Aboard Le Boréal

A voyage specially-tailored for English-speaking travelers including discussions with experts, transfers before and after your cruise, and an included excursion in each port of call.

Engaging lectures and discussions on board with two Smithsonian Journeys Experts, including Senior Geologist Emeritus at the National Air & Space Museum (NASM) Jim Zimbelman and archaeologist Janet Duncan Jones. A solar eclipse with a totality of about 4 minutes.

Aboard Le Lapérouse

In the season that sees the sun setting the horizon ablaze, set off towards the unexpected and embark on an exceptional journey along Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines, a subtle mix of cultures, savours and age-old traditions, to seek out a rare phenomenon offered by the sky: the total solar eclipse. Throughout your break, discover the secrets of this exceptional event thanks to the presence of Joe Rao, meteorologist and eclipse chaser, and Serge Brunier, scientific journalist, author, photographer and eclipse chaser. On this journey, feel the vibrant pulse of Malaga, stroll through the elegant avenues of Marbella, discover the Andalusian soul of Cadiz, gaze upon the cliffs of Lagos and wander the charming streets of Figueira da Foz. Finally, off the Iberian shores, admire — if weather conditions allow — the captivating spectacle of this rare phenomenon: a total solar eclipse.

Aboard Le Jacques Cartier

Australia’s The Kimberley is one of the world’s last great wilderness frontiers—a vast, sparsely populated region of sandstone escarpments, mangroves, and myriad islands. Wildlife thrives here, from saltwater crocodiles and sea turtles to dolphins, seabirds, and migratory whales. It is also home to some of Australia’s oldest Indigenous communities. This expedition from Darwin to Broome provides ample time to experience The Kimberley in all its variety, with the added attraction of a total solar eclipse.

Sailing west from Darwin, your first day is spent getting acquainted with the ship and its amenities and attending lectures and discussions with your Smithsonian experts and the ship's expedition team as Le Jacques Cartier cruises through the Timor Sea to reach the Bonaparte Archipelago. Bigge Island, the largest in this maze of islands stretching nearly 100 miles along the Kimberley coast and Swift Bay are famous for shelters and caves filled with stunning rock art paintings, some of which date back more than 12,000 years, and many of which, maintained by the Indigenous peoples of the region, are both cultural artifacts and part of a living heritage.