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Private Journeys

Antarctica Wildlife: Falklands, South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula

23 days from £20,600pp

(based on two people sharing & excluding flights)

Antarctica / Falkland Islands

Itinerary

map marker Map

Day 1

Arrive in Buenos Aires. Transfer to your hotel in the chic Recoleta district.

You will be met at the airport and escorted to your hotel in the chic residential district of Recoleta by one of our local representatives.

Buenos Aires is an elegant, cultured and cosmopolitan city famed for its interesting museums and the fascinating port district of La Boca, with its cobbled streets and brightly painted houses. It was here that the tango was born, and Diego Maradona honed his footballing skills.

The centre of town is home to the colonial heartland, government buildings and churches, as well as chic shopping districts, which have a nostalgic Parisian feel. The bohemian quarter of San Telmo is full of quaint old houses interspersed with antiques shops, tango bars and classy restaurants. Slightly further out of the centre is the Recoleta district, even more evocative of French belle époque and Italian influence.

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Stay at - Hotel Madero

Day 2

Guided city tour.

Your small-group guided city tour takes you along Avenida 9 de Julio, one of the widest boulevards in the world and studded by the Obelisk, an emblematic symbol of the city. Along this majestic highway is the 19th century Teatro Colón which, in terms of its architecture and design, as well as its excellent acoustics, is considered one of world’s best. On to the Plaza de Mayo, enclosed on 3 sides by the metropolitan cathedral, the town hall and the Casa Rosada, the presidential palace. The tour continues to bohemian, arty La Boca, which was settled and built by Italian immigrants and has streets lined with brightly painted corrugated iron-clad houses. Visit the district of Recoleta.

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Stay at - Hotel Madero

Day 3

Fly south to Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego), overnight in hotel.

Fly to Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego, southern Patagonia. The city has grown rapidly in recent years, partly as a result of government incentives to settlers, and its establishment as a Free Port, and partly a tourist centre – most Antarctic cruises, like yours, leave from the port here. The setting is spectacular; jagged mountains hem in the town down to the shore of the Beagle Channel. Spend a night here prior to embarking on your cruise ship.

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Days 4-5

Embark your ship bound for Antarctica. Sail along the Beagle Channel.

Transfer to the port and embark your ship. We offer a wide choice of expedition ships, from economic former scientific vessels to the most luxurious ones which are purpose-built for Polar expedition cruising.

Polar expedition ships are small by the standards of conventional cruise liners; most carry fewer than 200 guests, ensuring a rewarding and well-informed experience. Ships have ice-strengthened hulls and carry Zodiacs for exploration and remote landings. Each voyage is accompanied by skilled team of expedition guides. Some are accompanied by a practicing scientist, historian, or researcher who conducts fieldwork during the trip.

Depart and head towards the Drake Passage through the Beagle Channel, so named after the HMS Beagle which later took Charles Darwin on his explorations around the South American continent.

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Stay at - Seaventure

Days 6-7

Visit the Falkland Islands.

The first port of call is the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas). Dolphins are often seen along the coast and wildlife includes rockhopper penguin, black-browed albatross and blue-eyed shag. You also have the opportunity to explore the Falklands capital, Stanley. Founded in 1844 this tiny outpost of colonial officials and sailors is now home to just 2,000 people and has a quiet Hebridean feel to it. Miraculously it was virtually unscathed during the 1982 war.

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Stay at - Seaventure

Days 8-9

At sea.

At sea. The expedition team prepares you for landings and zodiac cruises along the coast of South Georgia. Learn about penguins, reindeer and the island’s connection to the expeditions of Sir Ernest Shackleton.

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Stay at - Seaventure

Days 10-13

Visit South Georgia.

Sharing many of the biological characteristics of Antarctica, South Georgia is a narrow island with 2 mountain ranges rising 2,300m from the ocean – a land of alpine glaciated peaks, ice-scalloped fjords and protected valleys.

It is at the now rusting whaling station at Stromness that Shackleton first raised the alarm of his wrecked ship, having famously trekked across the mountains with its towering, high peaks and equally impressive glaciers, also has many low-lying grassy areas, deep fjords and beaches.

The island, first sighted by Captain James Cook in 1675, attracts an outstanding concentration of wildlife. You can expect to see King and gentoo penguins, elephant seals and albatross.

