Antarctica

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Title

Antarctica - Beyond the Polar Circle - whale watching

Start – End

Tripcode

HDS31-26

Language

English speaking voyage

Ship

m/v Hondius

Embarkation / Disembarkation

Ushuaia - Ushuaia

Nights / Days

11 nights

Important

Diving is an optional activity. Experience with cold-water diving and dry-suit dives (at least 30) is a must!

More about

Antarctica cruises

Antarctic Circle cruises

Antarctic Peninsula cruises

South Shetland Islands cruises

Cabins & Prices

Group request For reservations with more than 15 guests you can contact us directly

Itinerary

PLEASE NOTE:

All itineraries are for guidance only. Programs may vary depending on ice, weather, and wildlife conditions. Landings are subject to site availabilities, permissions, and environmental concerns per IAATO regulations. Official sailing plans and landing slots are scheduled with IAATO prior to the start of the season, but the expedition leader determines the final plan. Flexibility is paramount for expedition cruises. The average cruising speed of our vessel is 10.5 knots.

Short description

This Polar Circle and Antarctic Peninsula cruise passes through waters travelled by Humpback, Minke and Fin whales. Anchoring in various spots around the region, the expedition offers the chance to dive in the iceberg-heavy waters.

Day 1: End of the world, start of a journey

Your voyage begins where the world drops off. Ushuaia, Argentina, reputed to be the southernmost city on the planet, is located on the far southern tip of South America. Starting in the afternoon, you embark from this small resort town on Tierra del Fuego, nicknamed “The End of the World,” and sail the mountain-fringed Beagle Channel for the remainder of the evening.

Day 2 - 3: Path of the polar explorers

Over the next two days on the Drake Passage, you enjoy some of the same experiences encountered by the great polar explorers who first charted these regions: cool salt breezes, rolling seas, maybe even a fin whale spouting up sea spray. After passing the Antarctic Convergence – Antarctica’s natural boundary, formed when north-flowing cold waters collide with warmer sub-Antarctic seas – you are in the circum-Antarctic upwelling zone. Not only does the marine life change, the avian life changes too. Wandering albatrosses, grey-headed albatrosses, black-browed albatrosses, light-mantled sooty albatrosses, cape pigeons, southern fulmars, Wilson’s storm petrels, blue petrels, and Antarctic petrels are a few of the birds you might see.

Day 4 - 9: Sights of late summer Antarctica

Options for Antarctic Peninsula activities are many, and no less great during the late summer. Humpback whales are prolific in this region, gorging themselves on krill before their migration north. The penguin chicks are also fledging, stirring up activity on the beaches while sleek leopard seals lie in wait, poised to attack the less fortunate ones.

Sites for your Antarctic adventures may include:

Livingston Island – Here you find a wide variety of gentoo and chinstrap penguins on Hannah Point, as well as southern giant petrels and elephant seals hauling out onto the beach.

Deception Island – Actually a subducted crater, this island opens into the sea and creates a natural harbor for the ship. An abandoned whaling station, and multiple bird species – cape petrels, kelp gulls, brown and south polar skuas, and Antarctic terns – can be seen here. Wilson’s storm petrels and black-bellied storm petrels also nest in the ruins of the whaling station in Whalers Bay.

Cuverville Island – A small precipitous island nestled between the mountains of the Antarctic Peninsula and Rongé Island, Cuverville houses a large colony of gentoo penguins and breeding pairs of brown skuas.

Neko Harbour – An epic landscape of mammoth glaciers and endless wind-carved snow, Neko Harbour offers opportunities for a Zodiac cruise and landing that afford the closest views of the surrounding alpine peaks. You might also be able to set foot on the continent here.

Paradise Bay – You could take a Zodiac cruise in these sprawling, ice-flecked waters, where you have a good chance of seeing humpback and minke whales.

Pléneau & Petermann Islands – If the ice allows it, you may sail through the Lemaire Channel in search of Adélie penguins and blue-eyed shags. There’s also a good chance you’ll encounter humpback and minke whales as well as leopard seals.

Crystal Sound – Your journey takes you south along the Argentine Islands to this ice-packed body of water, and from here across the Polar Circle in the morning.

Detaille Island – You may make a landing at an abandoned British research station here, taking in the island’s lofty mountains and imposing glaciers.

Fish Islands – Further north you encounter one of the southernmost Adélie penguin and blue-eyed shag colonies in the Antarctic Peninsula.

Melchior Islands – These islands offer a beautiful landscape rich with icebergs. Leopard seals, crabeater seals, and whales are found here, and there are excellent opportunities for kayaking and diving.

Conditions on the Drake Passage determine the exact time of departure.

Day 10 - 11: Familiar seas, familiar friends

Your return voyage is far from lonely. While crossing the Drake, you’re again greeted by the vast array of seabirds remembered from the passage south. But they seem a little more familiar to you now, and you to them.

Day 12: There and back again

Every adventure, no matter how grand, must eventually come to an end. It’s now time to disembark in Ushuaia, but with memories that will accompany you wherever your next adventure lies.

