PRIOR

PRIOR offers personalized travel planning, one-off experiences, and a calendar of exclusive events for our club members. As cultural experts, we identify what is unique and authentic about a place, and weave this through every moment of a journey.

Operating as usual

07/08/2021

PRIOR Trips | Our sarai trips to Africa for 2022 are filling up fast! Join PRIOR next year for one of six group safaris that uncover the essence of each ecosystem and the wildlife and communities who thrive in and alongside them. In Tanzania, we’ll have an up-close viewing of the legendary Great Migration, the ultimate cinematic African safari, led by an expert guide and ecologist through the country’s vast plains and rich jungles. A visit to Rwanda will bring us into contact with some of the world’s last remaining mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park. And a fourth-generation Zimbabwean family personally hosts an expedition through their waterfall and wildlife-filled home country. Our safari group trips depart from March through September 2022. Visit priorworld.com/trips to see all of them, or DM us for more info #forthecurious

07/08/2021

There is no more vivid way to understand a sense of place than through its creative output, and in particular food and design. This week in PRIOR World, we revisit Cape Town’s resilient culinary scene. Subject to some of the strictest lockdowns in the world, dozens of restaurants closed their doors, but many opened as new chefs took on short leases and classic restaurants have been reimagined. With help on the ground, we compiled a list of those spots that have re-emerged as Cape Town’s essential place to eat & drink—we can’t wait to finally get back.

And @laruicetb spotlights a few contemporary African designers and artisans who are reinterpreting traditional forms and materials on a global stage, from weaving to beadwork, pottery to furniture. She writes, “In many ways, the future of African design is as much in its past as in the present, a continuum of cultural knowledge and production that has weathered the world’s many attempts to sever this knowledge from its source, and emerged triumphantly.”

Tap the link in bio to read both on PRIOR World.

#forthecurious

07/07/2021

The things we see and hear on a safari–a pack of wild dogs on the hunt or a herd of elephants splashing in a pool of mud–draw us into a world so wild and so raw, the encounters don’t just electrify but linger. Now, at last, planning safari travel in Africa for late 2021 or 2022 feels not just doable, but important—both for an overdue, boundary-pushing adventure and for the chance to inject tourism dollars into fragile wildernesses that rely on these to preserve them, and the communities who thrive around them.⁠⁠
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But planning is complicated: What season? How long? Which park? What camp? And with stricter border crossings, a safari that goes deeper into just one or two destinations—taking it low and slow, with connection and conviction—feels right for right now. @missmaryholland shares her country-by-country overview in our primer to Sub-Saharan safari. Read more in the link in bio.

07/01/2021

In class-stratified Mexico City, tacos are a great equalizer, with people from all walks of life crowding the same street stands where the taqueros are too busy to care if you’re a celebrity or a street sweeper. From juicy brisket to braised tongue or chard, guisado to al pastor, the tacos of Mexico City are vessels for the favorite flavors of an ever changing populace. By thinking of the taco less as a dish than as a concept—like sandwiches or curries—it becomes clear how endlessly, imaginatively versatile it is. In fact, since more Mexican meals come with tortillas, used both to complement and transport the food, almost everything ends up as a taco. Though the word “taco” didn’t appear in a culinary context until the late 1880s, there’s evidence that the indigenous people of Mexico were eating food wrapped in corn tortillas—maize being native to Mesoamerica—for millennia. Tap the link in bio to read @nilsbernstein’s guide to finding (almost) every taco type in Mexico City. ⁠⁠
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06/30/2021

PRIOR TRIPS | Join PRIOR in Emilia-Romagna for our long weekend with Chef Massimo Bottura (@massimobottura) on September 9 - September 12, 2021. Experience not only his in-demand restaurant Osteria Francescana’s tasting menu, but spend multiple meals and moments with Bottura and his team learning about the hallmark foods that have made the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna so rich in food culture. You’ll rove through the region in its greenest, most fertile period by foot, car and bike, visiting the best traditional farms and producers along the way. PRIOR members will stay in what Bottura refers to as his own 12-acre country house, Casa Maria Luigia (@casamarialuigia), an artfully refurbished, award-winning Italian country estate just outside the city. Tap the link in bio for one of the last few seats to join PRIOR this fall.

06/30/2021

Ask a Rome dweller where to find the best gelato, and prepare for a diatribe on the topic. Even beyond the ingredients, texture, or ambiance of the shop where it’s served, what constitutes “the best” is also a sum of neighborhood pride, openness to innovation, and backstory. Over the past two decades, Roman gelaterie have gradually added to the city’s beloved old-school spots some intrepid gelato “labs” and convenient but quality counter shops all over the city’s map. Rome’s affection for gelato is far from frozen in time, and our neighborhood guide paints a full-spectrum of the best. Tap the link in bio for more. Or find this list and others on Apple Maps (type “Prior” into the search bar).⁠⁠
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To receive our PRIOR WORLD newsletter, click subscribe at the link in bio.

