Welcome to Antarctica

with Aurora Expeditions

What's not included:

• Itinerary

  Day 1 Ushuaia

  Arrive in Ushuaia, where you will be met by a representative of Aurora Expeditions and transferred with your fellow expeditioners to your assigned pre-voyage hotel. If you are already in Ushuaia, we ask you to make your way to your hotel. Check-in is from 3.00 pm. This afternoon, visit the Aurora Expeditions hospitality desk in the hotel lobby, between 3.00 pm and 7.00 pm, to collect your luggage tags, and confirm if you wish to join our Lake Escondido pre-embarkation tour tomorrow. Our team will confirm details regarding your embarkation day, answer any questions and provide you with information on where to dine or purchase last minute items.    

  Expeditioners arriving after 7.00 pm will find a welcome pack waiting for them at check-in. We ask you to visit our hospitality desk tomorrow between 8.00 am – 10.00 am.    

  The remainder of your time is at leisure. All meals today are at your own expense.    

  Assigned accommodation: To be advised

   

  Day 2 Embarkation

  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.    

  Those wishing to join our Lake Escondido tour today, please meet in the hotel lobby at 8.45 am. This tour offers us an unforgettable panoramic drive through big valleys of glacial origin, evergreen and deciduous forests, waterfalls and rivers, in the vastness of the Andes Mountain Range. We will leave Ushuaia city to the northeast of Tierra del Fuego, driving through peat bog valleys to reach Garibaldi Pass, only accessible by a winding road that will take us to a panoramic point. From here we will have amazing panoramic views of Lake Escondido and, if weather conditions allow, of Fagnano Lake. We will start our descent towards the northeast to reach Fagnano Lake’s shore where we will visit a local ranch. After appreciating the landscape, you will have the chance to enjoy the typical Fuegian Lamb barbecue. Enjoy some free time there before returning to Ushuaia for ship embarkation. 

  Alternatively, enjoy your day at leisure and meet at your hotel lobby or from the meeting point at the parking lot near the pier (details will be given by our ground staff at the hotel), to be transferred to the pier for embarkation.  

  Once onboard, 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 commence our adventure with spectacular views over Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego.    

  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 3-4 Drake Passage crossing

  Settle into your stateroom and make yourself comfortable! The onboard gym, wellbeing center and well-equipped library are yours to discover, and your expedition team will offer a series of presentations on Antarctica’s history, wildlife and environment to help enrich your experience. You will also be invited to collect your Muck Boots and attend important briefings on biosecurity, wildlife-watching guidelines and Zodiac safety, in preparation for your first landing in Antarctica. 

  On day four the excitement is palpable as you near the South Shetland Islands and the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, with everyone converging on the observation decks to spot their first iceberg. Now that you’re south of the Antarctic Convergence the ocean takes on a whole new character, as you’re surrounded by porpoising penguins and dramatic icebergs. The memory of your first iceberg sighting is likely to remain with you for a lifetime. Time and weather permitting, we may attempt our first Antarctic landing in the late afternoon. 

   

  Days 5-9 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.  

  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. The expedition team will help you experience a range of activities centered around daytime exploration via Zodiac boat safaris (investigating coves, glaciers and wildlife), guided hikes (exploring pristine beaches and stunning wildernesses) and photography (helping you improve your skills with a camera).

  We generally make landings or Zodiac excursions twice a day. You will want to rug up before joining Zodiac cruises along spectacular ice cliffs or among grounded icebergs, keeping watch for whales, seals and porpoising penguins. Zodiacs will also transport you from the ship to land, where you can visit penguin rookeries, discover historic huts and explore some of our favorite spots along the 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. Speaking of the oceans below, 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! 

  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 splendor. 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. 

  Join the team in the lecture theatre for presentations covering a broad range of topics to suit every interest. These lectures will cover polar science, wildlife, marine biology, glaciology, ornithology, exploration, history, photography and research including specialist New Scientist talks. Regardless of the topic, they all have one thing in common: they all aim to engage, educate, entertain and turn you into an ambassador for the planet. Plus, both on board and in the Zodiacs, the expedition crew will give you introductions to and commentary on many of the Antarctic phenomena you are experiencing. 

  You will have the opportunity to participate in the unique citizen science program offered throughout the voyage. It is designed to be a hands-on, immersive and transformative experience that helps you protect the beauty of our planet. Various sampling and data collection projects will be conducted on your voyage and a citizen science coordinator will be on hand to introduce and assist you. This expedition provides a unique platform to help collect high-quality data. With extended access to these remote regions and our expedition teams equipped with scientific backgrounds, we have the potential to participate and engage our passengers in citizen science projects to provide valuable data to the global scientific community. For a greater understanding, visit our world-class Citizen Science Centre. You will be rewarded for your thirst for knowledge with one of the best views on the ship. 

  Your expedition can be as active or as leisurely as you want it, and no activity or talk is mandatory. 

   

  Days 10-11 Drake Passage Crossing

  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.  

  As we approach the tip of South America, our Captain may sail close to legendary Cape Horn, weather and time permitting. 

   

  Day 12 Disembark in Ushuaia

  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 8.00 am. Farewell your expedition team and fellow passengers as we all continue our onward journeys, hopefully with a newfound sense of the immense power of nature.  

