Antarctica Classic - Discovering the Antarctic Peninsula

THE CLASSIC ANTARCTICA TOUR OFFERS 2 ANTARCTICA ITINERARIES, AN ACTIVE EXPEDITION AND A CLASSIC RELAXED ADVENTURE. ALL DEPARTURES FOLLOW THE SAME ITINERARY, BUT THE ACTIVE TRIPS OFFER MORE THRILLS!

ACTIVE ADVENTURES Aboard the Akademik Shokalskiy, The Akademik Sergey Vavilov and the M/S Ocean Nova: Active exploring on the Antarctic Peninsula aboard nimble, ice-strengthened ships with frequent Zodiac landings; specialist presentations and interaction within a close-knit group of adventurers; polar camping, sea kayaking, mountaineering and cross-country skiing options (on selected departures).

CLASSIC relaxed Adventures Aboard the Lyubov Orlova and the Clipper Adventurer: A perfect introduction to Antarctica aboard an ice-strengthened expedition ship designed to carry up to 120 passengers on a relaxed, comfortable adventure — with regular Zodiac landings; specialist presentations and guidance ashore; an interactive polar arts program on many departures.

Storm petrels skim the sea swells, humpback whales breech in the early morning light and an endearing penguin, wings extended, comes your way as if to say, “welcome”.

We start and finish our Antarctic Adventure in Ushuaia, Argentina. Traveling via the Beagle Channel, the Drake Passage and the South Shetland Islands, we arrive at the Antarctic Peninsula. The Peninsula is the most accessible part of the White Continent, and as luck would have it, it also has some of the most awe-inspiring scenery and wildlife on the continent. Travel through the Lemaire Channel with its sheer cliff walls towering 1,000 feet above explore Port Lockroy to see a former British Antarctic Survey Station; and witness glaciers calve turquoise ice in thundering magnificence.

Over the course of the austral spring and summer, the sun lingers longer and longer, melting snow and ice. Wildlife abounds: chicks hatch and fledge, and pods of whales breach in a deep bay where a calving iceberg has churned up krill, the local delicacy. The natural cycle of life ensures that every expedition is different and that every expedition is full of surprises!

And that’s just a small sample of what awaits. Traveling via the Drake Passage, the trip concludes back in Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world.