ADVENTURE Smith Explorations (Tour Operator)

AdventureSmith Explorations

AdventureSmith Explorations is a leader in small-ship expedition cruises.

The company was founded in 2003 by Todd Smith, who began his travel career in Alaska and then put together a staff of experts who had experience in the field to produce a delicious menu of adventure-style trips on small ships.

Choose from more than 60 small expedition ships from 30-plus companies with capacities from 8 to 200 passengers.

AdventureSmith is highly regarded for its voyages on sophisticated expedition ships in the polar regions.

Fleet

AdventureSmith doesn’t own the ships, but the company arranges cruises for individual travelers and small groups on ships from lines such as Coral Expeditions, Delfin Amazon Cruises, Lindblad Expeditions, Oceanwide Expeditions, Sea Cloud Cruises, Ponant and UnCruise, to name a few.

Passenger Profile

Adventure is right there in the name of this travel company, and your fellow cruisers will be well-traveled, active and curious people of all ages. Cruisers seek out this line for its wide range of itineraries in harder-to-reach places.

On an AdventureSmith small-ship cruise, the ship is simply a base camp, and the environment is much less formal than a traditional large cruise. The emphasis is definitely what is off the ship, and cruisers come for the fun activities and special places AdventureSmith can take them.

Price

A weeklong voyage starts around $2,000 to $3,500 per person USD and goes up from there, mostly depending upon the ship and destination.

Private Charters

AdventureSmith is active in the full-ship charter scene in places like Alaska, sometimes chartering an entire ship for family and friend celebrations or specific interest groups.

AdventureSmith Explorations

Included Features

Amenities and services included on your cruise will vary from itinerary to itinerary and also depends on the ship.

AdventureSmith outlines all the inclusions in the “Details” section of the particular sailing listed on its website.

However, your fare generally includes your lodging, meals and guided shore activities. Alcoholic beverages, spa services and gratuities might be extra (though many ships the company uses do include drinks).

Itineraries

North America

Alaska: No less than 24 cruises and cruise tours are offered ranging from 5 days up to two weeks or more, with the longer trips visiting inland national parks. The fleet includes yachts taking just 12 passengers up to small cruise ships that carry 100 passengers.
British Columbia: The Canadian province’s section of the Inside Passage includes cruises of 8 to 15 days; the longer route if making the complete trip between Seattle and the Alaskan Panhandle. Some cruises overlap with the next section.
Pacific Northwest: Programs last from 7 to 15 days to take in the Columbia and Snake rivers, Puget Sound, and the Juan Islands either separately or in combination.
Baja California: The long Mexican peninsula and the Sea of Cortes use vessels that carry just 8 passengers up to 100-passenger cruise ships on itineraries spanning 7 to 16 days.
Hawaii: 8-day cruises among the Hawaiian Islands use a 36-passenger yacht providing lots of outdoor activities

AdevntureSmith Explorations (Tour Operator)

Kayaking in Alaska – AdventureSmith Explorations

Caribbean & Central America

Caribbean: The company offers 8 cruise itineraries, including a 9-day “Pearls of the Caribbean” cruise that visits Tobago, Barbados, St. Lucia and Grenada, sailing on a 184-passenger luxury ship.
Costa Rica, Panama, Belize, and Guatemala: Most cruises in this region last 8 or 9 days and may include individual countries or a combination of Costa Rica and Panama, Guatemala and Belize. Add-on land packages can round out a two-week or slightly longer itinerary.

AdventureSmith Explorations – Paddle boarding off Costa Rica.

South America

Galapagos: Choose from 21 different itineraries lasting 4 to 10 days on yachts and cruise ships taking from 12 to 100 passengers, with many choices in the 12- to 20-passenger range.
Amazon: Eight cruise itineraries on riverboats take just 8 to 43 passengers and last 4 to 10 days on the Amazon River in Peru, Ecuador and Brazil. River cruises include the Rio Negro that empties into the Amazon at Manaus. Jungle lodges and other land extensions such as to Machu Picchu, Cusco and Quito can be added.
Chile: A four-day cruise of the Chilean Fjords then dovetails into hikes in Patagonia with a visit to Torres del Paine, one of the most captivating mountain, meadow, and valley landscapes in the world. Perhaps add the Atacama Desert, the driest land on earth, located in the extreme north of Chile.

