Expedition to Antarctica Aboard L’Austral or Le Boreal

U.S.

Depart the U.S.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Buenos Aires/Ushuaia/Embark L’AUSTRAL or LE BORÉAL

Cruising the Drake Passage

Cross the legendary Drake Passage and watch for wandering albatrosses, diving petrels and breaching fins of humpback whales feeding from nutrient-rich waters formed by the Antarctic Convergence. Your expedition team of naturalists will present insightful lectures, preparing you for your first landing in Antarctica. During the evening, enjoy the lingering twilight of the Antarctic summer.

Port Lockroy/ Jougla Point

Visit Port Lockroy, built as a British intelligence port during World War II, then converted into a whaling station and scientific base. Observe the daily activities of past researchers at the living museum known as “Base A” and mail a postcard with an Antarctica postmark from the official British Post Office. Jougla Point on Wiencke Island offers a rare opportunity to view the skeletal remains of an adult blue whale and view populous colonies of gentoo penguins and kelp gulls that inhabit the region.

Petermann Island/ Lemaire Channel

Call at Petermann Island and watch its rookeries of Adélie and gentoo penguins and blue-eye shags. Flanked by towering glacial cliffs between the Antarctic Peninsula and Booth Island, cruise through the Lamaire Channel, where seven miles of mountains and interweaving patterns of ice floes brim with wildlife.

Neko Harbor/ Paradise Harbor

Listen for the low rumbling of Rudolf Glacier as it calves slabs of ice into Neko Harbor for a continental landing. Surrounded by soaring glaciers and snow-covered mountains, this spectacular harbor is one of the most dramatic sights on your expedition. In Paradise Harbor, crystal cliffs of ice descend from sky-bent mountains into the iceberg-laden waters along the Antarctic Peninsula’s western coast. Named by 19th-century whalers who sought shelter in its coves, it is an ideal sanctuary for marine wildlife including humpback whales, crabeater seals, and Cape petrels.

Deception Island, South Shetland Islands/Half Moon Island

Deception Island encircles the Port Foster caldera. In Pendulum Cove, see the geothermically heated shallows. The crescent-shaped Half Moon Island is known for its volcanic rock formations and tranquil lagoons. It houses Cámara Station, a base monitored by Argentine biologists studying regional wildlife. Here, observe the island’s colony of chinstrap penguins. Attend the Captain’s Farewell Reception.

Cruising the Wendell Sea

Cruise below the 60th parallel south to the outer shores of the Antarctic Peninsula, Earth’s last frontier. Witness towering mountains of ice and volcanic rock create precipitous coastlines and islands. A vast array of marine wildlife flourishes, including millions of penguins, countless seabirds, and thousands of seals and whales. An otherworldly topography of volcanoes and glaciers, populated with gistoric outposts, captures the nuance of Earth’s most inaccessible continent for the complete Antarctic experience.

Cruising the Antarctic Convergence/ Beagle Channel/Ushuaia,Argentina

Cross the Antarctic Convergence and the Drake Passage. The crossing is completed with the rounding of Cape Horn; the graveyard of hundreds of ships that once battled the westerly winds. Here, the ship will go East then turn north toward Beagle Channel back to Ushuaia.

Ushuaia/Disembark ship/Fly to Buenos Aires/Depart for home city

Disembark in Ushuaia and fly to Buenos Aires. Continue on the Iguazú Falls Post-Program Option with an overnight stay in Buenos Aires or depart for home city.

Depart for home

Arrive in home city.