Antartic camping, the supreme polar adventure

We are really happy to welcome you in Ushuaia! the world's southernmost city. Upon arrival, you will be greeted at the airport by a friendly and experienced guide, who'll transfer you to your chosen hotel and then help you and the city become friends. Your afternoon will be spent at your leisure to walk around as you will. A couple of good hints would be to make your way to the End of the World Museum, and/or the Old Penitentiary Museum. Make sure to enjoy the typical dish at these latitudes: the ridiculously delicious king crab.

This morning you'll visit the Tierra del Fuego National Park, the only one in the country with a maritime coast. Within its 63,000 hectares, you will find fire-bushes, beech trees, ñires, box-leafed barberries and endless profusions of flowers such as orchids, violets and other species.

Bordering the mountains, you'll follow a road where you'll come across both peat bogs and beaver dams. After crossing the Lapataia River, a magnificent view of Laguna Verde (Green Lagoon) and the upland geese and ibis that come here every summer will present themselves to your astonished eyes. A walk along the path up to Laguna Negra (Black Lagoon) or the Beavers' Path will be suggested at that point - your camera will be amply rewarded if you take either of these up. At Lapataia Bay, you'll witness the testimony of the original inhabitants of the Island (the Yamanas) at a fascinating archaeological site: the "concheros". On the way back to Ushuaia, you will make a brief stop at Lake Roca, whose colour varies according to the weather.

Afternoon transfer to pier to board the “Plancius”. After you have settled into your cabins we sail along the famous Beagle Channel for the rest of the evening.

Path of the polar explorers: Over the next two days on the Drake Passage, you enjoy some of the same experiences encountered by the great polar explorers who first charted these regions: cool salt breezes, rolling seas, maybe even a fin whale spouting up sea spray. After passing the Antarctic Convergence – Antarctica’s natural boundary, formed when north-flowing cold waters collide with warmer sub-Antarctic seas – you are in the circum-Antarctic upwelling zone. Not only does the marine life change, the avian life changes too. Wandering albatrosses, grey-headed albatrosses, black-browed albatrosses, light-mantled sooty albatrosses, cape pigeons, southern fulmars, Wilson’s storm petrels, blue petrels, and Antarctic petrels are a few of the birds you might see.

Entering Antarctica: Gray stone peaks sketched with snow, towers of broken blue-white ice, and dramatically different wildlife below and above. You first pass the snow-capped Melchior Islands and Schollaert Channel, sailing between Brabant and Anvers Islands. 

Places you might visit includes:

Neumayer Channel – The vessel may position itself here, launching its multiple basecamp activities from the protected waters around Wiencke Island. You can enjoy the splendors of this alpine environment at sea with Zodiac and kayaking trips, or if you’re in the mood for a walk, there are possible snowshoe hikes and soft-climb mountaineering options farther inland. Naturally, favorable weather conditions determine the possible activities.

Port Lockroy – After sailing through the Neumayer Channel, you may get a chance to visit the former British research station – now a museum and post office – of Port Lockroy on Goudier Island. You may also be able to partake in activities around Jougla Point, meeting gentoo penguins and blue-eyed shags. At the nearby sites, such as Damoy Point there may be the opportunity for snowshoeing to the old ski-way, this is also one of our favourite camping sites.

Pléneau & Petermann Islands – If the ice allows it, you can sail through the Lemaire Channel in search of Adélie penguins and blue-eyed shags. There’s also a good chance you’ll encounter humpback and minke whales here, as well as leopard seals. Kayaking, glacier walks, and more ambitious mountaineering trips are the potential activities of this location. 

Neko Harbour – An epic landscape of mammoth glaciers and endless wind-carved snow, Neko Harbour offers opportunities for a Zodiac cruise and landing that afford the closest views of the surrounding alpine peaks.

Paradise Bay – You have the chance to make camp here like a true polar explorer, enjoying a supreme overnight Antarctic adventure.

Errera Channel – Possible sites in this area include Danco Island and Cuverville Island, but also the lesser known (though equally picturesque) Orne Island and Georges Point on Rongé Island.  

On your last day of near-shore activities, you pass the Melchior Islands toward the open sea. Keep a sharp lookout for humpback whales in Dallmann Bay. You might also shoot for Half Moon Island, in the South Shetlands, with further chances for activities. 

Conditions on the Drake Passage determine the exact time of departure.

Familiar seas, familiar friends: Your return voyage is far from lonely. While crossing the Drake, you’re again greeted by the vast array of seabirds remembered from the passage south. But they seem a little more familiar to you now, and you to them.

Every adventure, no matter how grand, must eventually come to an end. It’s now time to disembark in Ushuaia, but with memories that will accompany you wherever your next adventure lies.

Transfer to the airport to board flight to your next destination.