There’s an itch for adventure that comes with the new year. While a bold spree with a hint of edgy danger might define an out-of-the-ordinary expedition for some, a softer exploit might easily do the trick for others.
With that in mind, adventure cruises offer stirring itineraries with adrenaline-surging activities that run the gamut from off-roading in Abu Dhabi’s Al Khatim Desert and snorkeling with frisky sea lions off the Galapagos’ most obscure isles to indulging in alfresco spa treatments on a secluded beach.
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In the steps of pirates and Darwin
Darwin called the Galapagos “a little world within itself.” Indeed, what you’ll find on adventure cruises that skirt the equator, some 600 miles off Ecuador’s coast, is something palpably otherworldly. Aboard Quasar Expeditions M/V Evolution, a yacht-sized ship that holds 32 guests, you’ll drop anchor at the famed archipelago’s smaller islands, where the big ships can’t dock.
At sea, far from urbanity, you’ll view creatures that only exist in this geographical zone. Suffused in the quietude of this serene locale, you may find nature guiding you to your own inner landscape, to the very depths of your soul.
Expect to swim with feisty sea lions and penguins, snorkel above hammerhead sharks, witness the blue-footed boobies in their archetypal mating dance, and peer hypnotically at the seemingly infinite horizon.
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Dates throughout the year. From $9,500 per person, quasarex.com
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India by land and river: Taj Mahal, safaris and the Brahmaputra
With National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions, a cruise line renowned for its pioneering jaunts into remote expanses and its long-held reverence for sustainable travel, you can immerse yourself in India’s mythical glamour during 18 days by land and at sea.
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Accompanied by an expert expedition team, including a naturalist and photo instructor, wanderlusters can undertake Jeep safaris through Bandhavgarh and Kaziranga national parks to gaze upon rare species — such as the Asian one-horned rhinoceros, Asian elephants and the elusive Royal Bengal tiger — not to mention photograph abundant birdlife.
As mariners on Charaidew II, the newest charter ship to join the National Geographic-Lindblad Expedition fleet, you will traverse the lesser-traveled Assam region, explore Kolkata and swoon over prime sites such as the Taj Mahal.
March 19-April 5, 2026. From $21,608 per person, world.expeditions.com
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Grand Continental Sojourn
Take a pleasure-packed foray that incorporates 51 ports — and just as many adventures — on board Regent Seven Seas Cruises Seven Seas Navigator. The 84-night Grand Continental Sojourn, an adventure in itself for its global scope, takes sailors from Barcelona to Sydney.
As you float, you’ll have the opportunity to trek on a moonscape at Timanfaya National Park on Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, shoot through the Indian Ocean’s Mayotte Lagoon in a swift Zodiac boat, spy monkeys and exotic birds in Gambia’s bushland, and spin through dunes that ascend 1,000 ft toward the sky in Abu Dhabi’s ancient desert.
October 31, 2025-January 23, 2026. From $48,299 per person, rssc.com
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