Canary Islands, Morocco & Iberia Aboard Exploris One

Independent departures to Tenerife (on overnight flights).

The Canary Islands are a volcanic archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa, known for their diverse landscapes and microclimates. With a rich history dating back to the ancient Guanche people, the islands played a crucial role as a “Gateway to the New World,” a jumping off point for Spanish exploration of the Americas. Arrive in Tenerife, the largest of the islands, and transfer to the Hotel Botánico. Depending on your arrival, you might savor a midday meal.

After settling in, you can wander the nearby Jardín de Aclimatación de la Orotava or unwind at the hotel. The vast botanical garden, founded in 1788, nurtures more than 5,000 plant species. Its lush grounds include towering palms, colorful bromeliads, and spiky aloes from five continents. Later, join fellow travelers in the hotel’s garden for a cocktail reception, followed by a welcome dinner.

Overnight: Hotel Botánico

Meals: R, D

Rise this morning for a scenic drive to the UNESCO-designated Teide National Park. Within this volcanic realm, gaze up at Mount Teide, Spain’s tallest peak at 12,200 feet. Savor a picnic lunch amid this surreal landscape of craters and unique rock formations. Alternatively, you may join an expert guide to explore the winding streets of La Orotava, a charming town famous for its exquisitely preserved 17th-century heritage buildings. Highlights on your tour include Casa de los Balcones, a 1632 mansion with intricate wooden balconies, and the Iglesia de La Concepción, with its ornate Baroque façade, imposing done, stained-glass windows, and lavish interior. Enjoy lunch in the town.

This afternoon, both groups will reconvene for a expert-led tour through Tenerife’s UNESCO-listed historic quarter of La Laguna. Founded in 1496, this stunning neighborhood features colonial mansions with wooden balconies and picturesque courtyards. Stop to see the Santa Iglesia Catedral de San Cristóbal de La Laguna, built from 1904 to 1915, with its mix of Neoclassical and Neo-Gothic architecture and medieval-style interior with marble pulpits and 17th-century altarpieces. 

Before boarding the awaiting Exploris One, enjoy an inside look at the Auditorio de Tenerife, a strikingly modern opera house designed by revered Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and finished in 2003. With an arched roof that seems to defy gravity, the opera house’s white exterior, made of broken tile mosaics, resembles a wave or wing.

Overnight: Exploris One

Meals: B, L, D

Devote the day to the capital city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Columbus’s last stop before leaving for the Americas. On an architectural tour of the Old Town, take a private visit to the Teatro Pérez Galdós, an exceptionally beautiful Neoclassical concert hall built in 1890 with an horseshoe-shaped auditorium and dazzling gilded décor.

Continue for a guided look at the Christopher Columbus Church and House Museum (Casa de Colón), a 16thcentury colonial building where Columbus stayed in 1492. Inside, models of La Niña, La Pinta, and Santa María stand alongside ancient maps, Pre-Columbian artifacts, South American pottery, and paintings from the 16th to 19th centuries that illustrate connections between the Canary Islands and the Americas.

Stop at the 19th-century Town Hall, with its columned façade, standing proud in Plaza de Santa Ana, and the majestic Gothic-Renaissance Catedral de Santa Ana, constructed over nearly 500 years starting in 1485, with its soaring twin towers said to replace ancient palm trees, museum with sacred art, and a 16th-century music archive.

After welcome remarks from a town official, enjoy refreshments and lunch amid the opulence of Gabinete Literario, a 19th-century neoclassical building. Later, aboard Exploris One, gather for the captain’s welcome reception and dinner this evening.

Overnight: Exploris One

Meals: B, L, R, D

On the Canary Island of Lanzarote, step ashore in Arrecife to explore an otherworldly landscape shaped by volcanic forces. You will be immersed in the imaginative world of legendary artist and activist César Manrique (1919–1992), who transformed Lanzarote’s landscapes into his own living canvas.

