Crossing the Antarctic Circle

Our journey begins in Punta Arenas, Chile – the largest city in Patagonia. If you arrive early, you can explore museums, restaurants and shops at your own pace. By early afternoon, a representative meets us at the official starting point hotel, where we enjoy a welcome dinner and a thorough briefing to prepare for embarkation day. Please arrive at the hotel by 3pm today.

We board a charter flight from Punta Arenas to Antarctica, crossing the legendary Drake Passage in only a few hours – a spectacular first glimpse of the white continent as we descend over the South Shetland Islands. Our ship awaits near King George Island, where we come together with fellow travellers and set sail for the Antarctic Peninsula.

Antarctica stirs the senses as we approach the ice. Our first sightings come from the ship, with the Captain and Expedition Team scanning for whales and seabirds while specialists share insights into the region’s geology, history and wildlife. We make daily Zodiac landings where conditions allow – stepping ashore among penguins and seals for an intimate encounter with the continent. Each outing is different and weather dependent, bringing fresh sightings and photographic moments, and before long we learn to tell Adélie, Gentoo and Chinstrap penguins apart. We may cruise by Zodiac among icebergs near Pleneau Island one day and hike to a penguin rookery the next, perhaps hearing the boom of a calving glacier at Petermann Island, and there may even be the chance to camp on the ice at night.

Crossing the Antarctic Circle at 66° 33' S is a rare achievement – we mark the moment with a celebratory glass of champagne and a toast to the early explorers who ventured this far south. This is raw Antarctica, a realm of the midnight sun, Weddell seals and fantastical ice formations that few travellers ever witness.

As we turn north along the western Antarctic Peninsula and towards the Drake Passage, we continue Zodiac operations and shore landings where conditions allow – aiming for two outings a day – while the Expedition Team keeps watch for penguins, seals and whales that may have eluded us so far.

After a week of exploration, we bid farewell to the Expedition Team and disembark at King George Island before a flight of about three hours carries us across the Drake Passage to Punta Arenas, Chile. On arrival, we transfer you from the airport to the hotel, and you can enjoy a final dinner in the city to relive the sights and sounds of Antarctica.

After breakfast, we transfer you to the airport in Punta Arenas for your homeward flight.