Special Combination Cruise

The city of Papeete (Tahitian Pape'ete; pop. 27,000) is the capital of Tahiti, the largest of the French Polynesian Islands. With its pleasant warm tropical climate, city-lovers will enjoy Papeete's chic shops, specialist stores and boutiques, together with the lively mix of French, Polynesian, and Chinese cultures. Read more about Papeete, French Polynesia

Mo'orea is French Polynesia's second-most popular tourist attraction after Tahiti. Located a mere seven kilometres west of the island of Tahiti, Mo'orea is distinctive for its jagged peaks cloaked with lush greenery, its white and black sand beaches that are among the finest in the world.The island is encircled by a lagoon of translucent green, fringed by the deep blue of the ocean and light blue sky. Then there are the fascinating threads of waterfalls that tumble down fern-softened cliffs, all of which sets one in awe of the majesty of nature. Read more about Moorea, French Polynesia

Tahuata is the smallest of the inhabited Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean. Situated 1400 km to the NE of Tahiti, the jagged island rises to a height of 1050 m. Isolated without an airfield, the 700 or so inhabitants are reached by boat from nearby Hiva Oa. Read more about Tahuata, French Polynesia

Fatu Hiva - aka Fatu Iva - is the southernmost and most isolated of the inhabited Marquesas Island in French Polynesia. Fatu Hiva is the island of superlatives: the furthest south, the wettest, the lushest, the most isolated, and the most authentic. Hanavave Bay on Fatu Hiva is one of the most beautiful bays in the world, and it is surprising that it has been able to remain an untouched paradise. Read more about Fatu Hiva, French Polynesia

Over a thousand kilometres SE of Tahiti are the Gambier Islands, also a part of French Polynesia. Mangareva, the largest island of the archipelago, is home to most of the population and the centre of the region's pearl industry. Mangareva and a few small islands are contained within a lagoon 24 km across, bounded by a reef. Read more about Mangareva, French Polynesia

NOTE: Tenders to shore are infrequent. Locals from the island do come out to the anchored ship. Pitcairn Island (pop. Read more about Pitcairn Island, Pitcairn

Most cruise ships make a scenic pass of the island, and as few as 30% tender successfully to shore, there being no harbour and the weather is problematic. (Serious sight-seers arrive by air from Chile mainland.) One of the most isolated islands in the world, this triangle of volcanic rock in the South Pacific is 2,300 km off the west coast of Chile. It is intriguing, its history is as unclear as it is mysterious. Read more about Easter Island, Chile

Most cruise ships make a scenic pass of the island, and as few as 30% tender successfully to shore, there being no harbour and the weather is problematic. (Serious sight-seers arrive by air from Chile mainland.) One of the most isolated islands in the world, this triangle of volcanic rock in the South Pacific is 2,300 km off the west coast of Chile. It is intriguing, its history is as unclear as it is mysterious. Read more about Easter Island, Chile

Robinson Crusoe Island, with its ragged and mountainous topography, is the second largest of three islands in the Juan Fernandez Archipelago, situated 670 km off the coast of mainland Chile. It is a place that recalls stories of castaways, pirates and prisoners. It is an isolated volcanic mass rising out of the cold currents of the South Pacific Ocean. Read more about Robinson Crusoe Island, Chile

Santiago is the capital of Chile, 90 minutes drive from its port Valparaiso. Santiago has easy access both to ski slopes just 50 km to the Andes, and beaches 100 km to the Pacific. Chile's steady economic growth has transformed Santiago into one of Latin America's most modern metropolitan areas, with dozens of shopping centers and impressive high-rises. Read more about Santiago (Valparaiso), Chile

Santiago is the capital of Chile, 90 minutes drive from its port Valparaiso. Santiago has easy access both to ski slopes just 50 km to the Andes, and beaches 100 km to the Pacific. Chile's steady economic growth has transformed Santiago into one of Latin America's most modern metropolitan areas, with dozens of shopping centers and impressive high-rises. Read more about Santiago (Valparaiso), Chile

Puerto Montt is a fast growing city in the south of Chile, just north of Chiloe Island. At the southern end of the Pan American highway in Chile, Puerto Montt is not only the end of the road, but the beginning of the fabled land of fjords, canals, islands, and the snow-capped mountains of the Andes. Fertile agricultural fields and green forested hills also add to the enchantment of Southern Chile. Read more about Puerto Montt, Chile

Strikingly rich in natural and historical attractions, the narrow fjords on the west coast of Chile penetrate deeply into the mountains of the Bernardo O'Higgins National Park, a major part of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. This is the largest of the protected areas in Chile, and with no large rivers in the area the fjords drain water from outlet glaciers of the ice-capped, storm-swept elevations. It is a large area of uninhabited islands, deep sounds, breathtaking glaciers, and narrow passages. Read more about Chilean Fjords, Chile

Caleta Tortel is a coastal village in Chile. It is the administrative centre of the commune of Tortel and is located between the mouth of the Baker River - the largest river in Chile - and a small bay in the Baker Channel. The surrounding geography is rugged, formed by a number of islands, fjords, channels and estuaries. Read more about Tortel, Chile

The English Narrows (or, English Passage; Angostura Inglesa, Spanish) is narrow 180 m wide section of the Messier Channel in the SW coast of Chile. It is 18 km long, from Isla Moat to Paso del Indio. The English Narrows are safe to navigate under the direction of a pilot when there are no strong winds. Read more about English Passage, Chile

