A truly epic sea voyage to Antarctica and across the Polar Circle

Personalised journeys from start to finish

Every trip helps support Conservation

Every detail taken care of

  • Personalised journeys from start to finish

  • Every trip helps support Conservation

  • Every detail taken care of

Itinerary highlights

  • Go on an exciting street art tour in Buenos Aires and enjoy a Rojo tango show
  • Sail through the ice-packed Crystal Sound and across the Polar Circle
  • Spot an abundance of marine life and sea birds around the Antarctic Peninsula
  • Spend two nights unwinding on an estancia in the Pampas at the end of your journey

What's included

  • Full support from your Travel Concierge before, during and after your trip
  • Luxury Antarctica cruise
  • Meet and greet airport service
  • Completely private tours in Buenos Aires and Ushuaia
Use this itinerary to inspire your bespoke journey

At a glance

The highlight of this memorable cruise to Antarctica is undoubtedly crossing the Polar Circle. With your choice of luxury vessel, our team of expert travel designers is on hand to craft the most incredible Antarctica discovery for you. Depending on how much time you have available to you, your voyage might look something like this.

Begin with a few nights in Buenos Aires, getting a feel for the flavour and culture of Argentina with a street art tour and a Rojo tango show and dinner. From there you’ll fly to Ushuaia where there will be time for an afternoon hike in Tierra del Fuego National Park as you prepare for the next while that you’ll be spending at sea.

The Antarctica cruise leg of your trip will be a spectacular combination of astounding icy scenery and fascinating and varied wildlife ad you cross the Drake Passage and head towards the Antarctic Peninsula and Polar Circle. Itineraries vary according to time and weather, but there is never a shortage of activities and excursions to keep you busy and engaged.

As you head back up through the Drake Passage, you’ll have two nights in the Pampas to look forward to, enjoy ranch life and reflecting on your polar adventure.

Example trip itinerary

Days 1-3

Buenos Aires

Flights & transfers

Transfer

Private transfer to your hotel in Buenos Aires

Accommodation in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires street art tour Buenos Aires street art tour

This tour will see you explore either the northern or southern neighbourhoods of the city discovering fascinating murals and pieces of street art along the way. You'll learn a little about the history of street art in Buenos Aires and its cultural importance. The tour includes older pieces as well as more contemporary works by a variety of artists.

rojo-tango-show-buenos-aires-argentina
Rojo Tango Show with dinner Rojo Tango Show with dinner

Enjoy the best Tango Show in town, set in the exclusive environs of the Faena Hotel. The Rojo tango is the smallest and most stylish of tango salons. Your evening includes a three course dinner, wine, and transfers to and from the venue.

Flights & transfers

Transfer

Transfer to the airport

Transfer

Flight to Ushuaia

Transfer

Transfer to your hotel in Ushuaia

Days 3-4

Ushuaia

Accommodation in Ushuaia

Afternoon hike in Tierra del Fuego National Park Afternoon hike in Tierra del Fuego National Park

As you hike, the spellbinding and diverse flora and fauna of this landscape, including the Magellanic woodpecker, is ever-present. The forest is also known to attract Austral Parakeets, Black-Chested Buzzards and soaring high above; the magnificent Andean Condor. Upon reaching the viewpoint, beautiful panoramas of Lagunas Verde and Negra, the Ovando and Lapataia Rivers, and the tranquil Lapataia Bay lie before you.

Days 4-15

Cruising Antarctica

Cruise ships in Antarctica

12-day Antarctica cruise 12-day Antarctica cruise

On this once-in-a-lifetime cruise you will cross the Polar Circle and Antarctic Peninsula, passing through waters travelled by humpback, minke and fin whales. Along the way you will anchor at various spots and have the opportunity to go hiking, kayaking and diving in the iceberg-heavy waters.

south-shetland-drake-passage-antarctica
Drake Passage Drake Passage

Once you've sailed through the Beagle Channel, your journey along the Drake Passage will take about two days. Passing the Antarctic Convergence – Antarctica’s natural boundary, formed when north-flowing cold waters collide with warmer sub-Antarctic seas – you'll notice a change in marine and avian life. look out for 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.

penguin-colony-neko-harbour-antarctica
Antarctica highlights Antarctica highlights

There are many options available when cruising around the Antarctic Peninsula. The stops on each cruise vary, but each is bound to be full of exciting, memorable moments. At Livingston Island you'll see a variety of gentoo and chinstrap penguins on Hannah Point, Deception Island is known for its abandoned whaling station in Whalers Bay, and Cuverville Island also houses a large colony of gentoo penguins as well as breeding pairs of brown skuas.

Neko Harbour beckons with an epic landscape of mammoth glaciers and endless wind-carved snow, and the ice-flecked waters of Paradise Bay are great for spotting humpback and minke whales. If the ice allows, you might sail through the Menaire Channel in search of Adélie penguins and blue-eyed shags on Pléneau and Petermann Islands.

Polar Circle Polar Circle

Your journey takes you south along the Argentine Islands to the ice-packed Crystal Sound and from here across the Polar Circle in the morning. You may make a landing at an abandoned British research station on Detaille Island, taking in the island’s lofty mountains and imposing glaciers.

You will return to Ushuaia via the Drake Passage once more, relaxing onboard and admiring the changing scenery and wildlife.

Further north, around the Fish Islands, you encounter one of the southernmost Adélie penguin and blue-eyed shag colonies in the Antarctic Peninsula. The beautiful Melchior Islands offer a landscape rich with icebergs. Leopard seals, crabeater seals, and whales are found here, and there are excellent opportunities for kayaking and diving.

Flights & transfers

Transfer

Flight to Buenos Aires

Transfer

Transfer to the Pampas

15-17

The Pampas

Accommodation in The Pampas

Two nights in the Pampas Two nights in the Pampas

Choose from our selection of estancias for an authentic and luxury ranch-style stay on the sleepy Pampas plains. Ride out with gauchos, enjoy an afternoon asado (BBQ), fishing or polo lessons.

Flights & transfers

Transfer

Transfer to the airport

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Crossing the Polar Circle

17-Day Example Trip
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How we work

We create fully personalised trips from start to finish, working with you to pick locations, accommodation and guides that suit you.

Every trip helps support Conservation.

From in-depth private tours to restaurant reservations, we take care of every detail so you can make the most of your journey.

Ariel view of waves breaking on a forested shoreline