Adventure cruise ship company Lindblad Expeditions plans to base one of its ships in French Polynesia from January 2021 and has begun offering journeys for next year.
Sailings from Tahiti to the Marquesas are scheduled to begin in April 2021. With black-sand beaches, lagoons, waterfalls and two extinct volcanoes, Tahiti is a popular vacation destination. Explored by Captain James Cook in the 18th century, it was also often painted by French artist Paul Gauguin. The bustling capital of French Polynesia, Papeete, is located here and boasts world-class resorts, fine dining and unique restaurants, nightclubs, vibrant markets, museums and boutiques.
The Marquesas Islands group is one of the most remote in the world, lying about 1,370 kilometres northeast of Tahiti and about 4,800 km away from the west coast of Mexico, the nearest continental land mass. In contrast to the lush tropical vegetation usually associated with Polynesia, the Marquesas are remarkably dry islands
Alliance with National Geographic
Lindblad Expeditions works in partnership with National Geographic to inspire people to explore and care about the planet. The organisations work in tandem to produce innovative marine expedition programs and to promote conservation and sustainable tourism around the world.
The company plans to deploy the National Geographic Orion, a state-of-the-art expedition ship designed to explore in safety the remote regions of the planet. Orion carries 102 guests in 53 cabins, nine of them with balconies. She is equipped with a full complement of specialist equipment to explore the environment, including kayaks, Zodiacs, an ROV and the capacity to accommodate scuba divers. Her size and nimbleness offer the perfect combination of safety and the ability to reach out-of-the-way islands and other places where large cruise ships cannot go.
French Polynesia re-opened its borders to international tourism in July and has since unfortunately seen a recurrence of COVID-19. However, Lindblad CEO Sven-Olof Lindblad welcomed the health protocol and testing regime put in place by the country.
Photos courtesy Lindblad Expeditions and copyright –
-Ship: Ralph Lee Hopkins
-Divers: Justin Hofman
-Beach: Shutterstock