Petrel in the Galapagos. * Photo: Audrey Vaughan for AdventureSmith Explorations

Asia/Pacific

Australia: Eight to 17-day cruises explore the underwater wonders of the Great Barrier, the top of Australia’s Cape York and Arnhem Land, and the genuinely remote Kimberley Coast in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
New Zealand: South Island’s Fiordland draws nature and dramatic scenery buffs and birders for one-week cruises to see stunning beauty.
Pacific Islands: Six cruise itineraries reach idyllic destinations such as Tahiti, the Marquesas Islands, New Guinea, the Society Islands on ships carrying between 102 and 126 passengers. Voyages can last from 10 to 36 days on these epic itineraries that might also include crossings from Easter Island or visits to Japan.
Southeast Asia: AdventureSmith lists 11 magical cruise itineraries, including Mekong River voyages in Cambodia and Vietnam. You’ll visit Angkor Wat in Siem Reap and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, as well as engage in activities in small villages along the waterway as you sail on 40- to 48-passenger vessels.
Indonesia: Ten cruises are available in the culturally rich and scenic islands of Bali, Komodo, Flores and others. These are offered on 8- to 21-day programs sailing on ships as small as 12 passengers up to 120 cruisers.

Aboriginal cave paintings on the Kimberley Coast – Australia * Photo: Ted Scull

Polar Regions

Antarctica: Programs explore the coldest, iciest, driest and windiest places on earth, plus the Falklands and South Georgia on a generously diverse program of 40 expedition cruises, using a wide variety of vessels and lasting from 6 to 36 days.
Arctic: Cruises number 33, lasting from 6 to 26 days and cover Iceland, Norway, Spitsbergen, Greenland and the North Pole using a wide variety of ships and owners. Cruisers will be on the lookout for the Arctic 8: polar bears, walruses, reindeer (caribou), Arctic foxes, musk ox, narwhals, beluga whales and puffins.
Northern Europe: AdventureSmith offers 15 cruises that visit historic and culturally rich destinations like Scotland (on a classic barge voyage), Iceland, England, Ireland, Norway, Greenland and the Baltic Sea.

Breaking through the ice in Antarctica – AdventureSmith Explorations

Mediterranean

Twelve programs use small yachts, nimble cruise ships and the historic sailing vessel Sea Cloud.

The 8- to 13-day Itineraries are mainly centered on the Greek islands and mainland, the Adriatic’s Dalmatian Coast and Croatia ports, and ports in Spain and Portugal.

Croatia small-ship cruising. * Photo: Andrew Browning for AdventureSmith Explorations

Special Note

When you research the itineraries that interest you, you will see that the name of the ship in question will be listed with many helpful facts, but usually the cruise line isn’t mentioned. If you want to know who owns and/or operates the vessel, search the ship’s name in QuirkyCruise.com’s search bar and the answer will be yours. If QuirkyCruise.com isn’t covering that ship/line (yet!), then google the ship’s name to find out the owner.

Along the Same Lines

This worldwide firm uses such a wide variety of expedition lines that there are plenty of overlapping choices.

Sea Wolf cruises the Alaska Panhandle.

Why Go?

Cruisers choose AdventureSmith because the portfolio is filled with an astounding number of highly sought-after destinations that can be experienced in immersive and active ways.

When to Go?

The company features sailings available at any time of year. These voyages are crafted to bring cruisers into places during the best times — to see the Northern Lights or marine life and birds, for examples.

Activities & Entertainment

The program varies by ship and itinerary, but you can expect days full of guided shore activities, as well as onboard enrichment talks. In destinations like Alaska and Antarctica, you will also spend much of your time on the outside decks and bow on the lookout for wildlife. In warmer spots like the Caribbean or Southeast Asia, you might spend time snorkeling, going on hikes and bike rides and wandering among villages to interact with communities.

Dining

Meals feature cuisine and fresh ingredients highlighting the destinations that you are visiting.

Special Note

When you research the itineraries that interest you, you will see that the name of the ship in question will be listed with many helpful facts, but usually the cruise line isn’t mentioned. If you want to know who owns and/or operates the vessel, search the ship’s name in QuirkyCruise.com’s search bar, and the answer will be yours. If QuirkyCruise.com isn’t covering that ship/line (yet!), then google the ship’s name to find out the owner.

Along the Same Lines

This worldwide company uses a wide variety of expedition lines, so there are plenty of overlapping choices.

Contact

AdventureSmith Explorations; 40169 Truckee Airport Road, Suite 201, Truckee, CA 96161; 1-877-620-2875, Local and international: 530-583-1775. www.adventuresmithexplorations.com.