Antarctica

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Title

Antarctica - Whale watching discovery and learning voyage

Start – End

Tripcode

OTL30-27

Language

English speaking voyage

Ship

m/v Ortelius

Embarkation / Disembarkation

Ushuaia - Ushuaia

Nights / Days

10 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 Peninsula 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 Antarctic Peninsula cruise delivers you into a landscape of rugged rock, pure white snow, and a fantastic variety of wildlife. Come say hello to whales, seals, and penguins.

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 – 8: Entering Antarctica

Gray stone peaks sketched with snow, towers of broken blue-white ice, and dramatically different wildlife below and above. You first pass the snow-capped Melchior Islands and Schollaert Channel, sailing between Brabant and Anvers Islands.

Sites you may visit include:

Danco Island – Activities here may focus on the gentoo penguins nesting on the island, in addition to the Weddell and crabeater seals that can be found nearby.

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.

Paradise Bay – You may be able to take a Zodiac cruise in these sprawling, ice-flecked waters, where there’s a good chance you’ll encounter humpback and minke whales.

Pléneau & Petermann Islands – If the ice allows it, you could sail through the Lemaire Channel in search of humpback and minke whales, as well as leopard seals.

Port Lockroy – After sailing through the Neumayer Channel, you may get a chance to visit the former British research station – now a museum and post office – of Port Lockroy on Goudier Island. You may also be able to partake in activities around Jougla Point, meeting gentoo penguins and blue-eyed shags.

At the nearby sites, such as Damoy Point there may be the opportunity for snowshoeing to the old ski-way, this is also one of our favourite camping sites.

Wilhelmina Bay & Guvernøren – This is a great place to spot humpback whales. You also may embark on a Zodiac cruise ending at the ghostly wreck of the Guvernøren, a whaling vessel that caught fire here in 1915. Around the Melchior Islands, amid a frozen landscape peopled with icebergs, you may encounter even more whales, leopard seals, and crabeater seals.

Charlotte Bay - We might encounter a variety of wildlife, including gentoo penguins, Weddell seals and possibly some migrating whale species such as humpback whales or minke whales.

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

Day 9 - 10: 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 11: 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.

Whale safari

One of the greatest sources of joy and wonder found on our cruises is when we make contact with the gentle giants of the seas, the whales.

Pléneau Island

Petermann Island

Located just south of the Lemaire Channel, Petermann Island is a stony and partially glaciated landmass known for its Adélie penguins

Paradise Bay

A breathtakingly beautiful bay offering classic views of colossal ice formations and iconic Antarctic wildlife

Lemaire Channel

A classic route for our expeditions to Antarctica, this iconic waterway serves as the gateway to the southern Antarctic Peninsula

Neko Harbour

A pleasant beach in Antarctica’s larger Andvord Bay, Neko Harbour is a scenic landing site that offers great views of gentoo penguins and a nearby glacier

Wilhelmina Bay

Between the glacial Gerlache Strait and the west coast of Graham Land lies Wilhelmina Bay, its expansive waters scattered with islands and icebergs

m/v Ortelius

The ice-strengthened Ortelius is thoroughly outfitted for polar exploration and, when necessary, helicopter flights.

Full ship info »

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Activities you can participate in

Diving

880 USD 24 places left

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.

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