Rascal Voyages makes travel more meaningful for families, but what does that mean in practice? We asked co-founder and environmentalist, Steve Ebsworth, to tell us more.
Rascal Voyages in Raja Ampat, Indonesia
Tell us a little about the new Conservation Voyages for families launching in 2025
In January 2025 Rascal Voyages will introduce their new Conservation Voyages in collaboration with The SEA People. These voyages are designed to explore the stunning beauty of Raja Ampat in Indonesia, while making a meaningful impact on coral restoration and marine conservation.
Rascal’s mission is always to provide extraordinary experiences for all ages, where guests can learn, engage, and contribute to preserving our oceans. This initiative underscores the company’s commitment to protecting marine ecosystems while offering guests an unforgettable adventure that blends education, conservation, and cultural immersion.
Master Cabin, Rascal Voyages
Can you describe the types of families that typically embark on Rascal Voyages and who the experience is best suited for?
Rascal Voyages private holidays are tailored to each group that comes on board, making them suitable for any type of family.
We often receive multi-generational families who book voyages to celebrate special occasions, and we curate itineraries and activities to suit the ages of guests on board.
Our private voyages are also very popular for two families or a group of couples. Our cabin voyages often include a mix of families and couples; in this case, we base the activities on the final group attending, allowing people to pick and choose what they participate in.
Up close marine conservation © B. Marcelo
What activities have you been offering to children on board Rascal Voyages up until now?
We pride ourselves in creating extraordinary experiences for all the family.
For our youngest guests, Rascal’s expert guides love to share their passion for exploring the natural world: showing them everything from dolphins to real-life dragons, brilliantly coloured corals to smoking volcanoes. We’ll go on treasure hunts together and set off on exciting educational beach safaris; we’ll even teach the little ones how to navigate with maps, and supervise them taking the ship’s wheel; creating memories of an ocean-going adventure that will last a lifetime.
Guests scuba diving, Rascal Voyages
Is diving instruction available on board Rascal Voyages?
Yes, absolutely. Diving is part of our daily activities and we always have at least one dive instructor and one divemaster on board.
For those who want to learn to dive, we can offer courses. We just need to know well ahead of time so we can ensure we have the right ratio of instructors to students and the learning material needed. It also needs to be factored into the itinerary.
Rascal Rebel, Indonesia
With the launch of your first Conservation Voyage in early 2025, what impact will this have on the younger members of your charters?
Children learn more when they are excited about something, when they are in a “live” moment, rather than being taught in a classroom where they are likely to forget what they learned by lunchtime. On Rascal Voyages they are immersed in an activity and taught by someone like our on-board marine biologist Lisa, so they are far more likely to listen and retain the information for a lot longer, as it is largely emotion-driven.
Deck, Rascal Rebel, Indonesia
What educational benefits do Rascal Voyages offer to young adults preparing for exams?
We believe the conservation voyages will have huge educational benefits for all ages, as practical learning is far more powerful than classroom-based learning and that young people will take away knowledge and experience they are much more likely to hold on to.
Coral reef, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
Will there be elements that could assist with subjects such as GCSE or A level biology, science, or geography?
Our guests travel from all over the world, so it would be impossible for us to follow any specific school curriculum. However, we would be happy to focus on specific areas of study in the program if feasible, and given ample notice.
Will children have opportunities to continue marine biology work after returning to their home countries? How will Rascal Voyages support this?
As part of our new Conservation Voyages, our plan is to introduce an ongoing marine biology program that allows children to continue their work after returning home.
We will provide each participant with access to a platform where they can engage with our marine biologists who will share their findings, so children will continue learning about marine conservation. This initiative ensures that the knowledge and passion for marine biology nurtured during the voyage can be sustained and developed further, creating a lasting impact on their education and personal growth.
Sun deck, Rebel Rascal, Indonesia
What will children learn from the communities they visit with Rascal Voyages?
Village tours on Rascal Voyages open a whole new world of culture and different ways of living.
Children will be able to experience first-hand the cultural traditions employed by these ancient communities, but also appreciate how different their day-to-day lives and standards of living are. For example, they will learn how self-sufficient these communities are, and how much they live off the land and sea, treasuring and protecting it.
Rebel Rascal, Rascal Voyages, Indonesia
Steve Ebsworth and the Rascal Republic philosophy
Steve Ebsworth is the Co-Founder of Rascal Republic, a company based in Singapore that specialises in creating unique and immersive travel experiences. A devoted environmentalist and entrepreneur, Steve’s mantra is “Creating to Conserve,” a philosophy that drives his work in developing sustainable tourism projects. With a background in global event management and hospitality, Steve has dedicated his career to building eco-friendly businesses and his passion is creating luxury lifestyle projects that not only provide unforgettable experiences but also contribute to conserving our planet’s natural beauty.