We Don’t Plan Trips.
We Architect Memories.

Baine & Bastian Travel crafts transformational journeys by deeply engaging all five senses. As Experience Architects, we work with a small group of like-minded clients looking for a higher level of service and a one-of-a-kind travel experience.

Start Your Journey

Experience Architecture: Where Every Detail Has Meaning

We don’t book travel. We design thoughtful, personal experiences. Every journey follows our Five Senses Philosophy to create memories so vivid you’ll never forget them. This is what separates tourism from transformation.

Our Five Senses Philosophy

Memories that are formed through multiple senses are deeper, more emotional, and more enduring. Every Baine & Bastian journey is designed through this lens:

SIGHT

Private access to museums and cultural sites at optimal times. Photography workshops with local artists. Sunrise experiences where the crowds aren’t.

Sound

Intimate concerts with local musicians. “Sound walks” that reveal a destination’s aural architecture. Natural soundscapes chosen for acoustic beauty.

taste

Market tours with local chefs followed by cooking in their kitchens. Family-vineyard tastings. Street food walks led by passionate locals.

touch

Artisan workshops—pottery, textiles, woodworking—creating alongside masters. Not demonstrations; invitations to participate in living culture.

smell

Spice market tours. Perfume workshops with regional ingredients. Traditional cooking where fragrance becomes inseparable from memory.

our services

One-in-a-Lifetime Experiences That Stay With You Forever

Single-region journeys teeming with rich sensory experiences. You won’t just observe, you’ll participate.
Multi-destination experiences beyond the surface. Return home with stories and relationships, not just photographs.
Multigenerational journeys for milestone celebrations, heritage explorations, and shared wonder between generations—treasured chapters in your family’s story.
Adventure, wellness, and cultural immersion woven together. Challenging yet accessible, luxurious yet authentic. For those who believe their best self is waiting to be discovered.

The Advisory approach

A Financial Advisor for Your Travel Life

You have advisors for your wealth, your tax strategy, and your estate. But who is advising you on how to deploy your experiential capital?

We operate the way a financial advisor manages a portfolio. We do not act as transactional booking agents; instead, we build multi-year travel strategies (your Travel Life Forecast) that map destinations, timing, and companions.

The 7-Step Client Journey

1. Begin

A relaxed, intentional 45-minute consultation to understand you before any destination is discussed.

2. Discover (The Journey Blueprint)

A guided narrative where you mentally live through your trip, revealing preferences you couldn’t articulate directly.

3. Invest

A $295 planning fee confirms the partnership and activates the design process.

4. Create

A bespoke itinerary curated around the Five Senses Philosophy and every insight from your Blueprint.

5. Reveal

An itinerary presentation, delivered as a story, so you feel the journey before you take it.

6. Refine

Collaborative adjustments until every element feels exactly right.

7. Embark

Every reservation confirmed, every detail considered, and 24/7 on-trip support throughout.

Who we serve

Most Travel is Beautiful. Almost None of it is Personal.

You want a trusted advisor who brings the same attention to your travel that your financial advisor brings to your portfolio. We intentionally limit our practice to ensure every client receives our full attention. We specialize in:

Couples seeking depth over distance
Milestone & celebration journeys
Multigenerational family experiences and heritage explorations
Honeymoons and destination weddings

Who we ARE

Mindi Schaefer Rodriguez,
Your Experience Architect

After 30 years in wealth management serving ultra-high-net-worth clients, I traded managing financial practice management for architecting sensory ones. Now, I bring my deep experience in relationship excellence and meticulous attention to detail to craft journeys as high-touch as they are transformational.

I believe a well-planned trip should do more than move you from city to city; it should engage every sense. Through my affiliation with Pique Travel Design and the Virtuoso network, I unlock exclusive access and $30 billion in buying power to ensure your journey is seamless, sophisticated, and entirely yours.

Credentials: TAP Certified (The Travel Institute, 94% exam score) | Series 7, 63, 65, 24 Licenses | 30 years in wealth management serving affluent, HNW, and UHNW clients | 20-year professional dance career | Independent affiliate of Pique Travel Design, a Virtuoso agency | 18+ countries, 85+ cities, six continents

OUR DESTINATIONS

Where Transformation Awaits

We believe in the right destination for you—the place where your senses come alive and your story unfolds. While we design journeys worldwide, these are destinations where our Five Senses Philosophy truly shines.

Morocco
Japan
Italy
Iceland

Greece & Mediterranean
France
Spain
Central Europe

Scotland & Ireland
Colombia
Argentina
Mexico

OUR EXQUISITE PARTNERS

Backed by the Best in Luxury Travel

Baine & Bastian aligns with partners who share our values and commitment to excellence.

Pique Travel Design:
Baine & Bastian is an independent affiliate of Pique Travel Design in Excelsior, Minnesota. For over 13 years, Pique has built a highly respected boutique agency by being intentionally small and relentlessly focused on quality. Our clients benefit from Pique’s supplier relationships and industry recognition without sacrificing personal, one-on-one service.

Virtuoso:
Through Pique, we are part of the Virtuoso network—the world’s leading luxury travel consortium (top 1% of agencies worldwide, $30B+ in buying power). This gives our clients access to exclusive amenities, room upgrades, complimentary experiences, and VIP treatment unavailable through direct booking.

Forbes Travel Guide Endorsed:
Pique is one of only 50 agencies worldwide with this distinction—reflecting the highest standards of service and expertise.

piquetravel.com‍ ‍I ‍ ‍virtuoso.com

contact us

Let’s Start a Conversation

Every extraordinary journey begins with a conversation. Whether you have a destination in mind or simply a feeling you’re chasing, I’d love to hear your story.

Begin the Conversation

Terms & Conditions

Mindi G. Schaefer Rodriguez | Founder & Experience Architect
mindi@baineandbastian.com | 612.387.5920
Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Designing journeys worldwide.

We Don’t Plan Trips.We Architect Memories.

Experience Architecture: Where Every Detail Has Meaning

Our Five Senses Philosophy

One-in-a-Lifetime Experiences That Stay With You Forever

Sensory Immersion Journeys

Cultural Discovery Expeditions

Legacy Connection Experiences

Transformational Adventures