Tour Classic Antarctica And Chilean Fjords - Fly And Cruise - M/V

Transport

M/V Sylvia Earle Zodiac

Guide

Expedition Crew Naturalist(s)

Accommodation

11 nights premium boat 1 nights comfortable hotel

Others

Enjoy the mid summer spectacle - of Antarctic wildlife Sail & Fly expedition - only one crossing of the Drake Passage Hear sonorous blows - of feeding humpbacks Zodiac cruise amongst the ice - spotting leopard and crabeater seals Celebrate the crossing of the Antarctic Circle - at latitude 66°33’ South Enjoy the freedom of Antarctica - being in the vast, ice-sculpted Antarctic wilderness Hear sonorous blows - of feeding humpbacks

Meals

A key facet of our responsible approach to tourism is that we encourage our groups to eat in local restaurants that prepare locally grown food. We give customers choice as to their meals and do not use rather bland and impersonal hotel restaurants or all- inclusive options 12 Breakfasts 10 Lunches 11 Dinners

Not included:

Flights

Flights are not included

Insurance

Insurance is not included

Others

Other activities and services are not included

Optional

Other activities and services are not included

Start planning your experience

Day 1 Day 1: Arrive Punta Arenas
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 1: Arrive Punta Arenas

Arrive in Punta Arenas (PUQ) where you will be met by a representative and transferred to your assigned pre-voyage hotel. If you are already in Punta Arenas, we ask you to make your way to your hotel. Check-in is from 3 pm. Upon arrival, please visit the AE hospitality desk in the reception area between 3 - 7 pm, to collect your luggage cabin tags, and confirm if you wish to join our Punta Arenas tour tomorrow. Our team will confirm details regarding your embarkation day, answer any questions and provide you with information about where to dine or purchase last minute items. Expeditioners arriving after 7 pm will find a welcome pack waiting for them at check-in. We ask you to visit our hospitality desk tomorrow between 8 - 10 am. The remainder of your day is at leisure.
Day 2 Day 2: Embark The M/V Sylvia Earle
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 2: Embark The M/V Sylvia Earle

This morning, enjoy breakfast and check-out. Please ensure your cabin luggage is fitted with cabin tags clearly labelled with your name and cabin number. Take your cabin luggage to hotel reception, prior to, or at check-out. Your luggage will be stored and transferred directly to the port for clearance, to be placed in your cabin ahead of your arrival on board. Please keep any valuables or personal items with you throughout the day. The township of Punta Arenas was founded in the 1500s and is the gateway to the Strait of Magellan. It was originally established as a prison colony and later the biggest commercial and supplying centre of all vessels travelling between the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean. The town has since made a name for itself as the central base for exploring Patagonia and Antarctica. At first glance, Punta Arenas may not seem like much of a destination, but if you have time to walk around, you’ll discover many unique and interesting things to see in this southern town. One thing you may notice is the colonial-style architecture, including Palacio Sara Braun, built in the late 1800s. At the centre of Punta Arenas old town is Plaza Muñoz Gamero, the park-like square surrounded by tall trees and a lush vegetation. In the middle of the plaza is a statue dedicated to Ferdinand Magellan, discoverer of the Strait of Magellan and the first European to cross the Pacific Ocean. We recommend a walk along the waterfront promenade, from which you will see the island of Tierra del Fuego and the Strait of Magellan in the distance. You will also be able to see the Maritime Monument, representing the first settlers in the area, many shipwrecks abandoned from old trading days, and you may also be lucky enough to see the cormorants taking off over the sea. At approximately 4 pm, you will be transferred to the port for embarkation. Once aboard, 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 farewell Punta Arenas and commence our adventure to Antarctica. 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 Day 3: Chilean Fjords
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 3: Chilean Fjords

Sail along the legendary Beagle Channel and enjoy splendid scenery of fjords and channels flanked by majestic mountains. Keep watch for the many seabirds and marine wildlife including dolphins, sea lions and whales preparing to migrate to Antarctica to fatten up on plentiful krill. In the evening, we exit Nassau Bay, sail past Cape Horn and prepare to enter Drake Passage.
Day 4 Day 4: Drake Passage
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 4: Drake Passage

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 our vessel. On sea days, you may can enjoy the facilities on board the vessel including the gym, wellness centre or the relaxing in one of the observation lounges.
Day 5 Day 5: Drake Passage
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 5: Drake Passage

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 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. Time and weather permitting, we may attempt our first landing in Antarctica by late afternoon.
Day 6 Day 6: Antarctic Peninsula
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 6: Antarctic Peninsula

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 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. Because we are so far south, we will experience approximately 18-24 hours of daylight and the days can be as busy as you wish.
Day 7 Day 7: Antarctic Peninsula
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 7: Antarctic Peninsula

