Enchanting Southern Italy & Sicily by historic tall ship

Sail between the enchanting Croatian city of Dubrovnik and Naples aboard the historic tall ship Sea Cloud. Wind your way around the southern part of Italy’s “boot,” calling on vibrant and welcoming places steeped in ancient history. Marvel at ornate cathedrals and remarkable baroque buildings, explore great sites of antiquity—from renowned Pompeii to the less-visited Greek temples of Paestum—and meander through unspoiled cliff-top towns, soaking up breathtaking views. Plus, with a little luck, witness the orange glow of eruptions from the Stromboli volcano. Time at sea offers a glimpse into the bygone golden age of sailing. Stand on deck to watch the orchestrated frenzy of crew members going high aloft in the riggings to handset 30 sails. Feel the ship heel underfoot in the wind, and measure the passing of time luxuriating on deck and watching landscapes on the horizon slowly change.

  • Explore Greco-Roman sites, the baroque city of Lecce, and the medieval island town of Ortigia, and take in their vibrant life and culture

  • See the Amalfi Coast, with its pastel-colored buildings and stunning vistas

  • Visit Pompeii, abruptly destroyed by Vesuvius in the year A.D. 79, and witness its extraordinarily well-preserved homes

  • Enjoy a private lunch at Castello degli Schiavi, an 18th-century castle used as a locale for the Godfather films

  • Savor ample time at sea sailing aboard Sea Cloud, the world’s most beautiful tall ship

  • Explore enchating Split, Trogir, Mostar & Dubrovnik on a four-day trip extension, and/or historic Naples on a two-day trip extension

See less highlights

Duration

12 Days

Price

From $15,270 per person

Dates

Jun

Sep

Next departure

6/22/2022

Special offers

BRINGING THE KIDS

COMBINING OFFERS

BACK-TO-BACK SAVINGS

FREE BAR TAB AND CREW TIPS INCLUDED

TRAVELING AS A GROUP

Ships

Mediterranean aboard Sea Cloud

Day By Day

Exploring from Dubrovnik to Naples aboard Sea Cloud offers the authentic experience of sailing a true square-rigger among must-see and seldom-seen locales. Our historian, naturalists, certified photo instructors, and local guides ensure you gain an insider’s perspective and insight into the fascinating places we visit. Scenic drives, hikes on hilly terrain, market visits, cruises along idyllic shores, and free time to walk in charming seaside villages are the ways you’ll pass the time. Flexibility is the hallmark of a Lindblad-National Geographic expedition, and our daily itineraries will often adjust to take advantage of wind or exploration opportunities.

Mediterranean Sojourn

Embark

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Disembark

Naples, Italy

Itinerary PDF

Reverse

Embark

Naples, Italy

Disembark

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Itinerary PDF

Alternative Route

Exploring from Dubrovnik to Naples aboard Sea Cloud offers the authentic experience of sailing a true square-rigger among must-see and seldom-seen locales. Our historian, naturalists, certified photo instructors, and local guides ensure you gain an insider’s perspective and insight into the fascinating places we visit. Scenic drives, hikes on hilly terrain, market visits, cruises along idyllic shores, and free time to walk in charming seaside villages are the ways you’ll pass the time. Flexibility is the hallmark of a Lindblad-National Geographic expedition, and our daily itineraries will often adjust to take advantage of wind or exploration opportunities.

Embark

Disembark

Ready for the adventure of a lifetime?

Talk to an Expedition Specialist

1.800.EXPEDITION (1.800.397.3348)

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Talk to an Expedition Specialist

1.800.EXPEDITION (1.800.397.3348)

Call now

Make a reservation

RESERVE

Sign up for our newsletter & special offers

sign up

Special Offers

Special Offers

BRINGING THE KIDS
Special Offers

We believe sharing an expedition with your kids or grandkids is a life-enhancing experience. So take $500 off for each child under the age of 18.

COMBINING OFFERS
Special Offers

Certain offers may be combinable, up to two savings opportunities, except where noted otherwise. For example, travel with a group of 8 or more on back-to-back expeditions, and take advantage of both savings.

