AdventureSmith Explorations Advises to Book Now for 2012 Holiday Season Availability

Small Ship Cruise Expert  AdventureSmith Explorations (www.AdventureSmithExplorations.com) the active travel company that secures matches between adventure-seeking clients and a treasure trove of small, expedition ships, announces that 2012 holiday season space is still available on seven cruises stretching from Patagonia to the Sea of Cortez. Three come with value offers ranging from free air to $1,000 off per couple.

Journeys in the Sea of Cortez, 7 nights/8 days, with cruise dates Dec 15-22, 22-29 and Dec 29-Jan 5 includes complimentary round-trip airfare from Los Angeles to La Paz in Baja, Mexico and a $500 discount for 18 and under off of per person rates from $4,250. Activities include kayaking, snorkeling, swimming, hiking, Zodiac cruises and whale watching. With December temperatures typically in the 70s, the region teems with platoons of pelicans, dolphins surfacing and the antics of rays and boobies.

Antarctic Explorer aboard Ocean Diamond, 11 night/12 day tour Dec 17-27, comes with a 25 percent per person discount on rates from $6,795. The modern and stable Antarctic Explorer (Ocean Diamond) carries 189 passengers through Drake’s Passage, the South Shetland Islands and to the Antarctic Peninsula. A goal is to leave the ship at least twice daily to experience indigenous life in this frozen landscape.

Panama to Costa Rica, 8 nights/9 days on Dec 22-30 and Dec 28-Jan 5, comes with a savings of $500 per person (double), or $1,000 with two people in one cabin. Rates are from $3,950. The Panama Canal and several of Costa Rica’s national parks are off-ship playgrounds for guests on the unspoiled Pacific coastline of these countries.

Galapagos Santa Cruz, 4 nights/5 days, scheduled for Dec 21-26 and Dec 26-31, starts at $2,230 for a cruise-only package through Darwin’s world. Ages 12 and under sharing a room with an adult receive a 25 percent discount. Cruises of 5 nights/6 days are from $2,980 per person double. When combined consecutively these cruises equal a 15 day/14 night Galapagos cruise with no repeated landing sites. The shorter itineraries can also be combined in various ways to create 10 or 15 day cruises. Off-ship activities may include snorkeling, diving and visits to Galapagos National Park.

Peru Amazon Cruise, 4 nights/5 days, cruising Dec 24-28, offers per person double rates from $2,700 to explore this country’s share of the Amazon River and some of its tributaries winding into remote villages and through tropical rain forests; guests enjoy access on foot with seasoned guides.

Patagonia Expedition Cruise. 4 nights/5 days, this Dec. 22-26, covers end-of-the earth territory that’s just becoming popular with cruise aficionados. Among the experiences is sailing through the Strait of Magellan and Beagle Channel to explore one of the most breathtaking wilderness regions in the world, those of Southern Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. The per person double rate is from $1,990.

Australia's Great Barrier Reef, 4 nights/5 days, on Dec 25-29, brings guests to one of the world’s premier snorkeling and diving regions. Cairns, Cooktown and Lizard Island are among stops with the region’s charms as many or more under the surface of the sea as on land. The per person double rate is from $1,546.

Founded in 2003, AdventureSmith Explorations is based in Tahoe City, California along the northern shore of Lake Tahoe. Phone: 800-728-2875 toll-free or 530-583-1775. Email: travel@AdventureSmithExplorations.com or visit the website: www.AdventureSmithExplorations.com.