Watching a polar bear cross Arctic sea ice, or stepping onto Antarctic ice for the first time, tops a lot of travel lists. What usually keeps it there isn’t the cost of the cruise. It’s the cost of flying to somewhere this remote.
National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions built its reputation on these routes over decades of voyages to Earth’s harder-to-reach places. Guests get naturalists, Zodiacs and small-ship access that make destinations like Antarctica and French Polynesia feel personal instead of packaged. Airfare has just never been part of that equation.
A New Air Credit for 2027 Trips
Book your flight through Lindblad’s own Air Department between Sept. 15 and Nov. 4, 2026. You’ll qualify for up to $2,000 per person in air credit on select 2027 trips, as long as you book directly with Lindblad and not through an outside travel agent or airline. Lindblad runs more than 100 itineraries across 70-plus countries on 22 ships, and this credit covers some of its farthest-flung 2027 routes.
Where the Credit Applies
Four of the eligible voyages stand out for how far they go:
- The Svalbard voyage centers on spotting polar bears in their native habitat, with hikes past whale-bone arrangements and abandoned trappers’ huts along the shoreline.
- Antarctica Direct trades the traditional multi-day Drake Passage crossing for a two-hour flight each way, leaving more time on the ice for wildlife and glaciers.
- Pearls of the Pacific island-hops through the Society and Tuamotu archipelagos, including the UNESCO-protected reefs of Fakarava.
- The Patagonia voyage covers fjords and glaciers by Zodiac and kayak, with sightings of elephant seals, Magellanic penguins and Andean condors.
These four aren’t the only options. Lindblad’s 2027 season also reaches coastal Japan, Greenland’s Disko Bay and a coastal route from Edinburgh to Lisbon, part of a season built around places almost no one sails.
The booking window runs through Nov. 4, giving travelers a little more time to turn Antarctica or Svalbard from a someday trip into next year’s plans. Some trips have a way of staying on the list for years. This could be the year that changes.