Beyond the Antarctic Circle

Arrive in Buenos Aires, relax and spend the overnight here preparing for your adventure.
 

Fly from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia and embark on SH Vega for your Polar adventure.

Ushuaia is the gateway to the White Continent. Found at the southernmost tip of South America in Argentinian Patagonia, the city is often described as “the End of the World”. The city’s mountain backdrop rises above the harbour and entrance to the Beagle Channel. The town itself is walkable and has a few small museums as well as pubs, restaurants and cafes - a good place to try Patagonian lamb cooked over open fire pits.

As you cruise to your next port of call, spend the day at sea savouring the ship’s facilities and learning about your destination’s many facets from the knowledgeable onboard experts. Listen to an enriching talk, indulge in a relaxing treatment at the spa, work out in the well-equipped gym, enjoy some down- time in your cabin, share travel reminiscences with newly found friends: the options are numerous.

Should the weather and sea ice conditions be on our side, we’ll venture into the Antarctic Circle to Marguerite Bay. Located below 66°33' South, this region is rarely visited due to the almost year-round sea ice. Here we’ll be searching for the whale pods that frequent the area, leopard seals, Adélie penguin rookeries and other birdlife. There are also several scientific research bases here that we can land at if conditions are favourable.

Among captivating glaciers, majestic icebergs and snowy islands, the Antarctic Peninsula is where most visitors to the White Continent will live out their Antarctica dream. The Antarctic Peninsula, the most accessible area of the continent, hosts several scientific bases and some of the most interesting wildlife scenery, such as the extremely photogenic Lemaire Channel. Shore excursions might include Petermann Island, where among Adelie penguins, blue-eyed shags and skuas, huge, lumbering elephant seals haul out.

While the South Shetlands’ proximity to Antarctica makes the ice-bound sea impassable during winter (April to November), these are the first islands to see snow melt in spring (March) and the slightly warmer temperature means that the fauna is also different from what you see in Antarctica proper. As we go ashore by Zodiac, notice ferns, grasses, lichens and native flora that have more in common with Patagonia than they do with Antarctica.

As you cruise to your next port of call, spend the day at sea savouring the ship’s facilities and learning about your destination’s many facets from the knowledgeable onboard experts. Listen to an enriching talk, indulge in a relaxing treatment at the spa, work out in the well-equipped gym, enjoy some down- time in your cabin, share travel reminiscences with newly found friends: the options are numerous.

Ushuaia is the gateway to the White Continent. Found at the southernmost tip of South America in Argentinian Patagonia, the city is often described as “the End of the World”. The city’s mountain backdrop rises above the harbour and entrance to the Beagle Channel. The town itself is walkable and has a few small museums as well as pubs, restaurants and cafes - a good place to try Patagonian lamb cooked over open fire pits.