Events Calendar

This winter, travel through the historical heart of Central Europe aboard the Golden Eagle Danube Express, a privately chartered luxury train that evokes the elegance of a bygone era of travel. From the comfort of your wood-paneled cabin, you will journey across the former Habsburg Empire, exploring the layered histories of its great capitals: Budapest, Vienna, and Prague.

Celebrate the turn of the year in Central Europe by luxury rail, traveling through imperial cities, preserved medieval towns, and winter mountain passes. This journey begins and ends in Budapest and moves through Vienna, Graz, Český Krumlov, Prague, and Košice, with curated experiences that draw out each destination’s visual language of power, faith, and identity. From a private concert in Vienna to special access at Budapest’s Royal Waiting Room and a New Year’s Gala Dinner inside Vienna’s City Hall, every moment is shaped by the beauty and history of its setting. All of it unfolds against a landscape of snowy rooftops, mountain vistas, Christmas markets, flickering lights, and grand architecture meant to be seen in winter.

Retrace sea lanes navigated by storied explorers Shackleton, Amundsen and Scott on a journey that includes 2 nights in cosmopolitan Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a 9-night, 5-star cruise aboard the deluxe Ocean Victory. Be among the fortunate few to set foot on “The White Continent,” a legendary wilderness at the bottom of the globe. On this active, expedition-style program, witness wildlife-rich waters, where seabirds dive and dip, and keep an eye out for sea lions, pods of whales and rare dolphins from the comfort of your ship. Get up close to this pristine environment and towering ice sculptures during guided excursions accompanied by a knowledgeable expedition team. Aboard sturdy Zodiac crafts, cruise amid sapphire-hued icebergs, intricate ecosystems and abundant wildlife — including humpback whales, leopard seals and Adélie penguins. Experience the thrill of hiking onshore and kayaking around this rarely visited territory. As you travel, expert guides and speakers will share meaningful insights, while a professional Travel Director will manage the logistics.

With its extraordinary scenery, fascinating geology, and vibrant culture, Iceland offers a remarkable winter escape—and an opportunity to experience one of the world’s most distinctive landscapes during its most atmospheric season.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
- Search for the Northern Lights during one of the best times of year for viewing the aurora.
- Explore Iceland’s Golden Circle, including Þingvellir National Park, Gullfoss waterfall, and the erupting geysers of the Geysir geothermal area.
- Discover Reykjavík through its food culture on a guided culinary walk sampling Icelandic specialties.
- Enjoy a free day to explore at your own pace, whether relaxing in a geothermal spa, visiting museums, or venturing farther afield.
- Visit Gunnuhver Hot Springs on the Reykjanes Peninsula, where steaming vents and bubbling mud pools reveal Iceland’s volcanic power.

Program Highlights

• Explore the Atacama Desert, the driest place on Earth, where salt flats, flamingo-filled lagoons, and vividly colored valleys create a landscape unlike anywhere else.
• Discover Valparaíso, the UNESCO-listed port city known for its steep hills, historic funiculars, and vibrant street art culture.
• Experience Chile’s scenic Lake District, where volcanic peaks rise above glacial lakes and towns reflect a unique blend of Chilean and German heritage.
• Spend time in Patagonia’s Torres del Paine National Park, a spectacular wilderness of granite towers, glaciers, waterfalls, and abundant wildlife.

Yale Alumni Academy welcomes you on this remarkable program, Cruising New Zealand aboard Heritage Adventurer, featuring an outstanding lineup of expert speakers. The program takes place during one of New Zealand’s finest seasons, late summer to early autumn, when warm weather, clear skies, and a relaxed pace make exploration effortless.

It begins with an overnight stay in Queenstown, where dramatic mountain landscapes and a strong outdoor culture set the tone for the days ahead. From there, board the Kiwi owned and operated Heritage Adventurer for a nine-night voyage from Fiordland National Park to Auckland. The ship’s design and full Zodiac fleet provide access to remote shorelines, wildlife habitats, and sheltered waterways across the North, South, and Stewart Islands.

Along the way, participants can choose from a variety of excursions highlighting New Zealand’s most defining features, including glacial fiords, geothermal activity, Māori heritage, and native forests home to rare bird species. Expert study leaders provide lectures and informal discussions that enrich understanding of the landscapes and communities encountered.

Optional extensions in Queenstown and Auckland, including the Bay of Islands, are available for those wishing to continue exploring.

Yale Alumni Service Corps (YASC) is returning to Panama! Join us and make a difference in the world! 

Mandela is a social enterprise rooted in more than three decades of agroecological development work in Panama’s smallholder farming communities. Mandela’s founder, Florence Reed, first came to these highlands as a Peace Corps volunteer in the early 1990s and went on to found Sustainable Harvest International, which partnered with farming families in Coclé province for over 25 years. Mandela carries that work forward — supporting farmers in adopting agroecological practices that strengthen rural livelihoods, restore ecosystems and build climate resilience.

YASC volunteers are no strangers to this territory: a group worked alongside farming families in Piedras Gordas and Bermejo in July 2024. This March, we’re back — and expanding into a third community, Cerro Corral — for another week of hands-on service in the highlands of Piedras Gordas township.

