Fridtjof Nansen | Highlights of Antarctica, 12 Day

An overnight stay in Buenos Aires is the ideal setting to kickstart your adventure. Famously called the ‘Paris of South America’, Buenos Aires is a sensuous fusion of faded European splendour and Latin American panache. You can spend the evening at your leisure, sampling an authentic steak dinner at one of the city’s many parrillas or sightseeing some of the city’s best-known landmarks at Plaza de Mayo.

But to get the most out of your experience, we urge you to arrive a few days early to really immerse yourself in this seductive and sophisticated city, replete with historic French and Italian architecture.

Buenos Aires is home to numerous fine and modern art museums, landscaped parks and one of the world’s greatest opera houses – Teatro Colón. And that’s before we even mention the world-famous nightlife - Including the cities renown tango shows.

We fly first thing in the morning to a place nicknamed ‘End of the World’: the bustling port city of Ushuaia. It is here where your voyage truly begins. Once on board, you’ll meet the Expedition Team and crew members who will take you through a mandatory meeting related to health and safety – both yours and others. Later that evening, we mark the launch of our journey with a welcome dinner. Afterwards, you can familiarise yourself with this state-of-the-art vessel, especially designed for sustainable voyages in polar waters. On our way through the scenic Beagle Channel, you can watch for the rare endemic Peale’s dolphin and other wildlife.

Gateway to the Antarctic, the Drake Passage has rightly earned its notorious reputation as any voyager’s rite of passage. It can be rough. It can be choppy. It can be exhilarating! In 2019, a crew of six fatigued men became the first to row across it, skirting drifting ice and huge waves. It took them 13 days. Thankfully, it will take you just two.

You may have read about Antarctica, watched every documentary you could find about it. You may even have been paying rapt attention in a lecture about it just the day before. But nothing ever quite prepares you for the moment you see it for yourself. Step into an endless wilderness of ice, icebergs, and glaciers. A place where nature is king and the rest of us, mere observers.

A range of seabirds that include bitterns, swans, and petrels soar in the sky and gather on the shores. In addition to thousands of penguins, you might see seals playing in the water, a breaching humpback whale or even spot an orca, if you are lucky. You’ll notice that the penguins are unafraid of humans – this is their turf after all. Our Expedition Team will take you ice-cruising and on landings to get you even closer to the impressive scenery. You may even get a chance to go kayaking among the icebergs on an optional activity. And whenever time allows, the Expedition Team will continue to give lectures, helping you grow in your insights of the fascinating world we are exploring.

Very quickly, surrounded by such pristine nature, you understand the oft used advice about Antarctica – take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints. And that is exactly how we will explore here. At every step of the way, whether on ice-cruises or landings, the Expedition Team will be making sure we stick closely to strict safety and sustainability procedures.

After five days capturing as much of Antarctica as you can on your camera, you will need some time to absorb this life-affirming experience. The two days back up the Drake Passage will certainly give you that – and a whole lot more. You’ll now have an opportunity to get even more involved with the Citizen Science programme and analyse samples on a microscopic level. You can also deepen some of your knowledge by attending more lectures on themes like the changing climate or plastic pollution, and we will reflect on our experiences in the frozen continent.

When you are ready to kick back and enjoy all the amenities of your advanced hybrid-powered vessel, you can do that too. Feel free to work out in our large gym, jog around our dedicated outdoor running track, treat yourself in the Wellness Centre or simply relax on deck while spotting the many seabirds which follow our ship.

Your expedition cruise ends where it began: in Ushuaia. Soon, you’ll be back in Buenos Aires. From there, you’ll simply head on home, or you’ll have a second chance to acquaint yourself with the passionate city of the Portenos. Joining an optional Post-Programme to the magnificent Iguazu waterfalls is another option.