BACK-TO-BACK SAVINGS
Special Offers

Save 10% on any consecutive journeys taken on board one of our expedition ships. This savings is applicable on voyage fares only, and are not valid on extensions or airfare.

FREE BAR TAB AND CREW TIPS INCLUDED
Special Offers

Travel aboard any Sea Cloud departure and we will cover your bar tab and all tips for the crew.

TRAVELING AS A GROUP
Special Offers

Save 5% when traveling as a group of 8 or more people. Take advantage of these great savings, while enjoying traveling with your friends and family. This savings is applicable to voyage fares only, and is not valid on extensions or airfare. Deposit, final payments, and cancellation policies for group travel vary from our regular policies.

Dates, Rates & Cabins

Travel on this itinerary from $15,270 per person

Extensions

Expedition Extensions

Make the most of your proximity and time

Naples Post-Voyage Extension
Naples Post-Voyage Extension

Post-trip

2 Days

Naples is a vital and extraordinarily lively city, graced by a wealth of historic treasures but very much living in the here and now. On our two-day extension, we’ll show you a great deal of Naples’s essence. You’ll see the historic center, a World Heritage Site, with one astonishing work of art and architecture after another. You’ll have a panoramic view from atop a hill overlooking the city and the Bay of Naples. And you’ll stay at the Grand Hotel Vesuvio, itself a piece of history. It’s along the waterfront, where Neapolitans from all walks of life come to stroll and enjoy themselves. We hope you’ll join us.

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Daily Expedition Reports

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Daily Expedition Reports

Aug 19

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Sea Cloud

Hvar, Croatia

Guests aboard Sea Cloud awoke to a view of the medieval hotspot of Hvar, a dramatic finale for this fantastic expedition. After breakfast, we loaded into Zodiacs to be taken to the bustling inner harbor where we were met by our local guides. The tour began in the lower city with visits to the beautifully situated monastery, an impressive sixteenth-century arsenal, and the cities famous bell tower Loggia. Afterward, we had time to roam the city, stopping in a café or pizzeria for a pre-lunch snack or some people-watching. A few more adventurous guests made the steep trek up to the Fortress Spanjola for a view of the harbor and Sea Cloud off in the distance. Once back aboard, the infamous pasta-wheel lunch lulled us into relaxation mode for the afternoon ahead. Historian Rebecca Ingram woke us with a presentation of the “Wine Dark Sea: Seafaring in the Ancient Aegean” that lead into the special afternoon tea featuring iced coffees and hot chocolate served by our baker Ramona from Switzerland. With our final day on Sea Cloud coming to a close, we enjoyed an exceptional farewell dinner and then a nightcap on the Lido Deck. Gaynor Trammer played the piano while we reminisced about our one-of-a-kind voyage.

Daily Expedition Reports

Aug 19

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Sea Cloud

Korcula, Croatia

Guests awoke to find that Sea Cloud was once again in Croatian waters, sailing south of the island of Korcula and east of Lastovo Island. At 8:00 that morning, sailors hit the rigging and put up a fine array of sail on a somewhat windless morning. Still, Sea Cloud made a speed of a couple knots for most of the morning. National Geographic Expert Grace Fielder gave a well-received talk on the preposterous Fourth Crusade, and once again, a cadre of Lindblad guests assisted the sailors and deckhands in bringing in the sails and in working the lines in the heat of the late morning. By 3:00 that afternoon, Sea Cloud was at anchor in the strait between Peljesac Peninsula and the Island of Korcula. We employed the ship’s Zodiacs to take us quickly to shore for the late afternoon walking tour of this small and charming Dalmatian town, reported home to the Venetian explorer Marco Polo. After visiting the Icon Museum and one of the homes of the venerable town brotherhoods, dating back to the Middle Ages, we continued walking the narrow but breeze-cooled streets to arrive at the central square. There, we viewed the treasury of the town’s cathedral and the cathedral itself, with its fanciful gargoyle exterior ornamentation and the cool solemnity of its interior. After the tour, guests had time to peruse the shops or to continue to wander the lovely town. Some guests chose to take an independent swim from the town’s small beaches. In the early evening, we met on the elegant steps of the town’s main gate for a group photo, then walked together to a nearby auditorium for a special performance of Moreshka, a choreographed sword battle from Medieval times. Sparks did fly and the lovely princess was rescued! Some guests chose to remain in town for dinner, though many returned to Sea Cloud for a fiery red sunset over the channel and a relaxing served dinner on deck, followed by an after-dinner stargazing session. Guests returned to the ship as late as 11:00 at night, after a full and memorable Adriatic day.

