All our small ship cruising guides

They take you to another world. To little bits of littoral loveliness you hardly knew existed. Places with names like the Mergui Archipelago, the Kyles of Bute, Wrangel Island or an island called Wolf. They take you on vessels that are the beloved babies of craftsmen and women. They take you to see whales and turtles and sea lions. They combine life on land and on sea.

Small ship cruising vacations do come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, although never enter that super size, floating hotel territory, thankfully.

When working out not only where to go but also when to go to your chosen cruise destinations, it can be tricky.

What is a small ship, anyway? It might be a family-sized yacht, a white-sailed schooner designed to tuck into orca-frequented fjords, or a 200-passenger icebreaker that delves into the frozen Arctic.

From weather, time at sea and your wildlife wish list, to low carbon credentials and accessibility – there are a boatload of considerations when choosing a small ship vacation.

There are so many small cruise destinations, especially given the fact that they are small boats and so they can navigate waterways that those infamous big bruisers can’t access.

Our best cruises from the UK include wildlife safaris, art workshops and family adventures among Hebridean islands teeming with wildlife.

These small ship cruise activities are far from the world of quoits and bad lounge singers.

Some of the most mysterious and characterful creatures on the planet can only be reached on a small ship wildlife cruise.

A cruise ship with sails – but make it small. Expect to spend most of your time on deck, in the water, or exploring your surroundings. Read on to decide whether a small ship sailing cruise is for you.

Whether you’re gliding down the Nile on a wheelchair accessible felucca, chugging along on a rescued groundnut boat in the Gambia, or exploring the lesser spotted backwaters of Kerala – river cruise vacations reveal rivers that are cultural and spiritual monoliths.

Go to southern Spain and you can see 700 years of Moorish influence, go to Morocco and see millennia of it.

Who says cruises aren’t for kids? Some of the smallest Caribbean-bound yachts can be fitted with toddler-proof safety nets, while Antarctic icebreakers come with quad rooms.

The specialist tour operators we work with know that solo travel is rapidly gaining traction.

Our experts in small ship cruises have given us some top cruise tips.

Giant cruise ships have come in for a lot of bad press, and at Responsible Travel we believe that they really are cruising for a bruising.