Adventure Tourism in Antarctica

13 days 12 nights

Day 1 - Departure from the port of Ushuaia

The embarkation is done in the afternoon, in the port of Ushuaia, capital of Tierra del Fuego (Argentina), the southernmost city in the world, situated on the shores of the Beagle Channel. The boat slowly will move away from the coast, showing the picturesque bay and its urban panorama. The navigation will be overnight, sailing towards the Drake Passage.

Day 2 to 3 - Sailing through the Drake Passage towards Peninsula

Throughout two days, the ship will move through the Drake Passage, a short and stirred sea route between the American continent and the Antarctic Peninsula. When we get to the Antarctic Convergence, a natural barrier where warm currents from the north mix with cold water from the south determining a wide biodiversity, we will be able to appreciate a numerous sub-Antarctic species.

In this area we can see the magnificent wandering albatross, the largest bird that flies over these waters and can measure up to 3.5m; the gray-headed albatross, light-mantled, the dark and black-browed species, pigeons and cape petrels Wilson, blue and also the southern Antarctic fulmar or silver petrel. We cannot avoid mentioning the Gentoo penguins and chinstrap. Near the South Shetland Islands, we can see the first icebergs indicating the arrival to Antarctica. In the afternoon of the third day we will be able to see the South Shetland Islands, which are punished by the wind and are usually hidden by the fog. We can observe a variety of flora, such as mosses, lichens and flowering herbs.

Day 4 to 10 - In Antarctica

In Antarctica During these days we will sail upon the High Antarctic, leaving in the way the Melchior Islands and Schollaert Channel between Brabant and Anvers Island. We will sail up the channel, where we will stop the ship in this area to do some adventure activities. We will find the sheltered waters of Wiencke Island that is the ideal scenario to perform the propose activities. In this beautiful alpine environment we can do trekking around the area, sail with the zodiac or kayak. At Walkers we can snowshoes walking on the edge of the coast and also it is possible to climb the Monte Jabet of 540 meters. The goal is to camp for 2 nights and use them to accomplish many activities of Antarctic adventure.

We can also make a stop in Jougla to see penguins Gentoo, shags, leopard seals, crabeater seals and whales. We will follow the navigation path through the Lemaire Channel to reach the Booth, Pleneau or Petermann Islands, where we can sight another species of penguins such as Adelie penguins. This area is the habitat of humpback whales and minke whales. We can camp again to continue with our activities in Neko Harbor, enjoying a unique landscape with a giant glacier, we will do kayak, hikes and sightseeing in zodiac. Mountaineering enthusiasts can climb the glacier. If we are not able to stop in Neko Harbor we will stop in Paradise Bay. We will sail again passing by Melchior Islands to reach the open sea approaching the Drake Passage, where we will see a large variety of seabirds along the way.

Some of the sites you can visit include:

• Neumayer Channel The ship is positioned on the Neumayer Canal to begin the different activities of the base camp, taking advantage of the calm waters that surround Wiencke Island. We enjoy this alpine environment from the Zodiac boats or on kayak trips, or by land with a snowshoe trekking or mountaineering of little difficulty. It is inevitable that we always depend on the weather conditions to carry out the recently mentioned activities.
• Puerto Neko The landscape takes us, the fantastic snow-covered glaciers that look like carved by the wind are truly epic. In Puerto Neko you can navigate in Zodiac boats to disembark near the alpine peaks.
• Paradise Bay In this bay we can sail in the Zodiac boats and have a good chance of observing humpback whales and Minke whales.
• Pléneau & Peterman Islands If the Lemaire channel is free of ice, depending on the weather conditions we will navigate through this channel to witness Adelia penguins, blue-eyed cormorants and leopard seals. As in Paradise Bay, on these islands you can see humpback whales and Minke.
• Port Lockroy Once we cross the Neumayer channel, we visit the historic english base, which is currently a museum and works as a postal mail, located on Goudier Island. It is contemplated to carry out activities in the vicinity of the island, in Punta Jougla, to spot Papua penguins and blue-eyed cormorants. This area is ideal for kayaking and also for camping, and if conditions permit us you can go trekking with snowshoes along the coast of the island.
• Errera Channel Possible landing sites in this area include the Danco and Cuverville islands, but also the lesser known (though just as picturesque) Orne Island and Georges Point on Rongé Island. On Danco Island we can see the Papua penguins that nest in this area, but they are not alone, we also see Weddell seals and crabs that inhabit the island.entury in 1915. We see more marine fauna in the vicinity of the Melchior Islands, in a landscape full of icebergs, to spot whales, leopard seals and crabs.

Day 11 to 12 - Sailing back

While the ship is heading to the Drake Passage in our way back to the American continent we will sight various species of birds such as petrels, albatrosses, terns and cormorants flew over the ship.

Day 13 - Arrival at the Port of Ushuaia

We arrive at Ushuaia with the dawn of the last day of sailing and after breakfast we disembark in the port zone that is in the middle of the city.

Note: The detailed itinerary is for reference only, since the exact route, destinations and programs can be modified in order to get the best climatic advantages, watching wildlife and ice conditions present in the zone. All changes are determined by the captain and the expedition leader to guarantee the maximum benefit and take advantage of the result of the trip. Flexibility is the key; the program will be posted daily and distributed to all passengers on board.