R. Crusoe & Son
Thoughtfully designed journeys since 1997.
We create private journeys for curious travelers who want to experience the world with greater depth, insight and care.
The destination matters. So do the people you meet, the pace of the day and the moments you did not know to ask for.
About R. Crusoe & Son
Travel should be more than a checklist of places.
R. Crusoe & Son was founded in 1997 with a simple idea: the most memorable journeys are not necessarily the ones that cover the most ground. They are the ones that help us understand a place more deeply.
Inspired by the spirit of Robinson Crusoe’s fictional adventures, the company set out to create travel that was unusual, enriching and worthy of stories long after travelers returned home.
That remains the point today. Every private itinerary is created individually, shaped around each traveler’s interests, pace and curiosity.
How We Think About Travel
The details matter because they change how a place feels.
Insight
Exceptional local guides, scholars, naturalists and experts can turn a beautiful place into one you begin to understand.
Access
Long-standing relationships help us arrange experiences that feel personal and immersive rather than scripted or simply available to everyone.
Pace
A good itinerary leaves room for discovery. We care as much about what we leave out as what we put in.
A Personal Approach
The best journeys begin with a conversation.
We want to know what you are curious about, what you have loved on past trips and what you would happily skip.
That is how a route becomes your route — not simply a collection of excellent hotels and sightseeing, but a journey with a point of view.
Meet the Team
The people behind the planning.
Every journey is personal, and so is the way we work. Rachel and Maggie each bring their own travel histories, instincts and areas of expertise to the planning process.
Travel Advisor
Rachel Dorsey
Rachel Dorsey brings decades of experience and a discerning eye for detail to the art of travel design. She creates journeys that move beyond the ordinary, weaving history, culture and authenticity into every itinerary. Her clients rely on her for both intellectual depth and practical know-how, whether that means finding the guide whose storytelling brings centuries to life, opening doors to experiences not easily accessed, or orchestrating the logistics behind a complex multi-country journey.
For Rachel, every journey is a collaboration built on trust and connection. She draws on her own global experiences and longstanding relationships with partners around the world to create trips that are as seamless as they are meaningful.
Based in Illinois with her husband, son and two cats, Rachel finds inspiration at home as much as abroad. You may find her vacationing in Scandinavia, training toward her black belt in taekwondo, or dreaming up the next adventure.
Travel Advisor
Maggie Lunde
Maggie Lunde brings more than fifteen years of experience to the art of travel design. For her, travel is both a calling and a passion, something that has shaped her life from her engagement in Ireland to the lasting friendships she has built through her work. She treats every trip as a collaboration, taking the time to understand what excites her travelers so that each itinerary feels personal and full of wonder.
Her work blends insight with intuition, whether she is curating private experiences, connecting travelers with exceptional local guides, or weaving culture and history into something seamless.
Based in Sonoma, Maggie works from a home that overlooks a vineyard, where the rhythm of the seasons reminds her of life in Italy or Portugal. When she is not designing journeys, she loves birdwatching, tending her community garden, and gathering friends around a good meal.
Around Rachel and Maggie is a wider network of trusted local partners, guides, specialists and colleagues who help bring each journey together.
Our Network
Local knowledge makes all the difference.
Behind every journey is a network of trusted partners and local experts who share our commitment to knowledge, hospitality and a genuine sense of place.
These relationships allow us to design experiences with texture: a conversation with an artisan, a historian who makes a complicated past suddenly legible, or simply knowing which stretch of countryside is worth slowing down for.
Our Travelers
Curious people tend to find one another.
Many of our travelers have already seen a great deal of the world. What they are looking for next is not necessarily bigger or farther — it is richer.
They value excellent planning, but they also value surprise. They want to learn something. Meet someone. Walk farther. Stay longer. Look more closely.
And many return to us again and again, which is one of the parts of this work we value most.
Start the Conversation
Tell us what has been on your mind.
A place you have always wanted to see. A trip you have been thinking about for years. Or simply the feeling that it is time to go somewhere interesting.