Day 1-2: UK - Buenos Aires
You'll depart from London for an overnight flight to Buenos Aires. The next day, you'll be transferred to your hotel where you can relax before exploring, at your own pace, this beautiful cosmopolitan city bursting with culture and interesting sights.
Day 3: Buenos Aires - Ushuaia
On your third day you’ll take a domestic flight to Ushuaia, known as the southernmost city in the world. Upon your arrival, you’ll be transferred to your hotel where you can take the time to settle down before exploring the city at your own pace, taking advantage of a variety of options for dining and souvenir shopping in the city centre.
Day 4: Embarkation in Ushuaia
The following afternoon, you’ll be transferred to the pier where the expedition team will greet you before boarding the M/V Sea Spirit. Take time to explore the ship and make yourself comfortable in what will be your home during the incredible adventure ahead. You’ll sail towards true wilderness through the Beagle Channel on your first evening on board the ship.
Day 5: South Atlantic Ocean
After navigating through the Beagle Channel and the islands of Tierra del Fuego, you’ll head northeast to the Falkland Islands. On your way, you can spot marine mammals including dolphins and whales rising from the waters.
Day 6-7: Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are filled with abundant wildlife, from large colonies of penguins and albatrosses to marine species including fur and elephant seals – they can be spotted on sandy beaches while the isolated outer islands are covered with formidable birdlife, including many penguins waddling around these small islands.
Stanley, the capital of the Falkland Islands, will also be visited. This charmingly British town is fairly small, so everything can be explored on foot. You can walk along the waterfront promenade and visit places like the Falkland Islands Museum and the cathedral with its impressive whalebone arch just outside.
Day 8-9: Southern Ocean
The ship will continue on this incredible voyage, to South Georgia – passing the seabird-covered pinnacles known as Shag Rocks and crossing the Antarctic Convergence where cold waters from Antarctica and warm waters from the oceans meet. You’ll receive lectures and presentations from the expedition team to prepare you for what lies ahead, before your arrival in South Georgia.
Day 10-14: South Georgia Island
The island of South Georgia is truly fascinating – a pristine wilderness and unmatched paradise for wildlife viewing opportunities. Depending on weather and ice conditions, the captain and his team will take you to places such as Salisbury Plain and St Andrews Bay, where over 100,000 elephant seals and about 3 million fur seals are roaming freely. But that’s not all – countless penguins including king and macaroni penguins cover almost every inch of this vast area. This experience is sure to be one of the highlights of the trip.
Historically, a few whaling stations were operating in South Georgia, with Grytviken being the largest one. It is now home to the South Georgia Museum and is also the final resting place of the legendary polar explorer, Ernest Shackleton.
Day 15-16: Southern Ocean
Following our expedition to South Georgia, you’ll head southwest to the Great White Continent. On your way you can spot seabirds, including albatrosses – which are commonly seen in this area – and which you can admire flying over your head from the open decks.
Day 17-20: South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula
The exact places you’ll visit in the icy continent are completely dependent on weather and ice conditions, which is what makes Antarctica so unique. The captain will decide which routes to take and will adjust the specific itinerary accordingly.
The region of Antarctica represents some of the best wildlife and most impressive scenery on Earth – you will feel like you are in another world! The ship will navigate through protected bays and narrow channels, all surrounded by immense glaciers and majestic mountain peaks covered in permanent snow. Icebergs drifting along the coastline come in every size and shape possible, and the waters are filled with incredible wildlife including the magnificent humpback whale and various seal species. But the trip wouldn’t be fully complete without taking some time to enjoy watching the penguins. Foraging at sea and waddling on the shores, they form enormous nesting colonies that pepper the whole of Antarctica's landscape.
Your days in the icy continent will be filled with memorable excursions, great presentations from the expert guides and plenty of opportunities to admire wildlife at its best. The South Shetlands are the northernmost islands in Antarctica and likely to be your first sighting of land. Many other places will be visited, such as Deception Island, Lemaire Channel, Gerlach Strait or even whaling and research stations where many nationalities live together.
Day 11-12: Back across the Drake Passage
Enriched with the breathtaking experiences of the past few days, you will start the journey back north towards civilisation. Enjoy the free time to relax, share your experiences with your fellow travellers and gather one last time to celebrate the end of the voyage with a farewell dinner.
Day 13: Disembarkation Ushuaia - Buenos Aires
You will disembark the M/V Sea Spirit after breakfast and say farewell to the crew and your fellow travellers. A transfer will be provided to the airport where you'll fly to Buenos Aires and will stay for one more night in this beautiful and vibrant city.
Day 14-15: Buenos Aires - UK
The next day, you will be transferred to the airport and will catch your overnight flight back to the UK.