06/29/2021

There’s a perfume to New Orleans at night: a mix of cigar smoke, cobblestone and blooming jasmine. And when the blazing sun has dimmed and the saxophones are out, that’s when the city shows its best side...in the right places, that is. Always known for its cocktail culture, right now the city’s historic drinks—the ramos gin fizz, obituary, and roffignac, to name a few—are better than ever, served by some of the world’s most skilled hands. With festival season pushed back from its usual spring to summer, PRIOR expects New Orleans to come back big. Tap the link in bio to read PRIOR contributor @jennyadams22’s list of our favorite NOLA spots for letting the good times roll. Or find this list and others on Apple Maps (type “Prior” into the search bar).⠀
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06/28/2021

PRIOR on Apple Maps | There is nothing, and nowhere, quite like a Moroccan riad. Meaning garden in Arabic, to be true to its name it should have citrus trees and a cooling pool, or fountain at its heart. Nearly all feature highly intricate architectural features such as filigreed plaster, smooth tadelakt walls, carved cedar wood beams and gigantic doors, and most are located within the dusky pink walls of the ancient medina. Increasingly, many riads in Marrakech are opening their doors, roof-terraces and courtyards as hubs for eating and drinking, but also as intimate centers for arts and cultural exchange, which has turned the Red City from bohemian outpost to serious player on the curious traveler’s wish list. Tap the link in bio for our list of our favorite riads that are helping to raise the creative energy in Marrakech. Or find this list and others on Apple Maps (type “Prior” into the search bar).

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06/27/2021

New York City has always been at the center of LGBTQ+ culture, and if you stroll through Greenwich Village, you’ll feel the palpable energy of the city’s q***r history, from Caffe Cino to the Stonewall Inn. The New York City Aids Memorial (@nycaidsmemorial) at St. Vincent’s Triangle—across from the former site of the community hospital that was the epicenter of the epidemic—honors the 100,000+ New Yorkers who lost their lives in the 40 years since the first case was reported in the U.S. Visual artist Jenny Holzer inscribed the granite pavers with passages from Walt Whitman’s 1855 poem “Song of Myself,” the quintessential New York bard’s exuberant celebration of both unity and the power and potential of the individual—a fitting message on this triangle crisscrossed every day by New Yorkers and visitors to the city that “contain multitudes.”

06/25/2021

This week in PRIOR WORLD | As much as we believe travel is about serendipity, we also believe in not wasting a moment or a meal. Which means we love a good list.⁠⁠
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To that end, PRIOR is excited to announce our partnership with Apple Maps, where we will start sharing special lists and guides created by our network of editors, informed locals, and travel experts, highlighting those places that uncover a destination through food, design, history, hotels and other addresses that are essentially “of place.”⁠⁠
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First, we compiled a list of Marrakech’s Most Magical Riads—our favorite hubs for eating, drinking, sleeping and, increasingly, centers for cultural exchange. @jortved uncovered a few Hidden Curiosities & Histories of Central Park, from a buried treasure under the obelisk to a bygone casino. @jennyadams22 reports on the Most Essential Bars in New Orleans, where cocktail culture is coming back stronger than ever. @ericafirpo paints a full-spectrum Gelato Map of Rome, from cassata to yuzu, across several neighborhoods. And @nilsbernstein ducked into countless taco stalls and markets to sample them guisado, el pastor, mixiote, and various other flavors that reflect an ever-changing populace, for his Mexico City Taco Primer.⁠⁠
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To see our lists and guides in Apple Maps, see the link in bio for our Publisher’s Page.⁠⁠
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Want to get our PRIOR WORLD newsletter each Friday? Click subscribe in the link.

06/24/2021

PRIOR EXPERIENCE | This half-day walking itinerary explores the west side of Rome’s ancient water path along the Gianicolo Hill, named after Janus, the god ancient Romans believed to be the literal wellspring of all things. Wander through Italianate gardens, including the 30-acre Orto Botanico di Roma with its 3,000 species, then visit either the Palazzo Corsini, whose collection features masterpieces by Titian Caravaggio and Beato Angelico, or the Villa Farnesina, one of Rome’s most remarkable Renaissance palaces. Tap the link in bio to reserve a spot on PRIOR’s Beauty Along the River Tiber experience in Rome, now through October 2021.

06/22/2021

Tout Paris is lining up for nostalgia-influenced dining—exuberant, convivial, familiar, brasseries and their more obscure 19th-century counterpart, bouillons, are doing exactly what they were created to do: restore. There are several reasons for the popularity of the retro-restaurant. For many, it’s not the food that they missed most during the months of restaurant closures, but the experience: the atmosphere, the waiters moving like dancers between closely-standing tables, the energy—seeing and meeting other people. PRIOR contributor @georges_desrues gathered a list of our favorite Paris brasseries, historic and new—tap the link in bio to read.

