Inside the lives of travel tutors for the wealthy: big paychecks, yacht trips, and very little personal space

• Travel tutors can earn six figures a year, but that price tag comes at a personal cost.
• Tutors often have to contend with little to no social life while maintaining professional boundaries.
• They also need to be flexible, adapting to a family’s plans and travel delays.

When a missed flight left travel tutor Joanna Dunckley and her client stranded in a hotel, she wasted no time and turned the room into an impromptu classroom.

Her job required the utmost flexibility: Some days, she’d teach math classes on a superyacht. Other days, she’d turn an ant bite into a science lesson on ant colonies and formic acid.

Dunckley’s role is anything but traditional. For the past 14 years, she’s worked with Tutors International, a company offering private travel tutor services.

Dunckley’s lessons could take place anywhere — she taught marine biology on yachts on the Mediterranean and covered history while exploring the killing fields of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

“It’s the best way to teach because you can personalize your curriculum,” Dunckley said. “If your student is a golf lover, you can tailor all your physics questions to how they relate to golf.”

Tutors International, a UK-based company offering these services, advertises .