Arrive in Punta Arenas, where you will be met by a representative of Aurora Expeditions and transferred to your downtown hotel. Upon arrival at your included hotel, kindly remind hotel check-in staff to provide you with Aurora Expeditions cabin tags. Please clearly label the tags with your name and ship cabin number.

Overlooking the Straits of Magellan, the city sits astride one of the world's most historic trade routes. Today, Punta Arenas reflects a great mix of cultures, from English sheep ranchers to Portuguese sailors, and it remains an utterly fascinating testament to Chile's rich history.

Enjoy free time to explore Punta Arenas at your own pace and discover the town’s excellent restaurants. Between 5.00-7.00 pm, meet your fellow expeditioners at a Welcome Reception and Pre-Embarkation Briefing. Afterward, there’s free time to dine at your leisure. (Dinner not included).

Accommodation: Hotel Cabo de Hornos

This morning, please ensure your cabin luggage is fitted with cabin tags clearly labeled with your name and cabin number. Please take your cabin luggage down to the hotel reception by 8.00 am. After breakfast, we will conduct our final, mandatory pre-embarkation health screening and COVID (rapid antigen) testing before commencing check-out procedures. 

Afterward, you will be transferred to Punta Arenas airport for our charter flight to flight to Puerto Williams. After the short flight to Puerto Williams, transfer to the pier for embarkation. Settle into your cabin before our important mandatory briefings. As the ship pulls away from the port, we’ll gather on the deck to commence our adventure with spectacular views over Tierra del Fuego. 

This evening, get to know your fellow expeditioners and friendly expedition team and crew at a welcome dinner to celebrate the start of a thrilling adventure to Antarctica.

As we commence the Drake Passage crossing, we make the most of our time getting comfortable with the motions of the sea. Our expedition team prepares you for our first landing with important wildlife guidelines and biosecurity procedures and starts our lecture program to help you learn more about Antarctica’s history, wildlife, and environment. 

Our wildlife experiences begin as we enjoy watching and photographing the many seabirds, including majestic albatrosses and giant petrels following in our wake. They rise and fall skillfully, using air currents created by the ship to gain momentum. 

Nearing the South Shetland Islands and the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula on day four, the excitement is palpable with everyone converging on one of the observation decks, watching for our first iceberg. The ocean takes on a whole new perspective once we are below the Antarctic Convergence and are surrounded by the surreal presence of floating ice sculptures. The memory of your first big iceberg sighting is likely to remain with you for a lifetime. Weather permitting, we may attempt our first landing in Antarctica by late afternoon. 

It’s almost impossible to describe the feeling of arriving in Antarctica. Spotting your first iceberg and taking a deep breath of some of the freshest, crisp air on earth is an experience that will stay with you forever.  

Once we arrive, the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands are ours to explore, and we have a host of choices available to us. Because we are so far south, we will experience nearly 24 hours of daylight and the days can be as busy as you wish.  

Your experienced expedition team, who have made countless journeys to this area, will use their expertise to design your voyage from day to day, choosing the best options based on the prevailing weather, ice conditions, and wildlife opportunities. 

We generally make landings or Zodiac excursions twice a day. You’ll want to rug up before joining Zodiac cruises along spectacular ice cliffs or among grounded icebergs, keeping watch for whales, seals, and porpoising penguins. Zodiacs will also transport you from the ship to land, where you can visit penguin rookeries, discover historic huts and explore some of our favorite spots along the peninsula.  

While ashore we aim to stretch our legs, wandering along pebbly beaches or perhaps up snow-covered ridgelines to vantage points with mountains towering overhead and ice-speckled oceans below. If you have chosen an optional activity, you’ll have the option to do that whenever conditions allow, and of course, keen polar plungers will have the chance to fully immerse themselves in polar waters - conditions permitting! 

In addition to Zodiac cruises and shore excursions, we may ship cruise some of the narrow, dramatic straits separating offshore islands from the mainland, or linger in scenic bays to watch whales traveling or feeding. This is a great time to enjoy the observation lounge or make your way to the bridge for uninterrupted views of Antarctica in all its splendor. Keep an ear out for the creak and deep rumble of glaciers as they carve their way from the summit to sea. Take a quiet moment to experience the wonder of this incredible white continent. 

Enjoy a morning landing in Antarctica before commencing our 1.5-day crossing of the Drake Passage. With lectures and film presentations to complete our Antarctic experience, there is still plenty of time to enjoy the magic of the Southern Ocean and the life that calls it home. There is time for reflection and discussion about what we have seen and experienced, and the impact this voyage has had on our attitude to life. 

As we approach the tip of South America, our Captain may sail close to legendary Cape Horn, weather and time permitting. Sail through fjords and channels flanked by majestic mountains discovered by European explorers over 500 years ago. Keep a lookout for seabirds and marine wildlife including dolphins, sea lions, and whales preparing to migrate to Antarctica to fatten up on plentiful krill.  

During the early morning, we quietly slipping into the dock in Punta Arenas, where we begin disembarking at around 8.00 am. Farewell to your expedition team and fellow travelers as we all continue our onward journeys, hopefully with a newfound sense of the immense power of nature. A transfer to your hotel in Punta Arenas or to the airport is included in the cost of the voyage.