HIGHLIGHTS
- Sail
along as several species of albatross follow your vessel into the
westerlies, along with storm petrels, shearwaters, and diving petrels
- Visit
West Point Island which hosts a bounty of birdlife, from shore birds
near the landing site to black-browed albatrosses on the nest
- On
Saunders Island watch the black-browed albatross, along with breeding
imperial shags and rockhopper penguins, king penguins, Magellanic
penguins, and gentoos
DATES / RATES
Rates are listed per person in USD
|
| Start Date | End Date | Quadruple Porthole | Triple Porthole | Twin Porthole | Twin Window | Twin Deluxe | Superior | Junior Suite | Grand Suite |
|---|
| Feb 20, 2025 | Mar 14, 2025 | 16,700 | 18,850 | 20,200 | 21,100 | 22,300 | 24,000 | 25,500 | 29,000 |
| Feb 16, 2026 | Mar 06, 2026 | 17,800 | 20,100 | 21,600 | 22,550 | 24,300 | 25,500 | 27,250 | 31,000 |
Rates are listed per person in USD
|
| Start Date | End Date | (Starting from)
Quadruple Porthole | (Mid-range)
Twin Deluxe | (High-end)
Grand Suite |
|---|
| Feb 20, 2025 | Mar 14, 2025 | 16,700 | 22,300 | 29,000 |
| Feb 16, 2026 | Mar 06, 2026 | 17,800 | 24,300 | 31,000 |
Day
1: End of the world, start of a journey
Your
voyage begins where the world drops off. Ushuaia, Argentina, reputed to
be the southernmost city on the planet, is located on the far southern
tip of South America. Starting in the afternoon, you embark from this
small resort town on Tierra del Fuego, nicknamed “The End of
the World,” and sail the mountain-fringed Beagle Channel for
the remainder of the evening.
Day
2: The winged life of the westerlies
Several
species of albatross follow the vessel into the westerlies, along with
storm petrels, shearwaters, and diving petrels.
Day
3: Finding the Falklands
The
Falkland Islands offer an abundance of wildlife that is easily
approachable, though caution is always advised. These islands are
largely unknown gems, the site of a 1982 war between the UK and
Argentina. Not only do various species of bird live here, but chances
are great you’ll see both Peale’s dolphins and
Commerson’s dolphins in the surrounding waters.
During
this segment of the voyage, you may visit the following sites:
Westpoint Island
– This beautiful island hosts a bounty of birdlife, from
shore birds near the landing site to black-browed albatrosses on the
nest. Among them is a rookery of rockhopper penguins who have to
undertake an incredible climb from the sea to get to their nests among
the albatrosses.
Saunders Island –
On Saunders Island you can see the black-browed albatross and its
sometimes-clumsy landings, along with breeding imperial shags and
rockhopper penguins. King penguins, Magellanic penguins, and gentoos
are also found here.
Day
4: The seat of Falklands culture
The
capital of the Falklands and center of its culture, Port Stanley has
some Victorian-era charm: colorful houses, well-tended gardens, and
English-style pubs are all to be found here. You can also see several
century-old clipper ships nearby, silent witnesses to the hardships of
19th century sailors. The small but interesting museum is also worth a
visit, covering the early days of settlement up to the Falklands War.
Approximately 2,100 people live in Port Stanley. Admission to the
museum is included.
Day
5 – 6: Once more to the sea
En
route to South Georgia, you now cross the Antarctic Convergence. The
temperature cools considerably within the space of a few hours, and
nutritious water rises to the surface of the sea due to colliding water
columns. This phenomenon attracts a multitude of seabirds near the
ship, including several species of albatross, shearwaters, petrels,
prions, and skuas.
Day
7 – 10: South Georgia journey
Today
you arrive at the first South Georgia activity site. Please keep in
mind that weather conditions in this area can be challenging, largely
dictating the program.
Over
the next several days, you have a chance to visit the following sites:
Prion Island
– This location is closed during the early part of the
wandering albatross breeding season (November 20 – January
7). From January on, the breeding adults have found their partners and
are sitting on eggs or nursing their chicks. Enjoy witnessing the
gentle nature of these animals, which possess the largest wingspan of
any birds in the world.
Fortuna Bay
– A beautiful outwash plain from Fortuna Glacier is home to a
large number of king penguins and seals. Here you may also have the
chance to follow the final leg of Shackleton’s route to the
abandoned whaling village of Stromness. This path cuts across the
mountain pass beyond Shackleton’s Waterfall, and as the
terrain is partly swampy, be prepared to cross a few small streams.
Salisbury Plain, St. Andrews Bay,
Gold Harbour – These sites not only house the
three largest king penguin colonies in South Georgia, they’re
also three of the world’s largest breeding beaches for
Antarctic fur seals. Literarily millions breed on South Georgia during
December and January. By February the young fur seals are curious and
playful and fill the surf with life and fun and large elephant seals
come to the beaches to moult.
Grytviken
– In this abandoned whaling station, king penguins walk the
streets and elephant seals lie around like they own the place
– because they basically do. Here you might be able to see
the South Georgia Museum as well as Shackleton’s grave.
In
the afternoon of day 10 and depending on the conditions, we will start
sailing southwards in the direction of the South Orkney Islands.
Day 11: Southward bound
There
may be sea ice on this route, and at the edge of the ice some south
polar skuas and snow petrels could join the other seabirds trailing the
vessel south.
Day
12: The scenic vistas of South Orkney
Depending
on the conditions, you might visit Orcadas Base, an Argentine
scientific station on Laurie Island in the South Orkney archipelago.
