Our wildlife cruising holidays

Our cruising holidays take you into the places that the big cruisers can’t access, to admire sights such as Galapagos sea lions, Spitsbergen walrus colonies, Antarctic penguins, dolphins around the Scottish islands, and a wild, wondrous world of whales and bears in Canada and Alaska. Our partners operate responsibly in these precious habitats, following rigorous wildlife watching guidelines; but from curious seals to playful whales, you’ll often find that the nature comes to you. Boats often have wildlife experts, photography experts and sometimes even research scientists on board, and you can help contribute to animal conservation by recording your sightings – of which we hope there will be many.

Our top Wildlife cruising holidays

Arctic icebreaker cruise, Spitsbergen

From £3690 to £14445
8 days ex flights
Wildlife-focused, expert-led small ship Arctic cruises
Small group2027: 29 May, 31 May, 1 Jun, 2 Jun, 4 Jun, 5 Jun, 7 Jun, 8 Jun, 9 Jun, 10 Jun, 13 Jun, 14 Jun, 17 Jun, 18 Jun, 20 Jun, 21 Jun, 23 Jun, 24 Jun, 25 Jun, 26 Jun, 28 Jun, 30 Jun, 2 Jul, 3 Jul, 4 Jul, 6 Jul, 7 Jul, 8 Jul, 9 Jul, 11 Jul, 12 Jul, 15 Jul, 16 Jul, 17 Jul, 19 Jul, 21 Jul, 22 Jul, 24 Jul, 26 Jul, 28 Jul, 30 Jul, 1 Aug, 2 Aug, 4 Aug, 8 Aug, 9 Aug, 11 Aug, 13 Aug, 15 Aug, 17 Aug, 19 Aug, 22 Aug, 4 Sep, 14 Sep, 24 Sep

Galapagos luxury nature cruise

From £4500 to £5500
10 days ex flights
Boutique expedition cruise around the Galapagos Islands

Isle of Mull wildlife cruise in Scotland

From £2830 to £3710
7 days ex flights
Idyllic wildlife cruise exploring the Hebridean Isle of Mull
Small group2027: 3 Apr, 10 Apr, 29 May, 5 Jun

Galapagos cruises

From £2200 to £8750
8 days ex flights
Cruise the Galapagos Islands on sailing boats and yachts

Spitsbergen in depth cruise

From £5449
11 days ex flights
The ultimate Svalbard expedition - more time for exploration
Small group2027: 24 Jun, 11 Jul

Arctic sailing voyages, North Spitsbergen

From €3790 to €5350
8 days ex flights
Spitsbergen tall-ship wildlife and natural history sailing
Small group2027: 7 May, 14 May, 14 Jun, 24 Jun, 4 Jul

Classic Antarctica cruise & South Shetland Islands

From £6799 to £8899
11 days ex flights
Adventure through Antarctica’s breathtaking frozen realm
Small group2026: 22 Nov, 12 Dec, 2027: 2 Jan, 30 Jan, 4 Mar, 13 Mar, 22 Mar, 21 Nov, 30 Nov, 2028: 1 Feb, 5 Mar, 14 Mar, 23 Mar

Norwegian coast cruise, Kirkenes to Bergen

From £1300 to £5999
6 days ex flights
Kirkenes to Bergen along the length of the Norwegian coast

South Argyll wildlife cruises in Scotland

From £2510 to £2900
7 days ex flights
Idyllic wildlife cruise to the West Coast of Scotland
Small group2027: 17 Apr, 8 May, 28 Aug, 25 Sep
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Wildlife cruising highlights

Small boats, big sightings

If you’re on a smaller boat with fewer passengers, you’ll find that when dolphins play in the bow-wave, you don’t need to use the zoom on your camera to catch them in action. On our boats, some of which carry only eight to 12 passengers, you’ll also find that your draught is shallow enough that you can slip into tiny harbours and take advantage of moorings really close to the shore. Small ships are the way to go for wildlife cruising in places like the Galapagos, the Scottish Isles and the Maldives – there’s no better way to get close to their rich marine life.

Wildlife expedition cruises

To see wildlife, you often have to seek out the wilderness areas where humans have ceded ground, or where it’s too hostile to support us in large populations. Enter, then, expedition cruising – which gets you to remote places that can only be accessed by sea, where the nearest town is many nautical miles distant – think the polar regions, or cruising in the South Pacific. Expect expedition cruises to be longer voyages, where you share the decks with scientific researchers and photographers as well as other holidaymakers. There may be fewer luxuries on board and more opportunities to make landings. These trips are often expensive, but their sightings priceless.

From Zodiacs to kayaks

Imagine the water breaking in front of your kayak to make way for the rolling body of a humpback whale. Or slipping into the water with your snorkel to swim alongside a whale shark. One of the best parts of our wildlife cruises is the fact that you often spend plenty of time off the boat. You might head out in the Zodiac (a rigid inflatable boat) to make landfall, explore the coast, or to visit a seabird colony on the cliffs. Cruising to wildlife is just the start of your adventure, there’s plenty of time for walking, kayaking and swimming with wildlife, too.

Our Wildlife cruising holidays reviews

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Janet Carson12 Sep 2026
The crew were amazing…all so friendly, helpful and just wanted us to have a great holiday.read more
Frona Hall09 Sep 2026
Excellent. Seeing walruses up close and a bear.read more
Ann Rodgers28 Aug 2026
All of it. The skipper, the chef, the food. The care they both took to look after us. Brilliant. Would do it again.read more
Sigrid Eicken19 Aug 2026
Excellent! Topped all our expectations. The crew: The Skipper, Bosun and Chef were an extraordinary Team, working together greatly for us, taking care of everybody's needs and wishes. The Skipper did a great job in choosing Routes and Times in Order to avoid bad weather and heavy seas. Congratulations, nobody got seasick!read more
Written by Eloise Barker
Photo credits: [Page banner: Rob Oo] [Wildlife expedition cruises: Derek Oyen]