South America - Windstar Cruises

Small Ship South America Cruises

A Journey Through Time

Thick rainforests pulse with life, a symphony of hearts beating in butterflies, ocelots, peccaries, sloths and more. While cities – some standing, some recently risen from the grave – wait to amaze visitors. Lima’s jalousie balconies. Machu Picchu’s impeccably fitted granite walls. Chan Chan’s ingenious modular buildings made of mud. And then there are the Galapagos Islands, a place where life took a unique path shaped by distance from land, the currents below, the winds above. Beaches, biosphere preserves, weathered forts, Panama Canal gates the size of tennis courts and more are on the horizon. Come see South America 180 degrees from ordinary.

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Windstar Knows the Way to South America

When you’re looking for things like howler monkeys in a rainforest, barely inhabited beaches, or small farms growing coffee, cacao and bananas, nobody gets you closer than Windstar. We know the best way to find endangered giant tortoises and blue-footed boobies in the Galapagos. And we take you to must-sees like Machu Picchu, Lima, and Cartagena. The Star Pride will have five South America focused itineraries ranging from 7-days to 21-days, an optional Galapagos overland package, and a Machu Picchu Cruise Tour to take you closer than ever before.

Overnight Delights Our immersive itineraries include overnight stays that let you explore a place in greater depth, experiencing a city’s restaurants, nightlife, and skyline as well as its daytime attractions. You can also book sightseeing tours that take you further from port. From Manta, travel to Isla Corazon, a mangrove island that’s a must-see for birders. In Lima, visit the pre-Columbian Pachacamac ruins, watch the Magic Water Circuit show, or dine in one of the world’s great food towns. Other places we stay overnight include Guayaquil, Cartagena, and Colon.

Featured Voyage: Marvels of Ecuador, Peru, and the Panama Canal On this unique itinerary you’ll explore two of South America’s most intriguing countries in-depth, with multiple overnight stays and a once-in-a-lifetime crossing of the Panama Canal. Discover the incredible biodiversity of Ecuador, a country with more biospheres and birds than Costa Rica. Explore ancient Chan Chan where up to 60,000 Chimu once lived in a city made of clay. Sip guayusa tea as you stroll the magnificent malecón in Guayaquil, and yerba mate as you wander the historic center of Lima past buildings that were established in Pizzaro’s day. See even more South American wonders with a Cruise Tour to Machu Picchu or an optional 2-night shore excursion to the Galapagos.

Featured Shore Excursion: Galapagos Islands The Galapagos Islands are one of the largest marine protected areas in the world, and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Your visit here will take you from the mist-shrouded forest of the Santa Cruz Highlands to arid islands inhabited only by legendary Lost World creatures. A guided boat tour and a dedicated Naturalist Guide give you the best chance of spotting rarities like Galapagos penguins, marine iguanas, flightless cormorants, giant tortoises and more – all castaways who evolved to thrive in this remote landscape. Don’t miss the Galapagos tortoise nursery at the Charles Darwin Research Station.

Check the Panama Canal Off Your Bucket List Daylight Transit of the Panama Canal Crossing the Panama Canal is on every cruiser’s bucket list but experiencing it on a small Windstar ship is utterly unique. Appreciate the true scale of the gates as you approach them at eye level instead of looking down at them from above. Watch from close up as locomotive “mules” nudge our ship into place, sometimes high above us as we descend with the water level. And easily move from one excellent viewing platform to another to catch all the action. An onboard Canal Historian describes each fascinating stage, and on some cruises, an onboard naturalist also joins you on deck.

It's a Jungle Here Central America, Colombia and Ecuador are teeming with life, rating as one of the most biodiverse regions in the world. Visitors to places like Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands will find an incredible variety of flora and fauna, including species not found anywhere else. Iconic creatures like howler monkeys, sloths, scarlet macaws and toucans can be spotted by sharp-eyed visitors to Costa Rica’s rainforests, while endangered giant Galapagos tortoises, marine iguanas, and flightless cormorants live out their lives in the Lost World of the Galapagos Islands, far from mainland continents and other species.

Ports with Personality Go beyond the major ports big ships visit, to smaller, less-visited ports and islands off the beaten track. Places like Santa Marta, the oldest city in Colombia and the location of Tayrona National Park, a protected area with more than 58 square miles of lush vegetation and pristine beaches. Machala, the capital of the El Oro Province in Ecuador and a region known for its agriculture, specifically its production of coffee, bananas, and cacao. And Salaverry (Trujillo), Peru an area recognized for its archeological site, Chan Chan, a vast adobe complex built by the Chimu tribe.