Arrive in Dakar, relax, and spend the overnight here preparing for your adventure.

*specific hotel and location to be announced

Dakar is a city full of rich culture, where you can enjoy world-class museums, a lively art scene, and stylish seaside restaurants. The busy Medina quarter, with its mosques, tea shops, and street markets, offers a glimpse of traditional life, while the city's French-influenced architecture and cuisine add a European touch. At night, Mbalax music fills the air, creating a vibrant atmosphere. For a special souvenir, visit the Soumbédioune market, known for its beautiful wood carvings and paintings.

At the meeting point of the Gambia River and the Atlantic, Gambia’s relaxed capital city, Banjul, sits on a little island filled with colonial buildings and vibrant markets. The 19th-century Albert Market sells souvenirs and the vibrant traditional clothing of The Gambia’s diverse ethnic groups. Locals invite visitors to their typical Gambian home or ‘compound’ and tell stories of their heritage while offering herbal tea and traditional snacks.

The remote Bijagos archipelago off Guinea-Bissau has 88 islands of mangroves, mudflats, savannahs, and palm forests, protected as a UNESCO biosphere reserve. On Canhabaque island, local culture retains coming-of-age ceremonies like difuntu and fanado. The former capital Bolama, now sits abandoned, while Orango National Park’s biodiverse ecosystems include wooded savannahs and isolated villages led by matriarchal queen-priestesses.

Sierra Leone’s portside capital city occupies a major position in history as the home of formerly enslaved people from North America and Britain. Sites like Cotton Tree and the King’s Yard Gate symbolize the town’s somber past. Freetown today is a diverse city with a rich heritage – colorful Krio architecture, hearty, rice-based cuisine, and lively beaches. Nearby, the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary rescues endangered primates in a rainforest.

Sea days are rarely dull. Take the time to sit back and let the world go by. The ship’s observation decks provide stunning views of the passing ocean. A day at sea gives you the opportunity to mingle with other passengers and share your experiences of this incredible trip or head to the library which is stocked full of reference books. Get an expert’s view in one of the onboard lectures or perhaps perfect your photography skills with invaluable advice from the onboard professional photographers.

The bustling capital of Liberia, Monrovia, was founded in the 1800s as a settlement for formerly enslaved people from North America. The National Museum is a custodian to the region’s history and art. Today’s city is a mix of architectural styles, lively beaches, and street markets, such as the jumbled Waterside Market, filled with colorful fabric and crafts. Liberia's Creole cuisine fuses flavors brought from West Africa to America.

Sea days are rarely dull. Take the time to sit back and let the world go by. The ship’s observation decks provide stunning views of the passing ocean. A day at sea gives you the opportunity to mingle with other passengers and share your experiences of this incredible trip or head to the library which is stocked full of reference books. Get an expert’s view in one of the onboard lectures or perhaps perfect your photography skills with invaluable advice from the onboard professional photographers.

A city pulsating with energy, Abidjan, the former capital of Côte D’Ivoire, stands as a hub of creativity and innovation. The thriving arts and music scene interweaves with the cultures, cuisines, and traditions that define Abidjan. Serving as a window into West Africa, the infectious tropical mood permeates the city. Abidjan's unique atmosphere, galleries, and markets, along with the fascinating National Museum, make it a captivating destination.

The twin cities of Sekondi-Takoradi, known as Tadi, are a key commercial hub on Ghana’s deepwater port, featuring a 17th-century Dutch fort, a relaxed beachfront and Africa’s largest market offering coconuts, dried fish, and tangy jollof rice. Nearby Kakum National Park hosts an endangered Ghanaian rainforest with native wildlife, lush plant life, exotic birds, vibrant butterflies, and a Canopy Walkway, suspended 100 feet above the ground.

A solemn reminder of the past, the 15th century Elmina Castle in Ghana was a key slave trade hub, originally protecting the gold trade before Dutch and British slave trade involvement. This UNESCO site exemplified the era's contradictions, with Europeans in luxurious quarters above filthy, cramped slave dungeons. The infamous Door of No Return opened to ships on the grueling Middle Passage.

Tema is a short drive from Ghana’s fast-paced capital, Accra, a city that's culturally rich, modern, and historic all at once. European-built forts and Black Star Independence Square’s public monuments offer a glimpse at the past. The neighborhood of Jamestown, a 17th-century fishing community with old colonial buildings, is its pulse with an art scene and local bites like waakye­ – rice and beans with sides – at a low-key ‘chop bar’.

After breakfast, bid farewell to your fellow travelers as you disembark today. Then, head to the airport for your flight home.