Spirit of Antarctica: In Partnership with New Scientist

Arrive in Ushuaia, where an Aurora Expeditions representative will welcome you and transfer you and fellow expeditioners to your designated pre-voyage hotel. If you are already in Ushuaia, please proceed directly to your hotel. Check-in is available from 3:00 pm.  

This afternoon, visit the Aurora Expeditions hospitality desk in the hotel lobby between 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm to collect your luggage tags and confirm participation in tomorrow’s Lake Escondido pre-embarkation tour. The team will provide embarkation details, answer questions, and offer dining and last-minute shopping recommendations.  

Upon check-in, expeditioners arriving after 7:00 pm will receive a welcome pack and are requested to visit the hospitality desk the following morning between 8:00 am and 10:00 am.  

Enjoy the remainder of the day at your leisure. All meals today are at your own expense.

Assigned accommodation: To be advised

This morning, enjoy breakfast and check out. Ensure your cabin luggage is securely tagged with your name and cabin number, then drop it off at hotel reception before or during check-out. Your luggage will be stored and transferred to the port for clearance, arriving in your cabin before your embarkation. Keep all valuables and personal items with you throughout the day.  

Please meet in the hotel lobby at 8:45 am for those joining the Lake Escondido tour. This excursion offers a breathtaking panoramic drive through glacial valleys, lush evergreen and deciduous forests, and past waterfalls and rivers, all set against the backdrop of the Andes. Traveling northeast of Ushuaia, pass through peat bog valleys before ascending the winding road to Garibaldi Pass. From this vantage point, enjoy stunning views of Lake Escondido and, weather permitting, Fagnano Lake. You then descend toward Fagnano Lake’s shore to visit a local ranch, where you can take in the scenery and savor a traditional Fuegian lamb barbecue. After some free time, return to Ushuaia for embarkation.  

Alternatively, enjoy a leisurely day before meeting in the hotel lobby or at the designated meeting point near the pier (details provided by ground staff at the hotel) for your transfer to the ship.  

Once onboard, settle into your cabin before attending important mandatory briefings. As the ship departs, gather on deck to take in sweeping views of Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego, marking the start of your Antarctic expedition.  

This evening, join your fellow expeditioners, expedition team, and crew for a welcome dinner, celebrating the journey ahead.

Settle into your stateroom and make yourself comfortable! The onboard gym, well-being center, and well-equipped library are yours to discover, and your expedition team will offer a series of presentations on Antarctica’s history, wildlife, and environment to help enrich your experience. Collect your Muck Boots and attend important biosecurity, wildlife-watching guidelines, and Zodiac safety briefings in preparation for your first landing in Antarctica. 

On day four, the excitement is palpable as you near the South Shetland Islands and the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, with everyone converging on the observation decks to spot their first iceberg. Now that you’re south of the Antarctic Convergence, the ocean takes on a new character, surrounded by porpoising penguins and dramatic icebergs. The memory of your first iceberg sighting will likely remain with you forever. Time and weather permitting, you may attempt your first Antarctic landing in the late afternoon. 

It is almost impossible to describe the feeling of arriving in Antarctica. Spotting your first iceberg and taking a deep breath of some of the most fresh, crisp air on earth is an experience that will stay with you forever.  

Once you arrive, the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands are yours to explore, and you have many choices available. Because you are so far south, experience approximately 18-24 hours of daylight, and the days can be as busy as you wish.  

Your experienced expedition team, who have made countless journeys to this area, will use their expertise to design your voyage daily, choosing the best options based on the prevailing weather, ice conditions, and wildlife opportunities. The expedition team will help you experience a range of activities centered around daytime exploration via Zodiac boat safaris (investigating coves, glaciers, and wildlife), guided hikes (exploring pristine beaches and stunning wildernesses), and photography (helping you improve your skills with a camera).

You generally make landings or Zodiac excursions twice a day. Rug up before joining Zodiac cruises along spectacular ice cliffs or among grounded icebergs, keeping watch for whales, seals, and porpoising penguins. Zodiacs will also transport you from the ship to land, where you can visit penguin rookeries, discover historic huts, and explore some favorite spots along the peninsula.  

While ashore, you aim to stretch your legs, wandering along pebbly beaches or perhaps up snow-covered ridgelines to vantage points with mountains towering overhead and ice-speckled oceans below. Speaking of the oceans below, keen polar plungers will have the chance to fully immerse themselves in polar waters - conditions permitting! The polar plunge can take place any time during the voyage, so listen out for the announcement from the expedition team and get ready for the most exhilarating dip of your life! 

In addition to Zodiac cruises and shore excursions, you may ship cruise some narrow, dramatic straits separating offshore islands from the mainland or linger in scenic bays to watch whales traveling or feeding. This is a great time to enjoy the observation lounge or go to the bridge (open at the captain's discretion) for uninterrupted views of Antarctica in all its splendor. Listen out for the creak and deep rumble of glaciers as they carve into the sea. Take a quiet moment to experience the wonder of the pristine paradise of the splendid white continent. 

Join the team in the lecture theatre for presentations covering a broad range of topics to suit every interest. These lectures will cover polar science, wildlife, marine biology, glaciology, ornithology, exploration, history, photography, research, and specialist New Scientist talks. Regardless of the topic, they all have one thing in common: they all aim to engage, educate, entertain, and turn you into an ambassador for the planet. Plus, both on board and in the Zodiacs, the expedition crew will give you introductions to and commentary on many of the Antarctic phenomena you are experiencing. 

You can have the opportunity to participate in the unique citizen science program offered throughout the voyage. It is designed to be a hands-on, immersive, and transformative experience that helps you protect the planet's beauty. Various sampling and data collection projects will be conducted during your voyage, and a citizen science coordinator will be on hand to introduce and assist you. This expedition provides a unique platform to help collect high-quality data. With extended access to these remote regions and your expedition teams equipped with scientific backgrounds, you have the potential to participate and engage your passengers in citizen science projects to provide valuable data to the global scientific community. For a greater understanding, visit the world-class Citizen Science Centre. Be rewarded for your thirst for knowledge with one of the best views on the ship. 

Your expedition can be as active or leisurely as you want, and no activity or talk is mandatory.

Enjoy a final morning landing in the South Shetland Islands before re-entering the Drake Passage for your return journey to South America. 

With lectures and film presentations to complete your Antarctic experience, there is still plenty of time to enjoy the magic of the Southern Ocean and the life that calls it home. There is time for reflection and discussion about what you have seen and experienced. Tell your family, friends, and colleagues about your journey to this magical place, advocating for its conservation and preservation so that they might one day visit the region and experience what you have been lucky to see and do here.  

As you approach the tip of South America, your Captain may sail close to legendary Cape Horn, weather and time permitting. 

During the early morning, you cruise up the Beagle Channel before quietly slipping into the dock in Ushuaia, where you can disembark around 8.00 am. Farewell to your expedition team and fellow passengers as you all continue your onward journeys, hopefully with a newfound sense of the immense power of nature.  

Upon disembarkation, for those continuing their travels in the region, transportation to the hotel will be arranged exclusively for guests who have booked their accommodations through Aurora or for those staying in downtown areas near the port. Expeditioners departing on flights prior to 12.30 pm will be directly transferred to Ushuaia Airport. Those with flights after 12.30 pm will have the opportunity to explore Ushuaia before an afternoon airport transfer, and the transfer procedures and details will be communicated onboard before disembarkation.     

Note: At the conclusion of the voyage, it is not recommended to book flights departing Ushuaia prior to 12.00 pm on the day of disembarkation in case there are delays.