So the natives were bare-chested–men and women. Big deal. We tried to be nonchalant about that. After all, we were in a Bora Indian village deep in the Amazon rain forest.
But we couldn’t help but wonder: Are they attired this way because tourists are here? The answer soon became obvious: It was for the visitors. Now that was an exotic trip.
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Despite the fact that there is general acceptance of the adage that the world gets smaller all the time, there still are many parts of this Earth that are genuinely remote. What they have in common is that the easiest way to visit them is on a ship, usually a small one.
Another reason for cruising to exotic places is that cruises remove a lot of the aggravation involved in visiting underdeveloped countries. They provide English-speaking guides. Living aboard a ship removes the problem of coping with strange foods, questionable water, and lack of air conditioning. The medical staff aboard most ships (doctor, nurse or both) is also a comfort in strange climes. Other pluses are these ships usually provide excellent port information through on-board lecturers and plan shore excursions that will expose you to the highlights of a region, so it’s a good way to sample a destination if you are considering investing the time and most probably a hefty amount of money in a longer trip to a particular area.
Several larger cruise lines sail to remote places at certain times of the year–notably Princess, Crystal and Orient Lines–but it is mostly smaller ships that sail to the most unusual spots. Small deluxe lines like Silversea, Seabourn and Seven Seas Cruises also specialize in exotic itineraries.
Cruises to such far-away places often cost more than the over-the-counter Caribbean air/sea package but early booking specials and air fare deals can make them more affordable than you might think, especially if your plans are somewhat flexible. Late-booking specials to fill unsold space can cut costs considerably.
This season more ships than ever are available to cruisers from North America as many American companies have begun representing foreign ships. Also, many tour operators are offering very interesting cruise options to their clients. Here is a sampling (all prices are per person, double occupancy):
– Asia Transpacific Journeys has introduced a sailing adventure through the wild waters of Myanmar’s Mergui (pronounced Mer-guay) archipelago. The ship will travel through some 600 jungle-shrouded islands that are largely uninhabited wilderness.
The trip is aboard a 55-foot trimaran that carries only eight passengers. Sea kayaks and inflatable dinghies provide transport up island rivers. Scuba diving (for certified divers) and snorkeling is available. The trip is for five nights and departs from Phuket, Thailand. The cost is $849 with weekly departures year around. This company also offers sea canoe trips in Thailand and sailing trips in Indonesia. For information, call 800-642-2742 or www.southeastasia.com on the Internet.
– Seven-day cruises through the glacier-studded waters around Patagonia’s Tierra del Fuego, the island at the southern tip of South America, depart Saturdays from October through April from Punta Arenas, Chile, on the 100-
passenger Terra Australis.
The ship cruises through the Strait of Magellan and the Beagle Channel. A highlight is a visit to Agostini Bay where passengers will board small boats for close-up views of the glaciers of the Darwin Range. There are also visits to Chile’s Puerto Williams, the tiny southernmost city in the world, and to Ushuaia, the Argentine capital of Tierra del Fuego. From here, flightseeing over Cape Horn is offered.
The Terra Australis was built in the U.S. in 1984 and carries 100 passengers. Cabins are all outside with private baths. A seven-night cruise costs from $1,047 for a B-class cabin in low season to $3,311 for a suite in high season. Call 888-678-3772; www.australis.com
– Santa is not the only one to visit the North Pole. Cold-weather cruising is different, and not only because you have to keep adding and subtracting layers of clothing.
Quark Expeditions is the leader in these sorts of trips, offering a journey to the North Pole from July 3-19 aboard the icebreaker Sovetskiy Soyuz. The trip begins and ends in Helsinski, Finland. On July 11 you will reach the North Pole. The price for this extraordinary expedition is $18,950 for a standard cabin. Note: This ship carries two helicopers and a fleet of inflatable boats for passenger excursions. It has 50 cabins. Call 800-356-5699; www.quark-expeditions.com
– The Kuril Islands stretch like a broken chain from Hokkaido, Japan’s northern island to the southern tip of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. Some of the islands–Kunashir, Iturup, Shikotan and Habomais–are still claimed by Japan though they have been held by Russia since 1945. Few outsiders ever visit here.
A 16-day cruise, which begins in Nome, Alaska, and ends in Vladivostok, Russia, explores this fascinating, if little known, corner of the world. This itinerary is only offered once a year by Marine Expeditions: Aug. 5-21 aboard its 44-passenger Marine Spirit.
Highlights of this trip include natural sights like seabird colonies and seal lion rookeries, as well as visits to active volcanoes, hot springs and salmon rivers. An extensive education program is offered during this cruise.
