Sail across the Caribbean waters on this 8-day bucketlist cruise. Start your journey in Santo Domingo, the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic, and sail to the exclusive and famous St John's, Antigua. Explore around St Barts, an elegant island that offers a distinctly sophisticated lifestyle, attracting jet setters from around the world to come and experience its fine restaurants, haute couture boutiques, impressive yachts, and picture-perfect beaches. Discover Virgin Gorda, a beautiful spot with its extraordinary granite rock formations known as “The Baths”. Visit La Romana, Jost van Dyke, and more on this once-in-a-lifetime sailing adventure.
Highlights
Discover ancient paintings by the native Taino people at Maravillas Caves
Take an amazing excursion to “The Baths", rounded granite boulders
Sail through the historic Sir Francis Drake Channel located at Virgin Gorda
Enjoy the famous international jet set island of St Barts
Involves minimal physical effort and is typically associated with leisurely activities. Activities are low-intensity or last less than a few hours each day.
Arrive at Santo Domingo Island, which is part of Hispaniola. Santo Domingo, the present capital of the Dominican Republic, is the first and oldest European-founded city in the New World. "Old" in the New World still means relatively young - it corresponds to Renaissance visions of the ideal and was the model for many cities in Latin America. A visit to the historic old city is like a journey through time. The splendid stone buildings are testament to the era of the colonial conquests and have been designated as World Heritage Sites under the protection of UNESCO.
During the sugar boom of the late 19th century, La Romana developed into a lively working-class city and eastern sugar center. The third largest city in the Dominican Republic now has many faces. The streets are laid out in a grid formation with colorfully painted houses. Between these and the golf courses and luxury villas of the prominent Casa de Campo flows the Rio Dulce, which runs into the sea. Native Taino art plays a large role, both in the city's archaeological museum and in what is perhaps the country's most beautiful cave, Maravillas. This was a cult site for the native Taino people and lies 35 meters below ground. The numerous cave paintings are more than 1,000 years old and have been exceptionally well preserved.
Discover this wonderful spot in the Sir Francis Drake Channel where explorers and privateers historically crossed swords. Nowadays the sea around the British Virgin Islands is one of the world's best sailing areas. Heavenly bays, gorgeous beaches, idyllic anchoring spots, smart yacht clubs, and charming little beach bars make the island a popular haunt for sailors. On Virgin Gorda, once called "The Fat Virgin" by Columbus due to its shape, you can find "The Baths", one of nature's most beautiful oddities, in the National Park. Ground to a sphere and polished to a shine, the huge granite formations on the beach and in the water create a multi-branched labyrinth of giant boulders.
Jost van Dyke, the smallest of the main islands in the British Virgin Islands, is a mountainous volcanic object of beauty with fewer than 300 inhabitants. One of them, Foxy, has been mixing his cocktails since 1968 and the bar of the same name enjoys a legendary reputation as perhaps the most famous beach bar in the Lesser Antilles. The island's past is less reputable - it was named by a Dutch pirate. The island gives its most beautiful treasures to all who visit - fine sand, green palm trees, colorful beach bars, and the luminous blue of the sea.
St Barthélemy, affectionately known as St Barths by most, had already had many "owners" before the Lesser Antilles were acquired by France in 1877. When the first estate was acquired by the banker David Rockefeller in 1957, the island's future was finally sealed. It became a refuge for the international jet set and an elegant holiday paradise for many Hollywood stars. For over 40 years, St Barths has cultivated a luxurious lifestyle with a Caribbean laissez-faire approach. You can stroll through the charming main town of Gustavia, whose beautifully restored houses and colonial facades look out over the sea with its elegant superyachts, browse in the shops for precious items, or enjoy a sundowner in the picturesque harbor surrounded by clusters of high class bars and restaurants.
Day 8: St. John's, Antigua | Disembark
1 Breakfast
Arrive at St. John's, the capital of the small island of Antigua in the Antilles, and disembark after breakfast for your continued independent journeys.
Apologies for the inconvenience. Prices for not yet published. Below per person rate based on previous season. Contact us to confirm upcoming season pricing.
Prices for are estimated based on inflation. Contact us to confirm pricing and availability for your desired departure date.
$4,795
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Category F
Two portholes, chair, table, TV with DVD player, mini-bar, dressing table, closet, safe, individually adjustable A/C.
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Category E
Two portholes, sofa, table, TV with DVD player, mini-bar, dressing table, closet, safe, individually adjustable A/C.
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Category D
Two portholes, two chairs, table, TV with DVD player, mini-bar, dressing table, closet, safe, individually adjustable A/C.
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Category C
Panorama windows, two chairs, table, TV with DVD player, mini-bar, dressing table, closet, safe, individually adjustable A/C.
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Category B
Panorama window, sofa, table, chair, decorative fireplace, console with TV/DVD and mini-bar, dressing table, walk-in closet, safe, individually adjustable A/C.
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Category A
Panorama window, sofa, table, chair, desk, decorative fireplace, TV and DVD player, mini-bar, dressing table, four closets, safe, individually adjustable A/C.
Notes
Rates are based on double occupancy. A limited number of cabins can be booked for individual use for an additional charge.
Initial deposit is 30%, and most travelers will call our office and pay the deposit with a credit card.
Final payment is due 70 days prior to departure by Visa, Mastercard, Discover or AmEx. All final payments by credit card may be subject to a surcharge and maximum of $20,000 charge
Kate was great to work with in the planning stage. She was prompt, helpful, and efficient. Our tour guide, Edwin, was knowledgeable and passionate. We were very happy to have traveled with Adventure Life, it made the trip easy and a true pleasure. We could concentrate on enjoying the experience rather than the details of travel.
Lisa Bridge
TrustScore 4.8 | 174 reviews
TrustScore 4.8 of 5
Based on 174 reviews on
1 day ago
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
2 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.
