Close to Home, Far from Ordinary

With small ships and unique itineraries, PONANT EXPLORATIONS’  luxury adventure voyages show off the most breathtaking and remote corners of the world—no long-haul flight required.

Isla Cerralvo lies near La Paz in Baja California Sur, Mexico. (Photo Credit: PONANT / Julien Fabro) 

Mindful Encounters

The water near Guerrero Negro on the Baja Peninsula acts like a luxury birthing suite for gray whales: The high salinity and warm water give the newborn calves a cushy early life, buoying them to the surface as they learn to swim. The alluring breeding grounds create some of the world’s best whale watching—for those who can get there. Guerrero Negro is a seven-hour drive from the nearest major town, Ensenada, and a touch longer south to La Paz.

Alternatively, it takes just about one day on board Ponant Explorations’ luxurious 92-stateroom Le Bellot to reach this UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve—the first stop on the line’s Exploration in the Heart of Baja California itinerary, debuting in 2027—before it continues to the bottlenose dolphins, ospreys, and blue-footed boobies of the Sea of Cortez. PONANT EXPLORATIONS is the only cruise line to offer whale watching in Guerrero Negro and does so with a strict biosecurity protocol that ensures sustainable encounters.

Dolphins in Magdalena Bay in Baja California Sur. (Photo Credit: PONANT / Julien Fabro)

New Discoveries Even For The Locals

“It’s an experience like no other.”, says José Sarica, the director of research and development for Ponant Explorations. “One of the goals of our voyages in North America is to take guests—even local ones—to places they don’t really know, often quite remote and inaccessible.” On a scouting trip to Baja, Sarica watched a humpback whale play in Magdalena Bay for hours, doing headstands and slapping the water, illustrating why this protected waterway is the best place to see them.

Observers on the uninhabited Isla del Carmen in Mexico. (Photo Credit: PONANT / Julien Fabro)

Luxury expedition cruising has been the hottest trend in travel, growing exponentially in the last few years. But while many of these types of active, adventurous itineraries head to the far reaches of the Earth—the Arctic, Antarctica, the Galápagos Islands—travelers are increasingly finding they can stay close to home and still have the same type of rare, moving experiences. “We want to push the boundaries and offer something new,” says Samuel Chamberlain, CEO of Ponant Explorations Group Americas—a big part of which is uncovering hidden gems closer to home, from the Great Lakes to Baja California.

“Most people know Cabo San Lucas, but travel three or four hours by small ship and you’re in a completely different world,” Chamberlain explains. “Even more familiar places like Cabo San Lucas will feel new to seasoned travelers because of how we deliver the experience.”

To make the journeys effortless, the company designed the Baja trips to start and end in Los Cabos, whose airport offers direct flights from across the United States. The ship heads north to meet the whales in Guerrero Negro, then rounds the peninsula to bring guests into the Sea of Cortez for the chance to swim with sea lions, hike the Sierra de la Giganta, and snorkel alongside devil rays in Cabo Pulmo National Park, one of North America’s oldest coral reefs.

Snorkeling in Mexico’s Cabo Pulmo. (Photo Credit: PONANT / Julien Fabro)

Limited Time, Unlimited Adventure 

Americans are generally more conservative with their time, and with air travel getting more expensive and complicated, luxury adventure cruises to less-traveled, closer-to-home regions hold increasing appeal. “The Caribbean and Central America have a lot of other great waterways that are not as mass-market or heavily traveled,” Chamberlain says. “We’re not one of these wash, rinse, and repeat kind of expedition cruise lines. Our voyages are consciously designed in a way that enables our guests to support local efforts in a tangible way.”

“We’re cultivating off-the-beaten-track experiences closer to home, for time-strapped travelers seeking cultural depth, transformation, and less time spent flying.”

—Samuel Chamberlain, CEO of Ponant Explorations Group Americas

Ponant Explorations’ small ships allow the company to bring guests along narrower estuaries and into shallower coves—places larger vessels can’t reach. The Pearls of the Caribbean cruise stops in the Tobago Cays, a marine park of colorful coral reefs and secret coves, inhabited by peaceful green turtles and a rainbow assortment of fish—but no other humans. Ponant Explorations’ Secrets of Central America itinerary visits the scarlet macaws and spider monkeys of Costa Rica’s Curú Wildlife Refuge and calls at Playa Muerto in Panama’s Darién National Park, where the gap in the Pan-American Highway has made it one of the most famously remote regions of the world.

“Our itineraries are more esoteric, deliberately.”  Chamberlain adds. For guests, that doesn’t necessarily mean stringing together long-haul flights to get halfway around the world; it means getting curious about what’s nearby, too.

Aerial view of palm trees in San Ignacio, Mexico. (Photo Credit: PONANT / Julien Fabro)

For Cold-Weather Explorers, Saint Lawrence’s Winter Wonderland Awaits

“Winter voyages on the Saint Lawrence River offer a completely different perspective on Québec—even for Quebecers,” Sarica says. Ponant Explorations’ luxury icebreaker Le Commandant Charcot rests in the ice pack on the Saguenay Fjord, where guests make their way by snowshoe and dogsled to join the locals in ice fishing. The ship sails on to the enchanting ice floes and forests of Sept-Îles, to meet the Innu people, the indigenous civilization of the Côte-Nord, and learn about their customs and traditions. “We give guests the opportunity to discover aspects of their own country they might not know,” he adds. “Unique flora and fauna, and communities far from the usual tourist routes.”

Exploring the Arctic aboard a PONANT EXPLORATIONS vessel brings travelers closer to the region’s extraordinary wildlife and landscapes. Pictured here: Le Commandant Charcot navigating polar ice. (Photo Credit: @StudioPONANT) 

An Adventure For Every Explorer

Ponant Explorations’ luxury adventure voyages give people the chance to indulge their natural human curiosities about the little-known parts of the world, something that can be done at the literal ends of the Earth, but also from places with short direct flights to Chicago, Seattle, or New York. It’s about playful whales, life-changing interactions, and awe-inspiring scenery. And, Sarica says, “It’s about genuine discovery and exploration.”

There is an adventure for every type of explorer aboard PONANT EXPLORATIONS. Find yours today.