In March the climate in the highlands of Piedras Gordas is typically hot, humid, and physically demanding, particularly for those unaccustomed to tropical conditions. The daily outdoor service activities planned will involve prolonged exposure to heat and high humidity. Volunteers should carefully consider the hot, humid, and physically demanding climate when deciding whether participation in this outdoor service experience is appropriate for them. Please note, however, there are activities that are in a community building, farm building or school for half OR all of each day: Monday afternoon (business or food prep workshops), Tuesday afternoon (grinding & packaging coffee or painting environmental murals at preschool), Wednesday morning (making reclaimed object planters), Wednesday afternoon (recycling workshop), Thursday afternoon (workshop & production of dried fruits, vegetables & spices), Friday morning (painting, sign making and small repairs at school) and Friday afternoon (farewell social activities, games & cultural presentation).

Service activities may include:

• Nursery Establishment — Volunteers will help set up a medicinal, ornamental and fruit tree nursery on a family farm in Cerro Corral: preparing growing media, filling planting bags and transplanting seedlings. This nursery supports both household food security and Mandela’s agroforestry goals.

• Agroforestry & Tree Planting — Volunteers will help establish a fruit tree agroforestry system on a farm in Piedras Gordas, measuring and staking the terrain, digging planting holes, applying organic fertilizer and planting trees that will provide food, shade and long-term carbon sequestration.

• Solar Dryer Construction — Volunteers will help build a solar food dryer on a farm in Piedras Gordas, giving a local farming family a low-cost tool to preserve and add value to their harvest.

• Kitchen Garden & Drip Irrigation — Volunteers will help establish a kitchen garden, preparing beds, incorporating organic amendments, planting vegetable seedlings and installing a drip irrigation system.

• Value-Added Food Processing — Volunteers will work alongside farming families to process and package artisanal coffee in Bermejo, and participate in workshops on jam-making and food dehydration — skills that help farmers capture more value from their crops.

• Recycling & Environmental Education — Volunteers will help install a community recycling station in Piedras Gordas, lead creative reuse crafts with community members and participate in a community cleanup. An afternoon workshop will bring together farmers and volunteers for a conversation on waste management and environmental sustainability.

• Business & Marketing Training — Volunteers with relevant skills will help lead a workshop for Mandela farmers on business basics, quality control, packaging and marketing — supporting farmers’ ability to connect their products to new markets.

• School Improvements in Cerro Corral — The week wraps up with a morning of community infrastructure work at the local primary school: painting, cleaning and small repairs, alongside students, parents and the Mandela team.

• Farm Impact Documentation — One or two volunteers with a background in ecology, soil science or environmental data collection will have the opportunity to contribute to Mandela’s impact measurement work on a small number of farms near the group’s base. Depending on volunteer skills and interests, activities could include soil testing, soil biodiversity assessment using eDNA analysis, farm biodiversity surveys through ecoacoustics, GPS coordinate collection for farm mapping, or carbon measurement in soils and trees.

• Photography & Storytelling — Throughout the week, one or two volunteers with photography or storytelling skills will have the opportunity to document farm visits, record farmer stories and capture the week’s work in images and written stories — contributing directly to Mandela’s impact communications.

As a thank you for your service, volunteers will be treated to a demonstration by local community members of how they make the traditional Panamanian hats by hand, using native plants. Volunteers will be encouraged to share photos, videos and reflections on the hat-making process for use in Mandela’s Shared Market and promotional materials.

Review program policies and terms and conditions. For questions or further information feel free to contact trip producer Jenny Rendon '20 DNP or João Aleixo at the YAA.

Experience the Eastern Caribbean as few travelers ever do—under sail, at an elegant pace, and aboard the legendary Sea Cloud II. This intimate voyage through the Lesser Antilles reveals a region of extraordinary beauty and layered history, boasting lush volcanic islands, manicured gardens, and vibrant cultures. Late March offers ideal sailing conditions: warm days, cooling trade winds, and calm seas. It is a season made for lingering ashore, savoring panoramic views, and returning each evening to the quiet luxury of life at sea.
The Sea Cloud II is not just transportation between islands; she is a destination unto herself. Watching the crew hand set 23 sails across her three masts and enjoying the understated elegance, attentive service, and the highest standards of modern luxury creates moments that are as memorable as any excursion.

Ashore, visit some of the most visually stunning and culturally rich islands in the Eastern Caribbean. Arrive in Sint Maarten for an overnight before embarking on a seven-night private charter of Sea Cloud II, stopping for full days on Martinique, Antigua, and Anguilla, and morning visits to the lush island of Dominica, known as the “Nature Isle,” and the volcanic island of Nevis, birthplace of Alexander Hamilton.

Excursions balance gentle adventure with cultural discovery and leisure, offering options at nearly every port of call so travelers can engage with the islands in a way that feels personal and at their pace. This is Caribbean travel planned to the perfect rhythm—guided by wind, enriched by history, and elevated by sailing on a vessel built for new and seasoned sailors alike.