Last week, I was planning to write about Dream Escape, an exclusive luxury travel outfit that organizes completely customized tours of Scotland. (Says David Tobin, owner: "many companies offer "bespoke" travel, but I've gone the route of "couture". We start from scratch around what our client's want, whether it's a two-day trip for two people, or a six day trip for 200.") Even if you're arriving in Scotland without Tobin's incredibly hands-on service, which includes a UK cellphone pre-programmed, and should you desire, a photographer, or even a genealogist among other essentials, I've long maintained that Scotland is one of the best destinations to truly feel like you're a Master of the Universe.

There's something about Scotland's mix of castles, golf, whiskey, landscape and royal history that feels to me like getting wrapped in a cloak of wealth, power and prestige. Just one example, Royal Yacht Britannia -- decommissioned from royal use since 1997, now a tourist attraction in Edinburgh. Everyone can visit it for a tour, but once can arrange private access to the state apartments for events and be served to exacting royal protocol, which includes measuring the distance between cutlery with a ruler, among other measures designed to make anyone of royal descent or aspiration feel comfy. (For instance, sailors were made to use hand signals rather than shouting, to preserve royal tranquility. Effectively, apparently, since Her Majesty stated: "Britannia is the one place where I can truly relax".)

Dream Escape can arrange access to the Royal Yacht -- and to an endless number of luxey Scottish attractions, see the gallery for more -- but as I sat down to write about it last week, Scotland, made international headlines for its release of the only man convicted of the bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, who returned to Libya as a hero. I've heard talk of boycotting Scottish travel, and whiskey -- and it just felt strange to write enthusiastically about Scotland without addressing all this directly.

So yesterday, I chatted with David Tobin to see how it was affecting his business, considering that he brings anywhere between 100 and 300 visitors to Scotland each year. His answer, in a nutshell: not at all. "We haven't seen a downturn or have clients change their plans or anything like that," he says. "My clients want to go somewhere because they want to go, and they're suitably educated to understand that this is a murky area, surrounding [al-Megrahi's] release. This won't change my client's perception of Scotland, they love the country, but not necessarily the politicians." He doesn't expect any cancellations of bookings in the future.

Of course, Tobin's company is small, and very high end at that -- and it remains to be seen whether Scottish tourism as a whole will be affected by the bomber's release. Do you think luxury tourism to Scotland will be affected by current politics? Should it?

A new company called Columbus International based in Cannes is offering luxury tours of France via various different Ducati motorcycles including the latest Streetfighter, Monster S2R 1000, Hypermotard 1100 and Supersport 848. Among the various programs on offer combining other luxury travel elements are a Gourmet Tour (eating at starred Michelin restaurants), a High Octane Tour (driving a F1 car on the racetrack), Offshore Ride Tour (luxury yachting, barracuda fishing) and Nature Tour (natural parks, private yacht, restaurants). Special winter packages allow you to ride your bike in the morning and ski in the afternoon. Tour package prices range from €5,696 to €11,696.

[via Motorbiker.org]

For about $18,000 per day you can now take the tour of your life at the wheel of a Bugatti Veyron on an incredible drive from the Swiss Alps to the Côte d'Azur. Loeven SportwagenTouren, Europe's premier supercar touring company, is now offering the Veyron as an option on its mind-blowing Tour des Niveaux. The 7-day journey begins in Zurich and traverses breathtaking alpine roads including the famed Col dʻIseran, the world's highest Alpine mountain pass at over 9,000 ft. above sea level. Hairpin turns and eye-popping scenery are to be found from Mont Blanc to the famous seaside Grande Corniche between Nice and Menton. The tour also includes stopovers at boutique luxury hotels, many of them historically significant, as well as incredible cuisine at Michelin-starred eateries en route. In addition to the Bugatti, a Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati is also available on a sliding scale, with a Rolls-Royce, Konigsegg or even a Pagani possible by special request.

[via JustLuxe]

Charles Kuralt was quoted as saying "Thanks to the interstate highway system, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything."

That is so true these days, you really can do a lot of traveling and yet somehow manage to see very little of the world. So why not remedy that by going on a walking tour? The Wayfarers are in their 26th season of offering luxury walking tours, and this year they have a list of locations that's better than ever with itineraries in India, Greece, Italy, Slovakia, and even Alaska if you're interested in staying here in the States. The tours are all-inclusive and feature only the best in high class accommodations and dining, plus they're conveniently ranked from physically easy to difficult (so you don't have to worry about getting in over your head if you've never been on a walking tour before). Prices vary based on the location and length of the tour, but you can expect them to start somewhere between $3695-$6,995 .

Horseback riding is a more popular hobby than some may realize, with 20 million Americans considering themselves riders and 12 million taking it fairly seriously by riding at least once per week. With that many interested, equestrian-based luxury vacations are getting better and better all the time. From Micato Horseback Safaris in Africa where you can play polo and spot zebra to Cross Country International's Chateau-to-Chateau Trail in France featuring leisurely rides through the countryside with stops for wine and massages -- there's something for every taste and in every area of the world.