Your itinerary
Day 1
Start Punta Arenas, Chile
Your journey begins in Punta Arenas, a port city at the southern tip of Chile, on the north bank of the Strait of Magellan. Once a Chilean penal colony, Punta Arenas has transformed into a vibrant city offering you plenty of attractions including historic sites and museums. Explore the city by day and join us for an evening dinner to meet your fellow Antarctic adventurers.
Meals: Dinner
Day 2
Embarkation day
Today you board your chartered flight to Antarctica. The journey over the Drake Passage takes less than four hours, compared to two days by ship. Your first glimpse of Antarctica comes into view shortly before the aircraft descends towards King George Island, hope for clear skies so you can appreciate the vastness of this great continent! You have free time to photograph parts of the island and stretch your legs before joining the ship. Once aboard, enjoy your first trip in a Zodiac and begin your exploration of the Antarctic region.
Meals: Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Day 3
Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands
You’ll get a sense that you’ve arrived on a new planet during the start of your Antarctic voyage, as the pristine nature and dramatic environments are like nothing else on Earth. From the vessel, you can watch whales swim and feed in nutrient-rich waters and spot penguins frolicking in the water and jumping aboard ice floes. Just as amazing as the wildlife are the towering snow-covered mountains and massive glaciers of the Peninsula, which will be your playground for the next few days.
Every Zodiac excursion and landing presents new sights, sounds and smells. Some landings may be as relaxing as sitting on a beach, taking photographs of curious gentoo penguins. Other landings may provide exhilarating panoramic views of the Antarctic continent by hiking atop a hill. Perhaps you’ll catch a calving glacier crumbling into the sea at Petermann Island, or take a Zodiac cruise in search of fur and elephant seals around Pleneau Island.
Even common travel experiences like mailing a postcard take on an extra level of excitement in Antarctica. While weather and sea conditions determine which landings we can make, your expedition team ensures each day of your Antarctic adventure leaves a lasting impression.
Meals: Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Day 4
Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands
You’ll get a sense that you’ve arrived on a new planet during the start of your Antarctic voyage, as the pristine nature and dramatic environments are like nothing else on Earth. From the vessel, you can watch whales swim and feed in nutrient-rich waters and spot penguins frolicking in the water and jumping aboard ice floes. Just as amazing as the wildlife are the towering snow-covered mountains and massive glaciers of the Peninsula, which will be your playground for the next few days.
Every Zodiac excursion and landing presents new sights, sounds and smells. Some landings may be as relaxing as sitting on a beach, taking photographs of curious gentoo penguins. Other landings may provide exhilarating panoramic views of the Antarctic continent by hiking atop a hill. Perhaps you’ll catch a calving glacier crumbling into the sea at Petermann Island, or take a Zodiac cruise in search of fur and elephant seals around Pleneau Island.
Even common travel experiences like mailing a postcard take on an extra level of excitement in Antarctica. While weather and sea conditions determine which landings we can make, your expedition team ensures each day of your Antarctic adventure leaves a lasting impression.
Meals: Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Day 5
Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands
You’ll get a sense that you’ve arrived on a new planet during the start of your Antarctic voyage, as the pristine nature and dramatic environments are like nothing else on Earth. From the vessel, you can watch whales swim and feed in nutrient-rich waters and spot penguins frolicking in the water and jumping aboard ice floes. Just as amazing as the wildlife are the towering snow-covered mountains and massive glaciers of the Peninsula, which will be your playground for the next few days.
Every Zodiac excursion and landing presents new sights, sounds and smells. Some landings may be as relaxing as sitting on a beach, taking photographs of curious gentoo penguins. Other landings may provide exhilarating panoramic views of the Antarctic continent by hiking atop a hill. Perhaps you’ll catch a calving glacier crumbling into the sea at Petermann Island, or take a Zodiac cruise in search of fur and elephant seals around Pleneau Island.
Even common travel experiences like mailing a postcard take on an extra level of excitement in Antarctica. While weather and sea conditions determine which landings we can make, your expedition team ensures each day of your Antarctic adventure leaves a lasting impression.
Meals: Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Day 6
Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands
You’ll get a sense that you’ve arrived on a new planet during the start of your Antarctic voyage, as the pristine nature and dramatic environments are like nothing else on Earth. From the vessel, you can watch whales swim and feed in nutrient-rich waters and spot penguins frolicking in the water and jumping aboard ice floes. Just as amazing as the wildlife are the towering snow-covered mountains and massive glaciers of the Peninsula, which will be your playground for the next few days.
