This polar voyage features the clean unspoiled scenery, wildlife, and rich history of the Antarctic Peninsula, as well as the crown jewels of the Southern Ocean: South Georgia and the Falkland Islands.
Involves minimal physical effort and is typically associated with leisurely activities. Activities are low-intensity or last less than a few hours each day.
The capital of Argentina, the birthplace of Tango, the home of Asado, the “Paris of South America”, and the largest concentration of theaters in the world - Buenos Aires. The city is rich in culture and style and a vibrant gateway for your voyage.
Day 2: Embarkation
1 Breakfast, 1 Dinner
Arriving at the ship in the afternoon, you will be greeted by your Expedition Team and ship's officers at a safety and orientation briefing followed by the Captain's welcome dinner. Then, watch the city lights fade in the fresh night air as you sail seaward.
Day 3-5: Southern Ocean
1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Among the wildlife spotting opportunities as you sail south are the albatrosses, prions, and petrels that frequently follow the ship. Your Expedition Team will be out on deck as well, looking for the whales and dolphins that may also be seen in the area. Experts will begin the presentations with informative and entertaining lectures on the wildlife, history, and geology of The Falkland Islands and Southern Ocean. Helpful briefings on environmental regulations and expedition safety will also be held in the comfortable lecture hall.
Day 6: West Falklands
1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
The westernmost settled outposts in the Falklands are remote farms that have been family owned for six and seven generations. The sheep graze alongside abatross colonies and rockhopper, king, and macaroni penguin rookeries while striated caracaras patrol overhead and upland geese graze at the water's edge. A visit to one of these homesteads often includes an invitation for cakes and a cup of tea.
Day 7: Stanley, East Falkland
1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Chosen for its sheltered harbor and access to abundant fresh water and peat for fuel, Stanley is easy to discover on foot as most shops and services are centered on the port. The museum, the post-office featuring first day covers, plenty of shops with locally made wool items, and Stanley's lively pubs will all be available. It is possible to experience the wildlife of the Falklands from the town including sea lions and Peale's and Commerson's dolphins in the harbor.
Day 8-9: Southern Ocean
1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
There will be plenty of wildlife spotting as you make your way east across the Antarctic Convergence and officially enter Antarctic waters. Ship board presentations will continue featuring the exciting history and abundant wildlife of South Georgia.
Day 10-13: South Georgia
1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Its unique position inside the Antarctic Convergence yet outside the limit of the yearly sea ice makes this 3,755 square kilometer island home to tens of millions of breeding penguins, seals, seabirds, and even reindeer. Magnificent mountain scenery, glaciers galore, a rugged coastline punctuated with castellate and tabular icebergs, a rich historical tapestry, and an astounding array of wildlife are all available as you travel down South Georgia's leeward coast.
Landing sites feature huge elephant seals, aggressive fur seals, macaroni penguins, albatross, petrels, skuas, and gulls. King penguins, from fuzzy little chicks to fattened adults, can be seen in the hundreds of thousands. Visit the historic Grytviken whaling station, home of the whaling museum, Norwegian seaman's church, the active British Antarctic Survey station and the tiny graveyard where the great Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton is buried.
Day 14-15: Scotia Sea
1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Heading farther south, continue your education series as the icebergs become more and more plentiful.
Day 16-19: Antarctic Peninsula & the South Shetland Islands
1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
The land of superlatives, Antarctica! Your Expedition Leader and Captain will create a flexible itinerary based on weather, ice, and opportunity. The course will stress the most scenic bays and channels of the Peninsula with stops at penguin rookeries, seal wallows, bird colonies and whale feeding areas as well as sites of historic and scientific interest. The trip may include the Gerlache Strait area including Neko Harbor, Paradise Harbor, Wilhelmina Bay, and Neumayer Channel. Depending on ice, you may also be able to visit the beautiful Antarctic Sound including Brown Bluff, Hope Bay, and Paulet Island. Active scientific bases such as Poland's Arctowksi or Ukraine's Vernadskiy and historic bases such as U.K.'s Port Lockroy or Wordie House may also be visited.
Adelie, chinstrap, and gentoo penguins abound with rare opportunities to see the elusive emperor. Weddell, crabeater, and elephant seals are often found hauled out to rest along with the predatory leopard seal. Minke and humpback whales are frequent visitors and orca sightings are also common.
Day 20-21: Drake Passage
1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Continue your lecture series and wildlife spotting as you sail back to Ushuaia. Depending on sea conditions, you may have an opportunity to sail past the legendary Cape Horn. Arrive at the pier in Ushuaia in the early hours of Day 22.
Day 22: Disembark in Ushuaia
1 Breakfast
Morning disembarkation lets you catch a flight to Buenos Aires or stay in Ushuaia for more sights and adventure.
Apologies for the inconvenience. Prices for not yet published. Below per person rate based on previous season. Contact us to confirm upcoming season pricing.
Prices for are estimated based on inflation. Contact us to confirm pricing and availability for your desired departure date.
The trip might have been the absolute best of our lifetime (thus far). We particularly want to commend our guide Peter in the Guilin area-he was so incredibly attentive, energetic, enthusiastic-and absolutely dedicated to ensuring that our meals were 100% vegetarian.
Jack Charney
TrustScore 4.8 | 175 reviews
TrustScore 4.8 of 5
Based on 175 reviews on
7 hours ago
The response from Adventure Life to my first inquiry was prompt and promising. I worked with Jamie Broeckel, Trip Planner, via text, email, and phone calls- always extremely responsive and thorough with information and explaining the process to arrange a private tour for me to Malaysia Borneo. Within about week, the booking was complete and I made decisions because of Jamie's great customer service , friendly manner, and overall competence on behalf of the company's travel expertise. Now I have an itinerary, additional Trip Planner Assistants, several links for vital information for traveling to Maylasia, etc. Still many details for Sept. trip, but now the heavy lifting is done and I can enjoy the rest of the anticipation and research!! Thanks Jamie- you are amazing!!!!
Susan Campo
2 days ago
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
3 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.