Cruise Description

With featured guest Nicolas d'Estienne d'Orves, French writer and journalist.

From the coast of Brittany to the shores of Ireland, PONANT invites you to spend unique moments where the English Channel meets the Celtic Sea. This 8-day interlude between Saint-Malo and Dublin aboard Le Boréal will take you to the heart of landscapes of wild and melancholic beauty. Between lush meadows, craggy cliffs, small colourful villages, peat bogs and moors, succumb to the charms of these lands steeped in mystery.

You will set sail from Saint-Malo, a town famous for the legendary Route du Rhum yacht race. The city of privateers, the diversity of its heritage and its rampart walks will not fail to delight you.

Le Boréal will then make its way north-west to reach the Channel Islands. Here, nature reigns and offers the perfect getaway. In Guernsey, fall in love with this island that is as captivating as it is mystical. Numerous dolmens and menhirs dot the island, bearing witness to its long history and rich heritage. Next, edged with verdant plains and rocky cliffs, Herm, the smallest of the Channel Islands, will surprise you with its wild, unexplored and untouched quality.

Then, you will make your way to Dartmouth, a charming town tucked away in the heart of the stunning décor formed by the mouth of the Dart. You will discover its old pastel-coloured fishermen’s houses and some half-timbered buildings.

Then, mythical Cornwall will reveal itself. In Fowey, you will marvel at Mother Nature’s masterpieces. There, you will discover a spellbinding environment of majestic cliffs and vast natural spaces, conducive to escape and tranquillity.

Your ship will then sail towards the Isles of Scilly, a strange little archipelago whose landscapes seem to have come straight out of Enid Blyton's famous story, The Rockingdown Mystery. Here, long sandy beaches lie alongside green fields, while ruins of old castles stand proud on hilltops.

After a unique stop in Bantry, between spectacular cliffs, a fascinating bay, and vast stretches of orange-tinged moors, you will call at Cobh. Charming and romantic, a place of history and legend, the city reveals itself through its maze of cobbled streets with, in the background, its 17th-century fortress and its majestic forest.

Your cruise will end in Dublin, the Irish capital brimming with convivial atmosphere and authentic charm.