Antarctica, Falklands & South Georgia cruise
| country: | Antarctica, Falkland Islands |
| departures: | 2008: 18 Nov, 16 Dec 2009: 16 Jan, 17 Feb |
| price: | From £4100 - £8170 (20 days) excluding flights. Price depends on cabin type. We can arrange flights from the UK |
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the amazing things you'll be doing
From Ushuaia we sail the Beagle Channel in an easterly direction to the Falkland Islands, an archipelago of some 400 islands. We'll explore West Point Island where Rockhopper penguins, Magellanic penguins and Black-browed albatross nest among tufts of tussock grass. At Volunteer Point we'll meet brightly-coloured King penguins. History buffs will be keen to explore Port Stanley - the smallest and most isolated capital city in the world.
In the company of the great Wandering albatross we navigate eastward until the spectacular ice-crowned mountains of South Georgia appear on the horizon.
Our first landfall is the abandoned whaling station at Grytviken, where we visit the grave of Sir Ernest Shackleton, one of the greatest Antarctic explorers.
In the following days we thread our way through the magical fjords and bays of this South Atlantic 'Ark'. As the only speck of land for many hundreds of miles, South Georgia is one of the planet's most astonishing wildlife havens. A sea of 100,000 colourful King penguins crowds the beaches at Salisbury Plain against a backdrop of towering snow-covered mountains. Another 75,000 nest at the Bay of Isles. South Georgia is also home to mind-boggling numbers of Elephant and Fur seals; Macaroni penguins and important populations of albatross.
We continue our journey to the South Orkney Islands, where huge breeding grounds of Weddell seals have recently been discovered. Crossing the Scotia Sea we enter a magical world of icebergs and ice-covered mountains as we reach the South Shetlands and the bays and channels of the Antarctic Peninsula. On frequent shore excursions by inflatable Zodiac boat we'll view Adelie, Chinstrap and Gentoo penguins at close range. We may enter the flooded caldera of Deception Island, or visit Half Moon Island. With stunning views of the surrounding mountains, we can observe a sizeable rookery of Chinstrap penguins as well as nesting Kelp gulls and terns - and whales are often seen breaching close to the shore.
Note: Weather, ice, or political conditions may require that changes be made to our itinerary or certain shore excursions cancelled.
In the company of the great Wandering albatross we navigate eastward until the spectacular ice-crowned mountains of South Georgia appear on the horizon.
Our first landfall is the abandoned whaling station at Grytviken, where we visit the grave of Sir Ernest Shackleton, one of the greatest Antarctic explorers.
In the following days we thread our way through the magical fjords and bays of this South Atlantic 'Ark'. As the only speck of land for many hundreds of miles, South Georgia is one of the planet's most astonishing wildlife havens. A sea of 100,000 colourful King penguins crowds the beaches at Salisbury Plain against a backdrop of towering snow-covered mountains. Another 75,000 nest at the Bay of Isles. South Georgia is also home to mind-boggling numbers of Elephant and Fur seals; Macaroni penguins and important populations of albatross.We continue our journey to the South Orkney Islands, where huge breeding grounds of Weddell seals have recently been discovered. Crossing the Scotia Sea we enter a magical world of icebergs and ice-covered mountains as we reach the South Shetlands and the bays and channels of the Antarctic Peninsula. On frequent shore excursions by inflatable Zodiac boat we'll view Adelie, Chinstrap and Gentoo penguins at close range. We may enter the flooded caldera of Deception Island, or visit Half Moon Island. With stunning views of the surrounding mountains, we can observe a sizeable rookery of Chinstrap penguins as well as nesting Kelp gulls and terns - and whales are often seen breaching close to the shore.
Note: Weather, ice, or political conditions may require that changes be made to our itinerary or certain shore excursions cancelled.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Ushuaia Board the ice-rated ‘Peregrine Mariner’. Sail the Beagle Channel. |
| Day 2: | Sail East Sail east towards the Falkland Islands |
| Day 3-4: | Falkland Islands. The Falkland Islands. |
| Day 5-7: | At Sea Sailing towards South Georgia |
| Day 8-10: | Sth Georgia South Georgia |
| Day 11: | At Sea Sailing to the South Orkney islands |
| Day 12: | South Orkney Islands South Orkney Islands(ice conditions permitting) |
| Day 13: | At Sea Sailing south to Antarctica |
| Day 14-16: | Antarctica Peninsula Antarctica Peninsula |
| Day 17-18: | Drake Passage Sailing north towards South America |
| Day 19: | Ushuaia Arrive in Ushuaia, where our voyage ends. You are transferred to your hotel, or to the airport for your onward flight. |
travellers' tales
Seeing the first iceberg was the most memorable part. (more)
highly commended
This tourism business was Highly Commended in our 2007 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards - the largest awards of their kind in the world, and organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical Magazine, of the Royal Geographical Society.Since 2004, the Awards has recognised individuals, companies and organisations in travel making a big commitment to the culture and economies of local communities and helping to conserve biodiversity.
how this holiday makes a difference
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The operator is a full member of the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO) and, as such, abides by some of the tourism world's most conscientious codes of conduct. These go beyond the best practice guidelines for operating in Antarctic waters, as set by IAATO and the Australian Antarctic Division. A large part of that responsibility to minimise environmental impact and raise awareness involves educating their passengers on ways to minimise their personal impact, while still fully enjoying the wonders of Antarctica. This begins with the pre-departure information that includes a 'Guidelines for Low Impact Travel' booklet, as well as a comprehensive briefing document. On board there is a comprehensive educational programme that informs passengers about environmental issues affecting Antarctica, such as how to minimise personal impact on the environment to information on approaching wildlife and caring for fragile landscapes.
They are also involved in a number of environmental initiatives in Antarctica, including partnering Birds Australia and supporting a range of scientific research endeavours. They have carried researchers from the University of Tasmania to support their study of tourism impact on Antarctica, as well as under-going oceanographic and biological research on board their ship and transporting scientific personnel of many nationalities to and from their respective Antarctic bases. Their ships are some of the newest in the business and, as such, have state- of-the-art waste management systems and run cleaner and more efficiently than older vessels. They believe that by taking passengers to Antarctica, allowing them to experience its wonder and educating and informing them on the local and global issues affecting the polar regions, they are helping to create ambassadors for protecting the fragile polar wilderness. Get The Albatross Off The Hook:The Antarctic summer of 2001-2002 saw the start of a 'Get the Albatross Off the Hook' initiative, which involved sponsoring research on the threatened grey-headed albatross. Data is beamed back to Australia from radio transmitters attached to the birds during their foraging flights over the Southern Ocean. The information will pinpoint where the birds are at risk and, in doing so, help to halt the current devastating and unsustainable attrition of albatross populations due to long-line fisheries. BirdLife's ‘Save the Albatross Campaign’ is trying to stop the needless slaughter of these magnificent birds by ensuring that relevant international agreements are implemented that will benefit both the birds and the legal fishing industry. Click here to find out about the problems, the solutions, BirdLife's campaign, how you can help and how you can sign the new online ‘Save the Albatross’ petition, being organised by Forest and Bird, BirdLife's New Zealand partner. You can also view photographs of the threatened species. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've lead the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |