• 2 min de lectura
• 2 min de lectura
In 2028, Ponant Explorations will become the first cruise line to visit Monte Cristi, a little gem in the Dominican Republic, during a new Caribbean itinerary that explores natural treasures and cultural history.
The seven-night "Jewels of the Northern Caribbean" travels between La Romana and Nassau, visiting lesser known spots in the Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos and The Bahamas.
This immersive, expedition-style experience was developed by Ponant's José Sarica, who personally scouted the region, working with local experts such as Philip Bresinsky in the Dominican Republic, who introduced him to "genuinely off-the-beaten-track locations" such as the small town of Monte Cristi, which Sarica called "a real gem, with colorful Victorian houses, an amazing clock designed by Eiffel and a national park with remarkable geological formations."
Sarica also extolled the mangroves, secret caves with stalactites and cenotes of "mesmerizing blue" in The Bahamas and, at Staniel Cay, the surprise of swimming with wild pigs.
He found the reef at Turks and Caicos "the most beautiful I have ever seen" on his global travels — "a forest of gently swaying corals and algae, purple gorgonians, hundreds of fish, green turtles gliding past you and sometimes bottlenose dolphins approaching out of curiosity." Watching the whales in Samaná Bay, where they come to give birth mid-January to mid-March, was "unforgettable" to Sarica, a marine biologist.
Besides natural wonders and abundant opportunities for active exploration, the trip will delve into indigenous cultures like the Taino people of the Dominican Republic and the Arawak who lived in the Turks and Caicos, plus colonial, slave and pirate history.
2028 departures are available Jan. 12, Jan. 19, Jan. 26 and Feb. 2 aboard the 184-passenger Le Champlain. An overnight add-on at Casa de Campo is available.
Source: sea-trade cruise
