Since 1986

Forty Years of Making the Impossible Happen

Miami's most trusted luxury travel advisory — a Virtuoso member house, designing private journeys since 1986.

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Forest Travel was founded in North Miami Beach in 1986 by David Mendal on a simple conviction: that the finest journeys are not booked, but designed — by people who have walked the streets, sailed the vessels and slept in the suites themselves.

Four decades later, that conviction is unchanged. We remain a relationship-driven advisory, never a booking engine. Our advisors are real people who know the world personally, and who treat every itinerary as a private commission.

From a single Miami office to a founding role in a conglomerate of elite travel brands, our growth has been measured in trust — families who return to us across generations, and doors that open only through forty years of relationships.

40+

Years of Expertise

2,000+

Families Served

120+

Destinations Mastered

100%

Human Advisory

Elite Global Affiliations

How we got here

1986

David Mendal opens the first office

Forest Travel was founded in North Miami Beach by David Mendal, on the conviction that the finest journeys are designed rather than booked — and that the person designing them should have been there.

2004

Invited into Virtuoso

Forest Travel became a member of Virtuoso, the by-invitation network of the world's leading luxury travel agencies — the membership that still underwrites the upgrades, resort credits and private access our clients travel on.

The group

One desk becomes four specialist houses

Forest Travel came to anchor a conglomerate of elite travel brands, each a market leader in its own sector: Luxuria Vacations, Privé Jets, Ultimate Jet Vacations and Luxury Cruise Connections. It is why a villa, a jet and a charter can be arranged by one advisory rather than three.

2026

Forty years, and named by the editors

Three of our advisors — Magnolia Quintana, Juan David Gutierrez and Debbie Heim — are named to the Condé Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialists list for 2026. Forty years on, we work from Aventura, in English and Spanish, across more than 120 countries.

A Human Advisory, Not a Booking Engine

Technology can compare prices. It cannot read a room, anticipate a delay, or know which suite catches the morning light. That judgement — earned over four decades — is what we offer. Every Forest Travel journey is shaped by an advisor who answers the phone, knows your name, and stays with you from the first idea to the flight home.

What forty years has taught us

The finest journeys are designed, not booked.

The difference is not a nicer hotel. It is timing, sequence and access — decisions made by someone who has been there, not assembled from a search result.

Access is a relationship, not a transaction.

The doors worth opening are not for sale online. They open because, over four decades, the right people have learned they can trust our call.

The work you never see is the work that matters.

A missed connection re-routed before you wake, a room readied exactly as your family likes it — the logistics stay invisible so the journey feels effortless.

You should always have a name, not a number.

One in-house advisor learns how you travel and stays with you end to end — and answers, personally, around the clock.

Since 1986

The finest journeys are not booked, but designed — by people who have walked the streets, sailed the vessels and slept in the suites.

Common Questions

About Forest Travel

Forest Travel was founded in North Miami Beach, Florida, in 1986 by David Mendal, and has designed private luxury journeys for high-net-worth travelers for forty years. The advisory is headquartered today at 2420 NE Miami Gardens Dr Suite 301, Aventura, Miami, FL 33180.

Yes. Forest Travel is a Virtuoso member and a Condé Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialists agency, with preferred-partner relationships across the world's leading hotels and cruise lines.

Our advisory is headquartered at 2420 NE Miami Gardens Dr Suite 301, Aventura, Miami, FL 33180, and serves clients across the United States and around the world.

We are a relationship-driven advisory, not a booking engine. Every journey is designed by a human advisor who knows the destinations personally and remains with you end to end.

No. We are based in Aventura, Miami, Florida, and design journeys for clients across the United States, throughout Latin America and worldwide, in English and Spanish.

Private journeys of every kind — honeymoons and anniversaries, multigenerational family travel, culinary and wine journeys, wellness retreats, expedition cruises and private-jet itineraries, across more than 120 countries.

In-house advisors, most with decades in luxury travel — real people who know the destinations personally and stay with you from planning through your return home.

English and Spanish, with a strong Latin American practice serving clients across the region and the United States.

Forest Travel was founded by David Mendal in North Miami Beach, Florida, in 1986, on the conviction that the finest journeys are designed rather than booked — and that the person designing them should have been there.

Forest Travel anchors a conglomerate of elite travel brands, each a market leader in its own sector: Luxuria Vacations, Privé Jets, Ultimate Jet Vacations and Luxury Cruise Connections. It is why a villa, a private jet and a charter can be arranged through one advisory rather than three.

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