Top 10 boat rides and cruises of 2024

The Amazon rainforest is home to an estimated 10% of the world’s known species. It’s a major player in global climate regulation yet, each day, more of it is destroyed. Now, travelers can do something to help: Join a canoe expedition through the Peruvian Amazon. Amazon Canoe Challenge Expeditions combines adventure travel with sustainable tourism. Its Manu Canoe & Culture itineraries invite a deep connection with the rainforest through homestays with Indigenous communities.

Each day promises an adventure along the edge of Manu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and biodiversity hot spot. The trip begins with a stay at Manu Biological Station, a research facility at the border of the Andes and the Amazon. From there, the canoe voyage continues via the Alto Madre de Dios River toward Shintuya Hot Springs. Here, guests can get fireside history lessons while staying at a rustic, family-built inn with spa-like thermal pools. The next portion brings travelers to Albergue Pankotsi Shipetiari, where the Machiguenga community runs an eye-catching eco-lodge that offers birding, archery and guided walks. Combining a daily paddle of 18 to 25 miles with adventure activities and cultural exchange, the expedition offers a truly immersive view of life in the rainforest. Better still, the tourism dollars brought to the region support the locals who are leading the charge to protect the Amazon.

Windstar Cruises’ newly renovated all-suite yacht, Star Breeze, is going where few have gone before. The new 14-day itinerary takes travelers to the Marquesas Islands, some 900 miles northeast of Tahiti. Here, they can take in volcanic peaks, black-sand beaches, ancient cultural sites and more. The 312-passenger Star Breeze will drop anchor at Fatu Hiva, one of the archipelago’s six inhabited islands. Until 2024, it could only be reached on the cargo cruise ship Aranui. As a guest on Star Breeze, expect a welcome from local villagers, musicians and dancers. There's also bird-watching and hiking excursions led by local guides. You can even sit side-by-side with Marquesans making tapa (a cloth crafted from the bark of banyan, breadfruit and mulberry trees).

For a touch of adventure, kick up some dirt on a 4×4 tour of Nuku Hiva, the largest of the Marquesas. Stops include archaeological sites dating back to 1000 CE, village churches such as the picturesque Église des Sacrés-Coeurs and viewpoints of hidden beaches and crystalline blue water.

Traveling away from the Marquesas, you’ll return to the Society Islands. Since Star Breeze is one of the few vessels with permission to sail to Bora Bora, you’ll also gaze up at Mount Otemanu and be glad you ventured off the beaten path.

Do you hate standing in buffet lines and being herded around by flag-toting guides? So do the minds behind Explora Journeys, a new cruise brand from Geneva-based MSC Group. Launched in August 2023, the company has big ambitions to win over non-cruisers. Inspired by luxury hotel brands like Belmond and Ritz-Carlton, the Explora I—the first ship in the fleet—won't have any buffets. Instead, there’s a collection of 18 food and beverage outlets, including the pan-Asian restaurant Sakura and a European-style steak house, Marble & Co. Dining is not all that sets Explora Journeys apart from the competition. All 461 suites, penthouses and residences onboard are oceanfront, with floor-to-ceiling windows and private terraces. That means you can gaze at the Mediterranean, Caribbean or Arabian Sea from the privacy of your room. Or, post up on a daybed by one of the three outdoor pools. More than a third of the nearly 180,000 square feet of public space is outdoors. Shore excursions range from small group tours to, say, dinner cooked by a famous chef on a private island.

There are boat cruises… and then there’s piloting your own sailboat to explore the white beaches and zephyr winds of St. Lucia. With 50 years’ experience and some of the newest vessels at sea, The Moorings provides luxury sail-it-yourself experiences around the world that are about as close to your standard “charter” as a five-star terrace suite is to a roadside motel. Ranging in style from the classic monohull sailboat to the power catamaran, each yacht is functionally its own boutique hotel. Better still, the “bareboat” option allows the more confident sailor to serve as skipper themselves, navigating to whichever destinations they can reach in a five-day to two-week cruise. Easier options are “skippered” by a designated Moorings pro or “crewed” by a captain and chef team. Either way, you're guaranteed a free-wheeling adventure.

There’s a hunter’s ethic to the mariners at Riding Rock Resort & Marina. With them, guests can grapple with deep-water heavyweights—blue marlin, wahoo, tuna. At the same time, they embrace a catch-and-release model that helps sustain deep-sea fishing in the wild region of the Bahamas around San Salvador Island. Charter the 28-foot Odyssey III for either a full or half day. The crew will provide tackle, bait, water and, with advance notice, a meal and snacks. They will not, however, let you spearfish within 200 yards of an island, take coral or sea fans home or use a spear, fish trap, or net without authorization. The guidelines suggest a kind of Zen-warrior discipline: “A person shall fish by the traditional method of angling with a hook or lure attached to a line held in the hand or attached to a pole, rod or reel.”

Viking boldly began expedition cruising with the 2022 launches of its vessels Viking Octantis and Viking Polaris. When these sister ships aren’t exploring Antarctica, they offer educational adventures closer to home, on the Great Lakes. “The Great Lakes are a globally important ecosystem,” says Dr. Damon Stanwell-Smith, Viking’s head of science and sustainability. “This region is not only the world’s largest liquid freshwater system by area, it is also home to more than 3,500 plant and animal species. That includes many that are only found in the Great Lakes.”

These are the first civilian ships to be designated official NOAA or National Weather Service weather balloon stations. Science nerds can engage in what Stanwell-Smith calls “real, meaningful science" on board. That means collecting samples on a Zodiac, using the ships’ high-tech instruments, helping launch data-gathering sail-drones and more.

