Polar Circle Quest

In the afternoon, board the MV Ushuaia and meet your expedition team. Once comfortably settled in your cabin, enjoy a welcome cocktail as you cruise through the spectacular Beagle Channel and onward through the picturesque Mackinlay Pass.

The Drake Passage, named after the famed explorer Sir Francis Drake who navigated these waters in 1578, is significant for marking the Antarctic Convergence—a natural boundary where cold polar waters dip beneath warmer northern seas. This unique mixing generates a surge of nutrients that fuels the rich biodiversity found here. The passage also represents the northernmost range for several Antarctic seabird species. While crossing, Antarpply Expeditions' lecturers to join you on deck to help spot and identify a remarkable array of seabirds, including numerous albatrosses that often glide behind the ship.

Thanks to the USHUAIA's open bridge policy, you can join the ship’s officers on the bridge to learn about navigation, watch for whales, and take in sweeping ocean views. A full line-up of lectures is also available. As icebergs and snow-capped peaks appear on the horizon, you'll know you've arrived at the South Shetland Islands—a collection of twenty islands and islets first discovered in February 1819 by Captain William Smith aboard the brig Williams. If conditions in the Drake Passage are favorable, the lecturers and naturalists can accompany you ashore on Day 3, where you’ll experience your first up-close encounters with penguins and seals.

Exquisite beauty and pristine landscapes are waiting for you on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula. Myriads of icebergs with different shades and shapes are floating free in the waterways around the continent. The Antarctic Peninsula's remarkable history also provides you with a type of excitement often only associated with the early explorers. You have plenty of time to explore its amazing scenery and a wide variety of wildlife. Apart from Adélie, Gentoo and Chinstrap Penguins and other seabirds you are likely to encounter Weddell, crabeater, fur and leopard seals as well as Minke whales and orcas at close range. At this time of year it is also very likely to encounter big cetaceans, such as humpback, Finn and Sei whales in the area.

The hope to navigate some of the most beautiful waterways the area has to offer, such as: the Gerlache Strait, Errera Channel, Neumayer Channel and the extremely narrow Lemaire Channel. Possible landing sites may include: Paradise Bay, which is perhaps the most aptly named place in the world with its impressive glacial fronts and mountains, Cuverville Island, home of the biggest Gentoo Penguin colony in the Peninsula surrounded by glaciers and castellated icebergs, and the British Museum and Post office Port Lockroy.

As further exploration leads you far South of the Lemaire Channel in quest of the Polar Circle, you might also visit the Ukrainian Station Vernadsky, the former British base Faradey, where the ozone hole was first spotted, the rugged Yalour Islands and south of the Polar Circle Detaille Island.

On your way North the plan to explore the South Shetland Islands. The volcanic island group is a haven for wildlife. Vast penguin rookeries and seals hauling out on the shorelines make every day spent here unforgettable. Sailing through the narrow passage into the flooded caldera of Deception Island is truly amazing, so is visiting the crescent shaped island Half Moon, home to Chinstrap Penguins in breathtaking surroundings.

Leave Antarctica and head north across the Drake Passage. Join the lecturers and naturalists on deck as you search for seabirds and whales and enjoy some final lectures. Take the chance to relax and reflect on the fascinating adventures of the past days on the way back to Ushuaia.

Arrive at the port of Ushuaia in the early morning and disembark after breakfast.