I plan the trips I would want to take.
I'm Dave Mudek. I served as an airborne infantry officer, then moved into endurance coaching and adventure travel. Now I plan trips for clients as an independent advisor with Fora Travel, and I still go on the hard ones myself.
On the summit of Mont Blanc with my climbing partner and guide, in a snowstorm.
How I travel, and how I plan
I have planned multi-week national park road trips, backpacking in the American Southwest, safaris in Africa and climbs in the Alps and the Andes. I have traveled from Scandinavia to South Africa, and I have coordinated support for endurance athletes at world championships in Australia.
That is where the planning habits come from. I look past the flight and the hotel to the parts that decide whether a trip works: arrival days, acclimatization, transfers that line up with landing times, and a plan B for the weather.
The same care goes into the easier trips. A beach week, a Disney vacation, a college visit or a weekend in Vegas is still your time off, and it should go to plan.
My recent trips
Where I went, what I did, and some of the places I stayed.
- Sep 2026
Alta Via 1, Italian Dolomites
Ten days on my own, hut to hut from Lago di Braies to Belluno. 75-plus miles with 22,000 to 24,000 ft of climbing.
Stayed at- Rifugio Col Gallina
- Rifugio Passo Staulanza
- Rifugio Vazzoler
- Rifugio Passo Duran
- Aug 2026
Dolomites and Venice
Drove from Bolzano through Val Gardena to Cortina, hiked at Tre Cime di Lavaredo, and ended with two nights in Venice after the trek.
Stayed at- Falkensteiner Hotel Bozen WaltherPark
- Alpstay Hotel Acadia, Selva di Val Gardena
- Faloria Mountain Spa Resort, Cortina
- Hotel Rialto, Venice
- Jul 2026
Boston
Five nights and four hotels, from Beacon Hill to Harvard Square and out to the harbor.
Stayed at- XV Beacon
- Encore Boston Harbor
- The Charles Hotel, Cambridge
- The Langham, Boston
- Jan 2026
Aconcagua, Argentina
The highest peak in the Americas, 6,961 m, with Inka Expediciones. Seven climbers, seven summits, everyone back down safely.
Stayed at- Park Hyatt Mendoza
- Amérian Executive Mendoza
- Dec 2025
San Francisco
Christmas week: a Fisherman's Wharf walking tour with Alcatraz, and a small-group day in wine country.
- At home
New Orleans staycations
A night or two away without leaving town.
Stayed at- Hotel Peter & Paul
- The Roosevelt New Orleans
- Nov 2025
New York City
A theater weekend built around a Saturday matinee of Hamilton. I booked the tickets through a Fora ticketing partner to try it before using it for clients.
Stayed at- The Lexington Hotel, Autograph Collection
- Oct 2025
Hawaii
The Kalalau Trail on Kauai, then Maui, the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona, and Honolulu.
Stayed at- Fairmont Orchid, Kohala Coast
- Hilton Waikiki Beach
- Sep 2025
Tour du Mont Blanc
The full loop from Chamonix through France, Italy and Switzerland, with the alternate routes: about 110 miles and 40,000 ft of climbing.
Stayed at- Hotel Le Faucigny, Chamonix
- Jun 2025
Peru
Four weeks leading a small group: Lima and the south coast, the Amazon, Lake Titicaca, the Salkantay trek linked to the Inca Trail into Machu Picchu, and Manu National Park.
Stayed at- Tierra Viva Miraflores, Lima
- Hotel El Huacachinero, Huacachina
- Hotel Hacienda Cusco Centro Histórico
- Hotel Retama Machupicchu
- May 2025
Costa Rica
A long weekend in La Fortuna with a small group: hot springs below Arenal, Class III/IV rafting, canyoning and a sloth walk.
Stayed atRead the trip report →- Paradise Hot Springs Thermal Resort, La Fortuna
- Jan 2025
Tanzania
Kilimanjaro to the summit on the eight-day Lemosho route, then a safari in the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire.
Stayed at- Summit Safari Lodge, Arusha
- 2024
Mont Blanc
A warm-up climb on Gran Paradiso, then the summit of Mont Blanc with a climbing partner and guide, in whiteout conditions.
Stayed at- Refuge Chabod, Gran Paradiso
What happens after you get in touch
- 1
A 30-minute call
Where you want to go, when, who is coming, and what a good trip looks like to you. Free, on Zoom.
- 2
A proposal
The shape of the trip, where you would stay and why, what is included and what is not. Honest about the trade-offs.
- 3
Booked, with perks
I make the bookings through Fora and attach the partner perks your hotels offer.
- 4
Your itinerary, online
A private page with the plan day by day and every confirmation, on your phone. You can forward it to everyone traveling.
Independent, with a big agency behind me.
I book through Fora Travel, a Virtuoso member agency. That gives my clients the hotel perks of programs like Virtuoso, Four Seasons Preferred Partner, Marriott STARS and Hyatt Privé, and gives me direct lines to the hotels and operators I book.
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