The Balearic Islands, Romania, Your August Travels, + Returning to Seoul

No.30 | August 2026

field guide.

sailing via traditional boat sandwiched between friends off Menorca Spain in the Balearic Islands, in honor of a great Brooklyn-based solo traveler client who’ll be there doing the same this weekend.

What I’ve Discovered That I Love

Romania paired w/ time in Turkey or Italy, or Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia, or France. I’m hearing from so many of you that you’d like to see & feel fewer crowds, less touristic. More authentic. It’s out there! Where locals are genuinely happy to see you because they don’t often. I recently had the woman connecting me to so much good in Romania these days, Raluca, onto my podcast. We discussed Romania’s history, what makes it special to visit at this moment, and how it can stand alone as a 7-12+ day itinerary or match beautifully with a neighboring country/city for a shorter duration. If this sounds of interest, you can listen on Spotify here: Choices | Podcast on Spotify

Where Others Traveled this Month

August has been filled with your explorations all over Scotland, seaside with family in Rhode Island at Ocean House, a father-son trip to Minneapolis at the Four Seasons, a Connecticut-based coupled digging into Tokyo staying at Mandarin Oriental, Kyoto, & Osaka at Patina, a family visiting Maine at Cliff House, another family playing polo in Riviera Nayarit Mexico at Rosewood Mandarina, in Seoul at the Four Seasons, Idaho-based clients heading back to Rosewood on Hawaii’s Big Island, a family’s first jaunt to Europe takes them through Ireland, a family with two older teen boys in Hong Kong at Rosewood, and wrapping up the month sees a busy professional female traveler taking off for Barcelona, Menorca at Son Vell & Mallorca at Son Net + Belmond La Residencia.

Image - Kanamean, a 5th generation family run 8-room ryokan in Kyoto (complete with a Michelin guide recommended restaurant)

A Notable Upcoming Client Trip

I’ve long worked with a Chicago-based family for about 15 years now. Customizing and arranging everything from their leisure travel to their business travel, often blending the two. The first time I met the family, their young children were running around playing at a ranch in Montana. Now they’re studying at university! And that’s always been the goal, on my side of things. Rather than specializing in a country, I always envisioned specializing in your family’s likes, interests, preferences, ideally throughout a lifetime. I feel incredibly fortunate that it has worked out that way. This family is heading back to Seoul shortly. It will be the 3rd trip to South Korea we’ve planned together. What’s most interesting about these trips back to Korea is that each time they’re going deeper, and deeper. There’s also a felt relaxed energy to planning, because it’s less about trying to fit it all in one time, because they know they will return. Even if you don’t think you will return to a place, carry with you that mindset. That’s probably my biggest tip to travelers! This particular trip back to Seoul has them returning to some of the same beauty studios they’ve come to know & love, along with pilates classes, fortune tellers, make-up lessons, hair consultations, picnics, tickets to current exhibits … and who knows what else they’ll get into on their own accord simply by choosing to return again to a place.

Image - snapped on my way out the door after a glorious day spent in a local women’s-only spa in Seoul.

from us to you… thank you.

w/ my friend and colleague Dominique Debay who handles PR for some of my favorite properties & places like Goldeneye in Jamaica, Sol Y Luna in Peru, Castello di Vicarello in Tuscany, Soleil on the Nile in Egypt, and Bawah Reserve in the Anambas archipelago out near Indonesia and Singapore.

a monthly publication from LILA