Coral Expeditions to explore Melanesia and Micronesia in 2026

It also will reintroduce ‘Through the Islands & Atolls of Micronesia’ which was a great success last year.

Back-to-back

All three voyages can be made back-to-back aboard the Australian-flagged, purpose-built tropical expedition ship Coral Adventurer that carries 120 passengers and a crew of 48.

The 16-night ‘Louisiades, Solomons and Vanuatu’ voyage departs Cairns for Port Vila on January 12, 2026.

Coral Adventurer will venture into remote destinations accessible only by sea.

Highlights include cruising in the Louisiade Archipelago of Papua New Guinea and swimming in one of Espiritu Santo’s ‘blue holes.’

Skull Island

Another highlight will be a visit to Skull Island in the Vonavona Lagoon, one of the most sacred sites in the Solomons, which is where there are the skulls of countless slain warriors.

The 16-night ‘Vanuatu, Solomons, Bougainville and New Britain' voyage sails from Port Vila for Rabaul on January 29.

Snake dance

Passengers will see a performance of the snake dance on Vanuatu’s Rah Island where local men paint themselves black and white to mimic sea snakes and dance to a string band on a white sandy beach overlooking the Rock of Rah.

At Marau Sound on the eastern tip of Guadalcanal they will be able to watch women create water music by standing waist-deep in water and singing as they splash it with their forearms.

This voyage also will visit historic World War II battle sites.

The third of the three-voyage series departs Rabaul for Sorong, the capital of the Indonesian province of Southwest Papua, on February 14.

All Micronesian states

The 21-night ‘Through the Islands & Atolls of Micronesia’ sailing will visit all four states of the Federated States of Micronesia — Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae.

Passengers making two or three of these voyages save 10% on the second sailing, as well as 10% on the third, as part of Coral Expeditions’ adjoining cruises offer.

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