Schooner trek that eclipses all others
A NEW year brings new opportunities to see more of the world on once-in-a-lifetime holidays. Here’s my pick of cruises in 2023.
FULFIL the dream of seeing a total eclipse of the sun on the ultimate away-from-it-all holiday, sailing from the Indonesian island of Flores.
A nine-night island-hopping cruise aboard a schooner with just 22 passengers will take you to tiny, uninhabited Maupora atoll for the eclipse on April 20. You’ll have lots of snorkelling opportunities and visit remote villages. Fares for departure on April 16 are from £5,900pp excluding flights, with New Scientist (newscientist.com/tours).
On the other side of the world, you can sail between Canada and the US this summer and get up close to thundering Niagara Falls on a Great Lakes Collection cruise aboard expedition ship Viking Octantis. On the 14-night trip from Toronto to Duluth in Minnesota, you can see shipwrecks in Thunder Bay from a glass-bottom boat and hike in the Hiawatha Highlands. There are eight departures from June to September.
The cost, from £11,095pp, includes flights and excursions (viking.com).
If Africa is on your bucket list, you can tick off four countries in one trip, plus some of the best wildlife viewing. Stay for three nights at a lodge on an island on the Chobe river, where Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe meet, and make day trips to nearby Chobe National Park, home to the Big Five, by boat. Then fly to Lake Kariba and Matusadona National Park, with its herds of elephants, sailing for three nights aboard eight-cabin African Dream. The eight-night holiday ends with a stay at Victoria Falls. Prices, from £4,532pp, also include flights within Africa (croisieurope.com).
For those who prefer a cooler climate, there’s a tour of the high Arctic on expedition ship Scenic Eclipse. On the west coast of Greenland, you’ll hear the boom of calving glaciers (when icebergs break off), and spot polar bears and beluga whales in Melville Bay. You can even take a hill hike from Qaanaaq – one of the northernmost towns in the world. The two-week Uncover Greenland And Canada trip departs on August 12. The cost, from £12,900pp, includes flights and excursions (scenic.co.uk).