Day 1 Arrive Buenos Aires

Today is an arrival day. There are no planned activities so make your way to the hotel and enjoy the city.

The capital city of Argentina, Buenos Aires is the ultimate cosmopolitan city. Travellers find that it has more in common with the cities of Europe than the rest of South America. Nearly 40 per cent of Argentina's 33 million citizens live in Greater Buenos Aires, and the Porteños are justifiably proud of their home. The city is comprised of a number of distinct neighbourhoods, some of which have become top tourist draws. For many, the highlight of their time in the capital is a visit to San Telmo for the weekend antiques market and street artistís displays.

La Boca was originally settled by the successive waves of immigrants that contribute to the capital's unique character. Its brightly coloured walls and buildings draw Porteños and tourists alike, and it is here that the world-class football team, Boca Juniors, plies its trade. A Sunday afternoon match at the fabled Bombonera is not to be missed. Posh Recoleta, with its cafes, museums and cemetery, is a pleasant place to spend an afternoon.

During colonial days Buenos Aires was the seat of the Viceroy of La Plata. Almost completely rebuilt since the turn of the century, the heart of the city is the Plaza de Mayo, with the historic Cabildo (Town Hall), where the Independence movement was first planned, the Casa Rosada (Government Palace) and the Cathedral where San Martín, the father of Argentine independence, is buried.
When you are done exploring, settle your weary feet and enjoy a drink in one of the many sidewalk cafes and restaurants and you will begin to understand the contemplative Argentine way of life. Upon return, Buenos Aires will be your last chance to try the succulent bife and parrilladas, so dig in and enjoy!

Please note: You should be especially careful when wandering about the capital city on your own, particularly at night. Tourists are easy prey for individual pickpockets or groups of two or more people working as a team on the streets. Pay particular attention to anyone who 'accidentally' spills anything on your clothes or belongings (mustard, etc.) and then apologizes and offers to help clean up. They will clean you out instead! Be safe and leave your passport, credit cards, travellers cheques and cash funds you won't be using immediately in the hotel's safety deposit box. Most Porteños are honest and genuinely helpful and friendly, but be safe and enjoy the city!

Day 2 Buenos Aires to Ushuaia

Fly south to Ushuaia (your flight to Ushuaia is included with the Package). The afternoon is free to visit the town and enjoy the world’s southern most city. Overnight in Ushuaia.

Our journey begins in Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world on the shores of the Beagle Channel. Ushuaia actually means 'the bay facing westward' in the language of the original Yamana inhabitants. Once a penal colony (the presidio was disbanded in the 1940s) for political prisoners as well as hardened criminals, Ushuaia is now a major tourist attraction, particularly for people such as ourselves cruising to Antarctica. The town of 40,000 is also a major ski resort area for both alpine and cross-country skiers and offers magnificent hiking in Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego, the only coastal national park in Argentina.

Day 3 Ushuaia / Tierra del Fuego National Park, Argentina

We take a tour to Tierra del Fuego National Park before boarding our ship in the afternoon (see joining instructions)

Day 4-5 Drake Passage

Our journey across the infamous Drake Passage, named after the 16th-century English navigator Sir Francis Drake, is an experience in itself. Our ship is accompanied most of the way by an impressive variety of seabirds that fly in our wake. We have a good chance of spotting whales and many different species have been encountered in these rich waters. We 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 (usually late afternoon on Day 5) we know we have reached the South Shetlands. This impressive group of islands lying roughly parallel to the Peninsula is a haven for wildlife. We visit vast penguin rookeries, and land on beaches ruled by Antarctic fur seals and wallowing elephant seals. We also hope to visit one of the many research bases and look for Antarctica’s two flowering plants that thrive here during the short austral summer. An often-possible highlight is sailing into the flooded caldera of Deception Island.

Day 6-7 Antarctic Peninsula & South Shetland Islands

This is what we've all been waiting for - a chance to step foot on the Great White Continent! We normally attempt 2 excursions per day.

The Antarctic Peninsula is the most readily accessible part of the White Continent and has some of the best wildlife and scenery. There are enormous rookeries of Gentoo, Chinstrap and Adélie Penguins and Blue-eyed Shags, Kelp Gulls, Cape Petrels, Snowy Sheathbills and Antarctic Terns are just some of the many birds found here in abundance. We are also likely to see Weddell, Crabeater, Elephant and Leopard Seals, while Orca, Humpback Whales and Minke Whales are sometimes encountered at close range. The Peninsula also has a remarkable history and, during the voyage, we 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 we thread our way along the continent, you feel the same sense of excitement as many of those early explorers.

Sailing around the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula we hope to navigate Antarctic Sound, or ‘iceberg alley’ as it is often called, where huge tabular icebergs drift north from the Antarctic continent. If we opt for this northerly route due to weather and ice conditions, we hope to land on Paulet Island to see its vast Adélie Penguin rookery. If the southern route is chosen we hope to visit aptly named Paradise Harbour, or nearby Neko Harbour, where glaciers fill the calm waters with a mind-boggling vista of icebergs; this is where we hope to set foot on the Antarctic Continent itself. Also on this route is Port Lockroy, home to thriving penguin colonies, and a possible visit to 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 we have a unique opportunity to send postcards home. During the voyage we 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 we sail south of the Lemaire(often called "kodak gap") Channel to Petermann Island where Adélie and Gentoo Penguins, skuas and Blue-eyed Shags nest close to the landing site.

