Welcome to Santiago, the vibrant capital of Chile. Relax and spend the night here, preparing for your adventure.

Fly from Santiago to Puerto Williams and embark on Silver Wind for your Polar adventure.

Puerto Williams is a Chilean city located on Navarino Island, on the southern shores of the Beagle Channel. It claims to be the “southernmost city in the world”, however, owing to its small size—approximately 2500 residents—the much larger Argentinean city of Ushuaia, which sits on the northern side of the same channel, also claims that title. The surrounding scenery is magnificent. The wild, windswept mountains rise above the tree line and are regularly dusted with snow. The city itself has a dramatic backdrop called “Dientes de Navarino” (literally “teeth of Navarino”), which rivals the famous Torres del Paine further to the north.

Sailing the legendary Drake Passage is an experience that few are ever lucky enough to experience. The southern tip of the Americas already feels like a wild enough environment, but the sensation of watching the distant cliffs of the peninsula, known as the ‘End of the World', fade into the horizon is one that’s equal parts epic, eerie, and magical. Set sail to slowly drop off the bottom of the map from Cape Horn and voyage on an expedition down into the icy underworld of Antarctica. The Drake Passage is an extraordinary voyage of romantic ocean-faring legend as you aim for Antarctica’s icy realm. On arrival, skyscraper-sized icebergs salute you as you traverse the waters of this continent, where snow- and ice-dwelling creatures like penguins and whales roam undisturbed. Your first sight of this most unexplored place will most likely be the South Shetland Islands. Walk in the footsteps of some of history’s greatest and bravest explorers as you explore famed, snow-covered landmasses like Elephant Island and Deception Island. 

Few voyages ignite the imagination like a journey down to one of the planet’s most remote, extreme, and enchanting wildernesses, Antarctica. An adventure in its purest form, only a handful of people will ever be lucky enough to experience the majestic beauty of these monochrome landscapes firsthand. The Antarctic Sound will be one of your first encounters with this whitewash kingdom, located at the northerly tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, which sprawls up like a tentacle towards Tierra del Fuego, South America’s most southerly point, otherwise known as the ‘End of the World’. Taking its name from the first ship to brave the passageway between the peninsular and the Joinville Island groups back in 1902, the Sound is a raw, sensory assault of imposing iceberg slabs, broken away from the disintegrating Larsen Ice Shelf. Come face-to-face with stadium-sized islands of ice and meet the extraordinary birdlife that calls this whitewash kingdom home. Watch on as colonies of Gentoo penguins hop around and cape petrels sweep overhead as the continent’s unique wildlife thrives around you.

The Antarctic Peninsula unravels upwards towards South America, reaching out a beckoning finger to the adventurous who dare to explore this untamed realm. Stretching up from the heart of the world’s southernmost continent, the Antarctic Peninsula lies a mere 620 miles from Tierra del Fuego and, for many, offers a spectacular first taste of the snow-blanketed landscapes and colossal ice sculptures that make up Earth’s least-explored continent. Unseen by humans until 1820—a blink of an eye ago in relative terms—this is an adventure sure to make your hair stand on end as you experience the thrill of the truly unknown and extraordinary. The vast peninsula is sprinkled with research bases, which are at the forefront of human scientific endeavor, pushing to study and understand this unique landscape, its exceptional wildlife, and the impact that humans are having on this pristine continent. Witness cathedral-sized icebergs up close and blue-hued glaciers slowly slipping from imposing locations like Hope Bay. Blanched mountain peaks cover the peninsula, and you can find thousands of adorable Adelie penguin pairs thriving undisturbed in this peninsula’s unique setting.

The ice-coated Antarctic Peninsula forms perhaps the most accessible region of mainland Antarctica, lying a mere 480 miles away from South America across the fabled waters of Drake Passage. Lying close to the northwestern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, separated by the Bransfield Strait, the South Shetland Islands fall under the jurisdiction of the Antarctic Treaty, suspending claims on their sovereignty. Several countries maintain research bases here, and with plump elephant seals and crowds of Gentoo, Chinstrap, and Adelie Penguins also calling the islands home, it can even feel a little crowded at times. King George Island is the largest and most hospitable island, hosting the majority of the research stations, some of which are populated all-year-round by tiny, hardy crews. Don’t be fooled, though; these islands offer extraordinary adventure in one of the most remote locations on earth. The triple peaks of Mount Foster tower above the archipelago, and you can feel your heart pumping a little quicker as you sail into the core of Deception Island’s magnificent collapsed volcano caldera. Hike the Luna landscapes within and even dip into the improbably warm, geothermally heated waters of Pendulum Cove. Elephant Island, meanwhile, is written deep into the annals of Antarctic expedition legend.

Sailing the legendary Drake Passage is an experience that few are ever lucky enough to experience. The southern tip of the Americas already feels like a wild enough environment, but the sensation of watching the distant cliffs of the peninsula, known as the ‘End of the World', fade into the horizon is one that’s equal parts epic, eerie, and magical. Set sail to slowly drop off the bottom of the map from Cape Horn and voyage on an expedition down into the icy underworld of Antarctica. Drake Passage is an extraordinary voyage of romantic ocean-faring legend as you aim for Antarctica’s icy realm. On arrival, skyscraper-sized icebergs salute you as you traverse the waters of this continent, where snow- and ice-dwelling creatures like penguins and whales roam undisturbed. Your first sight of this most-unexplored place will most likely be the South Shetland Islands. Walk in the footsteps of some of history’s greatest and bravest explorers as you explore famed, snow-covered landmasses like Elephant Island and Deception Island. If the journey across Drake Passage sounds daunting, don’t worry—even in rough seas, you’re never alone and will often be accompanied on this spine-tingling adventure by soaring albatrosses and maybe even a protective pod of humpbacks and hourglass dolphins or two. Converging warm and cool ocean currents attract some spectacular animal life to the passage.

Puerto Williams is a Chilean city located on Navarino Island, on the southern shores of the Beagle Channel. It claims to be the “southernmost city in the world”, however, owing to its small size—approximately 2500 residents—the much larger Argentinean city of Ushuaia, which sits on the northern side of the same channel, also claims that title. The surrounding scenery is magnificent. The wild, windswept mountains rise above the tree line and are regularly dusted with snow. The city itself has a dramatic backdrop called “Dientes de Navarino” (literally “teeth of Navarino”), which rivals the famous Torres del Paine further to the north.

After breakfast, disembark Silver Wind and board a charter flight back to Santiago.