7 nights onboard Le Bougainville

Landscapes and cultures of the Adriatic

Kid Explorers Club in partnership with MAUD FONTENOY FOUNDATION.

Dotted with hundreds of captivating islands running along the coastlines and boasting an exceptional heritage, the Adriatic surprises, dazzles and enchants. Its shores, edged with beaches, coves and bays, leave indelible memories for all who sail its calm waters, sparkling in turquoise. Set sail aboard Le Bougainville for an 8-day cruise discovering its cities of unparalleled splendour.

Your voyage will begin in Italy with an embarkation in Venice. An opportunity to discover or rediscover the sublime city of the Doges, with its many canals, its vaporetti and its mythical gondolas before heading to Croatia and the city of Rovinj.

To the north of Dalmatia, the charming fishing village of Primosten unfolds before you, with its pretty traditional stone houses and its architectural heritage influenced by the Venetian Republic. It is the gateway to the magnificent Krka Waterfalls and you will fall in love with its authenticity and exceptional environment.

Split will open its doors to you to discover its historic centre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with treasures such as Diocletian's Palace or the Cathedral of Saint Domnius.

After a stopover in Hvar, Le Bougainville will set sail for Brac Island. Bol, the island’s oldest port town, will reveals itself through a maze of picturesque little streets, edged with traditional homes with white façades and red-tiled roofs, and through its paradisiacal beaches, like the most famous of them: the pebble beach of Zlatni Rat.

Further north, off the Istrian coast, there lies an archipelago called Brijuni, which is a real paradise on earth. On this archipelago’s idyllic islets, completely devoid of cars, let yourself fall under the spell of its isolated coves, ancient ruins and its National Park.

You will then call at Pula, the most Roman of Croatian cities, before heading for Slovenia. The old town of Piran, girdled by ramparts, will transport you into a medieval atmosphere, tinged with Venetian colour. As a grand finale, your voyage will draw to an end in Venice the Serenissima and its lagoon.

Leaving from: Venice
Cruise ship: Le Bougainville
Visiting: Venice • Rovinj • Split • Primosten •
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Ponant

When searching for a luxury yacht expedition cruise, there’s one name above all else that you need to know – Ponant Cruises. Founded in 1988 by former French Merchant Navy officers, Ponant combines succulent luxury with authentic adventures on all seven continents.

From classic Mediterranean itineraries and Caribbean sailings, to bucket-list expeditions around Greenland and Antarctica, Ponant cruises proudly counteract the banality of mainstream voyages with a unique take on the concept of small-ship cruising. It’s the absolute trip of a lifetime.

