Cruising in the Antarctic

country:Antarctica
departures:2008: 17 Jan, 1 Feb, 19 Feb
price:From £7125 - £10950 (25 days) including flights from the UK and a membership and a contribution to the Scott Polar Research Institute and Birdlife. Price depends on cabin type. Single supplement from £3100
vouchers:Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday
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introduction to Cruising in the Antarctic

Antarctica, this immense continental wilderness, is still virtually unexplored and unknown, with its fabulous and pristine wildlife haven set in an awe inspiring scenery of mountains, snow and sculptured and twisted ice.

Today you can cruise from November to March and explore vast colonies of penguins, observe some of the great whales, watch hundreds of seals resting lazily on ice floes, and simply marvel at the extraordinary variety of shapes, sizes and sheer range of colours of thousands of floating icebergs. The vistas are magnificent, with towering glaciers and dramatic cliffs that drop almost vertically into the sea. The oceans of the Antarctic are home to countless marine mammals, the land to seals and colonies of penguins and the skies to a host of birdlife.

The Falkland Islands are home to a tame diversity of wildlife and a plethora of flowering plants, as well as historic interest. South Georgia is altogether different and harsher, with towering mountains, glaciers, grassy areas and beaches. Here is home to huge colonies of penguins, wandering albatrosses, beaches crowded with elephant seals and Macaroni penguins.

We only advocate using the best boats. They are small boats by Antarctic cruise standards, taking a maximum of only 52 passengers and very personal in their approach. The highly professional crew, who pioneered Antarctic cruising over ten years ago, have real expertise in these parts of the world, and operate under strict environmental and safety standards.

Antarctica experts

To appreciate this extraordinary continent one needs the finest naturalists and ecologists to guide you and give lectures and insight into the wildlife and geography of this continent, on land and sea. To this end every cruise has a number of experts to guide you on land and to communicate to you at sea. They include well known experts including scientists like Robert Headland, natural history presenters, nature writers, together with a host of skills and experience covers history, ornithology, geography, geology, oceanography, marine biology and glaciology. All are enthusiastic communicators with a wealth of experience in their subject matters and will add greatly to your enjoyment and understanding of this last continent.

Note: Price includes Buenos Aires bed and breakfast accommodation, transfers, city tour, Ushuaia twin share accommodation, cruise with full board and berths, lectures and guide services, excursions, and a high visibility waterproof parka

traveller reviews for Cruising in the Antarctic

The most memorable and exciting part of our holiday was kayaking, surrounded by 2 types of whale, 2 types of seal and penguins, all popping in and out of the water at different intervals.  (more)
this tourism business won an award
in our 2005 First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards - organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical Magazine.
how this holiday makes a difference
This trip supports Birdlife International and the Scott Polar Research Institute.

The cruise boats are all members of the IAATO, the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, and as such operate under strict Environmental standards with the least possible harm to this pristine continent and the greatest possible safety to you as the passengers.

Each passenger with us on our Polar Cruises receives a year’s ‘Friends membership’ of the Scott Polar Research Institute, Britain’s foremost Polar Research and Preservation organisation based in Cambridge.

Furthermore a contribution to Birdlife International’s ‘Save the Albatross Campaign’ is also made, with monies being used to protect the rapidly declining Albatross species – due in part to long line fishing in the Polar regions.

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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).

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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.

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