The Tailor

The Tailor stands as one of Australia's most established bespoke travel design firms, founded by Drew Kluska in 1998 in Netley, South Australia. For over twenty-five years, the company has focused exclusively on hand-crafting personalized journeys for discerning travelers, building a reputation that attracted recognition from Travel + Leisure magazine, which named Kluska one of its A-List Top Travel Advisors for 2025. This appointment reflects both his deep expertise in Australian travel design and the caliber of clients The Tailor serves: business leaders, celebrities, and high-net-worth individuals who demand not just accuracy in planning but experiences that change how they see a place, grounded in authentic local knowledge.

The Tailor's operational model centers on a team of specialist Travel Designers who work directly with clients to understand their preferences, pace, and priorities before crafting itineraries. This is not template-driven sales; instead, each journey begins with consultations that explore what the client actually wants, moving beyond generic luxury to discover the experiences that will resonate. Once the design process begins, these Travel Designers conduct the research, negotiate with properties, arrange guides, and manage every detail of the itinerary. The company limits its annual bookings to maintain this level of personalized attention, a deliberate choice that prioritizes depth over volume and ensures each client receives substantive engagement rather than a standardized product customized with surface details.

What distinguishes The Tailor operationally is the depth of its local network. The company maintains direct relationships with local guides, exclusive properties, and specialized experiences that are not accessible through standard channels or shared booking platforms. This network is not outsourced; The Tailor sources and maintains these relationships directly, giving it both control over quality and the ability to access experiences that cannot be found through conventional travel arrangements. These connections span all major Australian regions, Queensland's reef and tropical north, Western Australia's remote Kimberley region, South Australia's wine country and island escapes, Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales, and the Northern Territory. The company also extends into New Zealand and South Pacific destinations like Fiji, positioning itself as a specialist in the broader Australasia region while maintaining Australia as its primary focus and strongest expertise.

The typical client journey at The Tailor begins with direct contact and a conversation about travel philosophy. How do you prefer to move, how much depth do you want in each location, what experiences genuinely interest you, what is your travel pace, and what is your approximate budget? These conversations establish the foundation. From there, a dedicated Travel Designer begins the research phase, identifying properties that align with the client's values and style, sourcing guides who have the specific knowledge the itinerary requires, and building a draft schedule that reflects how the client actually travels. Light aircraft transfers between remote locations are factored in naturally; The Tailor understands that flying between lodges is not a luxury add-on but the practical reality of reaching many of Australia's most remarkable locations, especially in the Northern Territory, Western Australia's north, and Queensland's Cape York. The company has the expertise to arrange these transfers with precision, managing both the logistics and the guide relationships on the ground.

Pricing at The Tailor generally starts around AUD$1,500 per person per day, which translates to approximately USD$1,000 per person per day. This figure is published on the company's site as a reference point for budget discussions but is framed as a starting point rather than a fixed rate. The exact cost depends heavily on the itinerary's composition: which properties are chosen, how many days in each location, whether light aircraft transfers are needed, the season of travel, and the type of experiences included. Some clients spend considerably more, particularly those combining exclusive lodges with specialized guides or multi-week journeys. The company does not publish tiered pricing lists or à la carte rates; instead, each itinerary is quoted based on the actual costs of the properties, guides, transfers, and services that client requires. This approach means that discussing the fee structure requires a direct conversation with The Tailor rather than shopping for costs online, a trade-off that reflects the bespoke nature of the business.

The Tailor operates as a traditional luxury travel firm rather than a commission-based marketplace or a lead-generation platform. The company works on planning fees or through commission arrangements with properties, but the specific structure of these arrangements is not published on their site. For a client seeking to understand the exact cost structure before engaging, The Tailor recommends a direct inquiry; the company does not publish minimum fees or standard commission rates. What is clear is that the client's itinerary cost includes the property rates (marked up or commissionable, depending on the property), the guide services, and the logistics. There is no separate planning fee itemized as a stand-alone charge on the published materials; instead, the entire quotation rolls up the components into a total investment for the journey.

The Tailor distinguishes itself through the design philosophy embedded in how it builds journeys. Rather than offering a menu of pre-planned itineraries that clients select and customize, the company builds each itinerary from the foundation up, responding to the unique interests and travel style of that specific client. An art-history enthusiast might visit Indigenous galleries and collaborate with local artists; an adventure traveler might focus on trekking and light-aircraft accessed wilderness; a wine and culinary enthusiast would spend time in the Barossa Valley and Mclaren Vale with producer access. This flexibility is possible precisely because The Tailor maintains direct relationships with guides, properties, and local contacts rather than channeling everything through third-party booking systems. When The Tailor designs an itinerary, it is drawing on its own network and expertise, not aggregating options from a broader marketplace.

For travelers concerned with support and logistics in a complex destination, The Tailor's team remains accessible throughout the journey. The company provides phone and email contact information for client support during the trip, and clients work with the same Travel Designer both in the planning phase and through delivery. This continuity of contact means that if a change becomes necessary, a schedule needs adjustment, or a question arises mid-journey, the client is working with someone who understands the itinerary's design rather than fielding a query through a generic support line. The company's office operates Monday through Friday from 08:30 to 17:00 Australian Central Standard Time, and clients can reach the team at the published phone number or email address. For emergencies that fall outside business hours, the company presumably has protocols in place, though these specifics are not publicly detailed.

The Tailor has expanded its team to include multiple specialist Travel Designers, each with deep regional knowledge. The company's approach positions each designer as an expert rather than a generalist, meaning a client booking travel to a particular region often works with the designer who specializes in that area. This specialization, combined with the company's long tenure in the market, builds confidence that the person designing the itinerary understands not just the current state of properties and logistics but the seasonal dynamics, the best guides for specific activities, and the nuances that separate a well-executed journey from one that merely checks boxes.

For travelers weighing bespoke travel options in Australia, The Tailor represents the established, team-supported model. The company combines founder expertise and recognition with a structure of multiple Travel Designers, direct relationships with guides and properties, and transparent pricing grounded in per-person-per-day rates. The depth of local knowledge, the team structure ensuring personalized design, and the multi-award-winning reputation make The Tailor a natural choice for travelers who want their Australian journey architected by specialists who know the country intimately and have the network to realize ambitious visions.