HIGHLIGHTS
- Passing
the Antarctic Convergence – Antarctica's natural boundary,
formed when north-flowing cold waters collide with warmer sub-Antarctic
seas – you are in the circum-Antarctic upwelling zone. Not
only does the marine life change, the avian life changes too. Wandering
albatrosses, grey-headed albatrosses, black-browed albatrosses,
light-mantled sooty albatrosses, cape pigeons, southern fulmars,
Wilson's storm petrels, blue petrels, and Antarctic petrels are a few
of the birds you might see.
- Visit
Danco Island – Activities here may focus on the gentoo
penguins nesting on the island, in addition to the Weddell and
crabeater seals that can be found nearby.
- Visit
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.
- Visit
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.
- Visit
Port Lockroy – After sailing through the Neumayer Channel,
you may get a chance to visit the former British research station
– now a museum and post office – of Port Lockroy on
Goudier Island. You may also be able to partake in activities around
Jougla Point, meeting gentoo penguins and blue-eyed shags.
- There
are great opportunities also for kayaking and camping in this area, and
when conditions are right, you can even snowshoe around the shore and
to the old ski-way at nearby Damoy Point.
DATES / RATES
Rates are listed per person
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| Start Date | End Date | From EUR | From USD |
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Rates are listed per person
|
| Start Date | End Date | From EUR | From USD |
|---|
ITINERARY
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 - 3: Path of the
polar explorers
Over
the next two days on the Drake Passage, you enjoy some of the same
experiences encountered by the great polar explorers who first charted
these regions: cool salt breezes, rolling seas, maybe even a fin whale
spouting up sea spray. After passing the Antarctic Convergence
– Antarctica’s natural boundary, formed when
north-flowing cold waters collide with warmer sub-Antarctic seas
– you are in the circum-Antarctic upwelling zone. Not only
does the marine life change, the avian life changes too. Wandering
albatrosses, grey-headed albatrosses, black-browed albatrosses,
light-mantled sooty albatrosses, cape pigeons, southern fulmars,
Wilson’s storm petrels, blue petrels, and Antarctic petrels
are a few of the birds you might see.
Day 4 - 7: Enter the
Antarctic
Gray
stone peaks sketched with snow, towers of broken blue-white ice, and
dramatically different wildlife below and above. You first pass the
snow-capped Melchior Islands and Schollaert Channel, sailing between
Brabant and Anvers Islands.
Sites
you may visit include:
Danco Island
– Activities here may focus on the gentoo penguins nesting on
the island, in addition to the Weddell and crabeater seals that can be
found nearby.
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.
Port Lockroy
– After sailing through the Neumayer Channel, you may get a
chance to visit the former British research station – now a
museum and post office – of Port Lockroy on Goudier Island.
You may also be able to partake in activities around Jougla Point,
meeting gentoo penguins and blue-eyed shags.
There
are great opportunities also for kayaking and camping in this area, and
when conditions are right, you can even snowshoe around the shore and
to the old ski-way at nearby Damoy Point.
Day
8: 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.
As
an alternative, you may be able to engage in activities near Half Moon
Island. Here chinstrap penguins and Weddell seals often haul out onto
the beach near Cámara Base, an Argentine scientific research
station. Conditions on the Drake Passage determine the exact time of
departure.
Day 9 - 10: 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 11: 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.
(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 on Plancius, Ortelius, Hondius and
Janssonius.
- Free
use snowshoes on Noorderlicht and Rembrandt van Rijn.
- On
Spitsbergen voyages: Transfers and baggage handling between the
airport, hotels and ship only for those passengers on the group flights
to and from Longyearbyen.
- On
Rembrandt voyages: Transfers and baggage handling between airport and
ship at Constable Pynt on the chartered group flights.
- 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).
- Group
transfer from the vessel in Bluff to the airport in Invercargill, on
OTL26-22.
- Group
transfer from Kelvin Hotel in Invercargill to the vessel in Bluff, on
OTL28-20 and on OTL27-22.
- During
voyages OTL28-20 and OTL22-20, OTL26-22 & OTL27-22:
ship-to-shore helicopter transfers (with no specific amount of
helicopter time guaranteed).
- All
miscellaneous service taxes and port charges throughout the program.
- AECO
fees and governmental taxes.
- Comprehensive
pre-departure material.
NOT
INCLUDED:
- Any
airfare, whether on scheduled or charter flights; pre- and post- land
arrangements.
- Transfers
to / from the vessel outside Spitsbergen.
- Transfer
supplement (T) for voyages PLA12-21, PLA13-21, OTL13-21 HDS13-21,
HDS14-21, for bus shuttle between Akureyri (ship) and Radhus
Reykjavikur / city hall in Vonarstraeti and v.v. (6 hours), €
100,- / $ 120,- pp one way and € 170,- / $ 200,- pp return.
This must be booked in advance.
- Transfer
supplement (T) for voyages HDS13-22, HDS14-22, JNS14-22, JNS14-22,
OTL13-22, OTL14-22, and PLA13-22 for bus shuttle between Akureyri
(ship) and Radhus Reykjavikur / city hall in Vonarstraeti and v.v. (6
hours), € 105,- / $ 120,- pp one way and € 180,- / $
200,- pp return. This must be booked in advance.
- Transfers
to the vessel in Ushuaia and Ascension and from the vessel in Ascension
and Praia; 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).
ADVENTURE
OPTIONS
- Kayaking:
USD 450
- Camping:
USD 195
- Snowshoeing:
Free
