Pazific and South seas: Expedition & cruises
PacificÂ
In the North Pacific, you will be bid a warm welcome by Japan, China, Korea and Russia. The land of smiles awaits visitors with impressive contrasts between millennia-old cultures and modern cities. How do you fancy a traditional tea ceremony, for example? China's famous Great Wall. White-tailed eagles soaring above Russia's vast, untouched wilderness. South America's vibrant cities. Canada's unending prairies. Vietnam's lush green rice fields. Cambodia's magical Angkor Wat.
Lagoons and coral reefs that sparkle in the sun. Palm-fringed beaches stretching out as far as the horizon; remote cultures revealing insights into ancient customs and rituals. In the South Pacific, you will feel as though you are on the brink of paradise. Discover breathtaking natural environments on jeep safaris, snorkelling trips and more. Explore the tropical vegetation on Tahiti, for example, or delight in the dazzlingly colourful underwater wildlife as you snorkel off the shores of Bora Bora. Whether you are captivated by the joie de vivre and exotic traditions in the Kingdom of Tonga, the pure South Seas feeling on Ile des Pins, or the pristine wilderness of New Zealand and Papua New Guinea - this great ocean is a sea full of wonders.
The South Seas
Lagoons and coral reefs that sparkle in the sun. Palm-fringed beaches stretching out as far as the horizon. Remote cultures revealing insights into ancient traditions. Nowhere on earth are you so close to paradise as here. The term South Seas is a common name for the South Pacific. Central island groups include the Society Islands, the Samoan Archipelago and Fiji.
Mar del sur - or "Southern Sea" - that was the name the Spanish explorer, Vasco Núñez de Balboa, gave the ocean that lay before him after he had crossed the Isthmus of Panama. In September 1513, he became the first European to see the Pacific. Still to this day, the South Seas spoils its visitors with islands of paradisiacal beauty. The white beaches of Moorea might have been created for dreaming. But below the surface of the water, too, the island in French Polynesia also enthrals snorkellers and divers.
Steep peaks soaring up into the radiant blue sky, rugged cliffs and dense tropical vegetation shape the face of Tahiti. You can discover the biggest island in the Windward Group on an adventure-packed jeep safari. Just 260 km north-west of Tahiti, wonderful Bora Bora bids you welcome. Surrounded by a reef of dazzling corals, the atoll rises up out of the turquoise-coloured water of the South Pacific.
North-east of Fiji, the wild volcanic beaches of Samoa invite you to linger. For a more active way to discover the natural realms and the ancient cultures of the South Seas, you might like to hike through the forests of Rarotonga, the biggest of the 15 Cook Islands. An infectious joie de vivre and ancient traditions welcome you in the Kingdom of Tonga. Yet whichever South Seas beauty attracts you most - as our guest, everywhere you go will feel like paradise, on board and ashore.
You can find exciting travel reports from our Pacific and outh Seas cruises in our travel diaries.