First, enjoy an expert-led visit to the César Manrique Foundation, built atop a lava flow in 1968. Here, marvel at how Manrique’s innovative designs blend seamlessly with volcanic caves. Next, attend a musical performance at the Manrique-designed Los Jameos del Agua, a series of lava caves transformed into a 550-seat auditorium boasting extraordinary natural acoustics, with the volcanic rock amplifying sound.

Then watch a different kind of spectacle for lunch: At El Diablo Restaurant in Timanfaya National Park, observe skilled chefs harnessing geothermal heat from a dormant volcano to grill meats and fish on a nine-layer rock stove powered entirely by nature. Savor local specialties like Canarian potatoes with mojo sauce while gazing at the Fire Mountains through the restaurant’s floor-to-ceiling windows.

In the afternoon, take a guided adventure through Timanfaya’s surreal terrain, formed by over 100 volcanoes between 1730 and 1736. This UNESCO Biosphere Reserve hosts 180 plant species adapted to the challenging environment. Return to the ship and cruise to the port of Safi.

Overnight: Exploris One

Meals: B, L, D

Enjoy a relaxing day at sea as Exploris One sails to reach the coast of Morocco. Engage in a variety of onboard activities designed to enrich your experience, including lectures.

For those seeking tranquility, unwind in the ship’s spa, indulging in soothing treatments and enjoying the serene atmosphere as you sail through the open waters.

Overnight: Exploris One

Meals: B, L, D

From Safi, travel east to Marrakesh. Beginning in the medina, the old walled section of town, gaze up at the 12th-century Koutoubia Mosque and its soaring minaret. Next, take a special tour of the rarely visited Dar El Bacha, an early 20th-century grand riad residence transformed into a museum.

Previously home to an influential pasha (high-ranked Ottoman official), Dar El Bacha’s symmetrical splitlevel layout is a classic display of Moroccan domestic architecture and a snapshot of aristocratic lifestyles from a century ago.

Later, follow in the footsteps of the late fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, who adopted Marrakesh as his home, with guided tours of Villa Oasis, his cherished, cobalt-blue retreat, and the lush Jardin Majorelle, his botanical sanctuary. You will also have a guided exploration of the adjacent YSL Museum, which charts more than four decades of Saint Laurent’s contributions to women’s fashion.

Then watch the bustle at Marrakesh’s famous Djemaa el F’na Square, an ancient meeting place filled with dancers, storytellers, and snake charmers. Later, return to Exploris One as it sails for Casablanca.

Overnight: Exploris One

Meals: B, L, D

Arrive this morning in Casablanca and transfer for a guided look at the magnificent Hassan II Mosque, an architecturally distinguished worship space built partially over the Atlantic Ocean outside Casablanca. Inside one of Africa’s largest and most ornately decorated mosques, our private tour will reveal masterful Moroccan artistry lavished across hand-carved wood, marble, and granite surfaces under a retractable roof letting in ocean breezes.

Drive to Rabat for a visit to the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, which celebrates works by Morocco’s leading artists of today. Your expert guide will later take you for a stroll through Rabat’s oldest area, the 12th-century Kasbah des Oudaïas, which features the city’s oldest mosque, gardens, and sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean and the river Bou Regreg. Return to the ship this evening.

Overnight: Exploris One

Meals: B, L, D

Step ashore in glamorous Tangier on the Strait of Gibraltar, just 17 miles from Spain. You will explore two centuries of U.S.-Morocco ties at the Tangier American Legation Museum, the only U.S. National Historic Landmark outside our national borders. The sultan offered this 1821 mansion as a gift to the U.S., making Morocco the first country to formally recognize American independence.

Then embark on a guided tour of the Kasbah Museum, a former sultan’s palace displaying antiquities ranging from Paleolithic tools and detailed Roman floor mosaics to intricate Spanish-Moorish ceilings.

