A comprehensive view of the sub-Antarctic islands and the peninsula

16 to 19 nights

Sail across the South Atlantic towards the Falklands, and as with all voyages there are on board lectures about the history and wildlife of the islands. Visit the capital, Port Stanley. Continue to South Georgia to be greeted by thousands of king penguins and awe-inspiring scenery. Visit historically evocative sites such as the Grytviken and Stromness whaling stations and Gold Harbour. See cape petrels, king penguins and elephant seals. Head across the Scotia Sea to Antarctica. Planned visits to Deception Island, Half Moon Island, Paradise Bay, Cuverville Island, Neko Harbour, Vernadsky Base and Port Lockroy to see an astonishing variety and quantity of wildlife including gentoo and adelie penguins, Antarctic terns... and, more than likely, whales.

Please note that this itinerary also operates in reverse.

The Falkland Islands

The beautiful, remote, almost treeless Falklands is a paradise for birdwatchers: black-browed albatross, southern giant petrel and five species of penguin (king, gentoo, magellanic, rockhopper and macaroni). Elephant seals, fur seals and sea lions also abound. The capital, Port Stanley, is home to 2000 souls: now a charming, quiet town with a Hebridean feel to it, but once a thriving coaling station in the days before the Panama Canal.

South Georgia

Staggeringly beautiful. Two days’ voyage north from Antarctica across the Scotia Sea, South Georgia rises 2300m (9000ft) from the ocean - a land of alpine glaciated peaks, ice-scalloped fjords and protected valleys. Here also, at Salisbury Plain, is a huge rookery of magnificent king penguins. The rusting remains of the whaling stations at Grytviken and Stromness are a testament to the harshness of life here at the edge of the world. It was to the astonished manager at Stromness that Shackleton first raised the alarm of his wrecked ship, of his having rowed in two open boats with his crew from Antarctica to South Georgia via Elephant Island, and of having trekked across the mountains to stumble, exhausted, into the manager’s hut.

Antarctic Peninsula

The Antarctic Peninsula is the most readily accessible area of the continent and hosts some of the most awe-inspiring scenery and wildlife. It has the mildest climate of the continent (in the summer, the temperature usually hovers around freezing point) and is home to many of the scientific bases in Antarctica, including Port Lockroy, the first permanent British station. Gentoo, chinstrap and adelie penguins abound, and there’s always a good chance of sightings of humpback and minke whales, and orcas. Ships edge their way south through the slush and abstract patterns formed by the fractured sea ice; place names recall the early explorers: Neumeyer Channel, Lemaire Channel, Petermann Island.