Lina Fuller ©

Stay at - Seaventure

Days 14-16

Sail through the Scotia Sea via the South Orkney Islands.

Sail through the Scotia Sea. Stop at the South Orkneys, much visited long ago by scientists and whalers, where towers of black rock shield the flooded caldera of an active volcano and wildlife abounds.

Stay at - Seaventure

Days 17-19

Explore the South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula

An iceberg looms into view followed by the mountains of the South Shetland Islands. The main stop here is at Deception Island, the centre of which is a volcanic caldera that last erupted in 1969. Explore the Antarctic Peninsula where silence is so complete that interruptions become indelible memories: noisy penguins squabbling over prized pebbles on Cuverville Island, the boom and crack of a calving glacier in Paradise Harbour, for example.

The soaring peaks and stark rocks of Lemaire Channel are just the excuse you need to grab your camera gear for a shooting session from the deck, if the channel is free of ice. Exactly where the ship lands will vary from one expedition to the next and according to the polar conditions as the ship edges its way southwards through the slush and abstract patterns formed by the sea ice. Wildlife you may encounter includes gentoo, chinstrap and Adélie penguins, petrel, shag, elephant and fur seal, and perhaps whales.

Stay at - Seaventure

Days 20-21

Sail through the Drake Passage.

At sea: head back towards Ushuaia via Drake Passage, hundreds of kilometres of open water and the shortest crossing between Antarctica and the rest of the world. Very occasionally the crossing is gentle, but the odds are against it. Force 5/6 winds are considered normal conditions. Whales and dolphins can often be seen as well as an abundance of marine birds such as petrel, albatross and penguin. During this part of the voyage, there are briefings and presentations on the Antarctic ecosystem.

Stay at - Seaventure

Day 22

Disembark in Ushuaia; fly to Buenos Aires.

Disembark, transfer to airport and fly back to Buenos Aires. Overnight.

Stay at - Hotel Madero

Day 23

Transfer to the airport for international flight home.

Fly home, or continue your adventure with a visit to Iguazu Falls, the wine region or one of Argentina’s other fantastic highlights. Buenos Aires is also a good hub from which to reach some of Latin America’s other extraordinary countries. Contact our Travel Experts for some advice about where would best suit your interests and requirements.

Inspired by this trip

Our exciting range of articles on Latin America explore everything from iconic destinations and lesser-known cultural gems to delicious traditional recipes. You’ll also find exclusive travel tips, first-hand client reviews and the chance to get your personal questions answered by our travel experts.

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Your edit for Latin American inspiration

Our exciting range of articles on Latin America explore everything from iconic destinations and lesser-known cultural gems to delicious traditional recipes. You’ll also find exclusive travel tips, first-hand client reviews and the chance to get your personal questions answered by our travel experts.

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Meet our team

Real Latin american experts

  • Lina
    Lina Fuller - Travel Expert

    Lina's passion for the continent where she was born really took off when she moved to Córdoba (Argentina) to study, spending the holidays travelling between Argentina and her native Colombia.

  • Hannah
    Hannah Donaldson - Travel Expert

    Having spent part of her childhood in Colombia and worked in Brazil and Costa Rica, Hannah's ties to Latin America run deep. Hannah is a much valued Travel Expert in our Tailor-made Holidays and Group Tours sales team.

  • Paul Winrow Giffin
    Paul Winrow-Giffin - Travel Expert

    After graduating in Computer Science, Paul spent seven months travelling from Colombia to Argentina and came home hooked on Latin America.

  • Juliet
    Juliet Ellwood - Travel Expert

    After graduating with a degree in Anthropology and History and having been fascinated by Latin America since childhood by the book featuring photos of Nazca, Juliet first visited the region in 2003. Since then, Juliet has visited the majority of countries in Latin America but has particularly extensive experience with Peru, a country she loves for many reasons but not least, its incredible archaeological richness and delicious food!

  • Ben
    Ben Line - Travel Expert

    Ben fell in love with Latin America on a six month backpacking trip from Colombia to Mexico in 1995. Since then he has explored most of South America, including living in Peru for a year. He is now Head of Sales.

  • Sophie
    Sophie Barber - Travel Expert

    Sophie lived in Chile before joining us and has travelled extensively across Latin America, from Mexico to the furthest tip of Patagonia and beyond to Antarctica.

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