrid, Bilbao and San Sebastian.
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In Food and Wine Wonders of Spain through Kensington Tours uncovers Spain’s culinary secrets where guests savor Basque cooking, learn the difference between Pintxos and tapas and taste the crisp Txakoli wine at a charming family winery in an intimate setting. The journey includes Barcelona, San Sebastian, Bilbao and Madrid. The 12-day journey starts at $10,166 through Kensington Tours.
Sazón Cooking School – San Miguel de Allende – Mexico
Prices for Sazón Cooking School at Casa de Sierra Nevada, A Belmond Hotel start at $165 per person and up to $330 for a one-on-one class.
Richard James Taylor
Casa de Sierra Nevada, A Belmond Hotel offers the unforgettable holiday gift of cooking school in the heart of San Miguel de Allende. The Sazón Cooking School immerses guests in the flavors and culture of Mexico. Guests will source fresh local ingredients and nearby markets to prepare regional dishes. They learn how to cook and source sustainable produce. The experience is enhanced by the world-class Belmond service, inside a stunning 16th-century colonial mansion that has garnered two Michelin keys and is one of only 21 hotels in Mexico to achieve that honor, according to the brand.
Guy Ritchie’s WildKitchen – The Lodge At Blue Sky – Park City, Utah
Guests experience a luxury gastronomic vacation at The Lodge at Blue Sky, Auberge Resorts Collection in Park City, Utah.
Auberge Resorts Collection
Producer, director and screenwriter Guy Ritchie introduced the U.S. to Guy Ritchie’s WildKitchen in 2023 and now brings WildKitchen, WildTent and WildTable to The Lodge at Blue Sky, Auberge Resorts Collection in Park City, Utah. The world’s first completely retractable canvas WildTent is a physical frame where top chefs cook on the WildTable. The table is an intricate, highly technical, communal experience that provides a participatory dining journey like no other. The one table has a smoke pit, multi-level barbeque grill, oven, smokeless firepit and teppanyaki hot plate. All the tools are placed above your head for easy cooking. Guests are kept warm under the table in all four seasons with a built-in heater. Located on Gracie’s Farm, within the 3,500-acre ranch in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains, guests can arrive by house car, ATV or wildlife tracking adventure. Nearby, guests can sample bourbon, double rye and craft cocktails at High West Distillery & Tasting Room, Utah’s first legal distillery since 1870.