06/22/2021

06/21/2021

Ang Tshering Lama is the scion of a prominent Nepalese Sherpa family and owner of “Happy House”—so-called by explorer Sir Edmund Hillary—which is his childhood home. His family was forced to flee to the US during the Maoist insurgency from ’96 to ’06, but five years ago his passion for the Himalayan valleys and Sherpa culture of his youth brought Ang back to Nepal. He hired painters to restore the interiors with Wheels of Life and pop-eyed demons, adding Tibetan antiques and a library of Buddhist literature to attract a new kind of traveler to experience Nepalese culture more immersively than the summit-seekers jamming Everest. But then the pandemic struck Nepal—hard. Travel journalist @sophyroberts, who visited Happy House (@happyhousenepal) just as the most recent wave hit, spoke with Ang for PRIOR about his family’s colorful history, his hope for tourism’s return and the urgent responsibility he feels for preserving the Sherpa culture he was born into. Tap the #linkinbio for more

06/20/2021

Few rites of summer were as hard-hit by pandemic restrictions as festivals, but thankfully those fleeting, beautiful portals to an alternate universe of music and art are finally back. A drink in hand, international accents and the fertile scent of a summer night—little can match the expectation or the experimental artistry. While the worst festivals can be crowded, expensive headaches, the best are free spaces for visitors and artists to let loose and open minds. After a year without them, @apasq914 helped us round up a few festivals we’re itching to attend this year. Tap the link in bio for more.⁠⁠⠀
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Photo 5- Tony Pham

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06/19/2021

Today America observes Juneteenth, commemorating the end of slavery in the US on June 19, 1865, which President Biden just signed into law as a federal holiday. This small if symbolic step is an occasion to reflect on Black resistance and perseverance and to celebrate the contributions of Black Americans to our world. As travelers, we know the galvanizing impact that witnessing physical landmarks of history can have—such as the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in Cedar Hill near Washington, DC, the home on a hill of the former slave and abolitionist whose brilliant writing and inclusive vision of humanity continue to inspire (his personal library is enshrined here). As we set out beyond our hometowns again, we will plan to add many such sites marking racial struggle in America to our explorations, including the African Burial Ground National Monument in NYC (@africanburialground), the Legacy Museum (@legacymuseum) in Montgomery, Alabama, the Harriet Tubman National Historic Park in Maryland, and the utterly transporting National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, DC (@nmaahc). #Juneteenth ⠀
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Where else should we go? ⠀
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Photos: @theamericanfieldtrip

06/18/2021

This week in PRIOR WORLD | The new wellness travel is not about an inward journey, it’s an outward one. And it’s FUN. Tout Paris is lining up for the city’s brasseries (and lesser-known bouillons), @georges_desrues writes, as these convivial retro-restaurants do exactly what they were intended to do: restore. Then @tclaytonlea shares Ireland’s best traditional music pubs, which are opening back up for stomping jigs, rollicking reels—and, of course, pints of Guinness. Art & music festivals are back on (outdoors and in), reviving the sport of accent-spotting and creative experimentation, reports @apasq914. And in a special interview, @sophy_roberts speaks with Ang Tshering Lama, owner of Happy House in Nepal (so-named by mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary) and scion of a prominent Nepalese Sherpa family, about his vision for bringing responsible tourism back to his corner of the Himalayas, so hard-hit by Covid. Explore all at the link in bio.⁠⁠
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06/17/2021

PRIOR’S LITTLE GUIDE : From the surf breaks to the nudist beach (and the one with the turtles), we’ve picked the essential spots to swim, slurp oysters, sip rare mezcals and sleep in modernist marvels along the Oaxaca coast. The rugged shoreline around Puerto Escondido is a necklace of golden-sand beaches bisected by rivers spilling into the sea and lagoons stirring with wildlife that has quietly been transformed into an international design destination, thanks largely to the influence of Mexican painter and sculptor Bosco Sodi (@studioboscosodi), whose pioneering artists’ residency @CasaWabi is a must-visit. Tap the link in bio to read PRIOR’s Little Guide to the most essential spots in Puerto Escondido & the Oaxaca Coast.⁠⁠
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PRIOR Nomadic Clubhouse

In anticipation of our soon-to-be-unveiled Nomadic Clubhouse experiences in Oaxaca, Japan, Uruguay and high in the Himalayas, we’re sharing highlights from our house party at Heckfield Place that kicked-off the series. During each celebration, we bring together our members at exceptional properties for multi-day events that elevate the very best of a region with acclaimed chefs, designers, artisans and performers. Visit our homepage www.prior.club and scroll down to sign up to our newsletter to hear more about 2019’s Nomadic Clubhouse events as they’re announced.

PRIOR Membership Guide

A glimpse into the PRIOR Membership Guide. Email [email protected] to inquire about joining our travelers' club in 2019.

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Awaken your sense of curiosity and wonder

PRIOR is a club for the curious that designs custom travel experiences around the globe. We believe in celebrating culture while preserving the diversity of the planet, creating once-in-a-lifetime experiences that illuminate the rare, the real and the wonderful.