Antarctica In Search of the Emperor Penguin Adventure Cruising

Itinerary download itinerary

• Day01

  Embark from the "End of the World"

  Begin the journey on Tierra del Fuego in the small resort town of Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city on the planet, nicknamed "The End of the World." Board your ship, settle into your cabin, and then sail the mountain-fringed Beagle Channel for the remainder of the evening.

  • Accommodation: m/v Ortelius
  • Meals: Dinner
• Day02

  Sail Drakes Passage, Path of the Polar Explorers

  Begin a two-day voyage across the 600 mile gateway to the white continent of Antarctic: the Drakes Passage. Experience sights encountered by the great polar explorers who first charted these regions. The Drake is considered by many polar travelers as a rite of passage everyone must experience before enjoying the boundless natural wonders of Antarctica. Layers of cold seawater from the south and relatively warm seawater from the north collide to form powerful eddies. When paired with strong winds, common to this area, the Drake Passage has earned its reputation as one of Earth's roughest waterways and greatest adventures.

  • Accommodation: m/v Ortelius
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day03

  Continue on Drakes Passage

  Pass the Antarctic Convergence - Antarctica's natural boundary, formed when north-flowing cold waters collide with warmer sub-Antarctic seas - into the circum-Antarctic upwelling zone. En route, enjoy a program of lectures by noted naturalists and leadership by experienced expedition staff. The wealth of Drake Passage wildlife will give you no shortage of animals to gaze at. Keep an eye out for albatrosses like the wandering, grey-headed, black-browed, and light-mantled sooty albatrosses. Thick with plankton, the seas support populations of humpback, orca, minkie, and fin whales.

  • Accommodation: m/v Ortelius
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day04

  Enter the Antarctic Sound and Weddell Sea

  Sail into the Weddell Sea via the iceberg-dotted Antarctic Sound toward the eastern Antarctic Peninsula. Search for emperor penguins from vantage points on the vessel and from helicopters. Expert guides lead all excursions and decide where to go and what to do each day depending on conditions.

  • Accommodation: m/v Ortelius
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day05

  Chart the Western Slopes of the Antarctic Sound

  Continue into the Weddell Sea. Leave the ship for helicopter flights, weather permitting. Enjoy breath-taking views of the layered sandstones, lava flows, glaciers, icebergs, and pack-ice extending as far as the eye can see. Zodiac to Devil Island, home to a large colony of Adélie penguins, and a magnificent vantage point for hikers at the top of the hill.

  • Accommodation: m/v Ortelius
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day06

  Journey to the Land of the Emperors

  Watch for Emperor Penguins on a sail further south, ice and weather permitting. Visit Seymour Island, where the Swedish Antarctic Expedition of 1901 wintered, and home to sedimentary rock formations, fossils, and expansive views. Take a zodiac ride to Gourdin Island, where Chinstrap, gentoo, and Adélie penguins can be found.

  • Accommodation: m/v Ortelius
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day07

  Travel North through the Antarctic Sound

  Continue north, watching for whales, penguins, and sea birds. Zodiac to Brown Bluff, perhaps the most scenic location in the northern tip of the Antarctic Continent, with its sheer canyon walls, fallen boulders, and beautiful volcanic creations capped with ice. Enjoy viewing the large Adélie penguin rookery, also home to gentoo penguins and nesting snow petrels. Make way toward Deception Island.

  • Accommodation: m/v Ortelius
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day08

  Explore Deception Island

  Awake in the South Shetland Islands archipelago and sail into the volcanic caldera of the crescent-shaped Deception Island through its narrow entrance, Neptune's Bellows. Admire the surrounding cliffs and spectacular mountain peaks towering above. Landing at either Pendulum Cove or Whalers Bay, explore abandoned whaling station ruins including bleached whalebones, wooden barrels and other artefacts from 20th century whale hunters. Although the wildlife inside the caldera is not that abundant, several bird species breed on the caldera cliffs. Deception Island is not totally covered by ice, offering many walking opportunities. If conditions are right, hike to "Neptune's Window" and high up onto the rim of the crater, and experience what it's like to be "at the top" of the bottom of the world.

  • Accommodation: m/v Ortelius
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day09

  Return Journey across the Drake Passage

  Begin the 2-day journey back to Ushuaia across Drakes Passage. En route, watch for migratory sea birds Antarctic Petrels, Southern Giant Petrel, shags, skuas, and gulls. Expert ornithologists and keen birders are there to point out the different species on on-board lectures will help you with birdlife knowledge.

  • Accommodation: m/v Ortelius
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day10

  Final Crossing Day

  Cross the Drake, greeted by a vast array of seabirds and whales. Take advantage of the day to rest and reflect on the extraordinary journey of the days past. Cap off the trip with a sail past Cape Horn on the way into Ushuaia, weather permitting.

  • Accommodation: m/v Ortelius
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day11

  Depart Ushuaia

  This morning disembark and transfer to the airport. We strongly recommend booking flights no earlier than 12:00 pm to account for possible delays getting back to port.

  • Meals: Breakfast