A trip that feels like a trip
Brazil rewards travellers who are free to follow the day. The late lunch that becomes the afternoon; the detour to the studio no guidebook lists; the evening that moves, without effort, to the right table. What holds that kind of freedom together is quiet work done out of view — routes already considered, venues already visited, a driver who knows the city in weather and at night.
Vanguard Attaché is the small house that carries that work. We sit between the advisor, the hotel, and the country itself, so the trip arrives to you as itinerary and atmosphere — not as logistics to manage. The pace is yours. The standard is ours.
You keep your advisor, your hotel, your concierge. We extend their good work in Brazil — in our language, on our streets, at our hours — and step back when we are not needed.
What the trip asks of us
A few practical matters, handled quietly before you arrive
A city that reads visitors quickly
Rio, São Paulo, and Salvador are not dangerous in the way rumour suggests — but they are cities that notice a traveller who is unfamiliar with them. A driver who knows the streets, a walk that begins at the right corner, and a venue already visited earlier in the day make the difference between arriving and being noticed.
Ground transport, held to one standard
Hotel cars and apps work well enough for most things. For a private trip with children, late evenings, or a meeting that matters, a known driver in a known car, briefed on the day, is a different register. We keep a short roster of drivers we trust, and we keep the same ones with you across the stay.
The small frictions of a foreign language
Most of Brazil is reached in Portuguese. A shop, a pharmacy, a doctor, a traffic stop — the moments that can turn a day are the moments conducted in the local language. Our team reads them in English for you, or quietly in Portuguese when that is the better choice.
The pace of a vacation, kept intact
The risk is not only of an incident; it is of a trip that begins to feel managed. Our standard is a light touch — a car waiting without display, a table already held, a walk arranged so no one is waiting or hurried. You should feel a house behind the day, not a perimeter.
What we carry for the trip
A small, considered set of services — arranged to fit behind your itinerary
A quiet presence, carried as staff
A discreet protective presence during the days that benefit from it — an opening night, a walk through a market, an evening out with the family. Our colleagues dress for the venue and keep to the background; most of the trip they are someone your table does not notice.
A driver who knows the country
Private transport for the length of the stay, with the same drivers across the trip and a single operations desk behind them. Airport meet, morning pick-ups, evenings held open, a car ready earlier than you need it — the cadence an advisor or house manager would recognise.
A house that knows the country
Reservations, private access, a tailor, a jeweller, a cardiologist, a florist for the dinner on the last night — the small house of requests that sits under a good trip. We work alongside the hotel concierge and your advisor; we do not replace them.
A quiet brief before you arrive
A short written note prepared in the days before travel — the venues we have walked, the routes we prefer, the calendars we are watching, the contacts we will keep open. It is brief, in your format, and shared only with those who need it.
A table, at the hour you want it
A quiet line into the restaurants and private rooms that matter in Rio, São Paulo, and Salvador — and the smaller rooms most guests never see. Dietary notes carried in Portuguese, allergies flagged in the kitchen, and a car waiting at an hour that suits you.
An operations desk, answered at any hour
A single point of contact for the duration of the stay. One number, answered in English and Portuguese, by a colleague who already knows your itinerary, your hotel, and your preferences. It is the quiet thread that runs behind the trip.
A two-week private trip, three cities
Client: A family of four, returning to Brazil
Challenge: The family had travelled in Brazil once before and wanted a longer, quieter second trip — Rio, a weekend in a coastal house, and São Paulo for the last nights. Their advisor asked us to sit behind the itinerary: drivers across the stay, an operations desk in the background, and a discreet presence on the days they felt it helpful.
Solution: We placed the same two drivers with the family across the two weeks, pre-walked the four or five venues that most mattered, and held the operations desk open at the hours that suited their routine. A colleague accompanied the family on the afternoons out of the hotel and stepped back entirely for the evenings at home. The hotel concierge and their travel advisor kept their roles; we carried the Brazil-side work.
Results: The trip ran at the family's own pace. Two of the planned outings were moved at short notice without disturbance to the rest of the day. The family returned the following year, and their advisor has since introduced us to two further houses.
In their own words
Anonymised at their request
A family
Second trip to Brazil
Engagement: two weeks, three cities
“It was the first trip in a long time that felt entirely like a trip. The driving was quiet, the table was always already held, and when we changed our minds about the last two days no one seemed to mind. That is a rare thing to arrange for, and we felt it in every part of the stay.”
A private guest
Extended stay in São Paulo
Engagement: three weeks, single city
“I travel to Brazil often and I am particular about how a trip is arranged. The house was quiet and exact. I kept my advisor, kept my hotel, and simply added Vanguard behind them. I would recommend them only to people who would notice the difference.”
Years
The founder is a former LAPD officer and U.S. Army PSB (Protective Service Battalion) veteran, with more than two decades in protective and investigative practice — now in private practice in Brazil.
Operations desk
A bilingual desk answered at any hour, for the length of the trip.
House language
English and Portuguese, at the register your advisor would expect.
