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 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.

Start your day with breakfast and check out of your hotel. Make sure your cabin luggage is fitted with tags clearly showing your name and cabin number. Drop off your cabin luggage at reception before or during check-out. It will be securely stored, transferred to the port for clearance, and placed in your cabin before your arrival on board. Keep valuables and personal items with you throughout the day.  

If you’re joining the Lake Escondido tour, meet in the hotel lobby at 8:45 am. This tour takes you on a stunning drive through glacial valleys, lush forests, waterfalls, and rivers in the Andes Mountains. Travel to Garibaldi Pass for panoramic views of Lake Escondido and, weather permitting, Fagnano Lake. Continue to a local ranch on Fagnano Lake’s shore to enjoy the breathtaking scenery and savor a traditional Fuegian lamb barbecue before returning to Ushuaia for embarkation.  

If you prefer a leisurely day, relax and meet at your hotel lobby or designated meeting point near the pier (details provided by the ground staff) for your transfer to the ship.  

Once onboard, settle into your cabin and attend mandatory briefings. As the ship departs, gather on deck to take in spectacular views of Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego.  

In the evening, join your fellow expeditioners, the expedition team, and the crew for a welcome dinner to celebrate the start of your Antarctic adventure.  

As you commence the Drake Passage crossing, you make the most of your time getting comfortable with the motions of the sea. The expedition team will prepare you for your first landing with important wildlife guidelines and biosecurity procedures and start your lecture program to help you learn more about Antarctica’s history, wildlife, and environment.

Your wildlife experiences begin as you enjoy watching and photographing the many seabirds, including majestic albatrosses and giant petrels, following your vessel. On sea days, you can enjoy the vessel's facilities, including the gym, sauna, and jacuzzis, or relax in one of the observation lounges.

Nearing the South Shetland Islands and the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula on the afternoon of day four, the excitement is palpable, with everyone converging on one of the observation decks, watching for your first iceberg. The ocean takes on a new perspective once you are below the Antarctic Convergence and surrounded by the surreal presence of floating ice sculptures. The memory of your first big iceberg sighting will likely remain with you forever. Time and weather permitting, you may attempt your first landing in Antarctica by 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 ours 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 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 a dock in Ushuaia, where you can disembark around 8.00 am. Farewell to your expedition team and fellow passengers as you 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.