Swan Hellenic Announces Cultural Cruises Along The Eastern And Western Coasts Of Africa

Reservations for Swan Hellenic’s cultural expedition cruises of Africa for 2023 are now open. Travelers can choose nine cruises with eight to 14-day itineraries on board SH Diana and SH Vega between March and November. Each cruise will have world-renowned experts and experienced expedition guides.

SH Vega’s Cruises Options

SH Vega will offer four cultural expeditions as the ship makes her way northwards to the Arctic following the western coast of Africa. 

Safaris of the Southwest Coast

This ten-day itinerary from Cape Town to Luanda will have guests visit Namibe Partial Reserve to look for the rare tree lumbo and learn about Angola’s colonial and military history at the Fortress of São Miguel. 

Unspoilt Wilds of Southwest Africa 

A 14-day itinerary from Luanda to Accra will have guests sampling traditional cuisines at the Grand Marché market in Congo and visiting Gabon’s South Loango National Park to see elephants, buffalos, lowland gorillas, and chimpanzees.

Cultural Cruicibles of West Africa

A 14-day itinerary from Accra to Dakar will have guests looking for the rare saltwater hippo in the Bijagos archipelago and getting a taste of Ghanaian foods in Takoradi Market Circle, the largest market circle in Africa.

Volcanic Cultures of Africa’s Atlantic Islands

A nine-day itinerary from Dakar to Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where guests can hike to the summit of Fogo Volcano, an active caldera, and hike in Garajonay National Park, among one of the world’s largest laurel woods.

“We’re really excited to offer these special new opportunities to discerning explorers,” said Patrizia Iantorno, Swan Hellenic VP of Global Marketing. “Our expertly designed Africa cruises mark the beginning of a new era of cultural expedition cruising worldwide.”

SH Diana’s Cruise Options

SH Diana is the largest ship in the Swan Hellenic fleet and will offer five cultural expeditions sailing southwards of the North and East coasts between August and November.

Mysteries of Cartage and the Moors

An 11-day itinerary from Lisbon to Palermo will have guests visiting a colony of endangered barbary macaques on Bejaia’s Gouraya National Park and ride the antique trams up the tumble-down streets of Lisbon.

Revelations of Suez, Sinai, and the Red Sea

A 13-day itinerary from Limassol to Jeddah will allow guests to swim among the coral and colorful fish in the Red Sea and take a camel ride around Jordan’s lost city of Petra, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. 

Paradise Islands of the Indian Ocean

A 12-day itinerary from Port Victoria to Mombasa will see guests visiting the world’s largest tortoise colony and learning about Swahili culture in Lamu, Kenya.

Madagascar and its Eastern Islands

An 11-day itinerary from Mombassa to Maputo will have guests learning about exotic local plants at the Arboretum d’Antsokay and looking for pods of dolphins or surfacing beaked whales during sea days.

Extraordinary South Africa

An eight-day itinerary from Maputo to Cape Town will have guests riding a rickshaw along Durban’s seafront promenade and searching for white rhinos, cheetahs, and elephants in the game parks near Port Elizabeth. 

All of these cruises can be daisy-chained, which is a Swan Hellenic option that, in this case, includes combining the cultural expedition cruises of the Mediterranean. 

Will you be exploring the unspoiled wilds of Africa this year with Swan Hellenic?

By Niko Balkaran