HIGHLIGHTS
- Photograph
curious seals as you Zodiac-cruise through glassy waters, marvelling at
the iridescent blues of icebergs
- Marvel
at enormous king penguin colonies in South Georgia
- Walk
along beaches lined with elephant seals and Antarctic fur seals
DATES / RATES
Rates are listed per person in USD
|
| Start Date | End Date | Stateroom Triple | Stateroom Twin | Balcony Stateroom C | Balcony Stateroom B | Balcony Stateroom A | Balcony Suite | Junior Suite | Captain's Suite |
|---|
| Mar 10, 2023 | Mar 30, 2023 | 22,395 | 24,795 | 26,995 | 27,495 | 28,295 | 34,195 | 41,195 | 48,095 |
| Jan 17, 2024 | Feb 05, 2024 | 25,795 | 26,595 | 28,095 | 28,895 | 30,395 | 32,695 | 44,795 | 53,095 |
Rates are listed per person in USD
|
| Start Date | End Date | (Starting from)
Stateroom Triple | (Mid-range)
Balcony Stateroom A | (High-end)
Captain's Suite |
|---|
| Mar 10, 2023 | Mar 30, 2023 | 22,395 | 28,295 | 48,095 |
| Jan 17, 2024 | Feb 05, 2024 | 25,795 | 30,395 | 53,095 |
ITINERARY
Day
1 Ushuaia
Arrive
in Ushuaia, where you will be met by a representative of Aurora
Expeditions and transferred to our group hotel. Upon arrival at your
included hotel, kindly remind hotel check-in staff to provide you with
Aurora Expeditions cabin tags. Please clearly label the tags with your
name and ship cabin number.
At
approximately 6.00 pm this evening, meet your fellow expeditioners at a
voyage briefing. Afterwards, there’s free time to enjoy the
local cuisine at one of Ushuaia’s many restaurants. (Dinner
not included).
Accommodation:
Las Hayas Hotel (or similar)
Day
2 Embarkation
This
morning, please ensure your cabin luggage is fitted with cabin tags
clearly labelled with your name and cabin number. Please take your
cabin luggage down to hotel reception by 8.00 am. Your luggage will be
collected from your hotel and transferred directly to the port for
clearance and delivered to your cabin ahead of your arrival on board.
Please keep any valuables or personal items with you throughout the
day. Once you have checked out of your hotel by 11.00 am, you have free
time before meeting back in the hotel lobby at 2.00 pm to commence a
short sightseeing tour of Ushuaia. Alternatively, enjoy time at leisure
and make your own way to the Prison Museum carpark by 3.45 pm to
re-join the group to be transferred to the pier for embarkation.
Ushuaia,
capital of Tierra del Fuego is located at the shores of the Beagle
Channel and surrounded by the Martial Mountains giving you a unique
landscape in Argentina, which is the combination of mountains, sea,
glaciers and forests. On this brief introductory tour, you will visit
“La Mision” neighbourhood, the old Government
House, and the upper area of the city, which offers beautiful panoramic
views of Ushuaia and the Beagle Channel. During the excursion you will
see the antique houses that belonged to the first families settled in
Ushuaia. The excursion ends with a visit to the Old Prison Museum
before transferring to the pier for embarkation at approximately 4.00
pm.
After
embarkation, you’ll have time to settle into your cabin
before our important mandatory briefings. As the ship pulls away from
port, we’ll gather on the deck to commence our adventure with
spectacular views over Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego.
This
evening get to know your fellow expeditioners and friendly expedition
team and crew at a welcome dinner to celebrate the start of a thrilling
adventure to Antarctica.
Day
3 Drake Passage crossing
As
we commence the Drake Passage crossing, we make the most of our time
getting comfortable with the motions of the sea. Our expedition team
prepare you for our first landing with important wildlife guidelines
and biosecurity procedures and start our lecture program to help you
learn more about Antarctica’s history, wildlife and
environment.
Our
wildlife experiences begin as we enjoy watching and photographing the
many seabirds, including majestic albatrosses and giant petrels
following in our wake. They rise and fall skilfully, using air currents
created by the ship to gain momentum.
Day
4 Drake Passage & South Shetland Islands
Nearing
the South Shetland Islands and the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula on
day four, the excitement is palpable with everyone converging on one of
the observation decks, watching for our first iceberg. The ocean takes
on a whole new perspective once we are below the Antarctic Convergence
and are surrounded by the surreal presence of floating ice sculptures.
The memory of your first big iceberg sighting is likely to remain with
you for a lifetime. Weather permitting, we may attempt our first
landing in Antarctica by late afternoon.
Days
5-7 Antarctic Peninsula
It’s
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
we arrive, the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula and the South
Shetland Islands are ours to explore, and we have a host of choices
available to us. Your experienced expedition team, who have made
countless journeys to this area, will use their expertise to design
your voyage from day to day, choosing the best options based on the
prevailing weather, ice conditions and wildlife opportunities.
