South Georgia, Antarctica and Falklands Explorer

Arrive in Ushuaia anytime today. On arrival, you have an included transfer to your hotel. Here, you will enjoy a complimentary night's stay at Ushuaia's finest 5-star hotel, boasting spectacular views out across the Beagle Channel.

Arriving at the ship in the afternoon, you will be greeted by the expedition team and ship's officers at a safety and orientation briefing followed by the Captain's welcome dinner. After dinner, relax and take in the mountainous scenery on our early evening sail down the Beagle Channel past Magellanic penguin, rock cormorant and sea lion colonies.

Among the wildlife spotting opportunities as you sail south are the albatrosses, prions and petrels that frequently follow the ship. The expedition team will be out on deck as well, looking for the whales and dolphins that may also be seen in the area. The ship's experts will begin the presentations with informative and entertaining talks on the wildlife, history, and geology of the Falkland Islands and the Southern Ocean. Helpful briefings on environmental regulations and expedition safety will also be held in the comfortable lounge.

Those interested in citizen science can take part in sea bird sighting surveys, or help collect salinity samples and weather data along the way. You're likely to witness some spectacular sights, from icebergs to an array of seabirds and whale species. If you're lucky, you may see some of them fully breach from the sea.

The westernmost settled outposts in the Falklands are remote farms that have been family-owned for six and seven generations. The sheep graze alongside albatross colonies and rockhopper, king, and macaroni penguin rookeries while striated caracaras patrol overhead and upland geese graze at the water's edge. A visit to one of these homesteads often includes an invitation for cakes and a cup of tea.

Chosen for its sheltered harbour and access to abundant fresh water and peat for fuel, Stanley is easy to discover on foot as shops and most services are centred on the port. Explore the museum, plenty of shops selling locally made wool items and lively pubs. It is possible to experience the wildlife of the Falklands from the town, including sea lions and dolphins in the harbour or bird life in nearby Gypsy Cove.

There will be plenty of wildlife spotting as you make your way east across the Antarctic Convergence and officially enter Antarctic waters. Shipboard presentations will continue featuring the exciting history and abundant wildlife of South Georgia.

South Georgia's unique position inside the Antarctic Convergence yet outside the limit of the yearly sea ice makes this 3,755 square kilometre island home to tens of millions of breeding penguins, seals and seabirds. Magnificent mountain scenery, glaciers galore, a rugged coastline punctuated with castellate and tabular icebergs, a rich historical tapestry, and an astounding array of wildlife are all available as you travel down South Georgia's leeward coast.

Landing sites feature huge elephant seals, aggressive fur seals, macaroni penguins, albatross, petrels, skuas, and gulls. King penguins from fuzzy little chicks to grown adults can be seen in the hundreds of thousands. The plan is to visit the historic Grytviken whaling station, home of a whaling museum, Norwegian seaman's church, the active British Antarctic Survey station and the tiny graveyard where the great Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton is buried.

Heading farther south, the informative presentations and wildlife watching continue as the icebergs become more and more plentiful.

The land of superlatives, Antarctica! Our Expedition Leader and Captain will create a flexible itinerary based on weather, ice and opportunity. We will approach the Antarctic Peninsula from the east to cross the northern boundary of the Weddell Sea, where a large cold body of water rotates clockwise driving cold water and ice north towards South Georgia and the South Orkney Islands.

Large tabular icebergs born in the Weddell drift north into our path while the ocean currents drive nutrients from the deep, feeding countless species of marine animals. Large groups of whales are common, along with scores of seabirds thriving off the bounty the Weddell provides. Our route will stress the most scenic bays and channels of the Peninsula with stops at penguin rookeries, seal wallows, bird colonies and whale feeding areas as well as sites of historic and scientific interest.

Adelie, chinstrap and gentoo penguins abound, and Weddell, crabeater and elephant seals are often found hauled out to rest along with predatory leopard seals and the aggressive Antarctic fur seal. Minke and humpback whales are frequent visitors in the late season and orca sightings are also common.

We will continue our lecture series and wildlife spotting as we sail back to Ushuaia and reflect on beautiful Antarctica and its fragile future. Sailing through the Beagle Channel, we celebrate the conclusion of our expedition with a special slideshow.

Morning disembarkation allows you to catch an afternoon flight to Buenos Aires or extend your stay in Ushuaia.