The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
Mix mountains and life at sea for a truly epic escape
They may seem incongruous at first, but there are few finer – or more impressive – duos than a majestic peak paired with a magnificent voyage, says Anna Selby
Acruise that goes up a mountain may conjure images of Noah’s ark, wedged unceremoniously on top of Mount Ararat after the Flood. But, in fact, a few innovative lines have realised that there are plenty of passengers who love the comfort and inclusiveness of a cruise, but don’t necessarily want to spend their entire holiday bobbing along at sea level. The result? They have decided to inject a little altitude – and with the (literal) highs and lows of some of the world’s most spectacular corners combined, boy does it make for some epic itineraries.
One such cruise company is Viking, which has partnered with the iconic Rocky Mountaineer railroad to offer an inspired extension to its Alaska cruise. The trip begins among the frozen bays and inlets of the 49th state, before rocketing up into a landscape of deep gorges, dense forests, soaring snow-topped mountains, rivers of rushing white water, and vast lakes.
On the water, I saw countless glaciers spread across miles of high mountain terrain or glistening blue and dropping down into the ocean, the ship close enough that we could hear their groans as they calved icebergs into the freezing green waters. On a catamaran in Resurrection Bay, a sea otter floated by; a bald eagle sat among deep green trees; a dozen sea lions lounged on the rocks; while jellyfish – looking remarkably like fried eggs, transparent but for a bright yellow centre – drifted past on the tealcoloured waters of an inlet. Meanwhile, a seal colony peered at us short-sightedly from a pebble beach, then a pod of around 30 orcas arrived to swim alongside us until one hurled himself out of the water in three magnificent breeches.
Then it was onto the tracks and into the Rockies, where bears fished at the water’s edge, deer stared out from the woods, ospreys nested on bridges, bald eagles soared and salmon leapt – all framed by the huge panoramic windows of warm, glass-domed carriages. Not your typical cruise, then.
Anna Selby was a guest of Rocky Mountaineer (rockymountaineer.com) and Viking Cruises (0800 319 66 60; viking.com), which offers the 10-night Alaska and the Inside Passage cruise from £5,590pp, including stops at Vancouver, Juneau, Skagway and Seward. The price includes flights, transfers, meals (with drinks), Wi-Fi, excursions and gratuities. Departs May 14. The five-night Rocky Mountaineer extension costs from £3,999pp.
The Jungfrau, Switzerland
Tauck’s cruise through the Rhine, Swiss Alps & Amsterdam starts pretty high (in Zurich) and just keeps getting higher as you ascend by cog-wheel train to the Jungfraujoch station, aka the “top of Europe”, at 11,332ft above sea level. The scenery is quite breathtaking (except when you are actually inside the mountain) and there is a snowy – even in summer – outdoor platform for the ultimate altitude selfie. After two nights at the Hotel Bellevue Palace in Bern, on the third day you will board your ship in Basel and cruise the Rhine, that most romantic of rivers, for the next week, stopping off at Karlsruhe, Cologne and BadenBaden, with excursions and events (such as a private dinner with the owners of a 14th-century castle) en route.
Tauck (0800 810 8020; tauck.co.uk) offers the nine-night The Rhine, Swiss Alps & Amsterdam cruise from £5,030 per person, including all excursions, gratuities, drinks and transfers but excluding flights. Several sailings in April and May, then from July to Oct.
Machu Picchu, Peru
So numerous are the mountains involved on Hurtigruten’s Machu Picchu and Galapagos Islands cruise that you don’t actually see your ship until day six. Before that, you will be high in the Andes, staying in Lima, Quito and Cusco and visiting not just the iconic Machu Picchu but also the Cotopaxi Volcano (“Neck of the Moon” in Quechua) in Ecuador. You will walk to around 12,800ft and see not just the active volcano (19,393ft) and its crater, but one of the few equatorial glaciers in the world. So, is it all downhill from day six? Only in the most literal sense. The next stop is the Galapagos and then it is a week of spotting giant turtles, evolving iguanas and blue-footed boobies.
Hurtigruten (0208 846 2666; hurtigruten.co.uk) offers several 13-day cruises from Machu Picchu to the Galapagos from £7,700 per person, including all tours, accommodation, local and international flights and transfers. Various departures between now and March.
