Day 1: Ushuaia
Arrive Ushuaia. Hotel check-in. Evening welcome briefing with your expedition team. Overnight Ushuaia.
Day 2: Embarkation
Afternoon embarkation. Sail the Beagle Channel past the lighthouse at the end of the world. Welcome dinner. Overnight at sea.
Days 3-4: At Sea — Southern Ocean
Sail east across the Southern Ocean toward the Falkland Islands. Pelagic seabirds—wandering albatross, royal albatross, black-browed albatross—follow the ship. Lectures introduce Falklands history, geology, and wildlife. Overnight at sea.
Days 5-6: Falkland Islands — Penguins & Port Stanley
The Falklands are windswept, treeless, and teeming with wildlife. Two days exploring the western islands.
Day 5: Land at West Point or Carcass Island. Walk through tussock grass to colonies of rockhopper penguins—the punk-rockers of the penguin world with their spiky yellow crests. Black-browed albatross nest on the cliffs above. Magellanic penguins peek from their burrows. Afternoon Zodiac cruise among Commerson’s dolphins, black-and-white torpedoes that ride the bow wake.
Day 6: Visit Port Stanley, the Falklands’ charming capital. Walk the waterfront past brightly painted corrugated-iron houses. Visit the 1982 war memorial and the excellent Falkland Islands Museum. Afternoon: gentoo penguin colonies at Gypsy Cove. Evening sail east toward South Georgia. Overnight at sea.
Days 7-8: At Sea — Toward South Georgia
Two days sailing across the Scotia Sea. The wildlife intensifies: more albatross species, Antarctic prions in flocks of thousands, and the first icebergs appear—massive tabular bergs calved from the Antarctic ice shelves. Lectures: Shackleton’s Endurance expedition, the remarkable story of his 800-mile open boat journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia. Prepare for the wildlife spectacle to come.
Days 9-12: South Georgia — The Serengeti of the Southern Ocean (4 days)
Four extraordinary days on South Georgia, a 170-kilometer crescent of glacier-draped mountains rising straight from the sea. Sir David Attenborough called it ‘the most staggering wildlife spectacle on Earth.’
Day 9 — Grytviken: Land at the abandoned whaling station of Grytviken, a haunting ghost town of rusting boilers and harpoon guns being slowly reclaimed by fur seals. Visit Shackleton’s grave in the small whalers’ cemetery—raise a toast of whiskey to the Boss. Tour the excellent South Georgia Museum housed in the former whaling manager’s villa. Get your passport stamped at the world’s most remote post office.
Day 10 — St. Andrews Bay: The greatest wildlife spectacle on the planet. A colony of 200,000 king penguins—the second-largest penguin species, standing nearly a meter tall—stretches as far as the eye can see across a glacial outwash plain. Elephant seals the size of small cars lie in wallows along the beach. The noise, the smell, the sheer density of life is overwhelming and unforgettable.
Day 11 — Gold Harbour & Cooper Bay: Gold Harbour delivers more king penguins, light-mantled albatross nesting on the cliffs, and enormous southern elephant seals. At Cooper Bay, Zodiac cruise beneath the towering cliffs among macaroni penguins—the most numerous penguin species on Earth, with their distinctive orange head plumes.
Day 12 — Fortuna Bay & Shackleton Walk: Land at Fortuna Bay and follow the final leg of Shackleton’s historic route over the mountains to Stromness—the whaling station he reached after 36 hours of continuous hiking across uncharted glaciers. The walk takes 2-3 hours and follows the exact path Shackleton, Worsley, and Crean took in 1916. Overnight sail from South Georgia. Overnight at sea.
Days 13-14: Scotia Sea Crossing
Two days sailing south toward Antarctica. Lectures continue: Antarctic marine biology, climate science, penguin ecology. The first Antarctic icebergs appear in earnest—some the size of small countries. Overnight at sea.
Days 15-18: Antarctic Peninsula (4 days)
Four days on the White Continent. Twice-daily Zodiac landings at sites including: Deception Island’s volcanic caldera, Half Moon Island with chinstrap colonies, Neko Harbour for continental landings, and the Lemaire Channel. After South Georgia’s scale, the Peninsula offers different wonders: sculpted icebergs, whale encounters, and the surreal beauty of the icescape. Optional kayaking, polar plunge, and camping on the ice (conditions permitting). Overnight in Antarctic waters.
Days 19-20: Drake Passage
Cross back across the Drake. Final lectures, photo competitions, farewell events. Reflect on an expedition that visited three of Earth’s most remote and wildlife-rich destinations. Overnight at sea.
Day 21: Disembark Ushuaia
Arrive Ushuaia. Disembark after breakfast. Transfer to the airport.
