Make the North Pole yours with this 10-days Antarctica Vacation

This trip will start in the small resort town of Ushuaia in Argentina which is the spot where the cruises are filled and set sail. From here you will be visiting the extremes of Antarctica in a vessel that will have all world-class facilities specified for you. Check out the details of the itinerary given in the following section –

Day 1: Arrival in Ushuaia and visiting places here

On the first day of the tour, the tourists arrive in the small but beautiful resort town of Ushuaia which is also called ‘End of the World’. When you arrive, you will be taken to the pre-booked hotel by the tour operator who would also help you understand the itinerary for the day once you get fresh and have some meal. This small town is beautiful and you can start to visit some of the places here before the embarkation happens in the evening on the first day itself. You will be briefed about the tour on the board by the tour operators. Settle down in your cabin and enjoy the open-air decks from where you can admire the views when you set sail along the famous Beagle Channel and the Mackinlay Pass.

Day 2 and Day 3: The Drake Passage

The following two days would be spent on the water and the third day, you would be crossing the famous Drake Passage which is a historically challenging passage of water and bears the name of the first explorer Sir Francis Drake who had sailed in these waters in 1578. On this Drake Passage, you will also pass over the so-called Antarctic Convergence where the warmer waters of the north meet the cold polar waters of the south. The convergence then causes an upwelling of nutrients from the seafloor, resulting in the incredible diversity of algae, krill, and other small sea creatures. In these cruise ships, there are options of four-open air decks where you can pass the time in enjoying the views as well as keeping an eye for the seabirds that are prevalent in these areas due to availability of fishes in the region. You will also be hearing a lot of expedition lectures from experts on board who would hail from various fields and will help you understand the conditions better. The vessel will have an open bridge policy so that you can join the officers on the bridge and learn about the navigation as well as learn to watch for whales also.

You will be told by the captain that you have reached the South Shetland Islands where you will begin to see the icebergs as well as the snow-capped mountains of the region. In this area, there is a group of twenty islands which was first sighted by Captain William Smith back in February 1819. If the conditions of the area are nice and there is not much turbulence, the land would be available for you on the evening of the third day and you will have the chance to see it up close.

Day 4, Day 5, Day 6 and Day 7 – Spending time near the South Shetland Islands

The next four days of the tour would be spent at the beautiful South Shetland Islands which is the group of 20 islands. This awesome archipelago is home to some rare creatures and wildlife of earth and this place is a definite stop on every cruise on the expedition to the Antarctic Peninsula. The islands span for around 540 kilometers from northeast to southwest and the archipelago is made up of four groupings of islands with around 150 additional smaller islets, skerries and rock outcrops. The best-known island of the South Shetland group of Islands is the Deception Island which has flooded caldera of an active volcano. The largest among the 20 islands in King George Island which is home to several scientific bases dedicated to studying the island’s population of Adélie and Chinstrap Penguins, Kelp Gulls, Blue-eyed Cormorants, Antarctic Terns, and Southern Giant Petrels.

Another island that one must visit once on the group of islands here is the Livingston Island where you can spot varieties of penguins and elephant seals. The four days would be spent in navigating through the Gerlache Strait, the Neumayer Channel, and narrow passages of the Lemaire Channel while seeing the rock faces and glaciers of the island. You will also have the opportunity to see two landings per day at some of the pristine locations of the islands such as the Paradise Bay and continent proper as well as to the Paulet Island where you can see the Adélie Penguin and Blue-eyed Cormorant colonies. The exploration will go further south when you will have the opportunity to visit Melchior Island, Cuverville Island, Portal Point, Neko Harbour, and Pléneau Island. If the conditions permit, you can have the chance to see the southernmost colony of Gentoo Penguins on Petermann Island also.

Day 8 and Day 9: Coming back to Ushuaia

 On the eighth day, you would be departing the Antarctic Peninsula and start the journey back to Ushuaia. You will be passing the Drake Passage while traveling north. You can have the opportunity to see the seals and whales on board and keep your camera ready to catch such moments. Learn some more from the experts on the board for the final time.

Day 10: Disembark at Ushuaia and departure

Today, you would arrive in the beautiful resort town of Ushuaia where the disembarkation from the ship would happen. You will then be transferred to the hotel where you can fresh and have some meal after which the tour operator will help with the transfer to the airport for departure related proceedings.