Polar Adventure Antarctica

For those with a taste for real adventure, the unique ‘Off the Beaten Track’ voyage to Antarctica aboard the 96-passenger Akademik Ioffe will tick all the boxes. Sailing on board the reassuringly sturdy, ice-strengthened ship with a team of professional polar guides, you’ll be whisked from Ushuaia in Argentina, the world’s southernmost city, via the Drake Passage to the Antarctic Peninsula. Once there, you’re guaranteed to be blown away by the abundance of wildlife in this seemingly barren land – it teems with seals, penguins and hundreds of seabirds from albatross to skuas. You can get up close to the wildlife by exploring the peninsula on a two-night sea kayak expedition, spending your nights camping on the icecap. If you prefer keeping on firm ground, a Zodiac will drop you on land, from where you can explore on foot and still enjoy a night of camping.

Avid skiers and mountaineers will be in their element in this environment and the itinerary allows for those with experience to put their skills to the test during a ski-touring expedition, led by expert guides. This is a unique opportunity to climb and ski in the Antarctic. For a slightly less challenging experience, guides lead snowshoe hikes and skiing on more gentle terrain.

Finally, learn to capture your Antarctic adventures on film by joining expert polar photographer, Daisy Gilardini, for a full day in the field. Gilardini will help you to master the art of wildlife photography, teach you how to get the most out of your equipment and ensure that you have some truly remarkable shots to remember your visit to this otherworldly environment by.

Food of the Far East Japan and South Korea

An adventure cruise doesn’t have to focus on physical challenges, as proven by the ‘Japanese Culinary Adventure’ voyage from Orion Expedition Cruises. This journey of discovery around southern Japan and South Korea uses local cuisine as a window into the culture, art and ritual of Japanese society. Suitably, the voyage starts in Kobe, which enjoyed a brief period as Japan’s capital city in 1180 but has more recently given its name to the famed delicacy, Kobe beef. Sailing on board the new Orion II with just 100 fellow passengers, the first port of call after Kobe will be Shimonoseki, home to the Kozanji Temple, the oldest Zen building in Japan, as well as the country’s largest fugu market. Fugu is the notorious poisonous puffer fish so prized in Japan for its delicate taste and delicious roe – it takes a fugu chef up to three years to complete an apprenticeship to prepare the fish safely. You will have the opportunity to visit Shimonoseki’s fugu market with a local guide as well as food markets in various other stops on this cruise, such as the Jagalchi Fish Market in the South Korean port of Busan. Fortunately, you won’t have to try your hand at preparing fugu yourself, although you will learn how to create and present many of Japan’s most popular dishes. In Nagasaki, you’ll learn about the many types of sake, when to serve it hot or chilled, and about some of the intricate rituals associated with the drink. This culinary adventure will provide you with a unique insight into Japan, while also enabling you to appreciate the beauty of its islands.

Cultural Discovery West Africa

The west coast of Africa boasts beautiful scenery, unusual wildlife and ancient traditions. Departing from Accra, Ghana’s capital, the luxurious Silver Explorer will take 132 passengers along the country’s coastline, stopping at cocoa plantations, ports, villages and parks.

Ghana’s turbulent colonial past is still visible today, not least in the 15th-century Elmina Castle and Cape Coast Castle, built in 1653 as a hub for timber and gold trade but subsequently used for the transatlantic slave trade. You’ll visit these sites and Ghana’s Kakum National Park on the first day. Two days at sea will enable you to relax and learn about West Africa’s history, culture and wildlife from the ship’s team of experts, who include anthropologists, biologists and historians. Next is Príncipe, a volcanic island home to a virtually unparalleled number of indigenous trees, orchids and birds. The following day will bring you to Cameroon. Using dug-out canoes, you’ll travel up the Lobe River to a village that’s home to the local Bagyeli pygmy people. As you turn north-east, you’ll stop at the foot of Mount Cameroon for Limbe Botanical Gardens and the Limbe Wildlife Centre. Hugging the coastline the following day, Silver Explorer’s biologists will help you spot seabirds and marine mammals as you sail for Benin, Africa’s ‘Latin Quarter’. This little-visited country is where you can explore the birthplace of voodoo and walk the ‘Route des Esclaves’ (path of the slaves) in the port of Ouidah – a sobering reminder that this was one of the busiest West African slave embarkation points. Your last day will be spent in Togo, where you’ll explore the lush Kloto Forest with a resident entomologist before learning about the local Ewa culture and crafts.

A Taste of Asia East Indies

The name of the ship says it all: Spirit of Adventure. This journey will take you from Thai markets in Bangkok to the Malaysian city of Kuala Lumpur, stopping in Vietnam, Cambodia and Brunei. Having enjoyed the bustle of Bangkok, the first stop will be the fabled whitesand beaches of Sihanoukville in Cambodia, where passengers can enjoy snorkelling, scuba diving and jungle trekking. The next stop will be Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, which exudes French colonial ambience. History buffs will be tempted to explore the Cu Chi Tunnel system, used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War.