We
generally make landings or Zodiac excursions twice a day.
You’ll want to 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 of our favourite spots along the
peninsula.
While
ashore we aim to stretch our 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’ll have the option to do that whenever
conditions allow, and of course keen polar plungers will have the
chance to fully immerse themselves in polar waters - conditions
permitting!
In
addition to Zodiac cruises and shore excursions, we may ship cruise
some of the narrow, dramatic straits separating offshore islands from
the mainland, or linger in scenic bays to watch whales travelling or
feeding. This is a great time to enjoy the observation lounge or make
your way to the bridge for uninterrupted views of Antarctica in all its
splendour. Keep an ear out for the creak and deep rumble of glaciers as
they carve their way from summit to sea, and take a quiet moment to
experience the wonder of this incredible white continent.
Day
8 Elephant Island
Today,
if weather permits, we set course for Elephant Island, a half-submerged
mountain cloaked with an ice sheet at the outer limits of the South
Shetlands. We’ll learn the story of Shackleton and hear how
his ship, the Endurance, was crushed in pack ice in the Weddell Sea,
before him and his men climbed into three open boats, spending 16
months at sea, before finally making landfall on this tiny toe of rock
and ice in the vastness of the Southern Ocean on 14 April, 1916.
We
plan to sail past Cape Valentine to see the beach where the men first
put ashore over 100 years ago. Weather permitting; we hope to follow
the coastline six miles west to Point Wild, where the men eventually
set up camp under two of their upturned open boats and some old tents.
If weather permits, we’ll attempt to make a landing on
historic Point Wild, Elephant Island.
Days
9-10 Scotia Sea
En
route for South Georgia we'll head across the Scotia Sea, following the
route that Shackleton and five of his men took in order to find help
for the rest of their crew. On 24 April, 1916, they piled into the
James Caird, the most seaworthy of their open boats, to attempt this
perilous journey to South Georgia, some 1290 km (802 miles) distant.
Shackleton hoped to reach South Georgia in two weeks. There he would
enlist the help of the whalers to return to Elephant Island and rescue
the men who had been left behind. As excitement builds for South
Georgia, catch up with fellow expeditioners in the bar, keep watch for
wildlife alongside our naturalist from the open bridge, or learn more
of the Shackleton story from our historian.
“Nearly
always there were gales. So small was our boat and so great were the
seas that often our sail flapped idly in the calm between the crests of
two waves. Then we would climb the next slope and catch the full fury
of the gale where the wool-like whiteness of the breaking water surged
around us.”
-
Ernest Shackleton
Days
11-15 South Georgia
As
you near the rugged island of South Georgia, spare a thought for
Captain James Cook, who arrived here in 1775 and believed it to be the
northern tip of a great southern continent! In fact, it is a small
island only 176 km (110 mi) long, but with a 3,000 m (9,842 ft)
snow-capped mountain range, some of the world’s largest
congregations of wildlife and a truly fascinating human history, South
Georgia is an island of incredible riches.
On
approach, jagged mountain peaks rise steeply, while seabirds are often
spotted soaring around the ship. You’ll sail down the east
coast, taking in the spectacular glaciated scenery and enjoying a
little shelter from the prevailing westerly winds. This enchanting
coastline is yours to explore!
Your
experienced expedition team, who have made countless journeys to this
area, will use their local knowledge to plan your voyage from day to
day, choosing the best options based on the prevailing weather, sea
state and wildlife opportunities.
We
generally make landings or Zodiac excursions twice a day. Make sure you
layer up before joining Zodiac cruises around craggy coves and along
the rocky coastline in search of penguins, seal haul-outs and bird
cliffs. Remember to keep an eye out for South Georgia’s kelp
forests—these remarkable underwater ecosystems are quite
mesmerising as their fronds sway back and forth on the
water’s surface.
Zodiacs
will also transport you from ship to shore, where you can visit some of
the largest king penguin colonies on earth, take a guided walk among
fur seals and elephant seals (making sure you listen to your guides and
keep your distance!) and wander along pebbled streams and grassy
glacial outwash plains. We also hope to visit the remnants of South
Georgia’s thriving whaling stations and pay our respects to
Sir Ernest Shackleton, whose incredible voyage of survival is
synonymous with this island. If you have chosen an optional activity,
you’ll have the option to do that whenever conditions allow.
In
addition to Zodiac cruises and shore excursions, we may ship-cruise
through fjords with towering cliffs of ancient stone, or into deeply
indented bays towards dramatic glacier fronts. This is a great time to
find a comfy spot in the observation lounge or make your way to the
bridge to enjoy uninterrupted views of South Georgia’s
majestic coast.
