North & South Antarctica Cruise Expeditions

Enjoy a 17-day North & South Antarctica Cruise beginning in Argentina. Includes cruise onboard the MS Fram featuring expert guides, lectures, and PolarCirkel boat landings starting at $6,499.13-day Antarctica Cruises are also available.

Set a course for mountains, glaciers, ice shelves and blue seas filled with whales and penguins and dolphins and explorations. Your Antarctica travel adventure includes all of this, and so much more. This 17 day Antarctica cruise begins and ends in Buenos Aires, one of Argentina's most exciting cities. While here you will have time to explore this port city on your own, after an informative introduction to this magical place by your knowledgeable tour guide.

Before you Antarctica Cruise departs from Ushuaia, Argentina you will enjoy an orientation tour of this southernmost city. Then you embark onto the MS Fram, with wonderful memories of Ushuaia's unique landscape of mountains, glaciers and forests.

For the next nine days you will be engrossed in an Antarctica adventure starting with a two day journey through the breathtaking Drake Passage. It connects the southwestern part of the Atlantic ocean with the southeastern part of the Pacific ocean. It boasts open water for hundreds of miles during which time you will be immersed in lectures of Antarctica. The time will pass quickly as you are engaged in this land's history and mystery through they eyes of an engrossing array of experts.

Although many think of Antarctica as the impossible destination, it is blessed with unique possibilities. Humans have never inhabited Antarctica, and exploration of this continent is just recently being enjoyed.

Your Antarctica Cruise is devoid of modern sightings like billboards and highways….instead wildlife, water and icebergs abound. Penguins in the tens of thousands are known to inhabit Antarctica sharing the sea with whales and seals as Antarctic Terns and blue-eyed cormorant fly through the never-ending sky. Antarctica is known more for its wildlife above all else and your Antarctica Cruise will be filled with a birds-eye view of it all. Be sure to bring a set of binoculars….which will certainly become your most prized accessory.

Hurtigruten explorations including Antarctica cruises and Antarctica travel adventures await. Request a brochure, contact a travel agent, or book online. Embark on a journey of exploration, adventure and luxury with Hurtigruten, authentic voyages to pristine lands.

Depart from the U.S. on your overnight flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina.

You will arrive in Buenos Aires in the morning. During the transfer to your hotel, an orientation tour of the city will be given. You have the rest of the day at leisure to explore, or join one of the exciting optional excursions available.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your flight to Ushuaia, the world's southernmost city. You will be introduced to this lovely resort town through the eyes of a well-traveled tour guide. You'll learn about this bustling city surrounded by snow-capped mountains, rivers, and waterfalls. Next your Antarctica Cruise begins upon boarding MS Fram. In the evening, an informative welcome meeting will be held. [B/D]

The Drake Passage will be crossed in less than two days. Reflective, lovely waters abound as you enjoy numerous lectures on Antarctica. Through pictures and words you will begin to understand why Antarctica is considered one of the most beautiful and breathtaking continents you will ever have the good fortune of enjoying. You will arrive in Antarctica on Day 5. [B/L/D]

Antarctica, "The White Continent," is more than half the size of North America. Visits by PolarCirkel boats will be attempted in various locations (weather permitting), including:

• Marguerite Bay, rarely visited even by Antarctic standards, dotted with ice-covered islands and surrounded by pristine, mountainous scenery. It is home to the only known breeding colony of emperor penguins on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula. This rookery itself is specially protected for environmental reasons and cannot be entered but you will have the opportunity to spot for the emperors nearby. There are several bases in Marguerite Bay, both new and old. Rothera Station on Adelaide Island is the British Antarctic Survey's largest base and logistics centre for the Antarctic. It has modern laboratories and facilities for a wide range of research. Stonnington Island is home to the 1950s-era British "Base E" and the historic "East Base" of the United States expedition of 1939-41. Rear Admiral Richard Byrd picked the site of the base himself, naming the island for the hometown of another famous explorer from the United States, Nathaniel Palmer.
• Whaler's Bay. This village on Deception Island boasts warm springs and black, volcanic sand. An active volcano shares the landscape with glaciers and a land mass cut with caldera formations, crater lakes and bays.
• Half Moon Island. This is considered one of the most pleasant landings in all of Antarctica. This small island offers stunning views of surrounding mountains. In addition, it shares its fame with a sizable chinstrap penguin rookery, kelp gulls and Antarctic terns. Whale spotting is also common here.
• Yankee Harbor. Over 4,000 gentoo penguin pairs claim Yankee Harbor as their home. These 3 foot tall penguins are easily identified by the wide white stripe over the top of their head that runs from one eye to the other. In addition, this harbor is a common feeding area for whales and an excellent place to see fur seal.
• Cuverville Island boasts the largest known colony of gentoo penguins in the Antarctic Peninsula.
• Neko Harbor. Mountains deep with snow and ice are home to hundreds of gentoo penguins, Weddell and elephant seals. Neko Harbor is one of only two venues on this Antarctica cruise that is actually part of the continent proper and not a separate island.
• Almirante Brown. Within Paradise Harbor. Almirante Brown station is the other landing (along with Neko Harbor) that is part of the continent proper. Paradise Harbor is aptly named for its beauty, with ice cliffs and floating icebergs. It is home to both chinstrap and gentoo penguins.
• Petermann Island. This small ice capped island shares its one mile long and half mile wide space with a gentoo penguin colony and blue-eyed shags. Adélie penguins are known to nest here as well.
• Port Lockroy. Surrounded by glaciers, mountains, and ice shelves, this natural harbor on the Antarctic Peninsula is known for its blue-eyed cormorants and gentoo penguins.
• Wilhelmina Bay. Icebergs abound in this bay which is a feeding ground for whales and seals. Watch for humpback whales as they feed on krill in the area.
• Antarctic Sound. This body of water is considered "iceberg alley" where mile-long tabular icebergs are a normal sight. The accompanying views are amazing along with the estimated half-million Adélie penguins that call this sound home. Gentoo penguins, leopard seals and killer whales are also common in this area.
• Brown Bluff. This rare tuya (flat-topped volcano formed from lava that has erupted through a glacier) was formed in the past million years. It is located on the coast of the Antarctic Sound at the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. Weddell seals visit often, along with Adélie and gentoo penguins as well as kelp gulls and Cape petrels.

Again you cross this beautiful stretch of water from Antarctica to Argentina. Now that you have seen Antarctica first-hand the series of lectures you enjoy take on an entirely new dimension. [B/L/D]

You will reach Ushuaia in the morning. This Argentinean city is the most southerly city in the entire world. It is situated on Tierra del Fuego Island south of the Magellan Strait. Here you will enjoy breakfast before transferring to the airport for your flight to Buenos Aires. Upon arrival, transfer to the hotel. The rest of the day is at your disposal. [B]

Transfer to the airport for your return flight to the U.S. [B]

Meal codes: [B] Breakfast [L] Lunch [D] Dinner

FOR ROUTE MAP, CLICK HERE.

*Cabin category H is equipped for physically challenged guests.

Pricing is valid for North American residents only.