Every Zodiac excursion and landing presents new sights, sounds and smells. Some landings may be as relaxing as sitting on a beach, taking photographs of curious gentoo penguins. Other landings may provide exhilarating panoramic views of the Antarctic continent by hiking atop a hill. Perhaps you’ll catch a calving glacier crumbling into the sea at Petermann Island, or take a Zodiac cruise in search of fur and elephant seals around Pleneau Island.
Even common travel experiences like mailing a postcard take on an extra level of excitement in Antarctica. While weather and sea conditions determine which landings we can make, your expedition team ensures each day of your Antarctic adventure leaves a lasting impression.
Meals: Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Day 7
Crossing the Drake Passage to Ushuaia
A rite of passage for any Antarctic adventurer, crossing the Drake signals the end of your journey. No matter the sea conditions, you benefit from having developed your sea legs over the course of the previous four days. While the journey home has begun, your wildlife spotting continues. Your expedition team will be on deck and on the ship’s bridge to help you spot the majestic wandering albatross and a number of whale species, such as minke and humpback.
When you’re not looking at photos and reminiscing about the previous days, the expedition team concludes their series of engaging presentations on subjects such as marine biology, Polar history and glaciology.
Meals: Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Day 8
Crossing the Drake Passage to Ushuaia
A rite of passage for any Antarctic adventurer, crossing the Drake signals the end of your journey. No matter the sea conditions, you benefit from having developed your sea legs over the course of the previous four days. While the journey home has begun, your wildlife spotting continues. Your expedition team will be on deck and on the ship’s bridge to help you spot the majestic wandering albatross and a number of whale species, such as minke and humpback.
When you’re not looking at photos and reminiscing about the previous days, the expedition team concludes their series of engaging presentations on subjects such as marine biology, Polar history and glaciology.
Meals: Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Day 9
Disembark and overnight in Ushuaia, Argentina
After a final breakfast aboard the ship, say goodbye to your crew as we disembark in Ushuaia. We’ll transfer you to the hotel to check in and then you’ll have a chance to explore the town on your own to shop, sightsee and sample some Argentinian cuisine.
Meals: Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Day 10
End Ushuaia
After breakfast, you are welcome to continue your own travels or make your way to the Ushuaia airport for your homeward flights.
Meals: Breakfast
What’s included
What’s not included
Additional information
Food
All meals while on the ship are included.
Typical meals
The ship’s galley offers good-quality service and cuisine throughout, with excellent chefs preparing international menus, including vegetarian dishes. If there is one constant on board, it is that you’ll enjoy delicious meals. While meal times may change due to landings and wildlife sightings, you’ll always be served three well-prepared meals per day. Vegetarians and vegans can be well catered for on this adventure – please inform us before departure of any special dietary requests so our local team can be well prepared.
Breakfast: Buffet style – unlimited tea and coffee, a selection of fruit juices, hot options including bacon and eggs or omelettes, a selection of bread and toast and jam/honey/marmalade, fruit and cereal.
Lunch: Three-course set meal or the occasional buffet or barbecue.
Dinner: Three courses with a starter of soup, salad or anti-pasto, a choice of three mains with at least one vegetarian and one seafood option and a dessert of sweet pudding or ice cream or fruit, tea and coffee.
Drinks: Complimentary coffee, tea, cocoa and water stations are available around the clock, while soft drinks and juices are available during meals and when the bar is open—all included in the cost of your package. Enjoy complimentary select beer, wines and select cocktails during bar service hours and dinner as part of the “Raise a Glass and Stay Connected Free” program. Premium wines and champagne are available at extra cost and can be billed to your shipboard account. The well-stocked bars on the ship are open late morning, afternoon and evening, though hours may occasionally change to accommodate the expedition schedule.
Zodiac Cruises & Shore Landings on the Antarctic Peninsula
Explore iceberg-strewn bays by RIB as you join Zodiac cruises beneath blue-white cliffs and cathedral-like bergs. When conditions allow, you’ll step ashore on the Seventh Continent to wander pebble beaches and snow slopes while curious gentoo penguins totter past and seals doze on ice floes.