Surprises abound, too: On a recent night-crossing between the U.S. and Canada, a flock of tiny bats hitched a ride on the deck of the ship. It was, Stanwell-Smith says, “a rare, ephemeral wildlife observation, interpreted by the resident specialist.”

When Paradero Todos Santos opened in Baja California Sur in 2021, the resort represented a calming oasis away from the party animals in Cabo San Lucas. Now, from mid-November through March, hotel guests can commune with a very different wild bunch with an Ocean Safari. The boat tour zips along the Pacific coastline in search of manta rays and sea lions. Migratory humpback and gray whales also breed and calve here. “Whales are the reason we have tourism in Baja,” says guide Hernando Torres. “This is considered the Mexican last frontier. It’s like the Alaska of Mexico.” Much of the Baja California Peninsula is federally protected, as are the hundreds of islands around it. On the safari, you’ll ride in a panga (skiff), piloted by a local fisherman, to get up close and personal with marine animals. You might bob alongside pelicans, watch flying fish glide over the water or listen to humpbacks perform their beautiful songs. To spend more time on the water, book a multinight experience on Paradero’s luxury catamaran, which includes a private chef and bartender.

If you’re an active traveler, you likely don’t consider yourself a cruise person. But “active cruises” like the Seine River Cruise Bike Tour from Backroads might change your mind. The concept is identical to Backroads’ hotel-based trips. You get great guides, van support and cultural and culinary stops all the way from Paris to the English Channel. The difference is that instead of changing hotels, you stay overnight on a boat.

River cruise line AmaWaterways, Backroads’ partner in Europe, focuses on local specialties. Moreover, the ship does something no hotel can: move during the night. On day one, you’ll pedal from the City of Lights to the Palace of Versailles, then board the ship and celebrate with Champagne and dinner. The next morning, you’ll wake up in Normandy, ready to ride again.

The cruise comes with lots of flexibility. For example, you can schedule a short visit to the Normandy American Cemetery and Omaha Beach, followed by an afternoon bike ride, or do a more immersive World War II tour with an AmaWaterways guide. Non-cruisers will love combining the daily rides with the onboard amenities. By the end of the journey, you might even call yourself a cruise person.

There are navigable canals and rivers all over the U.K., continental Europe and Canada. By chartering a houseboat from Le Boat, you can turn these waterways into your own private access to villages, forests and vineyards. Imagine waking up on the Lot River in the south of France with a view of the perfect stone houses of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, then going for a walk on a towpath cut into a steep limestone cliff. A mountain bike ride? Wine tasting? Then board your houseboat once more to motor your way downstream (no captain’s license required). There’s chilled white wine from a local vineyard in the galley. You can even drop a line in the water in the evening to see if you can snag a carp. You will hit no traffic and miss no trains, simply settling into one cozy cabin with a new view every day. It’s just you, your traveling crew, the red kites and river otters, and the church lights in the distance.

More than a millennium ago, Polynesians arrived in Hawaii aboard double-hulled sailing canoes. They navigated the Pacific Ocean by observing the stars, wind, waves and wildlife for weeks on end. Today, visitors can find traces of that experience on several Hawaiian islands, including the Island of Hawai‘i, where Hawaiian Sails offers 90-minute excursions along the Kohala Coast.

Mahealani and Koka Gionson bought their 35-foot sailing canoe, Hahalualele (flying manta ray), in 2016. They then spent a year restoring its koa panels and traditional rope lashings with the help of their five children and extended family. On sailing trips, Koka serves as captain and storyteller, noting landmarks such as Pu‘ukohola Heiau, a massive stone temple built at King Kamehameha’s behest. He'll even point out the mansion of a modern titan, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff.

January and February are peak months to spot humpback whales migrating from Alaska. Mahealani recalls one memorable sighting near Hapuna Beach. “A baby had just been born, so there was afterbirth in the water, along with the newborn, mama and three escorts,” she says. “We ended up getting amazing videos. Our guests invited us to dinner the next night because they wanted to share their pictures.”

Blue Water Sailing School in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

“The U.S. Virgin Islands are one of the nicest places in the world to sail. That's because it’s a tropical setting. Winds are very consistent, and it’s very beautiful,” says David Pyle of Blue Water Sailing School in St. Thomas. During the school’s six-night and seven-day Bareboat Monohull Skipper Courses ($3,695 per person), you can get your American Sailing Association (ASA) certification. The courses are rigorous, Pyle says, but once you’re moored in a pretty bay for the evening, there are beach bars beckoning you to relax.

Offshore Sailing School in St. Petersburg, Florida

“We like to say we can take you from the couch to the captain’s chair in a week,” says Beth Oliver of Offshore Sailing School. The eight-night Fast Track to Cruising course (starting at $5,845 per person) starts with three nights in a hotel in St. Petersburg’s walkable downtown. During the day, you hone your skills on a 26-foot sailboat, then you move to a larger yacht for the remaining five nights. By the end of the course, you will have earned three U.S. Sailing certifications, allowing you to skipper a yacht up to 50 feet long.

Nautilus Sailing in Baja California Sur, Mexico

With Nautilus Sailing, you can earn ASA certification by taking a weeklong course (starting at $7,175 per person) on the Sea of Cortez. Jacques Cousteau once called it the “world’s aquarium.” Stops to eat fish tacos ashore are woven into an itinerary that includes circumnavigating islands under sail. You even get to chart a course for remote beaches. “Some of the highlights are snorkeling with sea lions, learning to make ceviche in a fisherman’s hut and hiking through an ancient cactus forest,” says lead instructor Tim Geisler.