While many first-time cruisers pick larger ships, sailing on smaller vessels can often give you a more intimate experience in some truly off-the-beaten path destinations.

Tour operator Butterfield & Robinson has a new program called the Uncruise Collection, which lets you sail by small ship through unusual areas.

You can travel by a motor yacht through Turkey’s Turquoise Coast, or sail through the Peloponnesian Sea on a 30-passenger boat.

With Circa Tours, you can sail on a 22-passenger barge hotel through the canals of Alsace-Lorraine, along the border of France and Germany.

Each day you can get off the boat to explore small villages, vineyards and castles by walking or biking through the region.

And with a company called Ecovoyager, you can float down the Amazon river on an 18-passenger riverboat.

This small boat is capable of exploring deep into the rainforest and navigating smaller tributaries that other ships can’t get to.

So don’t just rely on the big cruise ships for your next adventure at sea–check out the smaller boats, too.

For more helpful ideas on what you need to know before you go, visit our Travel Planning section.

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