Afterwards, stop at St. Andrews Church, its 1894 Anglican interior featuring the Arabic Lord’s Prayer and carved Quranic script behind the altar, or the 19th-century Nahon Synagogue, its Andalusian-inspired prayer room elaborately decorated in floral motifs with a gallery preserving Jewish artifacts. This evening, prepare for an adventure across the Strait of Gibraltar.

Overnight: Exploris One

Meals: B, L, D

As the ship navigates the Strait of Gibraltar, stand on deck to see this maritime marvel where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean. This narrow passage, once known as the Pillars of Hercules, has shaped human history for over 125,000 years. Today, it remains a vital artery for global trade, with 300 ships traversing daily.

Upon reaching Gibraltar, ascend to Saint Michael’s Cave within the Upper Rock Nature Reserve. This ancient limestone cavern, adorned with stalactites and stalagmites, harbors legends of secret passages used by Gibraltar’s famous Barbary macaques, Europe’s only wild monkey population.

Delve deeper into the Rock to explore the World War II tunnels, an extraordinary 34-mile network carved by British Royal Engineers. This subterranean fortress once housed 16,000 troops, complete with a hospital, power plant, and water distillation facilities. As you emerge from the tunnels, pause at Jock’s Balcony for breathtaking views of the Spanish coast before setting sail for Spain.

Overnight: Exploris One

Meals: B, L, D

Make your way to Cádiz, one of Western Europe’s oldest continuously inhabited cities with a 3,000-year history. You may opt to remain here to explore the 18th-century cathedral and marvel at Francisco Goya’s frescoes in the Oratorio de la Santa Cueva.

These masterpieces, completed in 1796, include The Last Supper, The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes, and The Adoration of the Shepherds. The oratorio also boasts a connection to Joseph Haydn, who composed The Seven Last Words of Our Savior on the Cross specifically for this site.

Later, travelers who remained in Cádiz will venture to Jerez de la Frontera. Sample this town’s native sherry and meet the Marquis at the 13th-century Palacio del Virrey Laserna, a neoclassical gem associated with General José de la Serna, the last Viceroy of Peru.

As an alternative to exploring Cádiz and Jerez, venture to Seville to visit its UNESCO-recognized Gothic cathedral— the world’s largest—and ascend the 342-foot Giralda Tower, originally a 12th-century minaret. Take an expertled tour of the Alcázar, Europe’s oldest royal palace still in use, admiring its blend of Islamic, Gothic, Renaissance, and Mudéjar styles.

Stroll through the adjacent Murillo Garden before a special visit to La Casa de Pilatos, a 15th-century palace boasting 150 unique designs of azulejo (Iberian tilework). This National Monument, declared in 1931, blends Mudéjar, Gothic, and Renaissance architecture. All travelers will meet in Seville to sail to Portugal.

Overnight: Exploris One

Meals: B, L, D

Disembark in Portimão and drive to Sagres, home of Prince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460). Here, at the southwestern tip of Portugal, Henry established his influential school of navigation, which laid the groundwork for the Age of Discoveries. Stop to view the 16th-century Sagres Fortress and its enigmatic compass rose, believed to have been used for astronomical observations.

Following lunch, continue to Lagos, the final launching point for the caravels (small sailing ships) that shaped world history. Visit the Igreja de Santo António, a Baroque masterpiece built in 1707 and restored in 1769. Marvel at its shimmering gilded woodwork, vivid paintings, and stunning azulejos. Next, visit the Mercado de Escravos, one of Europe’s first markets for enslaved people, which now serves as an educational museum.

Before returning to the ship in Portimão, discover more about the local culture in an intriguing way. Go behind the scenes at the award-winning Museu de Portimão, housed in the São Francisco sardine canning factory that operated until 1985.

This innovative museum features an interactive recreation of the sardine canning process and a unique viewing center in the former rainwater cistern, offering animated images of underwater life in the Arade River and Atlantic Ocean. Gather this evening aboard Exploris One for the festive farewell dinner.

Overnight: Exploris One

Meals: B, L, D

After breakfast, disembark Exploris One and transfer to the Lisbon airport for your independent flights back home.