Antarctica is a continent of superlatives. It is the coldest, windiest, driest, iciest and highest of all the major landmasses in the world. It is the continent with the longest nights and the longest days and it is home to the world’s greatest concentration of wildlife. It is also one of the last true wilderness areas left on earth – largely unchanged since the early explorers and whalers first landed on its inhospitable shores less than two centuries ago.

The continent itself is roughly circular with a spindly arm, called the Antarctic Peninsula, reaching northwards towards Tierra del Fuego. South America is the nearest landmass, some 600 miles away. Considerably larger than either the United States or Europe, and twice the size of Australia, the continent is surrounded by a frozen sea that varies in area from one million square miles in summer to 7.3 million square miles in winter. Beyond the ice are the waters of the vast Southern Ocean, which encircles Antarctica in a continuous ring several hundred miles wide. The Southern Ocean isolates the continent from the warmer waters of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans to the north and this meeting point, called the Antarctic Convergence, is the ecologically defined northern boundary of the region.

The area abounds 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 albatrosses and other seabirds trail in our wake. We visit scientists working in modern research bases, and there is plenty of time to enjoy the sheer beauty and the breathtaking scenery of ice-choked waterways, blue and white icebergs, impressive glaciers and rugged snow-capped mountains.

Whales
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 frigid southern waters include: the Humpback Whale who consumes over a ton of krill each day; the Southern Right Whales easily identified by the whitish callosities on the jaws and forehead; the Sperm Whales made famous in Moby Dick; the Killer Whale which is actually not a whale at all but the largest of the dolphin family; the Sei Whale which can achieve speeds up to 55 km/h over short distances; the playful Minke Whales very common in the peninsula area; the Fin Whale who can attain a length of 25 to 27 meters making them the second largest whales; and the Blue Whale which is not only the largest whale in the oceans but also the largest animal that has ever lived.

Penguins
The common name for all flightless, aquatic birds, penguins are only found south of the equator. Penguins have been grouped into 18 species and 6 genera, with most making their homes in Antarctica and the sub Antarctic islands, though others are native to the coasts of Australia, South Africa, South America, and the Galapagos Islands. Penguins are speedy and agile swimmers, but extremely slow on land. The regions we visit aboard the ship are inhabited by 6 different species including the giant King Penguin who can grow up to 1 metre in height; the Adelie Penguin named after French explorer Dumont d’Urville’s wife; the Chinstrap Penguin identified by the distinctive black line connecting the black cap to below the chin; the Gentoo Penguin with its orange bill and white flash above and behind its eyes; the Macaroni Penguin who number roughly 12 million and are easily identified by the orange tassels meeting between the eyes; and the Rockhopper Penguin who are similar to the Macaroni in appearance but slightly smaller and have yellow tassels.

HISTORICAL FIGURES
Some of the bravest and best known explorers have sailed south in search of adventure and recognition. James Cook, the most travelled explorer of his time, was the first to circumnavigate Antarctica and the first to cross the Antarctic Circle. Roald Engebreth Gravning Amundsen, who led the first expedition to reach the South Pole and reached the pole on December 14, 1911. Captain Robert Scott, famous for being 35 days late, arriving at the South Pole on January 17, 1912 only to find the dark green tent and a note left by Amundsen. All 5 men in the Scott expedition perished on their way back from the pole. The best-known adventurer would have to be 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 he and his men to travel over the ice and sea to Elephant Island. However, because the island was uninhabited, Shackleton and 5 others made the 1300 km voyage for help to South Georgia, arriving at Stromness Harbour whaling station on May 20, 1916.

Day 8-9 Polar Circle Crossing

With a close eye on weather conditions, we set off southward along the western coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. Passing colossal icebergs and countless colonies of penguins we push on with our goal in mind - crossing the Antarctic Polar Circle. Few travelers have ventured this far south, but with our fully equipped ice-strengthened vessel and favourable sea conditions, we can access many remote locations other ships just can't reach.

Afterwards, we turn north for the first time and head back through the 'inside passage' if it is ice free. This passage comprises the Grandidier and Penola Channels. The Grandidier is particularly beautiful and rarely traversed by other ships less maneuverable than the expedition ship.

Day 10-11 Antarctic Penisnula and South Shetland Islands

We continue our exploration of the Antarctic Peninsula and if conditions permit we will visit Petermann Island on the journey northward.

Day 12-13 Drake Passage

Today we leave Antarctica and head north across the Drake Passage. In between bird watching and whale watching and enjoying some final lectures by our expedition staff, this is a chance to relax and review the adventures of the past week before returning to Ushuaia.

Day 14 Ushuaia to Buenos Aires

Disembark after breakfast and transfer by bus to the airport for your flight to Buenos Aires (included in our Full Program.)

Day 15 Buenos Aires

Today is a free day to explore Buenos Aires, known as the Paris of the Americas. Wander the plazas and museums, and in the evening get together for a farewell dinner and traditional tango show to mark the end of our Antarctic dream.

Day 16 Depart Buenos Aires

Depart Buenos Aires at your leisure.