MOTHER NATU R E : UP C LOSE
Release your inner Ranulph Fiennes and discover some of Mother Nature’s more remote and awe-inspiring landscapes
Follow the great explorers on an epic journey
DO YOU spend your evenings marvelling at the wonder of nature via TV documentaries? Perhaps you’ve always harboured an ambition to witness certain kinds of wildlife up close, or to see the spectacular scenery of some far-flung corner of the planet? Now, with a growing number of specialist expedition cruises on offer, you can.
Spend your holiday in the company of experienced, expert guides who offer truly immersive experiences and valuable insight as you head ashore or explore the coastline. Enjoy all the style and comfort of a luxury hotel combined with intrepid exploration on a Silversea Luxury Expeditions cruise to a variety of unspoiled destinations around the globe. From the Amazon rainforests to the parched landscape of the Atacama Desert, the dramatic Chilean fjords to the stunning plains of the pampas, for instance, delve deep into the extreme scenery and wildlife of South America.
EPIC JOURNEY
RUSSIA’S Far East, long closed to Westerners, is home to the world’s largest bears, which roam freely on the Kamchatka Peninsula. The stunning Kuril Islands, a series of volcanic peaks rising from the winter ice, are a delight for bird lovers, and whale watching is always on the agenda.
Celebrity Cruises has three smaller expedition ships in its fleet, offering more intimate, specialist holidays for those with a sense of adventure. Celebrity Xpedition, Xperience and Xploration sail solely to the Galapagos Islands, carrying a maximum of 100, 48 and 16 passengers each to this natural wonderland.
With more than 125 years’ heritage of seafaring in the waters off its Norwegian homeland, Hurtigruten has acquired almost unrivalled expertise in exploration travel, offering expedition cruises in Antarctica, Greenland, Iceland, Spitsbergen, Northwest Passage and more. With a focus on truly authentic local experiences with a minimal environmental footprint, it is leading the field with hybrid ships, and this year, MS Roald Amundsen joins the fleet, followed by MS Fridjof Nansen in 2020.
Embark on an eight-night Arctic adventure, departing from Bergen and culminating in a stay at the Snow Hotel at Kirkenes, or head north of 80º to Murmansk and Franz Josef Land in the Russian Arctic, where polar bears roam and walruses wallow. Sail from Ushuaia to spend a white Christmas with the penguins of Antarctica, or follow in the wake of the great explorers, on a 29-day sailing through the Northwest Passage, joining your MS Roald Amundsen (named after the first man to sail this challenging route) in the Alaskan port of Nome, for an epic journey through rarely charted waters and breathtaking Arctic landscapes to Halifax on Canada’s east coast.