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Rates:
$4,625 to $9,550
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Deckplan
Introduction:
Experience vast penguin rookeries and seal colonies
on this grand voyage to Antarctica. A 15-day trip visiting
historical sites of past explorers. Antarctica is beyond
comprehension and sure to amaze any traveller seeking
a true adventure to the world’s most remote wilderness.
This well-established expedition cruise offers you the
ideal introduction .
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Trip
Itinerary
Day
1: Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
Arrive in the southernmost city in the world and transfer independently
to the Hotel Los Nires or similar hotel. The remainder of the
day is free to explore this 'frontier town' at leisure.
Day
2: Ushuaia
A chance to wander around Ushuaia, nestled between the spectacular
snow-capped mountains of the Andes and the Beagle Channel, or
to explore the surrounding wilderness areas. Embarkation begins
later in the afternoon and, after you have settled into your
cabins, the ship sets sail along the scenic Beagle Channel -
heading east towards the Drake Passage.
Days
3-5: Drake Passage & South Shetland Islands
Your journey across the famous Drake Passage, named after the
16th-century English navigator Sir Francis Drake, is an experience
in itself. Your ship is accompanied most of the way by albatrosses
- including the magnificent Wandering Albatross - along with
an impressive variety of other seabirds. You have a good chance
of spotting whales and dolphins and many different species have
been encountered in these rich waters over the years. You also
cross the Antarctic Convergence, a biological barrier where
cold polar waters sink beneath the warmer waters of the more
temperate zones.
When
land is sighted for the first time in two days (usually late
afternoon on Day 4) you know you have reached the South Shetland
Islands. This impressive group of islands, lying to the north
and roughly parallel to the Antarctic Peninsula, is a haven
for wildlife. You visit vast penguin rookeries, land on beaches
ruled by Antarctic fur seals and observe wallowing southern
elephant seals. You also hope to visit one of the many research
bases in the archipelago and look for Antarctica's only two
flowering plants which thrive here during the short southern
summer. A highlight of our visit to the South Shetlands will
be sailing through a narrow passage into the flooded caldera
of Deception Island.
Days
6-8: Antarctic Peninsula
The Antarctic Peninsula is the most readily accessible part
of the White Continent and has some of the best wildlife and
scenery. You have plenty of time to experience the special magic
of this awe-inspiring wilderness of snow, ice, waterways and
mountains and can expect to see a wide variety of Antarctic
wildlife. Enormous rookeries of Gentoo, Chinstrap and Adélie
Penguins, Blue-eyed Shags, Kelp Gulls, Cape Petrels, Snowy Sheathbills
and Antarctic Terns are just some of the many birds found here
in abundance. You are also likely to see Weddell, crabeater
and leopard seals, while orcas, humpback whales and Minke whales
are often encountered at close range. The Peninsula also has
a remarkable history and, during the voyage, you will learn
about some of the most important and dramatic expeditions to
this remote corner of the world. Keeping a lookout from the
Bridge or the deck of the ship, as you thread your way along
the continent, you will certainly feel the same sense of excitement
as many of those early explorers. Sailing around the northern
tip of the Antarctic Peninsula you hope to navigate the Antarctic
Sound, or 'iceberg alley' as it is often called, where huge
tabular icebergs drift north from the Antarctic continent. If
you are lucky, and weather and ice conditions permit, you plan
to land on Paulet Island to see its vast Adélie Penguin
rookery. You also plan to visit aptly-named Paradise Harbor,
or nearby Neko Harbor, where glaciers fill the calm waters with
a mind-boggling vista of icebergs; this is where you hope to
set foot on the Antarctic Continent itself. At Port Lockroy,
as well as enjoying the thriving penguin colonies, you will
visit a former British scientific station that has recently
been renovated to serve as one of the most isolated and intriguing
museums in the world. The station also acts as a post office
and you will have a unique opportunity to send postcards home.
During the voyage you hope to navigate some of the most beautiful
waterways in the world (if they are not choked with pack ice
and icebergs); two in particular, the Neumayer and Lemaire Channels,
are narrow passages between towering rock faces and spectacular
glaciers that are so impressive they are a highlight of the
trip for many people. On some voyages you sail south of the
Lemaire Channel to Petermann Island where Adélie and
Gentoo Penguins, skuas and Blue-eyed Shags nest close to the
landing site.
Days
9-10: Drake Passage
Today you leave Antarctica and head north across the In between
bird watching and whale watching, and enjoying some final lectures
by our expedition staff, this is a chance to relax and review
your adventures before returning to Ushuaia.
Day
11: Ushuaia
You disembark after breakfast and transfer by bus to the Antarctic
Unit office located at the entrance of the pier. Passengers
departing the same day on the morning flight will continue by
bus to the airport.
Notes: Prices per person, double occupancy.
Included:
Cabin accommodations; all meals aboard the vessel; one night
pre-cruise hotel accommodation with breakfast; all shore excursions;
program of lectures by noted naturalists and leadership by experienced
expedition staff; transfers and baggage handling between hotel
and the ship; detailed post-expedition log, and all service
taxes and port charges.
Not
Included:
Airfare; passport and visa expenses; government arrival and
departure taxes; meals ashore; trip insurance; items of a personal
nature and gratuity to the ship's crew is at your discretion.
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Plan - Explorer
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