The April Edit
last-minute safaris, Le Sirinuse Mare, Beverly Hills is always in, and how are the 2026 travel trends, well, trending?
I’ve finally packed away my fur-lined winter jackets for the season, Julia is home from her EPIC Italian adventure, and we’re both heads down making client’s summer dreams come true.
In this month’s edit: where we booked in April from Croatia to Kenya, details on our travel pharmacies, and a love letter to Le Siranuse Mare.
What we published this month
This month our most popular item was … this Substack note on a very special spot in Puglia. We also dropped our City Notes: Los Angeles, wrote 5 Content Ideas for Your Next Month of Instagram Posts for our Travel Advisor tier, and talked about how we like Madrid vs Barcelona. Check them out if you missed them!
What we booked in April
April is really pedal to the metal time for summer bookings, and as of now we are both reaching the limits of how many trips we can stack on our respective plates. Definitely reach out if you’re trying to get out of town this summer.
Julia
Girls weekend at Atelier Playa Mujeres
Honeymoon to Italy (Rome, Florence, Tuscany & Ischia; hello, again Mezzatorre!)
Multi-gen family trip to Greece (Paros & Naxos)
Girls trip to London to see Noah Kahan with a stay at Covent Garden Hotel
1st anniversary weekend trip to The Dunlin, Auberge Collection
Bryce
Croatia & Montenegro with a stop at one of the coolest O&O properties O&O Portonovi
A dad & sons milestone trip to Scotland, with a stop at the iconic Gleneagles property
A last minute 6-day Safari in Kenya as an add to to a speaking gig at an NGO
A September visit to Iceland, with a stop at Eleven Deplar Farm
A new beach club for Le Sirenuse - Le Sirenuse Mare
Ok. So we already said not to go to the Amalfi coast this summer. BUT. We might be making ONE exception. This exception is the new beach club by Le Sirenuse, called Le Sirenuse Mare.
This brand new hot spot is located in Nerano, which is a tiny village on the Sorrentine Peninsula, just far enough from Positano that most people never get there. The water is crystal clear, the crowds are far away and the spaghetti alle vongole is the best on the coast. Locals have been eating it here for decades, unbothered.
And now the Sersale family, the people behind Le Sirenuse (the hotel that has been making people fall in love with the Amalfi Coast for generations), have built a beach club there. Sun terraces, a gorgeous restaurant, three bars, and an Emporio Sirenuse boutique. You arrive via boat from Positano in 25 minutes, straight to a private jetty.
It opens April 23rd. It is going to be impossible to get into by June. Book it now and then plan your whole Amalfi itinerary around it.
Beverly Hills Is Always In
As you know, we love LA. And we love Beverly Hills. Maybe it’s the service, maybe it’s the weather, or maybe it’s just the shopping, but we think it’s always a good idea.
We’re here to talk about a brand new hotel opening, one on the horizon, and give a shoutout to our favorite standby. In order: Hôtel Lili, Aman BH, and the Peninsula.
Hôtel Lili opened this month on Lasky Drive, and it is exactly the kind of property Beverly Hills needed. It’s not another grand dame, but a 44-room boutique with the bones of a 1939 private residence and the interiors of a Parisian hideaway that somehow also feels completely Los Angeles. Bronze lacquer, burnt-orange velvet, a sweeping staircase. It is moody and specific and we can’t wait to take a closer look. Palisociety, the group behind it, knows how to make a hotel feel like a neighborhood secret even when it’s steps from Rodeo Drive.
Aman is coming. The 78-suite Aman Beverly Hills is part of the One Beverly Hills development at Wilshire and Santa Monica, set within eight acres of botanical gardens designed by Foster + Partners. It’s tracking for 2027, ahead of the Olympics. If you know what Aman New York did for that city’s hotel conversation, you have some idea of what this will do for Beverly Hills.
And then there is the Peninsula, which needs no announcement and no moment. It is simply the best hotel in Beverly Hills, full stop — and one of the best hotels in the world. The service is the kind that makes you feel like a regular on your first stay. If you haven’t been, stay for a night or visit for their iconic daily afternoon tea. If you have been, you already know.
Our Travel Pharmacies
We have perma-packed toiletry bags, and smaller travel pharmacy bags inside them. Here’s what is always in them:
Bryce
Sleep and jet lag: Unisom (half a tab) this is the “big guns” I can use if I’m not sleeping at all, it will knock you out but not make you groggy. Melatonin gummies and Magnesium are also always with me for the same reason. Between the three of them I have not had a truly terrible jet lag experience in years.
Pain: The Advil/Tylenol combo pills. One pill, both covered.
Stomach: Zofran for motion sickness on boats, winding roads, small planes. If you’re prone to motion sickness and you’re not traveling with Zofran, talk to your doctor and change that immediately. I also have some Pepto chewables and a few Tums just in case something I eat isn’t sitting well.
Mosquitoes: Citronella bracelets. They may look funny, but I welt from bites so these are a necessary evil.
Just in case: Benadryl. You never know.
The basics: Bandaids. Tweezers. Neosporin.
On hand always: Fresh chapstick, Byredo hand creme, and several extra hair ties.
Misc. Links
Where is the dollar strongest this year? Check out the list here (and spoiler: this could be your year to go to Japan!).
Best Glamping Spots in the world (shoutout to Clayoquot!)
Spirit Airlines is shutting down. Read about it here.
Would you take a shower at the airport? You can in many of these far-flung cities.
Conde Nast gave us their take on travel trends for 2026, back in January. Do these trends still seem accurate?
We’re booking for summer 2026 trips right now, as well as already into Festive and 2027. Submit an inquiry here – we’d love to work on a trip with you!
If you enjoyed this, would you be kind enough to give it a little heart? We hope you have a nice week!
—Bryce | It Girls Collective