Retrace sea lanes navigated by storied explorers Shackleton, Amundsen, and Scott on a once-in-a-lifetime 14-day, 11-night journey that includes vibrant Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a 5-star cruise to Earth’s last frontier. Be among the fortunate few to set foot on this pristine wilderness. Enjoy guided excursions led by an expedition team of naturalists aboard sturdy Zodiac crafts amid floating ice sculptures, intricate ecosystems, and abundant wildlife—including humpback whales, leopard seals, and Adélie penguins. Extend your expedition with the Iguazú Falls Pre-Program Option, which includes Buenos Aires/Iguazú round-trip airfare.
Program Details
- Fourteen-day, 11-night journey to Earth's last frontier, where whales, seals, and penguins mingle among turquoise glaciers and glimmering icebergs.
- Stay 2 nights in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and cruise for 9 nights aboard a 5-star, ice-class expedition ship; most staterooms and suites have a private balcony.
- Enjoy a city tour of Buenos Aires, featuring the popular neighborhoods of Palermo, Monserrat, La Boca, Puerto Madero, San Telmo, and a visit to the historic Recoleta Cemetery.
- Visit Port Lockroy and gain insight into the daily activities of past researchers at the living museum, “Base A."
- Mail a postcard stamped with an Antarctica postmark from the official British Post Office.
- Marvel at the crescent-shaped Half Moon Island—site of Cámara Station, monitored by Argentine biologists studying regional wildlife.
- Embark on Zodiac excursions led by an expedition team of naturalists, with expertise spanning marine biology; ornithology; glaciology; conservation; history; and photography.
- Receive complimentary boot rental during the trip and take home a complimentary polar-grade red parka as a souvenir.
Day 1 - Depart Home City
Day 2-3 - Buenos Aires, Argentina
Day 4 - Buenos Aires / Fly to Ushuaia / Embark L’ Austral or Le Boréal
Day 5-6 - Cruising the Drake Passage
Day 7 - Port Lockroy / Jougla Point
Day 8 - Petermann Island / Lemaire Channel
Day 9 - Neko Harbor / Paradise Harbour
Day 10 - Deception Island, South Shetland Islands / Half Moon Island
Day 11 - Cruising the Weddell Sea
Day 12 - Antarctic Convergence / Beagle Channel / Ushuaia, Argentina
Day 13 - Ushuaia / Disembark ship / Buenos Aires / Depart for home city
Day 14 - Arrive in the U.S. or Canada
View detailed program itinerary >
Itinerary is dependent on weather, ice, and sea conditions.
L’Austral and Le Boréal
Five-Star, Ice-Class Ships
Join us aboard the exclusively chartered, 5-star L’Austral and Le Boréal, where distinctive French sophistication meets innovative nautical design. The ship’s efficient electrical propulsion system and custom stabilizers provide an exceptionally smooth, quiet, and comfortable voyage. Each of the 110 ocean-view staterooms and suites range from 200 to 484 square feet, and most have a private balcony.
Iguazú Falls Pre-Program Option
The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Iguazú Falls, among the world’s most spectacular natural wonders, is situated in one of South America’s last remaining virgin rainforests. Spanning nearly the Argentinian border of Brazil, Iguazú Falls is three times as wide and nearly twice as high as Niagara Falls. Visit Parque das Aves jungle reserve, home to more than 350 species of birds, 66 varieties of mammals, and an array of reptiles, fish, and flora. Enjoy accommodations for 3 nights in 5-star hotels. Includes economy class Buenos Aires/Iguazú Falls round-trip airfare.
The Pre-Program is available at additional cost. Details will be provided with your reservation confirmation.
Felicity Aston MBE
There is an anecdote on Felicity Aston MBE’s website that talks about her first “expedition” at the age of 9, which involved “being bribed” up a modest peak in England by her parents. Aston, now one of the most accomplished polar explorers and climate scientists of modern times, says this childhood milestone changed her life. Today, she is both the only woman in the world to have skied across Antarctica alone and the first person in the world to have traversed the continent purely by muscle power, which gave her a place in the Guinness World Records. Her polar career began two decades ago when she traveled to Antarctica as a meteorologist with the British Antarctic Survey. By age 23, she was monitoring climate change at the Rothera Research Station on the Antarctic Peninsula. Her Kaspersky Lab Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition was the first to ‘Tweet to the Pole’ and material from her “Pole of Cold expedition” has been developed into a traveling art exhibition. Aston has since written five books and produces articles for publications in the UK and abroad.
