Harper Luxury Travel Agency: What to Reserve Right Now

Giraffe Manor, Kenya

It’s almost always possible to find last-minute space somewhere, but why compromise? By planning well in advance, you can secure exactly the accommodations you want exactly when you want, even in the height of the season.

The Travel Office has assembled a list of destinations where hotels sell out far ahead of the high season. To secure choice properties in these locations, it’s worth starting to plan now:

– Our Signature Tours to Costa Rica (July 28-August 5) and Sicily (October 1-11) both have a few spaces left, but we expect them to sell out shortly.

– Any fall foliage plans should be made as soon as possible. Andrew Harper’s recommendations in New England tend to be quite intimate, and autumn weekends sell out especially quickly.

– Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod are very popular escapes from the heat of New York and Boston. Book summer stays now.

– Luxury cruises in the Baltic Sea remain in high demand for the entire summer season. If you would like to explore these historic waters this year, it’s important to reserve some space soon.

– It can be wonderful to visit a wine region during harvest season, when the grapes swell on the vine and the leaves have just started to change color. The Napa and Sonoma valleys inevitably sell out for September and October, and choice restaurant reservations can be even more difficult to secure at the last minute.

– Anyone hoping to bask under the Tuscan sun this summer or autumn should secure space right away. The best properties in this famous landscape of vineyards, medieval hill towns and stone farmhouses never fail to book up well in advance.

– Watching baby sea turtles hatch and make their first perilous trips into the surf is one of the great spectacles of nature. In Costa Rica, only a few lodges afford access to this wonder. To see the turtles nest (July to mid-September) or hatch (September to late October), accommodations should be secured within the next few weeks.

– Summer is high season for safaris in most of Kenya and Tanzania, home to the legendary Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. To time your visit to coincide with the Great Migration, it’s important to book early — many of Mr. Harper’s favorite camps and lodges have fewer than 10 accommodations.