Taste of Antarctica

You arrive in Ushuaia, where a representative meets you and transfers you to your assigned pre-voyage hotel. If you are already in Ushuaia, head directly to your hotel. Check-in begins at 3:00 pm. 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 your participation in tomorrow’s Lake Escondido pre-embarkation tour. The team provides details about embarkation day, answers questions, and shares dining and shopping recommendations.  

If you arrive after 7:00 pm, find a welcome pack waiting for you at check-in. Stop by the hospitality desk tomorrow between 8:00 am and 10:00 am.  

The rest of your time is free to explore at your leisure. Meals today are at your own expense.  

Assigned accommodation: To be advised.

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

If you’ve opted for the Lake Escondido tour, please meet in the lobby at 8:45 am. This excursion takes you on a breathtaking drive through glacial valleys, dense forests, and cascading waterfalls in the vast Andes Mountain Range. Traveling northeast from Ushuaia through peat bog valleys, ascend the winding road of Garibaldi Pass to a scenic lookout, offering panoramic views of Lake Escondido and, weather permitting, Fagnano Lake. Then, you descend to Fagnano Lake’s shore and visit a local ranch. After soaking in the stunning landscape, enjoy a traditional Fuegian lamb barbecue and free time before returning to Ushuaia for embarkation.  

Alternatively, spend the day at your leisure before meeting in the hotel lobby or at the designated parking lot near the pier (details provided by the ground staff) for transfer to the ship.  

Once on board, settle into your cabin before attending mandatory briefings. As the ship departs, gather on deck to take in spectacular views of Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego, marking the beginning of your expedition.  

This evening, celebrate the start of your Antarctic adventure with a welcome dinner, where you meet your fellow travelers, expedition team, and crew.

Settle into your cabin and get comfortable! Take time to explore the onboard facilities, including the gym, wellness center, and well-stocked library. Your expedition team will host engaging presentations on Antarctica’s history, wildlife, and environment to enrich your journey. Collect your Muck Boots and attend essential briefings on biosecurity, wildlife-watching guidelines, and Zodiac safety to prepare for your first Antarctic landing.  

On day four, excitement builds as you approach the South Shetland Islands and the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. Head to the observation decks to catch your first glimpse of an iceberg—a moment you can remember forever. South of the Antarctic Convergence, the ocean transforms, with porpoising penguins and towering icebergs surrounding you. If time and weather allow, you may even make 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. 

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. If you have chosen an optional activity, you can participate whenever conditions allow. Of course, 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. 

Enjoy a final morning landing in the South Shetland Islands before starting your journey back across the Drake Passage to South America.  

Take this time to attend lectures and film presentations that wrap up your Antarctic experience, while reflecting on the incredible moments and wildlife encounters you've had. Use the opportunity to share and discuss your experiences with fellow travelers. As you return, consider how you can become an ambassador for Antarctica, inspiring friends and family to appreciate and support the preservation of this extraordinary region.  

As the ship nears South America, your Captain may navigate close to the legendary Cape Horn, weather and time permitting, offering one last unforgettable highlight before the journey concludes.

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.