Experiential travel company Pelorus has designed a series of treasure-hunting yacht adventures that take charter groups around the coasts of Sardinia, Antigua, Barbuda and Indonesia. Jenny Southan reports
Created in collaboration with Luxury Treasure Hunts, Pelorus is taking elite adventure travel to the next level with carefully crafted oceanic treasure hunts that take guests in search of buried gold.
Globetrender predicted the rise of “Constructed Realities” in one of its editions of VOLT, a premium newsletter that explores emerging travel trends in depth on a weekly basis. (Annual subscribers can read back issues in the VOLT trend library.)
“This fresh, highly creative approach to yachting allows guests to make the most of their boat, captain, crew and water toys, whilst exploring the destination, by land and sea,” says Pelorus.
Staged and produced in exotic locations, Pelorus and Luxury Treasure Hunts use a network of actors, screenwriters, prop makers and location managers – some who have worked at Disney, Marvel and National Geographic – to create “thrilling experiences that dig deep into the location’s history, landscape and culture”.
Each treasure hunt is completely unique and based around real historical figures. Participants will be given clues and riddles to solve, while a “games guide” helps guests locate the treasure and solve the mystery, both onboard and on shore. In so doing, they will “become heroes in their own, real-life production”.
In Sardinia, for example, Pelorus guests set off on a “historically accurate quest” looking for Captain John Rackham’s (aka Calico Jack) fabled lost treasure. Calico Jack, and his lover Anne Bonney, with whom he had a child are key figures in pirate folklore.
Geordie Mackay-Lewis, co-founder of Pelorus, says: “Building Pelorus yacht experiences around immersive and exciting treasure hunts in some of the most diverse locations on the planet, is something we have been longing to do since inception.
“We now have the capability to bring even more realistic narratives to life, adding to the already high return on experiential value we strive to achieve for all our clients. The Mediterranean, Caribbean and Indonesian treasure hunts are only the beginning as we develop new locations worldwide.”
Treasure hunt adventures can be booked with Pelorus from €28,800 per experience. This is in addition to yacht charter costings, additional experiences, and international flights.
Last spring, luxury travel company Black Tomato launched a similar concept for families called “Take Me on a Story“, which is a series of trips inspired by classic children’s books such as Treasure Island. Meanwhile, Based on a True Story can create Live and Let Die-inspired voodoo-themed evenings on an island in the Seychelles.