Sailing north to Nha Trang, you’ll visit Long Son Pagoda, with its giant statue of the Buddha, and the Po Nagar Cham towers. Located at the mouth of the Cai River, the first temple was built on this site in the eighth century and the existing complex is one of Vietnam’s finest. Crossing the South China Sea, you’ll reach Kota Kinabalu, on Borneo. This Malaysian island is not only home to untouched beaches, pristine coral reefs and tropical rainforests, but also the 4,095m high Mount Kinabalu in Kinabalu National Park, 90 minutes from Kota Kinabalu. After exploring Borneo’s natural beauty, you’ll be whisked to Brunei to admire the Sultan’s glittering treasures, displayed in the Royal Regalia Building, and the intricate Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque. Before disembarking at Port Klang for Kuala Lumpur, there’s one day to explore Malaysia’s dense rainforest and bustling local markets in the town of Bintulu.

Reef Encounters Australia

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the world’s great natural wonders. The unique reef system comprises almost 3,000 individual reefs teeming with wildlife and 900 picture-perfect tropical islands, which stretch over 1,600 miles along the coast of Queensland, northeastern Australia. Next year, the small-ship cruise company Coral Princess Cruises will enable passengers to combine exploration of this remarkable ecosystem with another natural wonder – a total solar eclipse. The next solar eclipse will take place on 14 November 2012 and Tropical North Queensland lies in the centre of the prime solar eclipse viewing area, making it one of the few places on earth where the eclipse can be witnessed in its full glory. Coral Princess Cruises has arranged two dedicated ‘Solar Eclipse’ voyages. These four and six-day trips will enable passengers to discover the reef, the rainforests and tropical islands that surround it, and provide unbeatable views of the eclipse. Sailing out of Cairns on one of Coral Princess Cruises’ fleet of sleek motorboats, in the company of no more than 50 other passengers, you’ll spend the days leading up to the eclipse enjoying snorkelling, scuba diving and glassbottom boat tours under the tutelage of a marine biologist. The reef’s gin-clear waters and multicoloured coral gardens, with residents including sea turtles, giant clams, stingrays and thousands of fish, will keep you enthralled, although the white-sand beaches and rich diversity of wildlife on the islands will vie for your attention. When 14 November dawns, you’ll wake up on board, perfectly situated to enjoy uninterrupted views of the total solar eclipse, which will last up to two minutes. And then it’s back to exploring the reef.

Glacial Beauty Alaska and Canada

With their elemental scenery, rich flora and fauna and diverse cultural heritage, Canada’s Rocky Mountains and Alaska are on many people’s ‘bucket list’. Titan HiTours has a 17-night itinerary combining both, travelling by luxury ship, train and coach. The Banff National Park will be your base for the first three days of your six-day overland Rockies trip. While here you’ll explore the park as well as Banff’s beautiful neighbour, Lake Louise. You’ll follow the scenic Icefields Parkway road to the mountain town of Jasper, stopping to ride an Ice Explorer vehicle on the Columbia Icefield. Then you’ll board the Rocky Mountaineer train from Kamloops to Vancouver ahead of the next leg of your trip to Alaska. This state is home to Mount McKinley, the world’s most perfect volcanic cone (Mount Shishaldin), over three million lakes, countless islands, and half the world’s glaciers. With more coastline than the US states combined, exploring this naturelovers’ paradise presents multiple challenges. Cue the five-star MS Zuiderdam, which sails passengers from Vancouver to Alaska along part of that remarkable coastline, taking in some of the ancient communities settled by indigenous people and prospectors during the Gold Rush. The Zuiderdam navigates the Inside Passage, flanked by forested islands and craggy mountains, to reach Juneau, Alaska’s capital. After visiting the former frontier town of Skagway, you’ll reach the highlight of this voyage: the spectacular Glacier Bay National Park. Here you’ll find yourself surrounded by actively calving glaciers and towering mountains – the perfect ending to your adventure.

Ocean Paradise South Pacific

Think South Pacific, think tropical beaches and turquoise waters. However, as you’ll discover on board L’Austral, there’s much more to it than ‘just’ beaches. Departing from Valparaiso in Chile, first port of call will be Robinson Crusoe Island, one of the sparsely populated Juan Fernández Islands. After enjoying the beauty of this volcanic archipelago, you’ll spend four days at sea, when you can enjoy the ship’s sundeck, pool and spa and attend informal seminars about local history, culture and wildlife. You’ll be able to stretch out your sea legs in one of the world’s most isolated places – Easter Island. Famed for its Moai figures, whose heads reach up to 20m, you’ll have two days to explore this Unesco site. After a three-day passage crossing the East Pacific Rise, L’Austral reaches the four Pitcairn Islands, one of the last British Overseas Territories. Only Pitcairn is inhabited, with just 50 residents, descendants of Bounty mutineers.

After a day spent discovering the untouched beaches and unique flora and fauna of Pitcairn and its tiny capital, Adamstown, L’Austral will reach the Gambier Islands. You’ll spend an idyllic afternoon here, enjoying your first taste of laid-back French Polynesian atmosphere. The next three days will pass in a kaleidoscope of tropical images, as you cruise through the Tuamotu Archipelago, one of the world’s most beautiful chain of atolls. You’ll see white-sand islands dotted with palm trees and encircled by luminous turquoise waters, sailing through crystal-clear lagoons to the island of Fakarava, which boasts incredible snorkelling. After three glorious weeks in the South Pacific, L’Austral will bring you into Papeete, the capital of Tahiti.