On request
Advisors, hoteliers, and prior guests who know the house well are available on a confidential call.
How a trip is arranged
A first, confidential conversation
Usually thirty minutes, with the founder or a senior colleague. You describe the trip as you already see it. We listen, note the one or two places a small amount of advance work will matter, and tell you plainly whether we are the right house for it.
Before travel
A short written brief
In the days before arrival we circulate a short note — drivers, routes, venues walked, contacts held open. It is shared only with those who need it, and in the format your advisor already uses.
Week of travel
The trip itself
The same drivers across the stay, the operations desk open in the background, a discreet colleague on the days it helps, and a quiet line into restaurants and private rooms. You keep your advisor and your hotel; we carry the Brazil-side work.
During the stay
A quiet close
A short note at the end of the trip to your advisor and to you. Nothing retained we do not need. If a future visit is planned, we keep the roster of drivers and contacts ready.
After departure
Why Trust Us
A sober record
The founder is a former LAPD officer and U.S. Army PSB (Protective Service Battalion) veteran, with more than twenty years in protective and investigative practice — now in private practice in Brazil, at the quiet register advisors recognise.
A small house
A small, known team, chosen for the register of a private trip. The same colleagues tend to return on subsequent visits.
Where we work
Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Brasília as a matter of course; Salvador, Florianópolis, Belo Horizonte, and the coast on arrangement. See destinations.
A few notes on how we work
Venues walked in advance
The four or five venues that most matter on the trip are visited in advance of your arrival. Nothing dramatic — just the quiet work that lets the day run.
A quieter cadence for families
The same colleagues tend to return. Children's routines are protected rather than interrupted. We discuss this plainly before the trip.
A medical line held open
A short list of hospitals and physicians in each city, used to private guests and known to the desk by name. Rarely needed; arranged quietly when it is.
A change of mind, without friction
Plans change. A new table, a detour into the late afternoon, two days given back to the family — adjusted between the desk and the drivers, without the day feeling managed.
Who This Service Is For
Our services are tailored to meet the specific needs of different client profiles
A few questions we are often asked
Answered plainly — further questions are welcome on a call
Both, and neither. The cities are alive and largely safe for travellers who know where to be and when. They are also places that quickly read a visitor who does not. Our work is not to make Brazil feel unsafe so that you need us; it is to do the quiet advance work that lets the trip feel like a trip.
It should not, and if it does we have not done our work well. Most of our engagements are carried primarily by drivers and the operations desk, with a colleague present only on the days it genuinely helps. The register is that of a house behind the trip, not a detail around it.
Quietly alongside them. Your advisor keeps the shape of the trip; the hotel concierge keeps the hotel. We carry the Brazil-side logistics that sit under both — drivers, venue advance work, an operations desk, a discreet colleague when helpful. The work is designed to make your advisor's trip and the hotel's service look their best.
The driver arrives a little earlier than needed. The first stop has been visited already. A colleague may accompany the family for part of the afternoon or may not, depending on the day. The operations desk holds the evening reservations open. You notice most of it only in the absence of friction — which is the point.
We price by the shape of the trip, not by a day-rate headline. After the first conversation we share a short written proposal with a clear, single number for the stay. No hourly arithmetic, no surprise additions. Most private trips sit in a range we are happy to discuss honestly on that call.
For most things, yes. Restaurants, private rooms, galleries out of hours, a helicopter, a yacht, a tailor, a cardiologist. Where we cannot help we will say so plainly; we prefer to refer a guest to a better house than to carry work we do not carry well.
Often. The work is quieter and slower and the same colleagues tend to return. Children's routines are protected, not interrupted, and the drivers are chosen with that in mind. We are happy to describe what a week has looked like for a recent family on a call.
We carry a short list of hospitals and physicians in each city who are used to private guests and who speak English well. The operations desk knows them by name. It is rarely needed; when it is, it is arranged quietly and with your advisor informed only as you wish.
Two to four weeks for most private trips. Longer for Carnival, New Year's Eve, or the larger calendar dates in Rio and São Paulo. Shorter is sometimes possible; we will tell you honestly what we can carry well at short notice and what we cannot.
Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Brasília as a matter of course. Salvador, Florianópolis, Belo Horizonte, the coast of Bahia, and the interior on arrangement. For the Amazon, the Pantanal, and Fernando de Noronha we work with vetted local houses under our standard, and we are candid about the difference.
Further reading
A small set of notes that tend to sit alongside a private trip
Private transport
The same drivers across the stay, quietly arranged.
Concierge
A small house of requests, alongside your advisor.
For families
A quieter cadence, the same colleagues returning.
Travel security
The advance work that sits under a private trip.
Destinations
Rio, São Paulo, Bahia, Brasília — notes by city.
Experiences
Tables, galleries, yachts, retreats — the few that matter, arranged quietly.
Further reading
Brief reading for the traveller before the first conversation
Write to us
A short note on the trip as you already see it. We reply the same day, with a short written proposal.