AdventureSmith Explorations

AdventureSmith Explorations is a US travel company that has specialised in small-ship expedition cruises and wilderness adventures since 2003. It does not own ships: it matches travellers to trips on small ships run by expedition cruise lines, such as UnCruise, and books them. Each traveller works with a dedicated Adventure Specialist, by phone or online, and trips are priced per person, often with offers from the lines.

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

Trips cover Alaska, Hawaii, Baja California and the Pacific Northwest, Costa Rica and Panama, the Galápagos, the Amazon and Patagonia, Antarctica and the Arctic, the Mediterranean and Indonesia, among others. Ships range from a handful of guests to a couple of hundred, and days are built around guided activities ashore and on the water, such as hiking, kayaking, snorkelling and skiff rides.

The same Adventure Specialist stays with you from choosing the trip to coming home. The website compares ships and itineraries side by side and publishes reviews from past guests, rating the lodging, meals and trip overall.

It suits travellers who want wildlife and wilderness rather than a big-ship holiday, and who value advice on choosing between similar ships and itineraries. Because AdventureSmith books other companies' ships, check which line runs your trip and read its cancellation terms before you pay. For a luxury operator running its own river and yacht expeditions, see Aqua Expeditions.