Daily Expedition Reports

Jun 19

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Sea Cloud

At Sea

We awoke to a wonderful sea. The white caps were breaking and we had really wonderful winds gusting up to 25 miles per hour. Sitting on the port side, we could taste the salt spray as it spumed off the hull. Sea Cloud rode the seas with an exquisite gentleness—stable and not rocking. A little after 8 a.m., the wind disappeared entirely—Homer’s Aeolus had decided to move elsewhere! The call to sail stations was at 8:45 a.m. and we even put up the highest sail, the skysail, to squeeze every bit of wind from the atmosphere. We ended up moving at 1.5 knots per hour. At 10 a.m., guests heard a talk on the fantastic debacle and tragedy of the Fourth Crusade of 1204, when misguided crusaders motivated not by piety but by money attacked and sacked Constantinople, the Christian capital of the east. The crusaders utterly failed, however, in their efforts to wrest the land from the Muslims. At lunch we enjoyed the great Parmesan pasta wheel dish. Cooked pasta is whipped inside the massive wheel until it is coated with cheese. Scrumptious. After lunch, many of us packed—it was our last day aboard. At 3:45 p.m., guests watched as hemp knots were hoisted up into the sails to become a necessary buffer, helping to keep the sails from wearing out. The sun remained high in the cerulean-blue sky all day. Guests enjoyed a second lecture on the languages of Europe that explained how almost all the languages—from the west of Ireland to western China and India—come from a single parent tongue that began in the steppes north of the Caspian and Aral seas nearly 7,000 years ago. Tomorrow morning, we dock in the famous ancient city of Dubrovnik. The massive walls of Dubrovnik, just over a mile and a quarter in length, were built in the 10 th century and reinforced over the years. They are almost 80 feet high in places, and those facing the landside of the city are 20 feet thick. It has an imposing presence. The captain hosted his farewell dinner tonight and toasted us all as veteran square-rig sailors. We joined this wonderful historic vessel Sea Cloud as strangers and now, 10 days later. we are a community united by the great privilege of sailing on this historic ship in these historic waters.

Daily Expedition Reports

Jun 19

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Sea Cloud

Ótranto & Lecce

Our final port of call before Dubrovnik was the Southern town of Ótranto, basically the southernmost tip of the heel of the Italian peninsula. In the morning, we visited Lecce, the so-called Florence of the Baroque, to marvel at the churches and palaces built during in construction booms of the 17 th and 18 th centuries. The afternoon, on the other hand, was spent in Ótranto itself. Because of its favorable position, the town enjoyed wealth through maritime trade and in the Middle Ages, was coveted by different settlers and conquerors. Its Byzantine and Norman influences are still visible in a few surviving, spectacular buildings.

Daily Expedition Reports

Jun 19

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Sea Cloud

At Sea aboard Sea Cloud

Guests enjoyed a special day of sailing, beginning with the setting of the spanker sail over the starboard rail in a maneuver that requires the assistance of all three mast teams. When Sea Cloud was revived in 1979, the spanker boom had to be raised, so this is not an easy or common maneuver. We then were able to put the ship’s Zodiacs down in the open Ionian Sea for the opportunity to ride around Sea Cloud under full sail to see and photograph her in all her glory! And to highlight a full day of sailing, Captain Komakin allowed a little bit of guest participation in the striking of the sails, which also proved to be a great spectator sport. We finished the day with a passionate talk on the history of the legendary ship.

Talk to an Expedition Specialist

1.800.EXPEDITION (1.800.397.3348)

Call now

Make a reservation

RESERVE

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Talk to an Expedition Specialist

1.800.EXPEDITION (1.800.397.3348)

Call now

Make a reservation

RESERVE

Sign up for our newsletter & special offers

Sign up