I'm Dave Mudek, an independent travel advisor and endurance coach. I plan two kinds of trip: boutique and luxury hotels booked with the partner perks attached, and climbs, treks and safaris with the logistics worked out. Often both in the same trip.
Hotels chosen for where they put you and booked through my partner programs, so the perks come attached. A week before you check in I write to the hotel to reconfirm the booking and, at partner hotels, the perks.
Permits, guides, the gear list, acclimatization days and transfers that line up with landing times, sorted before you leave. I still go on the hard trips myself: Kilimanjaro, Mont Blanc and Aconcagua to the summit, the Tour du Mont Blanc and the Alta Via 1 on foot.
Racing too: I coach endurance athletes, and I plan race weeks around the start line, with arrival days, bike transport and somewhere to recover.Racing and coaching →
Three nights at the Hotel Cipriani, across the water from St Mark's: a private boat to the hotel's own landing, a private boat back, and open days in between for the city, the lagoon islands or the pool.
Venice · Giudecca · St Mark's
A trip I booked for clients
Nine nights in the order the altitude asks for: two low in the Sacred Valley, Belmond's Hiram Bingham to Machu Picchu, two in Cusco, then down off the mountains for three nights on an Amazon expedition ship.
Lima · Sacred Valley · Machu Picchu · Cusco · Iquitos · Peruvian Amazon
A trip I booked for clients
Eight days on Kilimanjaro's Lemosho route after a rest day in Arusha, then a four-day private safari that starts with a bush flight into the Serengeti.
Arusha · Mount Kilimanjaro · Serengeti National Park · Ngorongoro Crater · Tarangire National Park
A trip I took myself
Up to 20% off a stay at this boutique resort on Grace Bay, with a 50% deposit and refunds up to 30 days out.
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Up to 20% off a stay at Rock House, with half paid at booking and full refunds up to 30 days before arrival.
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No partner promotions are running right now. Ask me about rates for your dates.
Our annual watch party for the IRONMAN World Championship, on the Big Island of Hawaii.
A 10-day hut-based mountaineering program that climbs step by step from trekking peaks to a summit attempt on Chimborazo (6,268 m).
The Dolomites' classic hut-to-hut trek, starting at Lago di Braies and sleeping in mountain huts (rifugi) along the way.
At hotels in programs like Virtuoso, Four Seasons Preferred Partner, Marriott STARS and Hyatt Privé, a booking through me usually adds daily breakfast for two, a hotel credit, and an upgrade or late check-out when the hotel can offer one.
If you’ve ever felt like your vacations are starting to blend together—same resorts, same cities, same pace—there’s a different kind of trip that resets everything.
Travel Tuesday, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, is the year's biggest sale from airlines, hotels, cruise lines and tour companies. How to make the most of it.
In November 2025 the FAA cut air traffic by 10% at 40 major U.S. airports during the government shutdown, affecting roughly 4,000 flights.
Already traveling with me? Your itinerary is at the private link I sent you. Where to find it.
