Classic Antarctic Peninsula - Whale Watching

Your expedition will begin in Ushuaia, Argentina, where after having arrived independently you will embark your ship in the afternoon. As you settle in to your cabin on this brand new polar vessel, your ship will sail through the scenic waterway of the Beagle Channel. You may want to spend some time on deck capturing the sight of the city fading into distance behind you and looking out for the seabirds that follow the ship.

During these two days we will sail across the famous Drake Passage, encountering a variety of seabirds along the way. You may want to spend some time on deck in search of bird sightings including wandering, grey-headed, black-browed and the beautiful light-mantled sooty albatross, southern fulmars, Wilson's storm, blue, Cape and Antarctic petrels. There may also be whale sightings, and your programme of entertaining and informative lectures will begin, along with safety and bio-environmental briefings for your time in Antarctica. As we pass the Antarctic Convergence and sail close to the Shetland Islands we will spot the first of many icebergs.

Welcome to Antarctica! As we arrive in the pristine wilderness of the “White Continent” we will sail directly to “High Antarctica”, passing the Melchior islands and the Schollaert Channel between Brabant and Anvers Island. As with all Antarctica expeditions the weather and ice conditions may dictate which areas we visit, with your captain choosing each day the best course to take, and there are several fantastic localities which offer great opportunities for adventures, photographs and wildlife encounters.

One of the many areas we may visit is the picturesque Danco Island, where the main focus will be on the Gentoo penguins which nest on the island as well as the Crabeater and Weddell seals that can be found nearby. If the ice conditions allow, we may sail through the spectacular Lemaire Channel. Humpback and minke whales are frequently found here along with leopard seals.

We may also visit Paradise Bay to take a Zodiac cruise through the sprawling, ice-flecked waters, where there’s a good chance you’ll encounter more humpback and minke whales.

There will be ample time for photographic opportunities as we sail to and Zodiac cruise around some of the Peninsula’s most scenic areas. It is likely that we will visit Neko Harbour, an epic landscape of mammoth glaciers and endless wind-carved snow. We may also visit Wilhelmina Bay, a great place to spot humpback whales, and enjoy a Zodiac cruise to the ghostly wreck of the Guvernøren, a whaling vessel that caught fire here in 1915. Around the Melchior Islands, amid a frozen landscape populated with icebergs, you may encounter even more whales, leopard seals, and Crabeater seals.

After exploring the Peninsula we arrive in the South Shetland Islands area for an extra day of discovery. These windswept volcanic islands are often shrouded in mist creating an eerie atmosphere, but as we get closer we will discover the many delights they hold. The islands are home to numerous penguins including Gentoo and Chinstrap and are also a great spot for birding, with Southern Giant Petrels, thousands of Cape petrels and many Kelp gulls, Brown and South polar skuas and Antarctic terns frequenting the area.

We plan to sail through the spectacular Neptune’s Bellows and into the flooded caldera of Deception Island where we will make land. There is a lovely variety of flora here with mosses, lichens and flowering grasses creating an impressive contrast to the ice-filled waterways, and there are great possibilities for hikes across this fascinating and desolate volcanic landscape. Alternatively our itinerary may bring us to Half Moon Island, where we are likely to find Chinstrap penguins and Weddell seals hauled out on the beach near the Argentinean research station Camara.

As our exhilarating time in Antarctica comes to end it’s time to head back north through the Drake Passage where again the ship will be followed by a vast array of seabirds. Enjoy the last presentations from your team of noted naturalists and take the time to dissolve all of the unforgettable memories you will have made on your once in a lifetime expediton.

As we sail back through the scenic Beagle Channel and arrive in Ushuaia in the early morning it’s sadly time to say goodbye to your crew and fellow shipmates. After breakfast you will disembark and a group transfer will be provided to the airport for onward or homewards journeys.