Your journey commences this morning in the southern Chilean city of Punta Arenas. Meet at a central location and transfer to the airport for your scheduled flight to Stanley in the Falkland Islands (this flight is included in the price of your voyage). After a short 90-minute journey you are met on arrival and transferred to the pier.

Stanley is currently home to just over 2,000 residents and is reminiscent of a rural town in coastal Britain. It is charming with brightly colored houses, pretty flower-filled gardens, a quaint cathedral, and several local pubs. The waterfront memorial, built to commemorate the lives of the servicemen lost during the Falklands War in the early 1980s, is a sobering reminder of recent history. There is time to explore the town before making your way to the ship for embarkation. After settling in to your cabin and exploring the ship, meet the expedition team and fellow passengers. Excitement is in the air as you enjoy a welcome cocktail, dinner, and cast off, bound for Antarctica – and the adventure of a lifetime.

Begin charting a southerly course for Antarctica. This stretch of the South Atlantic is rich in its biodiversity and showcases an abundance of wildlife. The ship is joined by hundreds of seabirds including the wandering albatross. Giant petrels and smaller Cape petrels are also constant companions as you sail south. Photographing these magnificent birds from the deck of the ship takes patience and skill and a photography expert is on hand to show you the best techniques. Join the ship’s Captain on the bridge and learn about the operations of your modern research vessel. Throughout the day on-board experts educate the group with a series of presentations about the environment, wildlife, and history of the locations you visit in the coming days.

This morning wake in position at King George Island – the largest in the South Shetlands group. There are two landing sites here and a visit depends on the prevailing weather conditions. Penguin Island and nearby Turret Point offer good opportunities for shore landings to view Adelie, chinstrap, and gentoo penguins. Southern giant petrels, kelp gulls, and Antarctic terns are also known to nest here. This afternoon, continue your journey south, navigating into the broad expanse of the Bransfield Strait – making way ever closer to the Antarctic coastline. This is an important migration corridor for wildlife so keep a lookout for whales in the waters surrounding the ship. Large icebergs are present from this point onwards and make for striking photographs in the evening light.

By morning, the towering mountain peaks of the Antarctic continent loom into view and the ship should make landfall around Wilhelmina Bay. This is truly an ‘A-list’ location and a place where sizeable pods of humpback whales are often encountered. Navigate under the towering cliffs of Spigot Peak and into the Errera Channel hoping for a shore landing at Cuverville Island – home to a rookery of gentoo penguins. It’s a fantastic location for a zodiac cruise or a paddle in the sea kayaks.

You are encouraged to spend time on the outer decks soaking up the scenery as the ship navigates south. Pass through the ice-strewn waters making way towards the ultimate objective, the Antarctic Circle. Given favorable ice conditions, the first goal is to sail south of the Antarctic Circle and into Crystal Sound. A favored landing site here is Detaille Island, home to an abandoned British science hut from the 1950s.

This vicinity marks the ship's turnaround point and from now on, sail in a northerly direction exploring the dramatic coastline of the Antarctic Peninsula. Potentially visit a working scientific base to learn something of the important climate-related research happening here. A hike over the snowy saddle of nearby Winter Island allows you to stretch your legs and explore a historic British Antarctic Survey hut. If the conditions are right, the overnight camping program is offered to all adventurers somewhere in this vicinity. All the gear and an experienced team are on-board to make this a night to remember!

Petermann Island is home to an Adelie penguin rookery. Adelies - the smallest of the Antarctic penguins, nest here and share the location with gentoo penguins and imperial cormorants. The view to the north of Mount Shackleton and Mount Scott is impressive. These towering granite sentinels mark the southern entrance to the nearby Lemaire Channel. Pleneau Island offers more opportunities for shore landings. Just off shore, massive icebergs run around in the shallows. Constant wind and wave action sculpt these gargantuan chunks of ice into fantastic shapes, revealing more shades of blue than you can possibly imagine. For many, a zodiac cruise here may well be a highlight of the voyage.

Cruise north towards Paradise Harbour. This may be the first opportunity to step foot on the continent of Antarctica itself. Nearby Neko Harbour offers another continental landing. Both locations feature terrific hiking opportunities up to panoramic viewpoints. For the sea kayakers, the paddling opportunities here are endless. Expect to be in full sensory overload by this time of the voyage.

By morning, arrive in the South Shetland Islands. The adventure is not over and if the weather conditions allow, the ship sails into the flooded volcanic caldera at Deception Island. This is a very dramatic place and history surrounds you as you explore the old whaling station, with the rusted old boilers and dilapidated wooden huts. At the far end of the beach is an old aircraft hangar. This is where the Australian, Sir Hubert Wilkins, made the very first flight in Antarctica in 1928. There is also an outstanding hike here, high up onto the rim of the crater.

