Arrive into Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. Make your way to your hotel and enjoy the evening at leisure.
Overnight Comfort Level Hotel
Included meals: Dinner
This afternoon, you will board the M/S Expedition and enjoy your first evening on board your home for the next 13 nights.
Overnight Comfortable Cruise Boat
Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Your adventure begins with a 400-mile crossing of the passage that bears the name of the 16th century English explorer Sir Francis Drake. At some point on the second day you cross the Antarctic Convergence, a meeting of cold polar water flowing north and warmer sub-antarctic water moving in the opposite direction. It is the largest biological barrier on earth and is marked by a change in temperature, salinity and nutrient levels.
Wandering, black-browed and light-mantled sooty albatross, plus Prion's and Cape petrels are among some of the seabirds that may join ypu in your journey into Antarctica.
As you make the passage, there's time to become acquainted with the ship and you'll also begin the lecture and information sessions to learn the extraordinary human and natural history of the Antarctic region.
Overnight Comfortable Cruise Boat
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
This is a unique voyage, which gives you eight days to explore the Great White Continent. Weather and ice conditions permitting, you will navigate southwards making stops in the South Shetland Islands and into the lesser-visited eastern side of the peninsula, the Weddell Sea; hopefully, you'll enjoy two excursions each day.
This special voyage allows the flexibility to navigate into the less-travelled region of the Weddell Sea, named after the British sealer and explorer James Weddell who first visited in 1822. Navigation in the Weddell sea is notoriously difficult due to the large amounts of sea ice generated by the Larsen, Finchner and Ronne Ice Shelves; hopefully, you'll be able to set foot on some of the more remote landing sites on the Antarctic Peninsula. This area has numerous historical associations including the famous expedition hut from the Swedish Nordenskjöld expedition, which still stands at Snow Hill. You'll also learn about the Shackleton story, as it was in the Weddell Sea that the crew of the Endurance had to abandon their ship, after it was engulfed by the ice.
A highlight of your trip, though, will be the emperor penguins. These elusive birds breed far from the sea but occasionally you might be lucky enough to see a couple on an ice floe along with numerous other sea birds and seals.
The Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands abound with wildlife activity; penguins gather with their fast-growing chicks, whales are seen in great numbers, seals haul out onto ice floes and beaches, and numerous seabirds trail in our wake. There is plenty of time to enjoy the sheer beauty and breathtaking scenery of ice-choked waterways, blue and white icebergs, impressive glaciers and rugged snow-capped mountains.
Thanks to the abundance of the small, shrimp like krill as the basis of the food chain, many species of whales make the water south of the Antarctic Convergence their summer home. Some of the species found in the southern waters include humpback whales, southern right whales, sperm whales and killer whales which is actually not a whale at all but the largest of the dolphin family. You may also spot sei whales, playful minke whales and fin whales.
Of course, the main reason most people travel to Antarctica is for the penguins - the places visited on this trip are inhabited by four different species including Adelie, chinstrap, gentoo and emperor penguins.
During your voyage, you will also learn about the history of exploration in the region. Arguably, the best-known adventurer is Sir Ernest Shackleton. On his attempt at the South Pole his ship, Endurance, was captured by pack ice in the Weddell Sea on January 19, 1915. The ship was destroyed by heavy ice, forcing him and his men to travel over the ice and sea to Elephant Island. However, because the island was uninhabited, Shackleton and five others made the 1300 km voyage for help to South Georgia, amazingly arriving at Stromness Harbour whaling station on May 20, 1916.
This is truly a trip of amazing highlights!
Overnight Comfortable Cruise Boat
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Head back across the Drake Passage. This is your last chance for bird and whale watching, listening to lectures and swapping tales of your Antarctic adventures with fellow travellers.
Overnight Comfortable Cruise Boat
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
