There is the allure of the familiar-the relaxed comfort of knowing just what to expect. And then there is the other kind of travel, the kind that stretches you, challenges your understanding and demands the full attention of all your senses.

The links below will take you to journeys of the latter type. Itineraries to exotic destinations from the Great Barrier Reef to Antarctica, the Great Wall of China to Bora Bora. These are voyages that transcend a vacation and become an inherent part of you forever after, with experiences and encounters both on board and ashore that are at once rare and universal. Rubbing noses with a Maori native in New Zealand. Sharing a smile with a shy child herding llamas in the Andes. Sipping tea with kimonoed matrons in a ceremony as old as time in Japan.

Explore the unexplored. Comparing sunsets from every perspective. Lifting the curtain on the world's great mysteries. These are voyages for travelers who hear the siren call of adventure.

• Asia & Pacific
• Australia/New Zealand & S. Pacific
• Europe
• Grand Voyages
• South America