By PATRICK KINSELLA, Lonely Planet
For many people the mere mention of the word ‘cruise’ can evoke cringeworthy images of forced fun and chintzy cabins, but boat trips can be a thrilling way to see the world – it just depends on the cruise you choose.
Feel the pulse of India by cruising along the River Ganges. Image by Holger Leue / Lonely Planet Images / Getty Images
Feel the local rhythm on a freshwater cruise
With smaller boats and fewer people, river and lake cruises involve more interaction with the cultures, communities and creatures of the countries you’re visiting, with plenty of stops and more shore time. They’re usually point-to-point journeys, so the trip feels like a genuine travel experience. The riverbank is seldom far away so even while moving you can observe local life.
Top pick: cruise the Ganges, India
Exploring India is an explosive sensory experience, but discovering the country via its most sacred river on a small-boat cruise enables you to absorb it in far more serene fashion than is possible at street level. A new expeditionary voyage offered by Steppes (steppestravel.co.uk) takes a maximum of 24 passengers on a seven-day cultural trip along the Ganges on the MV Sukapha, between Patna and Farakka. Providing a floating history lesson on one of the planet’s most vibrant and complex cultures, it stops regularly at Mughal forts, introduces you to Sikh, Buddhist and Jain monuments, and reveals the Colganj cave temples where the infamous Thug sect once operated. On board you can enjoy creature comforts, with classy cabins and great food. If the Ganges sounds a bit too on-the-beaten-path, try Steppes’ Hoogly River Cruise through West Bengal (best from November to March). Gin and tonics all round.
More incredible river and lake cruises
Join the dots through Patagonia’s Lake District and traverse the Andes between Bariloche (Argentina) and Puerto Montt (Chile), skimming across the mirrored surfaces of hanging lakes suspended between snow-capped volcanoes (try worldexpeditions.com).
Jump aboard a Danube cruise and travel through 10 countries simply by following the flow 2888km from Bavaria to the Black Sea (check out AmaWaterways – amawaterways.co.uk – who also carry bikes).
Animal enthusiasts will be tickled by the pink dolphins of the Amazon (give andeanorigins.com a look) and the elephant antics on the Zambezi (for a lux option try zambeziqueen.com).
To experience a different era, cruise the Volga in Russia (uniworldcruises.com.au) or float along the mighty Mekong through Cambodia and southern Vietnam on the RV Mekong Pandaw (pandaw.com).
Stow away on a cargo ship
Cargo ships sail the globe, criss-crossing the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, skirting both poles, going through the Suez and Panama Canals and stopping off in all the world’s major ports. Some carry small numbers of fee-paying passengers, and hitching a ride on board a commercial vessel is a unique experience.
Top pick: the world’s last ‘tramp ship’
If you like surprises, stow away on the MV ISA, the world’s last ‘tramp ship’, which leaves IJmuiden in The Netherlands and picks up a cargo of grain from the prairies of North America. It returns from Thunder Bay on Lake Superior, sailing back through the Great Lakes, along the St Lawrence River – past Toronto, Québec and Montréal on one bank and the states of New York and Maine on the other – before reaching the Gulf of St Lawrence and crossing the Atlantic. At the point of departure, its final destination is unknown – it could be anywhere in Europe or North Africa, from Morocco to Turkey, Italy, Spain, Norway, Poland or even Russia – just depends on who bids the most for the cargo. Life on board is simple: you have a cabin, the run of the vast decks and you eat at the captain’s table. Don’t forget a good book. See cruisepeople.co.uk/pzm.htm.
More incredible cargo cruises
Adventurous cruisers can hitch a lift on a Grimaldi-line freighter (grimaldi-freightercruises.com) from Dakar, Senegal on the West African coast, to Buenos Aires in Argentina.
For a tropical trip, blag a berth on the Aranui (aranui.com), a mixed-purpose passenger and cargo ship that works the waters of the Pacific between Tahiti and the Marquesas Islands.
To sail the Suez, jump on a CMA CGM Cargo Cruises (cma-cgm.com/ProductsServices/cargo-cruises) trip from Southampton, England to India.
Alternatively, see the Panama Canal by hopping on a Hamburg Süd-operated freighter (hamburgsued-frachtschiffreisen.de) from Philadelphia to Australia.
Downsize and see a specialist
Small-boat trips deliver a more personal experience. Many micro cruises offer access to little-visited regions on traditional vessels, plus specialist activities such as scuba diving.
Top pick: Australia’s Great Barrier Reef
To explore the ocean up close, consider a live-aboard dive trip with a reputable company such as Mike Ball Expeditions (mikeball.com), who operate from Cairns, Australia. Custom-built for diving, the Spoilsport is a 30m twin-hull boat with a dedicated crew of 12, including highly experienced divemasters, who look after a maximum of 28 passengers as they explore the incredible outer reaches of the Great Barrier Reef on multiday Coral Sea trips. Drop straight into some of the planet’s most famous dive spots – such as Ribbon Reef and the Cod Hole, where giant potato cod abound – and then get fed and pampered back on deck. Afterwards, catch a low-level flight back to Cairns on a reef skimming twin-prop light aircraft. Seasonal options include dedicated minke whale-spotting trips. Leave your shoes at home.
More incredible small-boat cruises
Explore Oman’s Mussandam Peninsular on a dhow (msaoman.com).
Go scuba diving in Thailand on an East Timorese junk (thejunk.com).
Sail around the San Blas islands of the Caribbean (panamatravelunlimited.com).
Take a traditional dhoni around the Maldives with G Adventures (gadventures.com).
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