Small, but mighty

To avoid the mass-market cruise-ship circuit means downsizing and going remote—which is exactly what these new small ships and off-the-beaten track itineraries have in common.

- Emma Love

Mid 2025, Abercrombie & Kent will launch the 12-cabin Pure Amazon in northern Peru’s vast Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve (the country’s largest protected area, it’s about the size of Wales). Activities include skiff excursions, jungle walks, kayaking, bird spotting and visits to riverside local villages (www.abercrombiekent.com).

The riverboat is available for private charter, too, as is Rascal Voyages’s fleet, which has just added Wakatobi National Park, in south-east Sulawesi, to its roster of destinations (future by-the-cabin journeys include September 14–21, 2026). Snorkelling, diving—it’s in the Coral Triangle that has the highest coral diversity in the world—and meeting the nomadic, freediving Bajo people are all highlights (www.rascalvoyages.com).

In October, Asian river specialist Pandaw will embark on its first trip along the Hooghly River, which connects the Ganges with Kolkata (formerly Calcutta); as part of the nine-night sailing, passengers on the 18-cabin Kalaw Pandaw will spend time exploring the former capital of the Indian Raj (book through Fred.Holidays; www.fredholidays.co.uk). Further south, Aqua Expeditions is joining the likes of Cheval Blanc and Waldorf Astoria with expansion into the Seychelles—a new yacht begins excursions around the archipelago and Zanzibar from December (www.aquaexpeditions.com).

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