From Lautoka to Guam · Pacific Islands · 16 nights
Sleek and stylish, Ponant’s wonderful Explorer yachts blend luxury and intimacy with a discreet elegance and tasteful décor.
Named after six of France’s most famous explorers, Le Champlain,
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Lautoka is Fiji's second largest city, known as the 'Sugar City' due to its important role in the local sugarcane industry. The waterfront area is pleasant enough, but we'd recommend using Lautoka as a jumping off point to visit some of the smaller surrounding islands, or the forests and waterfalls of the interior.
Ambrym is known as the ‘Black Island’ due to its dark volcanic soil, with two active volcanoes, Mount Marum and Mount Benbow. The island is also known for its magic and sorcery, and for its traditional Rom dances, when locals don elaborate masks and costumes.
The lush island of Santa Ana, also known as Owaraha, is home to just three villages, and visitors are usually welcomed to the island with traditional songs and dances. You will find a few stalls where you can buy locally-made souvenirs, and you can also snorkel in the surrounding lagoon.
Looming over Rabaul is smouldering Mount Tavurvur, an active volcano that buried much of the city when it erupted in 1994, and which still periodically belches smoke and ash. Rabaul is also an appealing destination for history buffs, with several World War II sites still scattered with rusting wreckage.
Guam is the largest and most densely populated of the Mariana Islands, a US overseas territory that consequently can feel quite Americanised compared to other Pacific islands. Nevertheless, the scenery is stunning and the intriguing indigenous Chamorro culture has not yet been fully subsumed.