184
Passengers
110
Crew
2019
Launched
128m
Length
18m
Width
18kts
Speed
6
Decks
EUR
Currency
Cruise Itinerary
Day 1
Venice, Italy
Day 2
Rovinj, Croatia
Day 3
Split, Croatia
Day 3
Primosten, Croatia
Day 4
Hvar Island, Croatia
Day 4
Split, Croatia
Day 5
Bol, Croatia
Day 5
Hvar Island, Croatia
Day 6
Brijuni, Croatia
Day 6
Pula, Croatia
Day 7
Piran, Slovenia
Day 8
Venice, Italy
Venice, Italy image
Day 1
Venice, Italy
Venice is a city unlike any other. No matter how often you've seen it in photos and films, the real thing is more dreamlike than you could imagine. With canals where streets should be, water shimmers everywhere. The fabulous palaces and churches reflect centuries of history in what was a wealthy trading center between Europe and the Orient. Getting lost in the narrow alleyways is a quintessential part of exploring Venice, but at some point you'll almost surely end up in Piazza San Marco, where tourists and locals congregate for a coffee or an aperitif.
Rovinj, Croatia image
Day 2
Rovinj, Croatia
One of the true jewels of the Mediterranean, Rovinj is a jaw-droppingly beautiful town, which juts out into sparkling Mediterranean. Dominated by the pencil-like bell tower of the Venetian Saint Euphemia Cathedral, pine tree forests flow to the borders of the quaint Old Town - which evokes the romantic, tangled backstreets of the Venice. Rovinj - or Rovino in Italian - is a city of split personalities, with two official languages - having been owned by the Kingdom of Italy between 1919 and 1947.
Split, Croatia image
Day 3
Split, Croatia
Split's ancient core is so spectacular and unusual that a visit is more than worth your time. The heart of the city lies within the walls of Roman emperor Diocletian's retirement palace, which was built in the 3rd century AD. Diocletian, born in the nearby Roman settlement of Salona in AD 245, achieved a brilliant career as a soldier and became emperor at the age of 40. In 295 he ordered this vast palace to be built in his native Dalmatia, and when it was completed he stepped down from the throne and retired to his beloved homeland. Upon his death, he was laid to rest in an octagonal mausoleum, around which Split's magnificent cathedral was built.In 615, when Salona was sacked by barbarian tribes, those fortunate enough to escape found refuge within the stout palace walls and divided up the vast imperial apartments into more modest living quarters. Thus, the palace developed into an urban center, and by the 11th century the settlement had expanded beyond the ancient walls.Under the rule of Venice (1420–1797), Split—as a gateway to the Balkan interior—became one of the Adriatic's main trading ports, and the city's splendid Renaissance palaces bear witness to the affluence of those times. When the Habsburgs took control during the 19th century, an overland connection to Central Europe was established by the construction of the Split–Zagreb–Vienna railway line.After World War II, the Tito years saw a period of rapid urban expansion: industrialization accelerated and the suburbs extended to accommodate high-rise apartment blocks. Today the historic center of Split is included on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites.
Primosten, Croatia image
Day 3
Primosten, Croatia
Hvar Island, Croatia image
Day 4
Hvar Island, Croatia
The Croatian island of Hvar bills itself as the "sunniest island in the Adriatic." Not only does it have the figures to back up this claim—an annual average of 2,724 hours of sunshine—but it also makes visitors a sporting proposition, offering them a money-back guarantee if there are seven consecutive days of snow (snow has been known to fall here; the last time being February 2012).
Split, Croatia image
Day 4
Split, Croatia
Split's ancient core is so spectacular and unusual that a visit is more than worth your time. The heart of the city lies within the walls of Roman emperor Diocletian's retirement palace, which was built in the 3rd century AD. Diocletian, born in the nearby Roman settlement of Salona in AD 245, achieved a brilliant career as a soldier and became emperor at the age of 40. In 295 he ordered this vast palace to be built in his native Dalmatia, and when it was completed he stepped down from the throne and retired to his beloved homeland. Upon his death, he was laid to rest in an octagonal mausoleum, around which Split's magnificent cathedral was built.In 615, when Salona was sacked by barbarian tribes, those fortunate enough to escape found refuge within the stout palace walls and divided up the vast imperial apartments into more modest living quarters. Thus, the palace developed into an urban center, and by the 11th century the settlement had expanded beyond the ancient walls.Under the rule of Venice (1420–1797), Split—as a gateway to the Balkan interior—became one of the Adriatic's main trading ports, and the city's splendid Renaissance palaces bear witness to the affluence of those times. When the Habsburgs took control during the 19th century, an overland connection to Central Europe was established by the construction of the Split–Zagreb–Vienna railway line.After World War II, the Tito years saw a period of rapid urban expansion: industrialization accelerated and the suburbs extended to accommodate high-rise apartment blocks. Today the historic center of Split is included on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites.
Bol, Croatia image
Day 5
Bol, Croatia
Hvar Island, Croatia image
Day 5
Hvar Island, Croatia
The Croatian island of Hvar bills itself as the "sunniest island in the Adriatic." Not only does it have the figures to back up this claim—an annual average of 2,724 hours of sunshine—but it also makes visitors a sporting proposition, offering them a money-back guarantee if there are seven consecutive days of snow (snow has been known to fall here; the last time being February 2012).
Brijuni, Croatia image
Day 6
Brijuni, Croatia
Pula, Croatia image
Day 6
Pula, Croatia
Today an industrial port town and Istria's chief administrative center (pop. 58,000), as well as a major tourist destination, Pula became a Roman colony in the 1st century BC. This came about a century after the decisive defeat by the Romans, in 177 BC, of the nearby Histrian stronghold of Nesactium, prompting the Histrian king Epulon to plunge a sword into his chest lest he fall into the hands of the victors, who indeed conquered all of Istria. Remains from Pula's ancient past have survived up to the present day: as you drive in on the coastal route toward its choice setting on a bay near the southern tip of the Istrian peninsula, the monumental Roman amphitheater blocks out the sky on your left. Under Venetian rule (1331–1797), Pula was architecturally neglected, even substantially dismantled. Many structures from the Roman era were pulled down, and stones and columns were carted off across the sea to Italy to be used for new buildings there. Pula's second great period of development took place in the late 19th century, under the Habsburgs, when it served as the chief base for the Imperial Austro-Hungarian Navy. Today it's as much working city as tourist town, where Roman ruins and Austro-Hungarian architecture serve as backdrop for the bustle of everyday life amid a bit of communist-era soot and socialist realism, too. James Joyce lived here for a short time, in 1904–05, before fleeing what he dismissed as a cultural backwater for Trieste. What's more, there are some outstanding restaurants and a number of pleasant family-run hotels, not to mention the nearby resort area of Verudela, where seaside tourism thrives in all its soothing, sunny sameness.
Piran, Slovenia image
Day 7
Piran, Slovenia
Venice, Italy image
Day 8
Venice, Italy
Venice is a city unlike any other. No matter how often you've seen it in photos and films, the real thing is more dreamlike than you could imagine. With canals where streets should be, water shimmers everywhere. The fabulous palaces and churches reflect centuries of history in what was a wealthy trading center between Europe and the Orient. Getting lost in the narrow alleyways is a quintessential part of exploring Venice, but at some point you'll almost surely end up in Piazza San Marco, where tourists and locals congregate for a coffee or an aperitif.
Ship Details
Ponant
Le Bougainville

Featuring innovative and environmentally-friendly equipment, elegantly designed cabins, spacious suites with large windows, and lounge areas that open onto the outside, this new limited-capacity yacht boasting just 92 cabins and suites will offer you a truly unique cruising experience.

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