Wild Antarctica in the Weddell Sea
aboard the M/V Greg Mortimer or the M/V Sylvia Earle

12 days - 11 nuits

Wildlife in Antarctica

Day 1 - Ushuaia

Reception at the airport in the city of Ushuaia and transfer to the hotel. This day you must remove the labels from your luggage at the hotel assigned by the shipping company and confirm if you wish to navigate the Beagle Channel and Los Lobos Island in tomorrow. A representative of the shipping company will give details of the shipment.

Day 2 - Boarding and departure from the port of Ushuaia, after sailing through the Beagle Channel.

This morning, enjoy a pleasant breakfast at the hotel, then we will pick you up at the hotel at noon to go sailing on the Beagle Channel, visiting the Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse (as long as you have confirmed the day before in the lobby of the hotel). First check that your cabin luggage is properly labeled with your name and cabin number. Once checked, leave it at the hotel reception, so that it can be transferred to the corresponding cabin on the boat. Otherwise, enjoy the entire morning free in Ushuaia. In that case around 3:45pm they will pick you up from the hotel lobby to transfer you to the port dock to board. During the navigation through the Beagle Channel we will cross the Bridges Archipelago, we will slow down to observe colonies of sea lions and imperial cormorants sunbathing on the rocky outcrops, while seagulls, rock cormorants, skuas, petrels, albatrosses are often sighted. and cauquenes.

Once boarded in the afternoon, the M/V Greg Mortimer begins its journey, we will meet on the deck to begin our adventure with spectacular views of Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego. You will have time to settle into her cabin before our important briefings. Tonight, she will meet her fellow expedition members and crew at a welcome dinner to celebrate the start of an exciting Antarctic adventure. Breakfast and dinner included. Lunch is on your own.

Day 3 to 4 - Drake Passage, arriving at the South Shetland Islands

As we begin the crossing of the Drake Passage, we make the most of our time to get comfortable with the movements of the sea. Our expedition team prepares you for our first landing with important wildlife guidelines and biosafety procedures and begins our lecture program to help you learn more about the history, wildlife and environment of Antarctica. Our wildlife experiences begin when we enjoy observing and photographing the many seabirds, including majestic albatrosses and giant petrels that follow us. They rise and fall skillfully, using the air currents created by the ship to gain momentum.

On the fourth day we approach the South Shetland Islands and the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, the excitement is palpable with each of the meeting points at one of the observation platforms, on the horizon we see the first icebergs. The ocean takes on a new perspective once we 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 stay with you for a lifetime. Weather permitting, we can attempt our first landing in Antarctica in the late afternoon.

Day 5 to 9 - Antarctic Peninsula & Weddell Sea

It is almost impossible to describe the feeling of arriving in Antarctica. Discovering your first iceberg and taking a deep breath of the world's freshest air is an experience that will stay with you forever. Once we arrive, we will be able to explore the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands, and we will have a wealth of options available. Because we are so far south we will have approximately 18-24 hours of daylight and the days can be as busy as you like. Their experienced expedition team, who have made countless trips to this area, will use their experience to design your trip day by day, choosing the best options based on the prevailing weather, ice conditions and wildlife opportunities. We generally carry out Zodiac landings or excursions twice a day. You'll want to bundle up before joining the Zodiac boats along spectacular ice cliffs or among stranded icebergs, keeping an eye out for whales, seals, and porpoise penguins. The zodiacs will also transport you from the ship to land, where you can visit penguin colonies, discover historic cabins and explore some of our favorite places along the peninsula.

While on land, our goal is to stretch our legs, strolling along pebble beaches or perhaps climbing snow-covered ridges to viewpoints with mountains towering above our heads and ice-flecked oceans below. If you have chosen an optional activity, you will have the option to do it whenever conditions allow, and of course polar diving enthusiasts will have the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in polar waters, conditions permitting! In addition to Zodiac boats and shore excursions, we can cruise by boat through some of the spectacular narrow straits that separate the coastal islands from the mainland, or stop in picturesque bays to watch whales traveling or feeding. This is a great time to enjoy the observation room or head to the bridge for uninterrupted views of Antarctica in all its glory. Listen for the crunch and deep rumble of the glaciers as they make their way from the summit to the sea. Take a quiet moment to experience the wonder of this incredible white continent.

Remembering the story of where Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship, the Endurance, became trapped in formidable sea ice, the Weddell Sea is certainly high on the list of many polar adventurers. A small group of islands lying east of the Antarctic Peninsula collectively form the Antarctic Strait, the gateway to the Weddell Sea. With a well-deserved reputation for being an iceberg alley where large icebergs try to escape from the Weddell Sea through the Antarctic Strait, often making navigation difficult. However, the rewards can be great. The fossils are a reminder of a more temperate era: gastropods, large clams and spiral-shaped ammonites, all turned to stone. We hope to experience memorable wildlife encounters, as Weddell boasts a large colony of Adelie penguins just outside the Antarctic Strait, some of which breed on the rocky slopes of a small volcanic island, where a large colony of Antarctic cormorants Blue-eyed birds fight for space with nest-building Wilson's petrels. On exciting Zodiac excursions or carving a path through the sea ice maze in your kayak, keep an eye out for chinstrap and gentoo penguins in and out of the water, as well as humpback, minke and orca whales. Your camera will surely get a good workout during your time in the Weddell Sea.

Day 10 to 11 - Returning through Drake Passage

On the morning of the 10th we will make our last landing in the South Shetland Islands and then begin our return to the American continent entering the Drake Passage. Enjoy lectures and film presentations to complete our Antarctic experience. As we approach South America, exceptionally our Captain will be able to sail close to the legendary Cape Horn, weather and weather permitting.

Day 12 - Ushuaia

During the early morning, we sail along the Beagle Channel, before disembarking at the Ushuaia dock, around 8:00 am. Farewell to your expedition team and traveling companions as we all continue on our future journeys, hopefully with a new sense of the immense power of nature. Upon disembarking, passengers on flights departing before 2:00 p.m. will be transferred directly to Ushuaia airport, while those lucky enough to continue their journey in this spectacular region of the world will be transferred to their accommodation in Ushuaia after journey. Passengers flying after 2pm will have time to explore Ushuaia, before an afternoon airport transfer, details of which will be provided on board prior to disembarkation. At the end of the trip, we do not recommend booking flights departing Ushuaia before 12:00 p.m. of the day of disembarkation in case of delays.

Note: Please note that all our travel plans are subject to weather conditions and landings cannot always be guaranteed. Traveling to Antarctica is flexible and no trip is ever the same, so the activities detailed in the itinerary are for reference only.