The personnel here will happily show you their facility, where you can
enjoy expansive views of the surrounding glaciers. If a visit
isn’t possible, you may instead land in Coronation
Island’s Shingle Cove.
Day 13: Legendary
Elephant Island
You‘ve
now completed roughly the same route (albeit in the opposite direction)
as Sir Ernest Shackleton did using only a small life boat, the James
Caird, in spring of 1916. Watching Elephant Island materialize on the
horizon after crossing all that water, it’s hard not to
marvel at how he and his five-man crew accomplished that feat.
The
purpose of Shackleton’s crossing was to rescue 22 shipwrecked
members of his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, also known as the
Endurance Expedition, who were stranded on Elephant Island. For four
and a half months, Shackleton undertook this legendary rescue.
Conditions
on Elephant Island are severe. The coastline is mostly made up of
vertical rock and ice cliffs highly exposed to the elements. If
possible you will take the Zodiacs to Point Wild, where the marooned
members of Shackleton’s expedition miraculously managed to
survive.
Day
14: Along the Antarctic Peninsula
If
ice permits, you sail into the Antarctic Sound at the northwestern edge
of the Weddell Sea. Here colossal tabular icebergs herald your arrival
to the eastern edges of the Antarctic Peninsula. Brown Bluff is a
potential location for a landing, where you may get the chance to set
foot on the continent.
Day 15: Scenes of South
Shetland
The
volcanic islands of the South Shetlands are windswept and often cloaked
in mist, but they do offer subtle pleasures: There’s a wide
variety of flora (mosses, lichens, flowering grasses) and no small
amount of fauna (gentoo penguins, chinstrap penguins, southern giant
petrels).
In
Deception Island, the ship plunges through Neptune’s Bellows
and into the flooded caldera. Here you find hot springs, an abandoned
whaling station, and thousands of cape petrels – along with
kelp gulls, brown and south polar skuas, and Antarctic terns. A good
hike is a possibility in this fascinating and desolate volcanic
landscape.
Day 16 – 20:
Onward into Antarctica
Gray
stone peaks sketched with snow, towers of broken blue-white ice, and
unique polar wildlife below and above welcome you into the otherworldly
expanse of Antarctica. You enter the area around Gerlache Strait,
venturing into one of the most beautiful settings Antarctica has to
offer.
Sites
you may visit here include:
Neko Harbour
– An epic landscape of mammoth glaciers and endless
wind-carved snow, Neko Harbour offers opportunities for a Zodiac cruise
and landing that afford the closest views of the surrounding alpine
peaks.
Paradise Bay
– You may be able to take a Zodiac cruise in these sprawling,
ice-flecked waters, where there’s a good chance
you’ll encounter humpback and minke whales.
The
aim is then to head south. If conditions allow, sites you can visit
‘over’ the polar circle include:
Crystal Sound
– Your journey takes you south along the Argentine Islands to
this ice-packed body of water, and from here across the Polar Circle in
the morning.
Detaille Island
– You may make a landing at an abandoned British research
station here, taking in the island’s lofty mountains and
imposing glaciers.
Pourquoi Pas Island
– You might circumnavigate this island, named after the ship
of the famous French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charcot. This location is
known for its tight fjords and lofty, glacier-crowded mountains.
Horseshoe Island
– This is the location of the former British Base Y, a
remnant of the 1950s that is now unmanned though still equipped with
almost all the technology it had while in service.
As
with all of our Antarctic trips, conditions on the Drake Passage
determine the exact time of departure.
Day 21 – 22:
Familiar seas, familiar friends
Your
return voyage is far from lonely. While crossing the Drake,
you’re again greeted by the vast array of seabirds remembered
from the passage south. But they seem a little more familiar to you
now, and you to them.
Day
23: There and back again
Every
adventure, no matter how grand, must eventually come to an end.
It’s now time to disembark in Ushuaia, but with memories that
will accompany you wherever your next adventure lies.
Hondius (Expedition, 170-guests)
MV Hondius offers luxury accommodation for up to 180 passengers. The ship has a luxury standard while Oceanwide's signature cozy and informal atmosphere. Hondius the strongest ice-strengthened vessel will be in the polar regions and will be equipped with stabilizers, and great trips for advanced, innovative exploratory quality in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.
(Click image to view Ship details)
WHAT'S INCLUDED
- Voyage
aboard the indicated vessel as indicated in the itinerary
- All
meals throughout the voyage aboard the ship including snacks, coffee
and tea.
- All
shore excursions and activities throughout the voyage by Zodiac.
- Program
of lectures by noted naturalists and leadership by experienced
expedition staff.
- Free
use of rubber boots and snowshoes.
- Luggage
transfer from pick-up point to the vessel on the day of embarkation, in
Ushuaia.
- Pre-scheduled
group transfer from the vessel to the airport in Ushuaia (directly
after disembarkation).
- All
miscellaneous service taxes and port charges throughout the programme.
- Comprehensive
pre-departure material.
Excluded
from this voyage
- Any
airfare, whether on scheduled or charter flights.
- Pre-
and post- land arrangements.
- Passport
and visa expenses.
- Government
arrival and departure taxes.
- Meals
ashore.
- Baggage,
cancellation and personal insurance (which is strongly recommended).
- Excess
baggage charges and all items of a personal nature such as laundry,
bar, beverage charges and telecommunication charges.
- The
customary gratuity at the end of the voyages for stewards and other
service personnel aboard (guidelines will be provided).
OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES
ADVENTURE
OPTIONS
- Polar Diving: USD 1,220 (Experience with cold-water diving
and dry-suit dives (at least 30) is a must!)
