16 Days
A typical itinerary South Georgia and the Antarctic
Peninsula is illustrated below. All itineraries are for guidance only.
Programs may vary depending on local ice and weather conditions, the
availability of landing sites and opportunities to see wildlife. The
final itinerary will be determined by the Expedition Leader on board.
Flexibility is paramount for expedition cruises.
Please note: the one way flight from Santiago de Chile to the Falkland Islands is included in the ship’s passage price
Day 1: Flight from Santiago de Chile to the Falkland Islands. Departure to South Georgia
Flight
from Santiago de Chile to Mount Pleasant on the Falkland Islands. In
Stanley, the capital of the Falklands, we can experience Falkland
culture, which has some South- American characteristics as well as
Victorian charm.
In Stanley and the surrounding area we can see quite
an important number of stranded clippers from a century ago. In the
afternoon, we embark in Port Stanley and in the evening we set sail to
South Georgia.
Days 2 & 3 : At sea
At
sea, across the Southern Atlantic Ocean, in the Westerlies the ship is
followed by several species of albatrosses, storm petrels, shearwaters
and diving petrels. At sea, on our way to South Georgia we will cross
the Antarctic Convergence. Entering Antarctic waters, the temperature
will drop by as much as 10 degrees C in the time span of only a few
hours. Near the Convergence we will see a multitude of southern seabirds
near the ship; several species of Albatrosses, Shearwaters, Petrels,
Prions and Skuas.
Days 4 – 7: South Georgia
In
the afternoon of day 4 we arrive at our first landing site in South
Georgia. We might visit the bay of Elsehul, with its very active fur
seal breeding beach, and then set course to Right Whale Bay, Salisbury
Plain, Godthul, St. Andrews Bay, Gold Harbour, Cooper Bay and Drygalski
Fjord to give you a good opportunity to see a wide spectrum of
landscapes and wildlife, like the introduced Reindeer, Elephant seals,
Fur seals, King and Macaroni Penguins. One of the highlights might be
our visit to Prion Island, where we will witness the breeding efforts of
the huge Wandering Albatross and enjoy watching their displays. At
Fortuna Bay we might try to follow in the footsteps of the great British
Explorer Ernest Shackleton and hike over to Stømness Bay. There and at
Grytviken we’ll see an abandoned whaling village, where King Penguins
now walk in the streets and seals have taken over the buildings. At
Grytviken we’ll also offer a visit to the Whaling History Museum as well
as to Shackleton´s grave near by. We will depart from South Georgia in
the afternoon of day 7.
Day 8: at sea
At
sea, where the ship is again followed by a multitude of seabirds. At
some point we might encounter sea-ice, and it is at the ice-edge where
we might have a chance to see some high-Antarctic species like the
McCormick Skua and Snow Petrel.
Day 9: South Orkney Islands
We
are planning on a visit to Orcadas station, an Argentinean base located
in the South Orkney Islands. The friendly base personnel will show us
their facilities and we can enjoy the wonderful views of the surrounding
glaciers.
Day 10: At sea
Days 11 – 13: Antarctic Peninsula
We
will sail into the Weddell Sea through the ice-clogged Antarctic Sound.
Huge tabular icebergs will announce our arrival to the eastern side of
the Antarctic Peninsula. We plan to visit Brown Bluff where we may set
foot on the Continent.
Charlotte Bay on the west coast of Graham
Land was discovered by Adrien de Gerlache during the 1897–99 Belgica
expedition and named after the fiancée of Georges Lecointe, Gerlache's
executive officer, hydrographer and second-in-command of the expedition.
At
Portal Point there used to be a Falkland Islands Dependency Survey
(British Antarctic Survey from 1962) hut which was built there between
Brabant Island and the Danco Coast in 1956. The hut has been removed to
the Falkland Islands Museum in Stanley.
Portal Point served as the
gateway for a route to the polar plateau. Immediately behind the low
point on which the hut was located the (usually snow-covered) land rises
steeply upslope toward the plateau. The topography of the surrounding
area is mountainous, with nunataks rising through the ice. Charlotte Bay
is often filled with icebergs. Mostly we see seals on floes in
Charlotte Bay, and occasional, kelp gulls, skuas, shags, or penguins.
From the slope above Portal Point, and at its highest point, there are
excellent views of Charlotte Bay. In Wilhelmina Bay we will admire the
rugged ice coated mountains of the Arctowski Pensinsula.
At
Deception Island, we will try to land at Baily Head home to a colony of
ten thousands Chinstrap Penguins (please note this landing is not always
guaranteed and is only possible in good weather conditions). Good
walkers may hike from Baily Head over the ridge of the crater into
Whalers Bay, while our ship braves its entrance into the crater through
the spectacular Neptune’s Bellow into the ring of Deception Island.
Deception
itself is a sub-ducted crater, which opens into the sea, creating a
natural harbour for the ship. Here we find hot springs, an abandoned
whaling station, thousands of Cape Pigeons and many Dominican Gulls,
Brown and South Polar Skuas and Antarctic Terns. Wilson’s Storm Petrels
and Black-bellied Storm Petrels nest in the ruins of the whaling station
in Whalers Bay. We leave from here to the open sea with direction
Ushuaia.
Days 14 – 15: at sea
On our way north we are again followed by a great selection of seabirds while crossing the Drake Passage.
Day 16: Ushuaia
We arrive in the morning in Ushuaia and disembark.