Pio XI Glacier is located in Chile’s Bernardo O´Higgins National Park. The Seno Eyre Fjord in southern Chile is home to the Bruggen Glacier, also known as Pio XI Glacier, the largest western outflow from the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. Now about 64 km in length, it is one of the longest glaciers in the southern hemisphere outside of Antarctica. Read more about Pio XI Glacier, Chile

Strikingly rich in natural and historical attractions, the narrow fjords on the west coast of Chile penetrate deeply into the mountains of the Bernardo O'Higgins National Park, a major part of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. This is the largest of the protected areas in Chile, and with no large rivers in the area the fjords drain water from outlet glaciers of the ice-capped, storm-swept elevations. It is a large area of uninhabited islands, deep sounds, breathtaking glaciers, and narrow passages. Read more about Chilean Fjords, Chile

Punta Arenas, overlooking the Strait of Magellan in southern Patagonia, Chile, bustles with windswept trekkers en route to glacier-filled Torres del Paine National Park or an Antarctic cruise. Before leaving, be sure to take note of the mansion-lined main square, Plaza Muñoz Gamero where local vendors sell homemade crafts, the City Cemetery with its elaborate tombs, the Sara Braun Palace, and Braun Menendez Residence that presents great insight of the city's wealthy pioneer past. The city is also home to the former British Navy base and early Spanish colony of Puerto Hambre, and a popular ski centre that overlooks the Strait of Magellan. Read more about Punta Arenas, Chile

Ushuaia, the world's southernmost city, is located on the Beagle Channel, where soaring mountains, ice-blue glaciers, and an historic lighthouse create an ideal backdrop. The capital of the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego, it was first settled by British missionaries. During the first half of the 20th C the major building of the city was a prison, built by the Argentinian government for repeat offenders and serious criminals, as the subpolar oceanic climate made escape difficult. Read more about Ushuaia, Argentina

Drake Passage is the body of water between the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. Named after the sixteenth century English explorer Sir Francis Drake, although he never actually sailed the passage, it connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, and is the shortest crossing from Antarctica to the rest of the world’s land, about 860 km. Conditions can change instantly in the Drake Passage, owing to strong winds, large waves, strong currents, and icebergs: hence notorious as ‘sailors’ graveyard.’ Until the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 large ships had to sail this passage. Read more about Drake Passage, Antarctica

Drake Passage is the body of water between the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. Named after the sixteenth century English explorer Sir Francis Drake, although he never actually sailed the passage, it connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, and is the shortest crossing from Antarctica to the rest of the world’s land, about 860 km. Conditions can change instantly in the Drake Passage, owing to strong winds, large waves, strong currents, and icebergs: hence notorious as ‘sailors’ graveyard.’ Until the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 large ships had to sail this passage. Read more about Drake Passage, Antarctica

Hope Bay is located on Trinity Peninsula, the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, 350 km north of the Antarctic Circle.This is the closest part of Antarctica to the South American mainland. Hope Bay is 5 km long and 3 km wide, and opens into Antarctic Sound, a short strait separating Trinity Peninsula from a number of offshore islands. Actually, Hope Bay is often unreachable due to pack ice from the Larsen Ice Shelf clogging Antarctic Strait. Read more about Hope Bay, Antarctica

The Antarctic Peninsula is the northernmost part of the mainland of Antarctica, the top one third (650km) actually lying north of the Antarctic Circle. It includes numerous islands and connecting ice sheets that reach to within 1000 km of the southernmost tips of Chile and Argentina. The northern part of the peninsula in known as Graham Land, the southern half Palmer Land. Read more about Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica

The Antarctic Peninsula is the northernmost part of the mainland of Antarctica, the top one third (650km) actually lying north of the Antarctic Circle. It includes numerous islands and connecting ice sheets that reach to within 1000 km of the southernmost tips of Chile and Argentina. The northern part of the peninsula in known as Graham Land, the southern half Palmer Land. Read more about Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica

The Antarctic Peninsula is the northernmost part of the mainland of Antarctica, the top one third (650km) actually lying north of the Antarctic Circle. It includes numerous islands and connecting ice sheets that reach to within 1000 km of the southernmost tips of Chile and Argentina. The northern part of the peninsula in known as Graham Land, the southern half Palmer Land. Read more about Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica

The South Shetland Islands is a group of 11 major and several minor islands located 960 km south of the tip of South America and about 120 km north of the Antarctic Peninsula. While discovered towards the beginning of the seventeenth century, either by Dutch or Spanish explorers, it is currently not administered by any one nation. There are 18 research stations on the islands (10 year-round, 8 summer only). Read more about South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

Drake Passage is the body of water between the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. Named after the sixteenth century English explorer Sir Francis Drake, although he never actually sailed the passage, it connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, and is the shortest crossing from Antarctica to the rest of the world’s land, about 860 km. Conditions can change instantly in the Drake Passage, owing to strong winds, large waves, strong currents, and icebergs: hence notorious as ‘sailors’ graveyard.’ Until the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 large ships had to sail this passage. Read more about Drake Passage, Antarctica

Puerto Williams is a Chilean port and naval base located on Isla Navarino facing the Beagle Channel. It lies 46 km E of Ushuaia on the opposite N side of the Chanel. With a population of a little over 2,000, including both naval personnel and civilians, Puerto Williams claims to be the southernmost city in the world (based on definition of ‘city’; its population is 2900). Read more about Puerto Williams, Chile

Puerto Williams is a Chilean port and naval base located on Isla Navarino facing the Beagle Channel. It lies 46 km E of Ushuaia on the opposite N side of the Chanel. With a population of a little over 2,000, including both naval personnel and civilians, Puerto Williams claims to be the southernmost city in the world (based on definition of ‘city’; its population is 2900). Read more about Puerto Williams, Chile