For over 50 years! In the mid-1960’s, Lars-Eric Lindblad took the first travelers by ship to remote parts of the world. In 1969 he commissioned the first purpose-built expedition ship for travelers—the Lindblad Explorer—built for sustained operation in the world’s most remote places. In the ‘60’s and ‘70’s he opened up opportunities to explore places like Antarctica, Galapagos, the Amazon, the Seychelles, and much of the Pacific.

Sven-Olof Lindblad, Lars’ son, traveled extensively with his father, learning early on the joy and wonder of exploring the pristine corners of the globe. In 1979, Sven Lindblad founded Special Expeditions as a division of Lindblad Travel, enabling the company to further its mission of offering innovative and educational travel expeditions that were primarily marine focused. The company’s name was later changed to Lindblad Expeditions.

Lindlblad has over 300 expertly trained, hand-selected guides expedition teams that are among the best in the field, bar none.

Lindblad captains have navigated hundreds of expeditions and have the experience and passion to guide all voyages safely, while maximizing the opportunities for quality wildlife sightings for all guests.

Expedition leaders are naturalists, historians, anthropologists, geologists, marine biologists, officers, photographers, and undersea specialists—many are actually from the regions travelled—and collectively have thousands of years of experience researching, studying, absorbing, and guiding travelers to the most interesting places in the world. They are the ones who write the books, they are the locals with a vested interested in preserving the places we visit. These experts help foster a genuine exchange of knowledge/information on natural surroundings, history, and culture of the places explored.

Lindblad Expeditions partnered with the National Geographic Society in 2004 and is an alliance of two exploration pioneers in an innovative program to remote and pristine destinations around the globe. They work in tandem to produce educational marine expeditions to inspire travelers to explore and care about the planet, and to promote conservation and sustainable tourism around the world. The Lindblad Expeditions fleet also serves as a platform for a collection of researchers from the Society to cost-effectively study the regions they explore.

As a result of the alliance, guests interact with world-renowned scientists, researchers, explorers, and photographers, who serve to enhance every voyage aboard the Lindblad/National Geographic fleet and insures all guests return home inspired by the wonders of the world around us. The incomparable photography initiative offers an exclusive service—a Lindblad-National Geographic certified photo instructor aboard every expedition in the fleet, and a National Geographic photographer is aboard every departure on the flagship, National Geographic Explorer.

Lindblad's belief is that by exposing adults and children to the wonders of the world, they will help foster the next generation of committed citizens who care about the future of our planet. Expedition teams ensure they abide by all the rules and regulations of the places visited, and will often institute their own internal programs and initiatives to preserve and protect these places.

Lindblad embraces the leave-no-trace philosophy, “Take only photographs, leave only footprints.” While they have a strict no-collection policy about the places explored—no shells, no animal fur/feathers, no rocks, no sticks, etc., there is an exception made to the occasional beach trash cleanup.

Staff is actively involved in organizations such as International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators and Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators, which seek to lead the tourism industry with best management practices for visiting unique places such as Antarctica, the Arctic, and Galápagos. They have helped to create guidance for visitors to those places and in turn help to enforce their compliance.

The Lindblad family has spent decades exploring the world’s wildest places, and has undertaken multiple efforts in support of conservation, education and marine stewardship raising nearly $10 million in collaboration with cruise guests in the last 10 years alone. They have also initiated a number of programs to reduce impacts of our activities on the regions they visit.

In an effort to raise more monies for conservation and sustainable tourism projects around the world, Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic launched a Joint Fund for Exploration and Conservation to support initiatives around the world, with a special focus on the regions they explore.

There are never hidden charges on any Lindblad Expedition. Inclusions may change slightly per journey, but you can rest assured there will be no hidden costs or suprises.

Included in your cost:

• All accommodations, meals, and non-alcoholic beverages aboard ships
• Use of Snorkeling equipment, wet suits, and kayaks (where available)
• Services of the expert expedition team and guest speakers
• Services of a ship physician on most voyages
• Certain hotels and meals ashore as indicated in the itinerary
• Round-trip transfers based on group flights
• Shore excursions, sightseeing, entrance fees, and special access permits (not included are any special and unique excursions -such as scuba diving, flightseeing, etc.)
• Taxes, service charges, and tips (except for ship’s crew, at guests’ discretion
• Water-proof parka (on polar expeditions)

The majority of cabins are for two passengers, however Lindblad does offer triple accommodations on certain expeditions. We recommend you speak to a CruiseInsider expert to reserve your trip early, as these cabins may be limited on certain ships and fill up fast.

Yes, your professional expedition team is key to your experience! They not only accompany all your explorations off the ship, they also give engaging talks and informal presentations on board. Most ships are equipped with facilities for films, slideshows, and presentations of the days events.

Naturalists will share their knowledge and add insight to all you see and do. On Antarctica voyages, divers and ocean specialists shoot undersea footage and then show images on flat screens in the comfort of the ship’s lounge, giving you a rare view of the undersea world in Antarctica. Global Perspectives guest speakers will add depth, knowledge, and relevancy to your understanding of the region on all Explorer voyages and select Orion voyages. National Geographic photographers share their images and offer one-to-one critiques for those who are interested in participating.

Lindblad will make every attempt to reach the colony where the emperor penguins reside but cannot guarantee this encounter. Guests do see them on many, but not every voyage. You can expect to see other incedible wildlife though, including large colonies of gentoo, Adelie, and chinstrap penguins.

Guests on early-season expeditions (November and December) are likely to see penguins building their nests and seal pups still being weaned by their mothers. In the early season, when ice conditions are just right, the captain is more likely to be able to “park” the ship in the sea ice so that the expedition team can lead a walk among penguins on the sea ice.

Guests on expeditions later in the season will more likely be able to sail further south as ice recedes allowing them to cross the Antarctic Circle.

Often, the most memorable events are those that are unplanned. That’s why every Lindblad-National Geographic itinerary has flexibility built into the schedule to accomodate for weather changes, wildlife encounters or natural phenomena that can't be scheduled. Being flexible in itinerary and attitude is an important aspect on every expedition.

In the Antarctic Peninsula region especially, considerable time is left open for exploring. So, if the ship happens to encounter killer or humpback whales, for example, you'll have the time to stop and watch rather than having to rush off somewhere else.

National Geographic Endurance & National Geographic Resolution are innovative next-generation expedition ships, purpose-built for polar navigation. These fully stabilized, highly strengthened, ice-class Polar Code PC5 (Category A) vessels are specially designed to navigate polar passages year-round, and safely explore unchartered waters, while providing exceptional comfort for just 126 adventurous guests.

The patented X-BOW® is key to its design; its powerful wave-slicing action provides an extremely smooth ride in even adverse conditions, and even reduces spray on deck, for superior observation. They carry a full suite of expedition tools—landing crafts, kayaks, ROVs (remote operating vehicles), underwater cameras and more—and offers a variety of experience-enhancing amenities and excellent accommodations.