Southern Antarctic Realms: Antarctic Circle & Weddell Sea

Upon arrival in Ushuaia, meet a representative for a transfer to the assigned pre-voyage hotel alongside fellow expeditioners. If already in the city, proceed directly to the hotel, where check-in begins at 3:00 pm. Between 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm, visit the hospitality desk in the lobby to collect luggage tags and confirm interest in the Lake Escondido pre-embarkation tour scheduled for tomorrow. The team confirms details regarding embarkation day, answers questions, and provides information on dining or purchasing last-minute items.

For arrivals after 7:00 pm, a welcome pack awaits at check-in; please visit the hospitality desk tomorrow between 8:00 am and 10:00 am.

The remainder of the day is at leisure, with all meals at personal expense.

Start the morning with breakfast and check-out. Ensure cabin luggage bears tags clearly labeled with your name and cabin number. Please deliver luggage to the hotel reception prior to or upon check-out; it is stored and transferred directly to the port for clearance and placement in the cabin. Keep all valuables and personal items on your person throughout the day.

For those joining the Lake Escondido tour, meet in the hotel lobby at 8:45 am. This excursion features an unforgettable panoramic drive through glacial valleys, evergreen and deciduous forests, waterfalls, and rivers within the vast Andes Mountain Range. Depart Ushuaia to the northeast of Tierra del Fuego, traveling through peat bog valleys to reach Garibaldi Pass via a winding road leading to a panoramic viewpoint. Here, marvel at views of Lake Escondido and, weather permitting, Fagnano Lake. The route descends towards the northeast to the shores of Fagnano Lake for a visit to a local ranch. After appreciating the landscape, savor a typical Fuegian Lamb barbecue. Enjoy free time before returning to Ushuaia for embarkation.

Alternatively, spend the day at leisure, meeting later at the hotel lobby or the designated point at the parking lot near the pier (details provided by ground staff) for transfer to the ship. Once onboard, settle into the cabin before attending mandatory briefings. As the ship departs, gather on deck to commence the adventure with spectacular views over Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego. This evening, meet fellow expeditioners and the expedition team at a welcome dinner to celebrate the start of a thrilling adventure to Antarctica.

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

Your wildlife experiences begin as you enjoy watching and photographing the many seabirds, including majestic albatrosses and giant petrels following your vessel. On sea days, you can enjoy the facilities on board the vessel including the gym, sauna and jacuzzis or relax in one of the observation lounges.    

Nearing the South Shetland Islands and the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula on the afternoon of day four, the excitement is palpable with everyone converging on one of the observation decks watching for your first iceberg. The ocean takes on a whole new perspective once you 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. Time and weather permitting, you may attempt your 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 most fresh, crisp air on earth is an experience that will stay with you forever.  

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. 

The waters at this time of year are rich with krill and you hope to see plenty of whales - particularly humpbacks and minkes and enjoy the spectacle of penguins feeding their ravenous chicks. 

To be part of a voyage that attempts to explore the remotest and wildest parts of a region that in and of itself is already arguably one of the remotest regions on Earth gives you more than basic bragging rights. As you approach and attempt to cross the Antarctic Circle, an imaginary line at latitude of 66° 33’ south, you can notice subtle changes in the landscape, and also in the distribution of wildlife.  

Venturing below the Antarctic Circle is a chance to enter a different world that is rarely seen, it feels more isolated and colder than further north, with great swathes of pack ice and dream-like icebergs. Thread through pack ice and narrow channels where scenes of ice-clad mountains, whales fattening up on krill, leopard seals patrolling the waters for vulnerable penguins and snow petrels soar above. Raise a glass to toast venturing below the Antarctic, joining an exclusive group of adventurers in doing so.  

After your explorations below the Antarctic Circle and along the western side of the peninsula, you sail north to make your way to the Weddell Sea on the eastern side of the peninsula. Along the way, you plan to visit some favorite places around the Antarctic Peninsula, exploring coastlines by Zodiac, landing on beaches where fur seals frolic, and where fledging penguins are taking to the waters for the first time. As you approach Antarctic Sound, you hope for favorable weather and ice conditions to grant your good ship entry to its frozen realm. A considerable aspect of a voyage to the Weddell Sea is the thrill of not knowing if the ice will allow you to enter its frozen realm. The Weddell Gyre pushes enormous amounts of ice from the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf up towards the area near Antarctic Sound, blocking the entrance to the Weddell Sea, but a visit to the region has numerous rewards.  

Central to the story of where Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship, the Endurance became trapped in formidable sea ice, the Weddell Sea certainly is high on the list for many polar adventurers. A small set of islands standing off to the east of the Antarctic Peninsula collectively form Antarctic Sound – the gateway to the Weddell Sea. With a well-deserved reputation as being an iceberg alley, many large tabular bergs escape the Weddell Sea through the Antarctic Sound, often making navigation difficult.  

Gigantic icebergs, the size of skyscrapers, dwarf your Zodiacs as you attempt to push through seemingly impenetrable sea ice to land on remote beaches where ancient fossils can be found. The wildlife you may encounter in the Weddell Sea region makes the attempt worthwhile. The abundant ice attracts ice seals such as crabeater, leopard and Weddell seals, which all breed and birth on sea ice. The Weddell Sea boasts a large Adélie penguin colony just outside of Antarctic Sound, some of which breed on the rocky slopes of a small volcanic island, where a large colony of Antarctic blue-eyed shags jostle for space with nest-building Wilson’s storm petrels.  

You generally make landings or Zodiac excursions twice a day. 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 favorite spots along the peninsula and in the Weddell Sea region.  

On thrilling Zodiac cruises or slicing a path through the maze of sea ice in your kayak, keep watch for chinstrap and gentoo penguins in and out of the water, as well as humpback, minke and orca whales. In the Weddell region, fossils are a reminder of a more temperate era – gastropods, large clams, and spiral-shaped ammonites, all turned to stone. Your camera is sure to get a solid workout during your time in the Weddell Sea. 

While ashore, aim to stretch your 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 can 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! 

Enjoy a final morning landing in the South Shetland Islands before you re-enter the Drake Passage for your return journey to South America.

With lectures and film presentations to complete your 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 you have seen and experienced. Tell your family, friends and colleagues about your journey to this magical place, advocating for its conservation and preservation so that they might one day visit the region to experience what you have been lucky to see and do here.

As you approach the tip of South America, your Captain may sail close to legendary Cape Horn, weather and time permitting.

During the early morning, cruise up the Beagle Channel, before quietly slipping into dock in Ushuaia, where you are free to disembark around 8.00 am. Farewell your expedition team and fellow passengers as you all continue your onward journeys, hopefully with a newfound sense of the immense power of nature.

Upon disembarkation, for those continuing their travels in the region, transportation to the hotel will be arranged exclusively for guests who have booked their accommodations through Aurora or for those staying in downtown areas near the port. Expeditioners departing on flights prior to 12:30 pm will be directly transferred to Ushuaia Airport, those with flights after 12:30 pm will have the opportunity to explore Ushuaia before an afternoon airport transfer, and the transfer procedures and details will be communicated onboard before disembarkation.

Note: At the conclusion of the voyage, it is not recommended to book flights departing Ushuaia prior to 12.00 pm on the day of disembarkation in case there are delays.