Specialists
The house rule is short: nobody designs a route they have not travelled. Not skimmed, not toured on a familiarisation trip with a free lunch, but travelled, at the pace you would, with the luggage you would bring. If a specialist has not slept in the lodge, they will not put you in it.
It also means a specialist will sometimes say no. A route may be wonderful in October and miserable in August, or a famous hotel may be better photographed than slept in. We would rather tell you now than apologise later.
Inês Albuquerque
Mediterranean & North Africa · Lisbon
“I will always choose the table that has no menu, and I will tell you which one it is.”
- Palermo → Salina by hydrofoil
- Marrakech → Essaouira over the Tizi n'Test
- Lisbon → Comporta by the Tagus ferry and a back road
- Naples → Procida in the off-season
Tomás Reyes
Patagonia, the Andes & the Arctic · London
“I have been wet on four continents and I can tell you exactly which coat was worth it.”
- Puerto Natales → Torres del Paine by estancia road
- Trondheim → Bodø on the Nordland Line
- Cusco → Aguas Calientes the slow way
- El Calafate → El Chaltén by early bus
Mei Tanaka
Japan & South Asia · Kyoto
“If your ryokan dinner is at seven, I will make sure your train is not at six fifty-five.”
- Koyasan → Kumano Hongu on foot
- Kyoto → Naoshima by night bus and ferry
- Galle → Ella by the morning train
- Jodhpur → Udaipur by the back roads
Kwame Mensah
Southern Africa · Maun
“A good guide knows where the lions are; a better one knows when to switch the engine off.”
- Maun → Savuti by light aircraft and open vehicle
- Sossusvlei → Swakopmund via the Kuiseb canyon
- Victoria Falls → Livingstone by the old road bridge
- Cape Town → Stellenbosch by the back way
Every Orra journey begins with a half-hour call.
No fee to design, no obligation to book. Tell us roughly when, who with, and what you'd like to come home with.