Prices range from $4,795 to $5,695 including round-trip air fare from Anchorage. Most shore excursions are included. For information, call 800-263-9147 or e-mail travel@marineex.com. Quark Expeditions is offering a similar trip aboard the icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov from July 6-22. Call 800-356-5699.
– Of course, the South Sea Islands are always tantalizing, but best explored in small numbers. A good way to do this is to take a two-week trip on the Aranui, a 343-foot freighter that delivers cargo to some of the most remote islands on Earth. It is the link between French Polynesia and the distant Marquesas Islands, 750 miles to the southwest.
The ship carries 100 passengers, most islanders returning home by deck passage, while 30 cabins offer comfortable living space for foreign travelers. The ship makes 13 runs per year. The cost is from $1,980 (bunks, without private facilities) to $3,995 for a large outside cabin. The ships embarks from Papeete, Tahiti. Call 800-972-7268; www.aranui.com
– There are also some remote rivers of the world that have not been thoroughly explored. Golden Bear Travel offers a series of trips this summer down the Dnieper River to the Black Sea, a nifty way to see the recently independent republic of Ukraine.
The trips are between Kiev, the thousand-year-old capital, and Odessa. Stops include Sevastopol, with an excursion to Yalta, and Zaporizhzhya, where passengers will see a a cossack horse show. The 14-day trips are aboard the M/S Vladimir Mayakovski, a river vessel which carries around 250 passengers. Accommodations are in cabins with two lower beds and picture windows.
Departures are from June 11 to Sept. 7. Prices from Chicago range from $1,998 to $2,398 including round-trip air fare. All shore excursions are included. Call 800-551-1000 for details.
– Or how about doing it yourself? Caley Cruisers is a family business that offers you the opportunity to cruise on your own vessel on Loch Ness and the Caledonian Canel of Scotland. The business operates a fleet of 50 cruisers from the western edge of Inverness. (The company is encouraging, as well, noting that at least one-third of its customers are boating novices.)
The waters of the Caledonian Canel run from the Inverness Firth in the east to Loch Linnhe and Ft. William in the west, traversing the scenic Great Glen. It runs for some 60 miles, of which only 22 are manmade. (There are plenty of lock and bridge keepers to assist you on your way.) Several charming small towns dot its banks. Caley offers nearly a dozen boat designs to suit various size families. To contact Caley Cruisers, call 011-44-1463-236328 or fax 011-44-1463-714879 or check out www.holidayuk.co.uk/scotland/caleycruisers. Or write to Caley Cruisers, Canal Road, Inverness, IV3 6NF Scotland. Prices will be quoted in pounds sterling, but prices generally range from $500 to $1,975 (U.S.), depending on the size of boat and the date of the charter.
– Truly one of the Earth’s exotic places is the Galapagos Islands, primarily because of the wildlife.
Either you can opt for one of the three large vessels positioned there–the Polaris (Special Expeditions), the Santa Cruz or the Ambassador (each carries around 100 passengers)–or opt for one of the smaller boats (they carry from eight to 40) that serve the region.
Metropolitan Touring, Ecuador’s oldest tourism company, is an expert on the region; 800-527-2500 or www.ecuadorable.com. (Special Expeditions: 800-397-3348.)
– Galileo Cruises runs three- and four-day cruises of the Seychelles Islands, located in the Indian Ocean 1,000 miles off the east coast of Africa, on the 18-cabin sail-cruiser Galileo. The two cruises feature different itineraries and may be combined into a seven-day cruise. .
Departures are on Fridays and Mondays through April 7, and then begin again in late November. Prices are $1,400 to $1,950 for seven days. Call 800-447-5667; www.zeustours.com
– Abercrombie & Kent always offer unusual trips. For example, while the Lower Amazon River between Belem and Manaus in Brazil has become quite familiar to cruisers, the Upper Amazon that extends into Peru is quite another matter. Only small ships can penetrate beyond Manaus to areas where the remote Indian villages see visitors once or twice a year. One such vessel is the expeditionary ship Explorer, which carries 100 passengers and is outfitted with a fleet of inflatable boats. A&K is offering several trips on this ship in the Amazon this season. One is an 8-day itinerary that travels between Iquitos, Peru, and Leticia, Columbia, and the other is a 16-day tour that covers the entire route between Iquitos and Belem. There are several departures on the shorter trip between April 18 and May 30. Prices range from $2,495 to $4,395 per person, double not including air fare. The longer trip departs on April 3 and May 30 and costs from $4,995 to $7,350. Call 800-323-7308; www.abercrombieandkent.com
