Antarctic Peninsula Expedition Cruise Including South Shetland Islands

Enjoy breakfast in the hotel restaurant and have the morning free to explore Ushuaia before returning to the hotel and departing for the Ushuaia Cruise Port to embark your expedition ship. The captain and expedition team will welcome you on board, and you will have time to settle into your accommodations and familiarise yourself with the ship. You are invited to join the expedition team in the Observation Lounge as we set our course for Antarctica and the South Shetland Islands. The official start of your Antarctica cruise.

Learn more about the biology and history of the South Shetland Islands and Antarctica through a series of lectures and presentations, and ease into ship life as we cross the legendary Drake Passage, one of the world’s great ocean crossings. Spend time out on deck and in the Observation Lounge as we pass through the Antarctic Convergence looking for seabirds and cetaceans as you prepare for your upcoming adventure.

Summer in Antarctica is especially magical, pairing long clear days with an abundance of wildlife and spectacular lighting. Our voyage is timed to coincide with the breeding season, when Antarctica’s wildlife converges in full force and mating behaviours at chaotic penguin cities can be observed. We have more than 20-hours of daylight to explore multiple historic and wildlife-rich landing sites, hidden bays, quiet coves and walk on the ice and snow of the Seventh Continent. Look for, and walk among Gentoo, Chinstrap and Adélie Penguins; Weddell, Leopard and Crabeater Seals; in the water, Humpback and Minke Whales fill these important feeding grounds along with Orca. While specific landings cannot be guaranteed, they could include the following, and many other exciting opportunities:

Half Moon Island
Enjoy your first taste of Antarctica before we officially step foot on the continent, exploring this crescent-shaped island nestled between Livingston and Greenwich Islands at the entrance to Moon Bay. Zodiac cruise along rugged cliffs, spot Antarctic Fur, Elephant and Weddell Seals and the wreck of an old whaling boat littered with whale bones.

Brown Bluff
This scenic setting in the Antarctic Sound, which marries sheer stone walls, fallen boulders and ice capped peaks, is the location of a large, bustling Adélie Penguin rookery, where Gentoo Penguins and Snow Petrels can also be observed.

Cierva Cove
A visit to Cierva Cove is sure to be a highlight as you weave through this magnificent body of water, navigating astounding calved icebergs and ice sculptures. Ten species of birds breed here, including a Chinstrap Penguin colony; Humpback Whales are regular visitors.

Petermann Island
Petermann Island might be small, at just 1 kilometre long, but this volcanic outpost boasts some incredible features. More than half the island is covered by a permanent icecap, and the island is both Antarctica’s northernmost Adélie Penguin colony and southernmost Gentoo colony. It’s also the wintering site of renowned French Explorer Captain Jean-Baptiste Charcot’s second French Antarctic Expedition (1908–1910).

Port Lockroy, Goudier Island
Location of the famed Penguin Post Office, the world’s southernmost post office, Port Lockroy’s safe harbour in the Palmer Archipelago has attracted explorers, whalers, scientists, and sailors for more than a century.

Paradise Bay
Once the anchorage site for whalers’ floating factory ships, Paradise Bay is now considered one of the Antarctic Peninsula’s most stunning locations, delivering the ultimate, unrestrained, iconic and pristine Antarctic wilderness experience just north of the legendary Lemaire Channel. Whales, Gentoo Penguins and Crabeater Seals are all known to frequent these waters.

Cuverville Island
Cuverville Island combines a stunning, ice-capped landscape where steep cliffs and a boulder strewn beach meet the Antarctic Peninsula’s largest Gentoo Penguin population (home to some 14,000 birds), while its shallow bay features astounding monolithic grounded icebergs perfect for Zodiac exploration.

Melchior Islands
This collection of snow and icecapped islands, part of the Palmer Archipelago, in the centre of Dallmann Bay, promises stunning views and exciting Zodiac adventures exploring towering glaciers and ice cathedral-strewn waters. Antarctic Shags, Gentoo and Chinstrap Penguins, Antarctic Fur and Weddell Seals, Humpback Whales and Orca are all known to visit these remote islands and waters.

En route to Ushuaia, enjoy your second Drake Passage crossing and take time to rest after the adventures of Antarctica, look for whales and enjoy shipboard life. Now is the time to edit photos while they are fresh in your memory and you have access to our knowledgeable expedition team, catch up on journalling and bask in the afterglow of this incredible shared experience with your fellow travellers and new friends.

Early this morning we will arrive in the Ushuaia Cruise Port. After a final breakfast, we bid farewell to our fellow voyagers and take a complimentary coach transfer to Ushuaia International Airport. In case of unexpected delays due to weather and/or port operations we ask you not to book any onward travel until after 12 noon.

Note: During our voyage, circumstances may make it necessary or desirable to deviate from the proposed itinerary. This can include poor weather and opportunities for making unplanned excursions. Your Expedition Leader will keep you fully informed. This tour offers a variety of activities and excursions. Your personal interests will determine which of these you wish to join. Please note that some activities and excursions will run at similar times, and it will not be possible to participate in both. Accordingly, refunds for excursions and missed landings are not available. Voyages are planned and scheduled pending final regulatory approval.