Be prepared to be dazzled by the beauty of the Antarctic Peninsula. The abundance of wildlife here is truly extraordinary including five seal species, massive penguin rookeries of gentoo, adélies and chinstraps as well as a profusion of seabirds from albatross to skuas. It is nature you will experience up close and personal on frequent excursions inland.
This itinerary is an idea of what a typical Antarctic Peninsula Voyage. The total amount of days may vary according to the departure date and vessel. Please contact us for further details about the specific itinerary of the voyage of your interest.
Some itineraries include one or two previous nights in Ushuaia or Buenos Aires, depending on the vessel. We highly recommend arriving in Ushuaia at least 24 hours prior to embarkation date, so there will be no need to stress about missed connections or flight delays as you arrive with plenty of time to unwind and spend time discovering the southernmost city in the world, Ushuaia.
Embark the USHUAIA in the afternoon and meet your expedition and lecture staff. After you have settled into your cabins we sail along the famous Beagle Channel and the scenic Mackinlay Pass.
Named after the renowned explorer, Sir Francis Drake, who sailed these waters in 1578, the Drake Passage also marks the Antarctic Convergence, a biological barrier where cold polar water sinks beneath the warmer northern waters. This creates a great upwelling of nutrients, which sustains the biodiversity of this region. The Drake Passage also marks the northern limit of many Antarctic seabirds.
Join our Polar Experts as they teach you about everything Antarctic, from wildlife to history; participate in our renowned Citizen Science program; or sit back and take in this fabled journey while catching exciting glimpses of wildlife. Grab your binoculars to identify the many seabirds that follow the ship as we cross the Antarctic Convergence into Antarctic waters and noticeably cooler temperatures.
The South Shetland Islands are a haven for wildlife. Vast penguin rookeries, beaches ruled by Antarctic fur seals and Southern elephant seals make every day spent in this amazing island group unforgettable. Sailing through the narrow passage into the flooded caldera of Deception Island is breathtaking.
King George Island, the largest of the South Shetland Islands, features colonies of nesting Gentoo and Chinstrap Penguins, Kelp Gulls, Blue-eyed Cormorants, Antarctic Terns and Southern Giant Petrels and is home to scientific bases of many different countries. Chinstrap and Gentoo Penguins as well as elephant seals await you at Livingston Island.
The Antarctic Peninsula’s remarkable history will provide you with a type of excitement often only associated with the early explorers. You will have plenty of time to explore its amazing scenery, a pristine wilderness of snow, ice, mountains and waterways, and an incredible wide variety of wildlife. Apart from penguins and seabirds you are very likely to see Weddell, crabeater and leopard seals as well as Minke, killer (orca) and humpback whales at close range.
We hope to navigate some of the most beautiful waterways (depending on the ice conditions): the Gerlache Strait, the Neumayer Channel, and the Lemaire Channel, the latter are narrow passages between towering rock faces and spectacular glaciers. We plan to make at least two landings per day and possible landing sites may include:
Paradise Bay is perhaps the most aptly named place in the world and we attempt a landing on the continent proper. After negotiating the iceberg-strewn waters of the Antarctic Sound, we hope to visit the bustling Adélie Penguin (over 100,000 pairs breed here) and Blue-eyed Cormorant colonies on Paulet Island. The Nordenskjöld expedition built a stone survival hut here in 1903. Today its ruins have been taken over by nesting penguins.
Further exploration may take you to the Melchior Island group, Cuverville Island, Portal Point, Neko Harbour, Pléneau Island and if ice conditions permit, to Petermann Island for a visit to the southernmost colony of Gentoo Penguins.
We leave this magical place and make our way north, once again crossing the legendary Drake Passage. We have one last hurrah as we celebrate the conclusion of our expedition with a special slideshow and a final meal together.
With huge smiles on weary, content faces, we disembark in the morning, letting you catch a flight to Buenos Aires or stay in Ushuaia for more sights and adventure.
Wow, wow and wow! What an amazing experience we had with Ice Tracks. We have a smile on our faces from ear to ear.
Many thanks to the team! You informed us so completely, so honestly and shared your own experiences what made us feel assured. Your enthusiasm made us feel excited from the first moment we had contact, even till now when we share our voyage with friends and family. For us this trip was the closure of a backpacking voyage, which we started in Mexico. The vessel and expedition team made us feel like part of the family during 11 days. Our room was spacious and clean. Staff and food were great. The lectures during days at sea were nice. This once in a lifetime experience was mind blowing!
Monique and Steve from Belgium traveled with us to the Antarctic Peninsula
How do you describe it all to people that were not there? I’ve found it difficult, but very willing to try. Well, in retelling the (fairy) tale the last few days, the highlights are starting to cement in together with some new friendships!
· The hair-raising off-roading trip to the lake
· That amazing Argentinian braai in the woods & the beautiful snowy wonderland around us.
· To see how much Brian enjoys ships (although saying what a lovely cruise it was coming back, while some were dreadfully sick – he was perhaps living dangerously!)
· The first sighting of that whiter than white …
· The crystal, crystal clear waters
· My excitement at the first landing on the iced, uninhabited continent
· The colours & the moods & the vastness!
· Our South Africans taking the first dive in that colder than cold water!!!
· The amazing strength & stamina of those penguins. I do tell the tale of the solitary soul waiting to greet those mountaineers at the top of Spiget!
· The comraderie in our group
· Our “tea break” on the zodiac with irish coffee & green tea – where Caro asked Chicken to “duck”!
· The photo of the campers sitting around the “campfire” was an absolute winner …
· The soft snow on our last landing & trying to walk in that!
We reiterate our thanks to Mandy, Guts & Caro – you put a huge amount of work into making it a dream holiday for us – and it was, & we are truly grateful.
We are now back indeed, and slowly coming to grips with the ‘real’ world. As you may imagine, there is little one can really say about Antarctica of which you are not fully aware. If it were in any way possible I for one would never go anywhere else on this planet. Ute had reservations about going South as she does not like the cold, but after our experience in Patagonia in southern Chile and Argentina, she also wanted to be in the pure untainted and pristine world of Antarctica. Now Ute even says she could happily go back. Unfortunately, we can only be very thankful that we even once had the opportunity to make this dream come true. Thank you very much for your part in making that happen. We were cared for graciously by Ice Tracks and without their expert and very able assistance our trip might never have taken place. I warmly recommend Ice Tracks guidance to anyone wishing to go South. The whole experience we had was more akin to friendship than business, and we do hope that we may one day meet again on the high seas!
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