About us

About us

Captain Mike - Small Planet Adventures
Our difference: We don’t dictate your adventure, we offer you our assistance in making your yacht trip yours, on your vessel or aircraft, and focused on your interests.

Our difference...

Our difference: We don’t dictate your adventure, we offer you our assistance in making your yacht trip yours, on your vessel or aircraft, and focused on your interests. We present alternatives and flexible itineraries, utilizing the most knowledgeable guides, and taking advantage of our access to places not generally open to the public.
At Small Planet Adventures we utilize our unique relationship with the best local destination management companies, researchers and photographers, and our years of experience creating, organizing and leading some of the most exotic travel programs all over the world, to customize your experience.

Unique relationships deliver extraordinary experiences...

At Small Planet Adventures we utilize our unique relationship with the best local destination management companies, researchers and photographers, and our years of experience creating, organizing and leading some of the most exotic travel programs all over the world, to customize your experience. Our relationships with local guides and experts offer trip opportunities not available to the ordinary traveler. You will travel with people who pioneered the experience, and wrote the books and took the pictures, not just read and saw them.
Our staff’s extensive yacht travel background enables us to offer specialized superior itineraries, and to handle the logistics and red tape of visiting off-the-beaten-path destinations.

Staff with extensive yacht travel background...

Our staff’s extensive yacht travel background enables us to offer specialized superior itineraries, and to handle the logistics and red tape of visiting off-the-beaten-path destinations. We can also provide the tools, such as underwater hydrophones for listening to whales, and programmed GPS plotters to guide us to the little known moorages.
Our collective years in the field planning and delivering these extraordinary adventures are what set us apart.

We put it all together for you...

Our collective years in the field planning and delivering these extraordinary adventures are what set us apart. We know the people, the places and the programs to provide you with the perfect tailored custom upscale travel experience. We have assembled the best custom travel planners for private yacht travel, and we look forward to working with you.

About the owner...

Michael Bennett, Small Planet Adventures owner, is at home cruising in the exotic places of the world.

Michael Bennett, Small Planet Adventures owner, is at home cruising in the exotic places of the world. Over the past 20 years he has piloted boats for many National Geographic magazine and film expeditions. An ardent diver and skilled Captain, Michael teamed with world-renowned photographer Flip Nicklin in Patagonia, Panama, Brazil, Hawaii, Sri Lanka, Canada and Costa Rica to document whales, dolphins and other exotics.


Prior to launching Small Planet, Michael was an Expedition Cruise Ship Captain, steering vessels through nearly every corner of the globe. He then went on to launch one of the first successful luxury yacht cruising companies. A fervent advocate for whales, Michael is past president of the Whale Watch Operators Association, and has helped develop the guidelines for responsible whale watching presently in use today. He was also one of the captains who drove Springer the orphaned Orca from the US back to her home in Canada.


His enthusiasm and respect for the wonderful places and experiences on our planet is infectious, and he is happiest when he is sharing them.

Captain Mike's Book...

To get a feel for Bennett’s adventuresome existence, read his book “Devil Dolphins of Silver Lagoon and Other Stories” written five years ago. It chronicles his piloting boats for countless National Geographic expeditions, teaming with world-renowned photographer Flip Nicklin to document whales and exotic sea life all over the globe.
By Patti Payne – Columnist, Puget Sound Business Journal

NEW EXPANDED EDITION -Additional stories and photos: From the sailing whales of Patagonia to the neurotic attack dolphins of Brazil, a behind-the-scenes view of the making of many of Flip Nicklin's National Geographic magazine stories of the last few decades (and other assorted craziness). If you appreciate the beautiful photos of whales and dolphins that appear in your books and calenders, then you 'll appreciate these engaging, often hilarious, tales of what went into the making of some of them.
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