Ben Nevis, Scotland
A little closer to home are Scotland’s Highlands and Western Isles. Hebridean’s Footloose through the Western Seaboard itinerary is tailor-made for walkers, so one of the few cruises where you won’t put on the usual half a stone in a week (though they do their best nevertheless, with two gala dinners in just seven nights). The best known mountain scenery here is in the evocative landscape of Glencoe, where you can take a full day’s hike in the foothills of Ben Nevis – but there are also the Paps, the wild mountain landscape of the Isle of Jura. There are plenty of gentler walking options, too, and some spectacular scenic cruising around Mull, Islay and the Firth of Lorn.
Hebridean Island Cruises (01756 704704; hebridean.co.uk) offers a seven-night round trip from Oban from £5,200 per person, fully inclusive. Departs April 23, with three more Footloose cruises scheduled later in the year, all with different itineraries.
Mount Etna, Sicily
It may not strictly be a mountain – but Mount Etna is Europe’s largest active volcano, rising some 11,000ft. Star Clippers offers two excursions to Etna on its Amalfi and Sicily cruise: either take a 4x4 and complete a gruelling hike to the peak, so you can gaze out with some satisfaction across the Gulf of Catania and the woods, orchards and vineyards below; or take a scenic bus ride around the lower levels and enjoy a Sicilian brunch on the slopes. Etna falls at roughly the mid-point on a cruise that starts and ends in Civitavecchia (the port of Rome) and visits Lipari, Messina, Amalfi, Sorrento and Ponza. Your cruise is on Star Flyer – a spectacular replica of a four-masted clipper ship – and the aim is to use the sails as much as possible, so expect plenty of 19th-century romance (but with far bigger cabins and a good deal more luxury than you would have found on the original tea clippers).
Star Clippers (01473 242666; starclippers.co.uk) offers a seven-night trip from £1,899 per person, including return flights from London, full board, transfers and port charges but not extra excursions. Departs May 11 (with multiple alternative dates).
Mount Athos, Greece
The spiritual capital of the Orthodox Christian world sits atop the easternmost leg of the Halkidiki peninsula in the Aegean Sea, its densely forested slopes reaching up to the summit (6,670ft). Commonly thought of as a single monastery, Mount Athos actually has 20 of them. It is home to around 2,000 monks, some of whom live in cells and caves dotted around the mountain. Religious protocol means that only men are allowed to visit, but while they hike, the ladies can watch from the comfortable deck of the Maid Marian 2, while sipping on the free-flowing champagne or riding on a Seabob (a water scooter that can dive to 130ft). The privately owned vintage yacht is available for charter between May and September, and you have a crew of six on board, including an excellent chef. You plan your own itinerary with the captain, meaning that a typical week could begin in Thessaloniki and go on to Sani Marina (otherwise known as Greece’s Monaco), Mount Athos and the lovely hidden beaches, tiny islands and seaside villages of the region – Afitos, Vourvourou, Neos Marmaras and Parthenonas.
Maid Marian 2 (maidmarian2.com) offers a seven-night trip for 10 adults (sharing) for £68,580, including all meals, drinks and excursions but not international flights.
Table Mountain, South Africa
A whopping three months in length, Fred Olsen’s The Intrepid Beauty of Africa and the Indian Ocean voyage is likely to be rich in highlights. Among them will surely be the three nights spent in Cape Town under Table Mountain, and indeed a day on top of its remarkably flat summit. You can take the long hike up (it takes around nine hours, though you do stop for lunch and take the cable car down) or opt for one of the less demanding options. Other stops include Zanzibar, Madagascar, the Maldives and Seychelles, the Suez Canal, the Egyptian pyramids and the Valley of the Kings, India, Oman, Senegal and Togo – not to mention spotting Africa’s Big Five on a safari. Another highlight? Television wildlife presenter Michaela Strachan will be on board from Cape Town as part of an enrichment programme.
Fred Olsen ( fredolsencruises.com) offers the 93-night Intrepid Beauty of Africa & Indian Ocean trip from £9,999 per person (departs Southampton Nov 19). Alternatively, opt to do a single section, such as the 60-night Seychelles to Southampton sailing ( from £7,999 per person including flights; departs Dec 21), or the 36-night sailing from Seychelles to Cape Town ( from £5,999 per person including flights; departs Dec 22).