  Upon disembarkation, for those continuing their travels in the region, transportation to the hotel will be arranged exclusively for guests who have booked their accommodations through Aurora or for those staying in downtown areas near the port. Expeditioners departing on flights prior to 12.30 pm will be directly transferred to Ushuaia Airport, those with flights after 12.30 pm will have the opportunity to explore Ushuaia before an afternoon airport transfer, and the transfer procedures and details will be communicated onboard before disembarkation.     

  Note: At the conclusion of the voyage, we do not recommend booking flights departing Ushuaia prior to 12.00 pm on the day of disembarkation in case there are delays. 

  

   

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

  Optional Add On Activities

  Camping- 

  One of our most popular activities, camping offers you the unique opportunity to roll out your sleeping mat and wriggle into your thermal sleeping bag for a night out on the ice – no camping experience necessary! Once you’ve settled in, prepare to witness the stunning beauty of the Antarctic night sky, as well as the sounds of ice cracking in the distance and wildlife carrying on their busy schedule around you. This is the activity for the ultimate bragging rights!

  Our camping trips take place in the middle of the Austral summer, and on the Antarctic Peninsula we’ll be experiencing almost 24 hours of daylight. This means that instead of a starry night, you’ll instead be treated to an extended sunset and sunrise as the sun briefly dips below the horizon, filling the sky with an endless palette of colours.

  While you may not have your best nights sleep- many passengers don’t camp out to sleep! They’re there to soak in the amazing surrounds, witness incredible vistas and enjoy the sounds of nearby penguin colonies and possibly even a calving glacier. We’ll do our best to make sure you get the chance for a cat nap the next day.

  We’ve taken hundreds of adventurous souls out overnight and our expert expedition team know where to find the best spots for your camping experience.

  Learn more about our camping activity and how you can join the adventure.

   

  Snowshoeing

  Snowshoeing makes walking up gentle slopes and across Antarctica’s soft, powdery snow a breeze, allowing you to explore places others struggle to reach in boots alone. Armed with your very own set of snowshoes and ski poles, you’ll be led by our expert guides, who will provide all the instruction you need. Snowshoeing is an excellent way to ascend to some of Antarctica’s best vantage points, stretch the legs and take in the most spectacular scenery on the planet. Snowshoeing is the perfect activity for everyone, with no previous experience required. Join in on the fun and discover a different slice of Antarctica!

  This popular alpine activity is easy to learn – all you need is a willingness to try. All training is provided, and our team of guides will have you trained and ready to go in no more than half an hour. Participants should be confident in their footing and have an average level of fitness – outings may be up to three hours in duration. Those who enjoy hiking trails or taking long walks at home will possess enough fitness to enjoy this activity. 

  Our highly-qualified guides have many years of climbing, skiing and snowshoeing experience, and all hold relevant mountain instruction and safety certificates. They aim to provide a personalised and unique experience for every expeditioner whilst maintaining safety to the highest standards. We have one snowshoeing guide for every 10 guests.

  While we aim to get out as often as possible, the number of outings will be dependent on the weather and our itinerary’s landing points. The average number of outings is usually six or more per voyage, lasting up to three hours per outing. 

  Learn more about our Snowshoeing activity and how you can join the adventure.

    

   

  Sea Kayaking if available

  One of the most exhilarating ways to experience Antarctica, the Arctic and beyond. Sea kayaking holidays in the humbling wilderness of Antarctica, the Arctic, and some of the world’s most biodiverse regions, are guaranteed to stir your soul. Paddle around brash ice and near icebergs of all shapes and sizes, absorbing the majestic scenery as it unfolds before you. 

  This Kayaking Program was created by kayakers for kayakers! Our program style offers the chance to develop and enhance your skills and to connect with our expert guides and your fellow Expeditioners. Participating with the small group through your voyage will minimise wasted time with briefings and equipment tryouts and maximise time on the water. 

  All of our Expert Guides are professional kayak guides, who have led trips around the world, specialise in the Polar Regions and have been chosen for their passion for the sport. Kayaking is one of the best ways to access and intimately explore the beautiful coastlines we visit and make the most of your time in the wild and remote destinations we visit. You have the option to discuss with the guides what you want out of your trip and they will help with recommendations on when to paddle, when to go ashore and when it’s possible to do both in one outing.

  What's Included

  ‘Getting out amongst it’ is our philosophy, and that is exactly what we do. Weather permitting, the sea kayaking activity is normally available anytime the other expeditioners go out. 

  We paddle between 5 to 15 kilometres (2 to 4 hours) per outing, often offering a combination of both kayaking and onshore landings so you won’t miss out. Each small group of kayakers (up to 10 per guide) will have their own intimate exploration of the small hidden bays and coasts that are inaccessible to Zodiacs. Of course, we also make time for your own shore excursions and wildlife encounters. The elements play an important role in our sea kayaking program. It is important that you have an adventurous attitude and understand that the weather can impact our kayaking time.

   

  Equipment Provided

  Aurora Expeditions will be providing kayak booties and dry suits. If you prefer to bring your own dry suit for this activity, please contact our Activity Specialist to discuss the suitability of your equipment.

  

   

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

   Extension Tours hosted by Aurora Expeditions:

  There are many options, I am listing just these 2 for now. As it gets closer we can look at options. 

  Pre Cruise:

  

   

  Post cruise: 

  

   

  Private Tour: Coming in late 2026 as an option for the group 

   

Cancellation policy:

90+ days before Departure- Non refundable deposit