Choose an icebreaker expedition for the ultimate Antarctic experience.
12 days / 11 nights
Transfers - airport/hotel/airport
1 nights lodging with breakfast and taxes
1 dinner
Visit to Tierra del Fuego National Park
Icebraker sail through the scenic Beagle Channel
Drake Passage & South Shetland Islands
Navigation through The Antarctic Peninsula
Visit to Paradise Bay and nearby Neko Harbor
Visit to Paulet Island (if weather conditions allow it)
Multilingual guides
Travel assistance services provided by Travel Ace
Tote Bag
Gift
Days 1, 2
Welcome at Ushuaia Airport and transfer to hotel. Free time to explore at leisure this frontier port surrounded by the rugged Martial Mounts. Next morning, enjoy a guided tour of Tierra del Fuego National Park, home to Caracaras, Black-faced Ibis, Magellanic Woodpeckers and the Fueguian Red Fox, among other species. Walk seaside paths through Winter´s Bark and Southern Beech forests up to mountains and lakes on the Chilean border. Then learn more about local culture and history over a traditional Argentine "asado" or barbecue. In late afternoon, your Expedition Team welcome visitors aboard their ice-reinforced ship as the Antarctic adventure begins by sailing into the scenic Beagle Channel.
Days 3, 4 and 5
Crossing of the famed Drake Passage, named for the 16th-century English navigator Sir Francis Drake, looking out for Wandering Albatross and other seabirds from the ship's spacious decks and promenades. Ship will also cross the Antarctic Convergence, a biological barrier where cold polar waters sink beneath warmer waters from milder water zones. Expect to see the South Shetland Islands, lying just to the north of the Antarctic Peninsula, late in the afternoon on Day 4. On several planned landings visitors will explore penguin rookeries and will have chances to spot Antarctic Fur Seals and Southern Elephant Seals resting on the beaches or feeding. The tour may also visit one of the many research bases in the archipelago. It is suggested to keep an eye out for Antarctica's only two flowering plants, which thrive here during the short southern summer. On many visits the ship is able to sail through a narrow passage leading into the sunken volcanic caldera of Deception Island. Here, if the tide allows so, adventurous visitors may wish to strip down to bathing suits and take a dip in the thermal waters of Pendulum Cove.
Days 6, 7, 8 and 9
The centerpiece of this expedition is the Antarctic Peninsula, the most readily accesible part of the White Continent, with its vast snow-covered landscapes ringed by jagged mountains, its spectacular waterways choked with glacial ice cascading into the sea. Count on seeing extensive rookeries of Gentoo, Chinstrap and Adélie Penguins, plus a wide diversity of other bird life, including Blue-eyed Shags, Kelp Gulls, Snowy Sheathbills, Cape Petrels and Antarctic Terns. It is also probable to come across Weddell, Crabeater and Leopard Seals, as well as Orcas and Humpback and Minke Whales. Exploration of the Peninsula typically begins with a visit to Paradise Bay or nearby Neko Harbor, both offering unforgettable views of calm, iceberg-filled waters. Afterwards, visit the thriving Gentoo Penguin colonies at Port Lockroy follows. This port was site of the secret British scientific station established in World War II by James Marr, who as a young Boy Scout had visited Antarctica with Shackleton. The base has now been transformed into one of the most isolated museums in the world (with a post office to mail cards home). Back aboard the ship, the expedition navigates some of the most breathtaking waterways in the world. If pack ice and icebergs allow it, the ship sails through the Neumayer and Lemaire Channels, dramatically narrow passages between towering rock faces and spectacular glaciers. On some voyages the tour sails south of the Lemaire Channel to Petermann Island, where Adélie and Gentoo Penguins, Skuas and Blue-eyed Shags nest close to landing sites. The expedition may also round the northern tip of the Peninsula to navigate Iceberg Alley where huge tabular icebergs drift northward into the Antarctic Sound. The tour will land on Paulet Island to see its vast Adélie Penguin rookery - again, if weather and ice conditions allow it.
Days 10, 11 and 12
Antarctica is left behind, returning North across the Drake Passage. But the adventure is not over - there are still plenty of opportunities to view whales and a myriad species of seabirds while strolling the ample decks. En route to Ushuaia, enjoy a last series of talks by the Expedition Team in the ship's comfortable lounge and presentation room. After the final morning's breakfast, transfer to town for further exploring or directly to the Ushuaia Airport to catch the outbound flight.
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