This morning the ship is anchored off King George Island. Say farewell to many of your fellow passengers as they disembark, transfer to the airstrip, and board their charter flight back to South America. There is an opportunity to go ashore, or you may wish to relax on board, update your diary, or visit the multi-media room to download and back up your images. New guests are welcomed aboard the ship and you are soon underway for the second leg of your epic adventure

For the next three days you have a varied itinerary exploring the Gerlache coastline. This whole region is one large Polar ‘playground’ with a great variety of landing sites. As always the weather and ice dictate your route. Planned visits could include Port Charcot, Orne Harbour, or Andvord Bay. All three locations offer excellent hiking opportunities, or a cruise through the Errera Channel to land on Danco Island– a large dome-shaped island affording terrific views of the whole region from its summit. Wilhelmina Bay is another favorite location you could stop at for a second visit, as there are frequently encounters with pods of humpback whales in this area. If the channel south of Brooklyn Island is ice-free, you may ship cruise through here as the ship pushes to the north into the broad expanse of the Gerlache Strait. Cierva Cove and Mikkelsen Harbour are also possible locations you could visit– both providing good Zodiac cruising opportunities.

You are now on your way towards Antarctic Sound– the gateway into the icy Weddell Sea. On the port side are the South Shetland Islands. It won’t be the first time you have cruised these waters, but there are some terrific sites here which you may go and explore. Half Moon Island is nearby and is home to a sizeable chinstrap penguin rookery. Across the MacFarlane Strait is Yankee Harbour, with its broad pebble beach, a known location for Weddell seals. If the weather is good a second visit to Deception Island is also a possibility. It’s always a thrill to navigate the ship into ‘Neptune’s Bellows’, and to explore inside the submerged volcanic caldera by ship and Zodiac.

Navigating into the Weddell Sea, you can see the vast sweep of the Antarctic icecap for the first time and find yourself increasingly surrounded by tabular icebergs. These gargantuan icebergs break from the ice shelves and drift north on the currents. This always makes for exciting navigation and stunning photographic opportunities.

The Weddell Sea region is home to Adelie penguin rookeries of staggering size – some contain more than 100,000 nesting birds. Such colonies dwarf the rookeries you have visited so far. Weather permitting, excursions may include Hope Bay, Paulet Island, and Brown Bluff. There are reports of successful sightings of emperor penguins in this area in recent years. Based on the size and plumage, the naturalists believe them to be juveniles out exploring and fishing, and possible residents of the known emperor colony on the southern side of Snow Hill Island.

As you head north and out of the Weddell Sea, the lavender-pink sunset off the port quarter of the ship makes you pause to consider the bravery (or foolhardiness) of those early explorers who traveled these waters a hundred years ago.

Approach Elephant Island from the south at Point Lookout - home to an impressive chinstrap penguin colony. Macaroni penguins also breed here and are a species your expedition crew has yet to encounter to date. Both southern elephant seals and Antarctic fur seals are hauled out on the beaches in large numbers. Enjoy shore landings at the fabled Point Wild on the north coast of Elephant Island, where Shackleton and his men were encamped under their upturned life boats.

Sailing north to the Falkland Islands, the spectacular seabirds are your constant companions soaring above the ship. Photographing these stunning birds in flight takes great patience and skill and your resident photography expert on board can show you the best techniques. Much of your time is spent scanning the horizon in search of whales and other marine mammals. Enjoy onboard educational programs, interactive presentations, and lively discussions.

Arrive in the Falkland Islands overnight and spend the day exploring the islands of West Point and Saunders, both in the West Falklands archipelago. West Point is known for its sizable rookeries of rockhopper penguins and nesting black-browed albatross. The opportunity to observe these spectacular birds in close proximity on the nest is an immense privilege and an experience not easily forgotten. One final highlight awaits– a visit to the wildlife-rich Saunders Island. Along the white-sand beaches and in the tussock grass hope to encounter no less than four penguin species living in close quarters including gentoo, Magellanic, and rockhopper, and your ultimate goal during the Falkland Island visit, observing the impressive king penguin. Saunders is a fitting end to an epic Antarctic adventure. Charting a course for the port of Stanley in early evening light, enjoy a special dinner attended by the Captain of the ship and reflect on one of life’s great travel experiences.

In the early morning, navigate through the narrows and into the harbor of Port Stanley. Stanley is currently home to just over 2,000 residents and is reminiscent of a rural town in coastal England or Scotland. It is charming with brightly colored houses, pretty flower- filled gardens, a quaint cathedral, and several local pubs. There is time to explore the town before you make your way to the airport for a return flight to Punta Arenas in southern Chile (this flight is included in the price of your voyage). It is possible to connect flights to Santiago or other destinations in Chile. If you are staying in Punta Arenas, a transfer is provided to several downtown locations.