Included in this voyage

Voyage aboard the indicated vessel as indicated in the itinerary
All meals throughout the voyage aboard the ship including snacks, coffee and tea.
All shore excursions and activities throughout the voyage by Zodiac.
Program of lectures by noted naturalists and leadership by experienced expedition staff.
Free use of rubber boots and snowshoes.
Luggage transfer from pick-up point to the vessel on the day of embarkation, in Ushuaia.
Pre-scheduled group transfer from the vessel to the airport in Ushuaia (directly after disembarkation).
All miscellaneous service taxes and port charges throughout the programme.
Comprehensive pre-departure material.

Excluded from this voyage

Any airfare, whether on scheduled or charter flights
Pre- and post- land arrangements.
Passport and visa expenses.
Government arrival and departure taxes.
Meals ashore.
Baggage, cancellation and personal insurance (which is strongly recommended).
Excess baggage charges and all items of a personal nature such as laundry, bar, beverage charges and telecommunication charges.
The customary gratuity at the end of the voyages for stewards and other service personnel aboard (guidelines will be provided).

Highlights you might experience

Polar Diving

Visiting the polar regions is a fantastic adventure, but just below the waves waits an extraordinary other world for you to experience and explore.

Photography Workshop

Sharpen your photography skills in some of the planet’s most picturesque places

Zodiac Cruising & Shore Program

Bird Watching

Enjoy birding together with fellow birders and visit remote places with rare bird-species.

Deception Island

A volcanic island in the South Shetlands, north of the Antarctic Peninsula

Adelie Penguin

These gallant-fighting, deep-diving namesakes of the French-claimed Antarctic Adélie Land are among the four penguin species on mainland Antarctica

Chinstrap Penguin

Though armed with the "stonebreaker" nickname and a quarrelsome reputation, these gentoo relatives are fading from the Antarctic – probably due to climate change

Gentoo Penguin

These hygienic divers are the only penguin species whose population is currently increasing along the Antarctic Peninsula

Humpback Whale

Also known as "great-winged newfoundlanders" for their wing-like flippers, these cetaceans earned their more contemporary name by the way they bow their backs before a dive

Killer Whale

Technically a kind of dolphin, orcas were once thought to appear as whales in the summer and wolves in the winter

Leopard Seal

These "slender-clawed water workers" spend much of their lives submerged, though it's known they are the only member of their family to consume other seals

Minke Whale

Though the smallest of the fin whales, these migrating mammals can let out a cry as loud as a plane taking off

m/v Hondius

Hondius is the world’s first-registered Polar Class 6 vessel and was built from the ground up for expedition cruising.

Full ship info »

163 photos of the ship
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Activities you can participate in

Photo Workshop

FREE

Participants with a special interest in photography will bring their personal photo equipment. The workshop must be pre-booked prior to departure.

Learn more

Diving

on request

You must be advanced and experienced in dry suit and cold water diving. Diving is subject to local ice and weather conditions. Group size: minimum 8 divers.

Learn more

Cabins & Prices

Show description

Quadruple Porthole

Cabin size between 15,3 m² and 16 m²
2 portholes
2 upper & lower berths
Small sofa
Private shower & toilet
Flatscreen TV
Desk & chair
Telephone and WiFi (supplemented)
Hair dryer
Cabinet
Safe deposit box
Wardrobe
This cabin is suitable for families traveling with children, or passengers who do not require a twin or more luxurious cabin

Complete cabin

32800 USD

Price for the complete cabin, fully occupied.

Sharing berth

8200 USD

Share your cabin with others for the best price.

Show description

Triple Porthole

Cabin size between 15,9 m² and 16 m²
2 portholes
1 upper berth & 2 lower berths
Small sofa
Private shower & toilet
Flatscreen TV
Desk & chair
Telephone and WiFi (supplemented)
Hair dryer
Cabinet
Safe deposit box
Wardrobe
This cabin is suitable for families traveling with children, or passengers who do not require a twin or more luxurious cabin

Complete cabin

27900 USD

Price for the complete cabin, fully occupied.

Sharing berth

9300 USD

Share your cabin with others for the best price.

Show description

Twin Porthole

Cabin size between 13,3 m² and 16 m²
2 portholes
2 single beds
Small sofa
Private shower & toilet
Flatscreen TV
Desk & chair
Telephone and WiFi (supplemented)
Hair dryer
Cabinet
Safe deposit box
Wardrobe
Please note that all cabins will not necessarily have the same layout and surface area, nor will they be identical to the examples used in the photos

Complete cabin

20300 USD

Price for the complete cabin, fully occupied.

Single cabin

17255 USD

Price for the complete cabin occupied by 1 person (1.7x the shared rate).

Sharing berth

10150 USD

Share your cabin with others for the best price.

More photos

Show description

Twin Window

Cabin size between 12,1 m² and 14,3 m²
1 window
2 single beds
Small sofa
Private shower & toilet
Flatscreen TV
Desk & chair
Telephone and WiFi (supplemented)
Hair dryer
Cabinet
Safe deposit box
Wardrobe
Please be aware that the view from some windows might be partially obstructed due to the design requirements of the ship
Please note that all cabins will not necessarily have the same layout and surface area, nor will they be identical to the examples used in the photos