IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER YOU'LL FIND:
- What it means to be on the CNT Specialists List
- New trips — you're not going to believe where we're going next. Brazil, rural Japan, art fairs, and more.
- Plus a mystery trip with a mystery person. Can you guess?
Hi Everyone!
A few things to share — some we've been sitting on for a while.
WE MADE THE CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER SPECIALISTS LIST
El Camino was just named to Condé Nast Traveler's Top Travel Specialists List for 2026. We're humbled by it — the company we're in on this list is genuinely incredible.
The CNT Specialists List isn't a directory you apply to and get listed on. It's the working network of specialists the magazine's editors actually turn to — vetted by peers, vouched for by people the publication trusts, and used to help shape their reporting and recommendations.
I love pulling back the curtain on how our industry actually works — how things happen, how decisions get made, what's really going on behind the scenes. So for Business of Experiences — our Substack for hospitality and travel professionals — I asked Rebecca Misner, Features Director at CNT and the person who has managed the list for five years, and asked her to do exactly that.
She graciously said yes. What she shared about what separates the specialists who stand out, and where she sees this role heading, is worth reading whether you're in the industry or just curious about how this world works.
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We’re looking for people who help us do our work better. That’s the part that doesn’t always get said plainly. This is a symbiotic relationship. We want to showcase great specialists, yes — but we also need people who can help us access places, navigate logistics, and add depth to the stories we’re telling. The specialists who make the list are the ones who understand that dynamic. They’re not looking to be listed. They’re looking to collaborate.
[Read the full interview →]
MORE TRIPS COMING Soon
To everyone who has expressed interest in traveling with us this year — thank you. We don't take it lightly! We know we are behind in getting back to everyone and we are working our butts off to get back to you.
A lot has been happening behind the scenes to get more trips ready to book in the upcoming weeks.
If you've submitted an application, you should have received a follow-up from me this morning with next steps. If you didn't see it, please reply to this email directly — there are some time-sensitive next steps I want to make sure you have.
If you haven't yet applied, you can express your interest below.
This year, we truly pushed ourselves and our partners to really think outside the box — and honestly, it's been a lot of fun thinking big with all of them on what is possible. A lot of the conversations were more "yes, and" than "that's not possible." You'll see the results below.
Please note these are the only additional trips we're offering for 2026. Nothing else will be added to the calendar.
Here's what's coming and what will be available to book in the next few weeks:
Brazil
We're going to Rio and São Paulo, and this trip is a design lover's dream — from Oscar Niemeyer's architecture to artist studio visits and creative spaces most visitors never find. You'll also learn footvolley — born on Rio's beaches in 1965 and still one of the best things happening on them — on the shores of Ipanema.
Slated for early December 2026
Japan
We're heading to the more rural reaches of northern Japan — a completely different side of the country than most travelers encounter. Highlights include a night at a mountain temple lodge where we'll prepare a 1,400-year-old meal with the monks who still practice it, and a visit to a 500-year-old kimono atelier run entirely by women who do every step themselves, from raising silkworms to weaving the final cloth.
Slated for September 2026
Art x Lagos — Nigeria
We had never planned a trip around an art fair, so why not start with this one! We're working with four deeply plugged-in figures from Lagos's art world to design an insider's week around Art X Lagos, one of the most important contemporary art fairs on the continent. You'll get VIP access to the fair and its emerging artists, a private dinner at a collector's home, and a visit to a working farm and artist residency outside the city — a foundation built by one of the most internationally recognized names in contemporary African art, and a place most visitors to Lagos never see.
In the months before the trip, we'll run a few workshops with our partners on how to navigate an art fair, how to have real conversations with artists and gallerists, and how to think about art not just as something to admire but as a considered part of a financial portfolio. This trip is also about plugging into something bigger. Millennial and Gen Z women are among the fastest-growing segments of art buyers globally — and we want every woman on this trip to walk through that fair with the knowledge, vocabulary, and confidence to buy art on her own terms.
Slated for November 2026
Italy — Tuscany & Emilia-Romagna We're moving through two regions that serious food people will tell you is the best eating in Italy — and we've built the whole week around the people who actually grow, make, and cook it. You'll hunt for truffles in the forest with an award-winning cookbook author, make pasta from what you find, and sit down to dinner at a trattoria that's been feeding locals the same way for generations. There's even time to soak in hot springs.
Slated for October 2026
India & Vietnam Two popular trips are coming back by request — Jaipur and Jodhpur in northern Rajasthan, and northern Vietnam. Both itineraries have been updated to make them even better.
Vietnam for October 2026 and India for December 2026
ONE MORE THING
There's one trip we haven't announced yet. We're not quite ready to share all the details, but we wanted to give you a heads up.
We're partnering with someone who has built an incredible community on Substack — and we mean community in the real sense. The kind where people are genuinely invested, learning from each other, and digging deep into something they care about. What they're building is special, and the travel industry hasn't really thought about Substack as a space to partner with creators and tastemakers in this way. We wanted to be the ones to do it first.
We've been quietly behind the scenes helping them plan a trip to a city that feeds their work and is hugely inspirational to everything they create (including a big project on the horizon). When Natalia, our designer, heard who it was, her jaw dropped. "Oh my god, I love their work."
We'll announce it soon. Any guesses on who it is? We'd love to hear what you think.
More soon. 🕊️
— Katalina
HOUSEKEEPING
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