Pioneering small-ship expedition cruise company Heritage Expeditions and its Subantarctic Island voyages have made influential travel bible Condé Nast Traveler’s ‘The 25 Best Places to Go in 2025’ list.
The definitive roll call of the world’s must visit-destinations in 2025 includes New Zealand’s Subantarctic Antipodes, Bounty, Auckland, Snares and Campbell Islands, as well as Australia’s Macquarie Island, alongside Heritage Expeditions and its signature Subantarctic Island voyage Birding Down Under which visits all of the UNESCO World Heritage listed islands, as well as the Chatham Islands and its outlying islands.
The New Zealand family-owned and operated cruise company’s Commercial Director and Expedition Leader Aaron Russ said it was an honour to make the highly-regarded publication’s iconic list and a wonderful recognition of the remote, rarely-visited islands and their significance on the world stage.
“Heritage Expeditions pioneered responsible expedition cruising to these wild and remote wildlife havens more than 35 years ago and our family has been championing for their protection and conservation for more than 50 years,” he said.
Both Aaron and his father Rodney, Heritage Expeditions co-founder, have carried out research and conservation work on the islands, deepening both the family and the company’s connection with the islands.
“Coincidently, in 2025 we will be celebrating the 50-year anniversary of my father rediscovering the previously-thought extinct Campbell Island teal,” he said.
Aaron welcomed the increased awareness and importance of the little-known islands the accolades would bring.
“To me, these islands comprise one of the last truly remote wilderness regions on the planet. I think of them as part of New Zealand’s iconic landscape. Seemingly inhospitable, they host an incredible diversity of flora and fauna and are as unique and special to New Zealand as the Outback is to Australia, and the Grand Canyon is to the USA,” he said.
Condé Nast Traveler’s editors described the 2025 list as the result of an ‘insatiable desire to go everywhere, see everything, and be dazzled by the world’s rich and varied contours.’
BIRDING DOWN UNDER
17 DAYS | 6–22 Dec 2025
Don’t be fooled by the name, while this voyage is undoubtedly a birder’s paradise, it’s also the ultimate Subantarctic adventure visiting all of New Zealand and Australia’s Subantarctic Islands, the Chatham Islands and its remote outlying islands! Discover the ‘Albatross Latitudes’ and explore the world’s most remote Subantarctic Islands including Snares, Bounty, Antipodes, Auckland, Campbell, Macquarie & Chatham Islands on this comprehensive 17-day expedition perfect for those interested in birds, history, wildlife.
GALAPAGOS OF THE SOUTHERN OCEAN
12 DAYS | 26 Nov – 7 Dec 2025 & 31 Dec 2025 – 11 Jan 2026
Explore wildlife rich Macquarie Island as well as Campbell, Auckland Islands and the Snares on one of the most inspirational and informative expeditions into the Southern Ocean ecosystem. Long recognised for their rich biodiversity, the Subantarctic Islands lying to the south of New Zealand are UNESCO World Heritage sites and are home to a vast array of albatross, penguins, petrels, elephant seals and more. This places them in a select group of only 180 natural sites that have been designated as ‘the most important and significant natural habitats’ on the planet.
BEYOND FIORDLAND: NEW ZEALAND’S WILDEST ISLANDS
12 DAYS | 21 Dec 2025 – 1 Jan 2026
The ultimate Kiwi adventure – explore New Zealand’s Subantarctic Auckland, Snares and Campbell Islands, the untamed wilderness of Fiordland’s world- famous ice-carved mountains, forests and fiords, encounter threatened native species flourishing on Ulva Island and explore the wilds of Stewart Island. This voyage combines remarkable wildlife encounters and observations whilst exploring remote parts of New Zealand’s Southern region, an area known for its range of birdlife and jaw dropping scenery on a grand scale.
FORGOTTEN ISLANDS OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
8 DAYS | 21–28 Dec 2025
Discover the wildlife rich and remote UNESCO World Heritage Sites of New Zealand’s wild and remote Subantarctic Snares, Campbell and Auckland Islands and benefit from Heritage Expeditions’ 40 years of exploring their unique backyard. Timed to coincide with the flowering of the island’s rightly famous megaherbs which paint the landscape vivid colours, and when the wildlife returns to these rugged landscapes to breed, this voyage into the deep south is beyond compare.