Guided by your expedition team, glide through wildlife-rich shallows and sculptural brash ice. Landings focus on safe encounters, interpretation and time to pause for photos and reflection amid the silence—broken only by the crack of distant ice and the splash of feeding whales.
Guided Hikes to Panoramic Lookouts
Walk with your guides to hike to panoramic lookouts above landing beaches, tracing wind-sculpted ridgelines for broad views of glaciers, mirror-bright coves and black-and-white rookeries below. Crunching snow underfoot and gulls wheeling overhead set the scene for unhurried photography and wildlife observation.
Interpretive stops bring the landscape to life—from penguin nesting habits to the mechanics of a calving glacier thunder. When conditions allow, routes reveal glacier-gouged channels such as the Lemaire Channel, where polished cliffs and drifting bergy bits frame some of Antarctica’s most cinematic vistas.
Expert-Led Presentations on Wildlife, History & Ice
Deepen your understanding in the lounge as you attend presentations on wildlife, history, glaciology and geology. From whale behavior to penguin adaptations, specialists unpack the forces shaping this frozen world and the life that thrives within it.
Between landings, meet your Expedition Team for lively Q&A and practical ID tips on seabirds, seals and whales. Stories of exploration—from Shackleton’s endurance to modern science—connect past and present, enriching each landing with context about the dynamic Antarctic Peninsula ecosystem.
Drake Passage Sailing & Seabird Watching to Ushuaia
Experience one of the world’s great ocean crossings as you sail the Drake Passage toward South America. From the open decks, scan for the majestic wandering albatross, prions and petrels surfing the updrafts, and keep watch for blows from humpback and minke whales.
Lectures and bridge commentary trace the meeting of currents at the Antarctic Convergence and the lore of Cape Horn waters. Whether the seas are gentle or lively, this storied route is a rite of passage that ties your expedition to centuries of Southern Ocean seamanship.
On-Deck Wildlife Watching with Naturalist Guidance
Spend unhurried time on the observation decks to scan the horizon with naturalists for porpoising penguins, surfacing whales and wheeling seabirds. Binoculars in hand, you’ll learn to read the sea—ripples, flocks and ice edges that hint at life below.
Guides point out blows of humpback and minke whales and seals hauled out on floes, while open-ocean birding reveals albatross and giant petrels on the wing. These informal sessions turn the ship itself into a moving hide, sharpening your eye for fleeting encounters between landings.
Sea Kayaking & Paddling Excursions (Weather Dependent)
Slip into the silence as you sea kayak among brash ice and bergy bits, tracing glacier-lined coves at a close-to-water perspective. On select departures, a guided paddling program offers small-group outings that feel immersive, serene and wildly photogenic.
Led by specialist guides, expect quiet strokes past sculpted ice and inquisitive seals while terns and skuas arc overhead. This is an optional experience at additional cost, capacity-controlled and bookable on tour, with departures and routes always subject to Antarctic conditions.
Polar Camping on the Ice (Select Departures)
Embrace the rare chance to camp on the Antarctic ice, bedding down in expedition equipment as the world falls quiet. The glow of austral twilight and distant ice creaks create a night of polar silence few ever experience.
Guides oversee setup and safety while you soak in the atmosphere and sky. This is an optional experience at additional cost, available on limited sailings and always weather dependent, offering a once-in-a-lifetime immersion in the wild heart of the continent.
Stand-Up Paddleboarding Session (When Available)
Gain a playful perspective as you stand-up paddleboard among bergy bits in sheltered coves. Stable boards and expert instruction make it accessible, delivering a close-to-water vantage on ice textures, seabirds and mirror-calm reflections.
Small groups launch only in ideal conditions, staying close to the Zodiac support team for comfort and safety. This is an optional experience at additional cost, bookable on tour and offered on select departures, with availability governed by Antarctic weather and sea state.
Antarctic Charter Flight to King George Island
Discover the White Continent from the air as you fly over the Drake Passage to the South Shetland Islands, watching cloud-breaks reveal gleaming pack ice and cobalt seas. Moments later, the runways of King George Island come into view—your first glimpse of Antarctica and an unforgettable sense of arrival at the end of the world.
Touching down amid a cluster of international research bases, you feel the scale and remoteness of this frontier. This unique air bridge replaces days at sea with an aerial vista of pack ice, sharpening anticipation for the expedition days ahead on the Peninsula.
