To celebrate 2025, we’re sharing a magnificent seven moments in travel. These experiences have been tried and tested and chosen because we think they’ll elevate your trip beyond the ordinary. We expect many of them will reach new heights of popularity in 2025.
Among them, you’ll find insightful tours led by experts who can take you beyond your expectations.
A rare moment with a mountain gorilla
After hiking through dense forest, your guide stops, smiles and points ahead. Their eyes land on the scene: a family of mountain gorillas huddling together in a clearing. Some munch on bamboo, others lie on the ground, round bellies skyward. Then, a silverback saunters past, throwing them a nonchalant glance.
“I’ve been on safari in East Africa many times, gorilla trekking in Uganda felt like I was experiencing the region anew, swapping the savanna for rainforests and big cats for great apes was an overwhelming experience.”
Dolphin spotting off Cape Horn
The Chilean summer breeze is bracing as it flows off the glacier, but you’re snug in your wool beanie as you lean against the railing. The mainland glides by a landscape of wind-scoured hills populated by Magellanic penguins.
Suddenly, a shout — Dolphins!” You rush to the aft deck to watch the sleek, grey shapes cavorting in the white foam of your ship’s wake.
“Rounding Cape Horn is a rare treat – only a few ships navigate the once-perilous journey a handful of times each year. If you went to include a cruise on your next Chile trip, I suggest planning early.”
An audience with waved albatrosses
After finding a landing strip, where the scrubby vegetation of Española Island is flattened, you wait for one of the giant birds circling above to touch down. As they land, they stick their legs out in front of them in a posture that’s almost cartoonish. Effortless fliers, on the ground they’re endearingly clumsy. But their mating dance? That’s another story…
“You can visit Española Island as part of a cruise. Unusually, you’ll also get to explore Genovesa and Isabela Islands too: a rare treat for anyone looking to see the best of Galapagos birdlife in 2025.”
Swimming with giants in the Maldives
A ripple of bubbles appears before you. Out of the corner of your eye, a whale shark’s dappled form moves into view, gliding slowly through the ocean.
Heart pounding, you wiggle alongside it, noticing a shiver of remora fish hitching a ride on its fins. Then, it’s feeding time. With its toothless mouth agape, the shark cuts through the water, hoovering up its prey,
”We work exclusively with resorts dedicated to protecting our ocean environments, like Conrad Rangali Island and the Intercontinental Maamunagau Resort— marine Biologists here monitor the seas to ensure your experience on the reef puts marine life first”
Soaring above the Serengeti at Sunrise
Warmth flushes your cheeks as the burner ignites and roars overhead.
Then, silence. The savanna splays out as you float higher, acacia trees becoming just speckles below. As your hot-air balloon drifts slowly, you spy a cast of animals: elephants marching in a line, wildebeests and zebras racing across the plains, hippos splashing into a winding river. You grab your binoculars for a closer look.
”Balloon safaris give you a completely different perspective on the bush you see how the ecosystem works as a whole, just as dawn breaks. Afterwards, you’ll enjoy a Champagne breakfast in the wilderness.”
Canada’s wildest bear-watching experience
From your isolated viewing platform beside the boulder strewn river, you.
Watch heart-in-mouth as usually solitary grizzly bears unite, their common goal is to grab the glut of salmon swimming upriver in the early morning light. Bach slap and splash of the water sounds out the frenzy of the catch, before the bears grapple with their slippery meal on the bank.
”You can watch the drama unfold between late August and October from Great Bear Lodge, Knight Inlet and Klahoose Wilderness Resort tucked away in coastal rainforest. Why not combine your stay With a Rocky Mountaineer rail journey through dizzying peaks.”
Close encounters at the end of the Earth
You stand at the railing of the ship and inhale the still air. All around you are the arching blue sky and mirror-calm ocean, dotted with icebergs sculpted like works of art by the elements. A pod of orcas appears with a splash and a calf approaches, playfully swimming on its side next to your ship.
Through the glass-clear water, you make eye contact across species.
“The coming year’s set to be good for visiting the Great White Continent there are more ship and route options than ever before, so you’re bound to find an expedition cruise that works for you.”
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