Antarctica Active Cruise

This morning, enjoy breakfast and check-out. Please ensure your cabin luggage is fitted with cabin tags clearly labelled with your name and cabin number. By 11:00am, take your cabin luggage to hotel reception, prior to, or at check-out. Your luggage will be stored and transferred directly to the port for clearance, to be placed in your cabin ahead of your arrival on board. Please keep any valuables or personal items with you throughout the day.

Your morning is at leisure to explore Ushuaia. Those wishing to join the afternoon catamaran cruise, meet back at the hotel lobby at 12:15pm ready to transfer to the port at 12:30pm. Here, board the catamaran and sail the Beagle Channel, towards the city’s iconic Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse. Crossing the Bridges Archipelago, the catamaran will slow down to watch colonies of sea lions and imperial cormorants sun themselves on the rocky outcrops, while gulls, rock cormorants, skuas, petrels, albatrosses and cauquenes are often sighted. Your cruise offers panoramic views of the city and the surrounding mountain range, in addition to hearing tales of the people and communities of the region.

Alternatively, enjoy your day at leisure and meet at your hotel lobby at 3:00pm (or 3:30pm from the meeting point at the parking lot near the pier-details will be given by the ground staff at the hotel), to be transferred to the pier for embarkation. Once onboard, you’ll have time to settle into your cabin before important mandatory briefings. As the ship pulls away from port, gather on the deck to commence your adventure with spectacular views over Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego.

This evening get to know your fellow expeditioners and friendly expedition team and crew at a welcome dinner to celebrate the start of a thrilling adventure to Antarctica.

As the ship commences the Drake Passage crossing, make the most of your time getting comfortable with the motions of the sea. Your expedition team prepares you for your first landing with important wildlife guidelines and biosecurity procedures and starts your lecture program to help you learn more about Antarctica’s history, wildlife and environment.

Your wildlife experiences begin as you enjoy watching and photographing the many seabirds, including majestic albatrosses and giant petrels following the vessel. On sea days, you can enjoy the facilities on board the vessel including the gym, sauna and Jacuzzis, or relax in one of the observation lounges.

Nearing the South Shetland Islands and the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula on the afternoon of Day 4, the excitement is palpable with everyone converging on one of the observation decks watching for your first iceberg. The ocean takes on a whole new perspective once you are below the Antarctic Convergence and are surrounded by the surreal presence of floating ice sculptures. The memory of your first big iceberg sighting is likely to remain with you for a lifetime. Time and weather permitting, you may attempt your first landing in Antarctica by late afternoon.

It’s almost impossible to describe the feeling of arriving in Antarctica. Take a deep breath of some of the most fresh, crisp air on earth. The western side of the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands are ready to be explored, and there are many options. Being so far south, experience approximately 18-24 hours of daylight, enabling the days to be as busy as desired. The experienced expedition team, who have made countless journeys to this area, will use their expertise to design the voyage from day to day, choosing the best options based on the prevailing weather, ice conditions and wildlife opportunities.

Hope to make landings or Zodiac excursions twice a day, as planned. Dress warmly before joining Zodiac cruises along spectacular ice cliffs or among grounded icebergs, keeping watch for whales, seals and porpoising penguins. Zodiacs will also provide transport between the ship and landing sites that are host to penguin rookeries and historic huts. While ashore, aim to stretch the legs, wandering along pebbly beaches or perhaps up snow-covered ridgelines to vantage points with mountains towering overhead and ice-speckled oceans below.

Possibly enjoy ship cruises through some of the narrow, dramatic straits separating offshore islands from the mainland, or linger in scenic bays to watch whales travelling or feeding. This is a great time to enjoy the observation lounge or bridge for uninterrupted views of Antarctica in all its splendor. Keep an ear out for the creak and deep rumble of glaciers as they carve their way from summit to sea, and take a quiet moment to experience the wonder of this incredible white continent.

Enjoy a final morning landing in the South Shetland Islands before the ship re-enters the Drake Passage for your return journey to South America. With lectures and film presentations to complete your Antarctic experience, there is still plenty of time to enjoy the magic of the Southern Ocean and the life that calls it home. There is time for reflection and discussion about what you have seen and experienced. Hopefully you will become an ambassador for Antarctica, telling your family, friends and colleagues about your journey to this magical place, advocating for its conservation and preservation so that they might one day visit the region to experience what you have been lucky to see and do here. As the ship approaches the tip of South America, your captain may sail close to legendary Cape Horn, weather and time permitting.

During the early morning, cruise up the Beagle Channel, before quietly slipping into dock in Ushuaia, where you will be free to disembark around 8:00am. Say farewell to your expedition team and passengers not continuing with the land portion, hopefully with a newfound sense of the immense power of nature. Fly to El Calafate to begin your small group trek. On arrival into El Calafate, transfer to the group hotel (details will be provided in your final documents).

