Falklands, South Georgia & Antarctica

After arriving at the airport, transfer to a partnered hotel in Ushuaia. Free time is available to rest or explore the city before the expedition begins.

An optional evening briefing provides information about the voyage and a chance to meet other travelers.

Spend the morning at the hotel, visiting museums, or exploring Ushuaia before the mid-afternoon transfer to the ship. After boarding, the expedition team and ship staff assist with check-in and provide a safety and orientation briefing, followed by the captain’s welcome dinner. The voyage to Antarctica begins afterward.

As you sail south, important briefings on environmental regulations and expedition safety are held, and you won’t want to miss the scientific and environmental experts as they begin their deeply knowledgeable and always entertaining talks about the wildlife, history, and geology of the areas you are exploring.

You’ll be exploring some of the westernmost settled outposts in the Falklands/Malvinas, a remote South Atlantic archipelago renowned for its rugged terrain and cliff-lined coast. As you stretch your legs along the farmland and beaches, you’ll have an opportunity to visit Albatross and penguin colonies. Look for Rockhopper, King and Magellanic penguin rookeries.

The archipelago’s largest island, Stanley, is a lively hub of activity nestled in a sheltered harbor. Here, the Falklands Islands Museum has fascinating exhibits devoted to maritime exploration, natural history, and the 1982 Falklands War. You’ll likely visit Gypsy Cove, part of Cape Pembroke peninsula, a National Nature Preserve. Magellanic penguins, also known as Jackass penguins for the braying sound they make, breed here, nesting in underground burrows. Other native bird species include Black-Crowned Night herons, Long-Tailed meadowlarks, Two-Banded plovers, and Upland and Kelp geese. Nearby Ordinance Point is the final resting place for several World War II guns.

Things continue ramping up with plenty of birdlife sightings as you make your way east across the Antarctic Convergence and officially enter Antarctic waters. See if you can identify the world’s largest bird, the Wandering albatross. From soaring giants like the Southern Giant petrel to the tiny Wilson’s Storm petrel, a range of impressive bird species hitch a ride on the updrafts created by ocean swells and waves. And be on the lookout for whale blows and your very first iceberg sighting.

South Georgia is often referred to as the ‘Serengeti of the Southern Ocean’ and it’s easy to see why as you take in tens of millions (not a typo!) of breeding penguins, seals, and seabirds. Breathtaking mountain scenery, majestically sculpted icebergs, glaciers in every direction, and a rich historical tapestry are all here to complement the incredible array of wildlife on view as you travel down South Georgia's leeward coast. Visit the historic Grytviken whaling station, featuring the tiny graveyard where the great Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton is buried.

Heading farther south, continue your informative presentations and wildlife spotting as the icebergs become bigger and more plentiful.

Here you’ll explore any number of picturesque bays and famed harbors, maneuvering through iceberg-rich channels as you travel alongside an array of wildlife. There are opportunities to stop at several active scientific bases and historic landing sites as you take in the wide range of penguin species, seals, and whales along the rugged coastlines and in the sea.

Leave this magical place and make your way north, once again heading across the Antarctic Convergence and the Drake Passage. Have one last hurrah as you celebrate the conclusion of your expedition with a special slideshow and a final meal together.

With huge smiles on weary, content faces, disembark in the morning, letting you catch a flight to Buenos Aires or stay in Ushuaia for more sights and adventure.