A single iceberg floating in still Arctic water off Greenland

இடம்

IDAM Private Travel Office

We know a place.

From a heritage mansion in Chettinad to the sea ice of Antarctica, we plan every part of your journey: the house, the flights, the guides, the table and every transfer between them.

By introduction. We take on a small number of new clients each season.

Request an introduction See where we go
A brass compass resting on an old map

01 · The office

One office for the way you travel.

Most people who travel well rely on a patchwork of agents, hotels and friends’ advice. We replace it with one relationship, and a team that answers when you call from the road.

  1. i

    One team that knows you.

    Your food. Your pace. The room you would rather have.

  2. ii

    One written plan.

    The reasons beside each choice. Never a brochure of options.

  3. iii

    With you the whole way.

    One number for the entire journey. Not only in office hours.

  4. iv

    Nothing booked that we would not book for ourselves.

    The simplest rule we have. And the one we keep.

02 · What we take care of

Everything between leaving home and coming back.

i

Private journeys

A milestone birthday, a long-awaited holiday, a first time somewhere hard to reach. Planned from a blank page, never from a package.

ii

Whole places

A heritage house, a safari camp, a yacht or a small hotel, taken over completely. No other guests in the building.

iii

Doors that are usually shut

An archive opened for a morning. A chef’s counter kept for your table. Never promised until it is confirmed.

iv

The kitchen, answered

Vegan, kosher, halal, Jain or simply particular, at sea or at altitude. Written into every supplier’s brief.

v

Everyone at their own pace

A slow morning for some, an early start for others. Where altitude calls for it, a doctor travels with you.

vi

The paperwork

Visas, permits, insurance and forex. Handled, and checked twice.

03 · How we work

Four steps, and then you arrive.

  1. 01

    A conversation

    Before we plan anything, we talk about how you like to travel, so we can be sure the pace and the place are right for you.

  2. 02

    One written plan

    A considered plan with the reasoning beside each choice. We revise it with you until it is right, then we hold everything.

  3. 03

    Everything arranged

    Your house. Your transport. Your meals. Your guides. Your private openings. Every ticket, transfer and tip, handled.

  4. 04

    With you throughout

    Someone from our team on call for the whole journey, and there in person where it matters. The only thing left is to arrive.

04 · Places we know

Journeys worth the planning.

Six places we know well. They are examples, not packages: every journey we plan begins with a blank page. Some take a year of preparation and a little luck with the weather, and we will always tell you plainly when a place is not right for you, or not ready yet.

Penguins in a line below snow-covered Antarctic mountains

AntarcticaNov

The emperors at Snow Hill

An ice-strengthened ship pushes into the Weddell Sea, and a helicopter sets you down on the sea ice near an emperor penguin colony. Some years the ice refuses, which is why it is worth the wait.

Dead camelthorn trees on the white clay pan of Deadvlei, Namibia, below red dunes

NamibiaMay–Oct

The desert, by private aircraft

A small plane links the red dunes of Sossusvlei to the fog-bound Skeleton Coast, where elephants have learned to live in the desert.

A sea lion resting on white sand in the Galapagos Islands

Galápagos, EcuadorAll year

A yacht of your own

A small yacht with its own naturalist, moving between islands by night. Sea lions on the landing steps, and turtles that have never learned to be afraid.

A Kazakh eagle hunter with his golden eagle in the Altai Mountains, Mongolia

MongoliaEarly Oct

With the eagle hunters of the Altai

Kazakh families in Bayan-Ölgii have hunted with golden eagles for generations. Arrive for the Golden Eagle Festival, then stay on in a ger in the mountains.

A small wooden building in a Kyoto garden among autumn maples

JapanApr, Nov

Kyoto, behind the curtain

Tea with a master in an old wooden townhouse, a temple garden at a quiet hour, dinner in many small courses at a ryokan. Come in November, when the maples turn.

A heritage mansion behind trees in Chettinad, Tamil Nadu

Chettinad, IndiaNov–Feb

A mansion, all to yourselves

Merchant palaces of Burmese teak, Italian marble and hand-made Athangudi tiles. We take one over completely: the courtyards, the kitchen and every room.

See all the places we know

Somewhere else in mind? That is usually where the best journeys begin.

Tell us where

In their words

From people we have planned for.

“The entire planning was hassle free… We have definitely found a lifelong travel planner.”

Sachidanand S.Sri Lanka

“As a founder, you want to make fewer decisions and be assured that your standards will be met or exceeded.”

Ashwin R.Company retreat

“Right from the initial discussions on the itinerary to the bookings, everything was seamlessly and professionally handled.”

Viswanath B.Bali

“…stayed actively involved throughout, checking in and helping out whenever needed.”

Subham C.Dubai, with family

Shared with their permission. Everything else about the people we plan for stays with us.

An old arched doorway and iron gate against bright light outside

05 · About

Why IDAM exists.

The people behind IDAM have spent more than fifteen years in travel, on both sides of the table.

Along the way we noticed that the people who travel best rarely just book a trip. They have someone who knows them: who remembers which of you rises for the sunrise and who would rather sleep through it, that the anniversary falls on the third night, and which room has the view worth waking for. And who quietly makes everything work.

IDAM is that office.

Idam is the Tamil word for place. We began in Madras, and from our office in Chennai we plan tailor-made journeys for travellers across India and beyond, wherever in the world they would like to be.

The company we keep

The houses we return to, and the people we trust.

Houses

Aman Four Seasons Six Senses Belmond Rosewood Mandarin Oriental The Peninsula Raffles One&Only Soneva &Beyond Relais & Châteaux The Leading Hotels of the World Taj The Oberoi The Leela ITC Hotels CGH Earth SUJÁN

And many independent houses we prefer not to list.

People

Guides Naturalists Historians Chefs Artisans Private hosts

A network built over years, not a supplier list.

Our industry network

Our work takes us regularly into the world’s leading travel markets, and keeps us close to the people shaping travel around the world.

ILTM Cannes ILTM Asia Pacific ITB Berlin ITB Asia WTM London Arabian Travel Market IMEX Frankfurt OTM Mumbai Thailand Travel Mart Plus Magical Kenya Travel Expo SATTE

Relationships matter. Knowing when to use them matters more.

06 · Contact

Request an introduction.

We take on a small number of new clients each season. Tell us a little about yourself and the journey you have in mind, and someone from our team will reply personally.

The office
Chennai, India
Call or WhatsApp
+91 97910 32133
Instagram
@idam.travel
Message on WhatsApp