This township, founded in 1927, is best known as the national capital of the glaciers and is the gateway to the Patagonian Los Glaciares National Park including the famous Perito Moreno Glacier. Today is at your leisure to explore the town or walk down to Lake Argentino to watch the waterbirds. You will have a briefing in the afternoon to meet your guide and learn about your upcoming adventure, before having the first dinner with your group. Overnight in El Calafate.

Suggestions of activities in El Calafate:
• Reserva Natural Laguna Nimes: ideal for spending a morning or an afternoon bird watching, just a 10-minute walk from downtown. http://www.lagunanimez.com/
• Glaciarium: Amazing and extremely interesting Museum of Ice. Very close from town with a free transfer.
http://glaciarium.com/en

This morning, depart very early to the breathtaking Perito Moreno Glacier to watch and listen to the frequent ice calving. Later, drive across the arid Estepa Patagónica to El Chaltén (approx. 4 hours). The village of El Chaltén is in the north of Los Glaciares National Park and it’s from here that you’ll make your day trips. Enjoy dinner together this evening and overnight El Chaltén.

Over the next 2 days enjoy day walks to the base camp of Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre. Mount Fitz Roy is found at the northern end of the park and is part of a range of bizarre peaks including the needle-like rock pinnacle of Cerro Torre. For a climber it looks to be one of the most unclimbed peaks in the world–in fact it was only scaled for the first time in 1974. To the south runs a great chain of massive glaciers that basically follows the line of the Chile/Argentina border.

The dramatic rock spires beckon and your days here will be a highlight of the trip. The beautiful valleys hold crystal clear streams and are home to a multitude of bird life. During the short summer the beech trees and the flowers bloom profusely and you are here at the best time to enjoy it. Overnight in El Chaltén.

Key Trekking Highlights

Fitz Roy Base Camp / Laguna de los Tres (Los Glaciares National Park)
Difficulty: Medium/High
Description: Short drive to Hostería El Pilar next to Río Blanco 11 miles (18 kilometers) north of El Chaltén. The trail follows Río Blanco, pass Piedras Blancas glacier and up to Río Blanco base camp. Piedras Blancas glacier is a hanging glacier that descends from the base of Fitz Roy. Lunch stop will be in the vicinity of Río Blanco or Poicenot base camp. To return to town the group will follow the trail and pass Laguna Capri to enjoy even more views of Mount Fitz Roy.
Duration: 8 hours
Distance to cover: Approx. 12.5 miles (20 km)
Elevation gain: Approx. 2,297 feet (700 meters)

Cerro Torre Lagun & Glacier (Los Glaciares National Park)
Difficulty: Medium
Description: Hike along the Río Fitz Roy valley to reach the Laguna Torre at the end of the valley. Get as close as non-climbers can get to the mystical Cerro Torre. You will also visit the base camp where climbers wait for the good weather to attempt the climb.
Duration: 7 hours
Distance to cover: Approx. 13.7 miles (22 km)
Elevation gain: Approx. 820 feet (250 meters)

Today, leave El Chaltén and Argentina as you cross the border into Chile, driving across the pampas to Puerto Natales. Set on the shores of Seno Última Esperanza, this city is the gateway to the famous Torres del Paine National Park. The afternoon is at leisure and this evening you may like to sample king crab in one of the seafood restaurants. Overnight in Puerto Natales.

This morning, leave Puerto Natales and journey towards Torres del Paine National Park and its fabulous scenery. Board a boat and travel down the fjord, pausing at the Balmaceda Glacier en route. Then change onto Zodiacs and continue along the Serrano River before reaching Torres del Paine. Overnight in Villa Serrano.

Over the next few days, plan to view the highlights of the park on foot. On the first day, explore the park on a bus to reach the most remote areas, with stops for short treks. On the second day, do a long and amazing trek to reach the base of Las Torres peaks. The next 2 nights are spent in Torres del Paine National Park.

Note: The trekking level will depend on the group’s level of fitness, bearing in mind that many of the highlights of these parks require a 7-8 hour walk (round-trip). There are other walk options which are easier and provide excellent views of the parks, however as with any trek, the fitter you are the more you will enjoy the day. The whole experience of trekking in Patagonia will spoil you!

Key Trekking Highlights

Las Torres Base (Torres del Paine National Park)
Difficulty: Medium/High
Description: You will explore the Ascencio Valley, walking through a beautiful Lenga forest and getting up close to the astounding Torres del Paine viewpoint. Throughout the trek you will walk through bushes, streams and glacier moraines.
Duration: 7 hours
Distance to cover: Approx. 12.5 miles (20 km)
Elevation gain: Approx. 2,953 feet (900 meters)

Drive for approximately 3-4 hours across the steppes following the face of the Andes. The scenery is breathtaking, with great rolling hills dotted with stunted beech trees. Plan to arrive in Punta Arenas in the late afternoon. The remainder of the day is at leisure, with time for last-minute shopping or indulging the dulce de leche, a dessert you will by now be familiar with! Overnight in Punta Arenas.

Today your expedition throughout Antarctica and Patagonia will end in Punta Arenas. Transfer to the airport, or extend your adventure in the region.