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. During our time in Antarctica, there are many exciting places we can choose to visit and we may make a stop at a few or many of the following : Paradise Harbour A protected bay surrounded by magnificent peaks and breath-taking glaciers, the rocky cliffs provide a perfect nesting site for blue-eyed shags, terns and gulls. Paradise Harbour is also a haven for whales as we keep our eyes open for humpbacks, orcas and minkes, as well as crabeater seals, whilst we explore the bay in Zodiacs. Half Moon Island This wildlife-rich island is tucked into a neat bay at the eastern end of Livingston Island. On a clear day, the glaciers and mountains of Livingston Island dominate the vista. There is a large chinstrap penguin rookery tucked in between basaltic turrets, coloured by yellow and orange lichens. Gulls nest on these turrets and there are often fur seals and elephant seals hauled out on the pebble beaches. At one extremity of the island, there is a large colony of nesting blue-eyed shags. At the other end lies a small Argentine station that is sometimes occupied by scientists conducting research on the penguin colony and surrounding waterways. Lemaire Channel If ice conditions allow, standing on the bow of the Greg Mortimer quietly moving through the narrow Lemaire Channel, could be one of the highlights of your voyage. Cliffs tower 700 metres straight up out of the ocean on either side of the ship. The water can be so still, that perfect reflections are mirrored on the surface and it is clear to see why this Channel is also known as Kodak Alley. Gigantic icebergs may clog the channel, creating navigational challenges for our captain and crew; occasionally they may even obstruct our passage. Port Lockroy Located on Goudier Island, British Port Lockroy is an important site for both scientific research and visitors to the Antarctic continent. Designated a historic site in 1994 and opened to the Antarctic tourism industry in 1996, it was discovered in 1904 and used by the whaling industry in the first half of the 1900’s. It was also part of the British Operation Tabarin during World War II, and was later used as a British Research Station. Today, Pork Lockroy is manned by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust and operates as a museum, gift shop and Post Office for visitors from passing Antarctic expeditions. You can even send a postcard home from the Penguin Post Office, the World’s most southern Post Office! Deception Island Visiting Deception Island is like making a journey to the moon. We sail through the narrow opening of Neptune’s Bellows to enter the flooded volcanic crater. The inside of the crater is an unworldly scene, virtually devoid of life. Glaciers flow down from the edge of the crater, littered with black volcanic ash. We can explore the lifeless remains of a derelict whaling station and a vacant British base, or climb to the rim of the crater. Steam rises from the shore indicating that the water is actually warm enough for swimming, for those who dare. Outside the crater, if conditions allow, we might land at Bailey Head to explore the enormous chinstrap penguin rookery that featured in David Attenborough’s Life in the Freezer series. Neko Harbour Located in Andvord Bay, Neko Harbour is an inlet home to Gentoo penguins and regularly welcomes Weddell seals. The scenery is dramatic - towering peaks and calving glaciers surround the harbour. The thundering crack of the glaciers as they calve, is sure to stop you in your tracks.
Day 8 Day 8: Antarctic Peninsula
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 8: Antarctic 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 will have the option to do participate in the activity whenever conditions allow, and of course keen polar plungers will have the chance to fully immerse themselves in polar waters - conditions permitting! The polar plunge can take place at 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!
Day 9 Day 8: Antarctic Peninsula
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 8: Antarctic 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 will have the option to do participate in the activity whenever conditions allow, and of course keen polar plungers will have the chance to fully immerse themselves in polar waters - conditions permitting! The polar plunge can take place at 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!
Day 10 Day 9: Antarctic Peninsula
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 9: Antarctic Peninsula

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 (open at the captain’s discretion) for uninterrupted views of Antarctica in all its splendour. Listen out for the creak and deep rumble of glaciers as they carve into sea. Take a quiet moment to experience the wonder of the pristine paradise of the splendid white continent.
Day 11 Day 10: Antarctic Peninsula
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 10: Antarctic Peninsula

Enjoy a final morning landing in the South Shetland Islands before we re-enter the Drake Passage for our return journey to South America. With lectures and film presentations to complete our 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 we have seen and experienced. We hope you become ambassadors for Antarctica telling 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 to experience what you have been lucky to see and do here.
Day 12 Day 11: Drake Passage
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 11: Drake Passage

As we approach the tip of South America, our Captain may sail close to legendary Cape Horn, weather and time permitting.
Day 13 Day 12: Drake Passage
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 12: Drake Passage

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 am. Bid farewell to your expedition team and fellow passengers as you all continue on your onward journeys. On disembarkation, passengers on flights departing prior to 2 pm will be transferred directly to Ushuaia Airport (USH), while those fortunate enough to be continuing their travels in this spectacular region of the world, will be transferred to their post-voyage Ushuaia accommodation. Passengers flying after 2pm will have time to explore Ushuaia, prior to an afternoon airport transfer, the details of which will be provided onboard prior to disembarkation.
Day 14 Day 13: Trip Ends Ushuaia
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 13: Trip Ends Ushuaia

During the early morning, we cruise up the Beagle Channel, before quietly slipping into dock in Ushuaia. The trip ends after breakfast on board the ship. There are no activities planned today, so you are free to depart at any time after 12 pm. For those on morning flights, a transfer will take you directly to Ushuaia City Airport (USH). For those on later flights, you will be transferred to downtown Ushuaia and given time to explore the city, before continuing on to the airport in time for your flight.

+11

14 days tour

Classic Antarctica And Chilean Fjords - Fly And Cruise - M/V

This tour includes:

Not included:

Start planning your experience

Itinerary of your trip Classic Antarctica And Chilean Fjords - Fly And Cruise - M/V

Day 1: Arrive Punta Arenas

Day 2: Embark The M/V Sylvia Earle

Day 3: Chilean Fjords

Day 4: Drake Passage

Day 5: Drake Passage

Day 6: Antarctic Peninsula

Day 7: Antarctic Peninsula

Day 8: Antarctic Peninsula

Day 8: Antarctic Peninsula

Day 9: Antarctic Peninsula

Day 10: Antarctic Peninsula

Day 11: Drake Passage

Day 12: Drake Passage

Day 13: Trip Ends Ushuaia

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