Bienvenidos. Welcome to Argentina. Your Antarctic Explorer adventure begins with an overnight stay in Buenos Aires. Meet your leader and shipmates for a welcome meeting this evening at the hotel. Please look for a note in the hotel lobby or ask reception where it will take place. We'll be collecting insurance details and next of kin information at this meeting, so ensure you bring these details to provide to your leader. If you're going to be late, please inform hotel reception. If you have time during the day, explore the leafy boulevards, hip galleries and European architecture of Buenos Aires. In the evening, perhaps head out for a steak dinner with your new travel companions. Note: A transfer from Buenos Aires airport to the hotel is not included. Special Information

Take a charter flight from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia today. The port of Ushuaia is known as the town at 'the end of the world'. Enjoy a little bit of free time to explore before boarding the ship and cruising out through the Beagle Channel this afternoon. The channel transects the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in the extreme south of South America. Named after the British ship the HMS Beagle, this passage of water is rich with birdlife, so keep an eye out for penguins, cormorants, petrels, and Black-browed Albatross from the deck.

Head into the legendary Drake Passage, named after the English explorer, Sir Francis Drake. Conditions through the passage can be unpredictable, so hope for smooth sailing but be prepared for the possibility of rough seas. Take some time getting to know your shipmates and keep watch for seabirds, whales and dolphins. On-board experts will make presentations about the history and wildlife of Antarctica, as well as preparing you for the activities ahead.

With the Drake Passage behind you, have your camera ready as you approach the Antarctic coastline. Watch the ocean surface for curious whales breaching before your eyes. Over the next few days you'll make several expeditions via Zodiac to explore the Antarctic Peninsula. Perhaps visit Neko Harbour, Orne Harbour or Paradise Bay. Watch penguins waddling on a beach, listen to the crack of a calving glacier near Petermann Island or explore the historic Port Lockroy. You may like to take a polar plunge in the icy waters or kayak among whales (subject to availability). While weather dictates which landing sites you can visit, your expedition team will ensure that each one presents exciting new wildlife opportunities and natural attractions. POSSIBLE LANDINGS AND WILDLIFE SIGHTINGS CUVERVILLE ISLAND A gentoo penguin rookery is sit...

Few people can say they’ve crossed the Antarctic Circle, but you'll be one of them. Celebrate in style by sharing a glass of champagne with your shipmates. This part of the world is home to Weddell seals, the midnight sun and some of the most spectacular ice formations you'll see in Antarctica. While not a typical landing, the crossing of the Antarctic Circle is a moment to remember. The event usually happens while at sea, so be sure to head up to the bridge and snap a photo of the GPS reading 66° 33’ S.

Spend the next two days travelling north along the western Antarctic Peninsula and back towards the Drake Passage. Weather permitting, continue to journey out in the Zodiac and make landings twice a day. As always, your expedition team will be on the lookout for any species of penguins, seals or whales that you may have missed on the journey south.

Leave Antarctica behind and head back through Drake Passage. The expedition team will round up their series of lectures, perhaps with a slideshow of some of the great landing sites and wildlife you’ve seen over the course of the voyage.

After a shipboard breakfast this morning, the group will disembark in Ushuaia and make a short excursion to Tierra del Fuego National Park. Afterwards, you'll be transferred to the airport for your flight back to Buenos Aires, where your Antarctic adventure comes to an end. Special Information