Days
16-18 At Sea
Between
South Georgia and the Falklands~Malvinas, you will be entranced by the
ceaseless flight of the many seabirds that follow our wake, skilfully
using the air currents created by the ship to gain momentum. On this
leg, we are usually travelling into the prevailing weather, so it is
difficult to estimate our arrival time in the Falklands~Malvinas. Our
lecture program will continue and highlight all the amazing sights we
have witnessed over the past few days. We’ll have ample time
to enjoy the rest of our time observing the sea birds, whale watching
from the bridge, or simply relaxing in the bar with a book.
If
time and weather conditions permit, we could pass close to Shag Rocks,
a fascinating group of jagged rocky islets protruding from the sea, in
the proximity of South Georgia.
Day
19 Falklands~Malvinas
The
Falklands~Malvinas comprises two large islands (East and West
Falkland), with over 700 islands scattered off the coast. All but seven
of these are uninhabited, with windswept coastlines, white sand beaches
and crystal-clear water. These beautifully barren islands are true
wildlife havens, sheltering an impressive diversity of birdlife,
including the largest black-browed albatross colony on earth. The cold,
nutrient-rich waters surrounding the islands make this a prime location
for spotting marine life.
There
are many beautiful areas to explore across the Falklands~Malvinas, each
offering a unique perspective on this magnificent archipelago. Your
experienced expedition team, who have made countless journeys to this
area, will use their expertise to design your voyage from day to day,
choosing the best options based on the prevailing winds, weather and
wildlife opportunities.
We
generally make landings or Zodiac excursions twice a day. Even though
we’re north of the Antarctic Convergence it can be quite
chilly here, so you’ll want to layer up before joining Zodiac
cruises into rocky coves or along sea cliffs, keeping watch for seals,
sea lions, dolphins and penguins. Zodiacs will also transport you from
the ship to land, where you may be able to visit albatross colonies,
penguin rookeries and perhaps even have a traditional English
‘tea and scones’ at a local cottage.
We
also aim to land in historic Stanley, the capital of the
Falklands~Malvinas. This charming town has a distinctly British
character, with terraced town houses, pioneer cottages and even an
iconic red telephone box! Colourful buildings house cosy cafes, English
pubs, souvenir shops, a post office and the fascinating Historic
Dockyard Museum, with displays on the maritime history of the Falkland
Islands, natural history and links to Antarctica.
Day
20 At Sea
As
we sail towards Ushuaia, you may choose precious time editing photos,
enjoying the onboard facilities, or attend final lectures. Celebrate
the end of an unforgettable voyage with newfound friends at a special
Captain’s farewell dinner.
Day
21 Disembark in Ushuaia
During
the early morning, we cruise up the Beagle Channel, before quietly
slipping into dock in Ushuaia, where we will be free to disembark
around 8.00 am. Farewell your expedition team and fellow passengers as
we all continue our onward journeys, hopefully with a newfound sense of
the immense power of nature. A transfer to Ushuaia airport or to your
hotel is included in the voyage fare.
Greg Mortimer (Luxury Expedition, 120-guests)
Capable of negotiating the strongest winds and waves, the Greg Mortimer is built to world-class polar standards. It is designed in close consultation with expedition specialists, taking advantage of Auroras more than 25 years of experience.
(Click image to view Ship details)
WHAT'S INCLUDED
- All
airport transfers
- One
night’s hotel accommodation with breakfast in Ushuaia on day 1
- Half
day city tour in Ushuaia on day 2 prior to embarkation
- Luggage
transfer from your hotel in Ushuaia to ship on day 2
- On-board
accommodation during voyage including daily cabin service
- All
meals, snacks, tea and coffee during voyage
- Beer,
house wine and soft drinks with dinner
- Captain’s
Welcome and Farewell reception including four-course dinner, house
cocktails, house beer and wine, non-alcoholic beverages
- All
shore excursions and Zodiac cruises
- Educational
lectures and guiding services from expedition team
- Complimentary
access to onboard expedition doctor and medical clinic (initial consult)
- A
3-in-1 waterproof polar expedition jacket
- Complimentary
use of muck boots during the voyage
- Comprehensive
pre-departure information
- Port
surcharges, permits and landing fees
- Gratuities
for ship crew
Exclusions
- International
or domestic flights to or within South America, unless specified
- Transfers
not mentioned in the itinerary
- Airport
arrival or departure taxes
- Passport,
visa, reciprocity and vaccination charges
- Travel
insurance or emergency evacuation charges
- Hotels
and meals not included in itinerary
- Optional
excursions not included in the itinerary
- Optional
activity surcharges
- All
items of a personal nature including but not limited to: alcoholic
beverages and soft drinks (outside of dinner service), laundry
services, personal clothing, medical expenses, Wi-Fi, email or phone
charges
ADVENTURE
OPTIONS
- Bird
watching
- Lectures
on wildlife, our environment, history and destinations
- Photography
- Polar
plunge
- Trips
ashore
- Walking
- Whale
and mammal spotting
- Zodiac
cruises
Add-on Activities
- Sea
Kayaking - USD 1,560
- Snowshoeing
- USD 420
- Shackleton
Crossing in South Georgia by Ski - USD 2,220
