Ushuaia hotel night and embarkation

Day 1 includes an airport-to-hotel group transfer and an overnight stay at Arakur Ushuaia Resort & Spa. On day 2, transfer to the pier and board Sea Spirit in the afternoon before sailing through the Beagle Channel.

The dates below start with the included hotel night. We can help arrange additional buffer nights and suitable flights around your programme.

Across to the Falkland Islands

Day 3 is at sea; days 4–5 are planned in the Falkland Islands. Expedition briefings and seabird watching accompany the crossing. In the Falklands, the team may target wildlife-rich outer islands as well as Stanley, depending on the voyage plan and conditions.

Expect a gentler, greener landscape than Antarctica, with penguins using beaches and tussock-covered slopes. Rockhoppers, gentoos, Magellanic penguins and black-browed albatrosses are among the possibilities. Stanley adds history and a small settlement to a voyage otherwise dominated by remote shorelines.

Cross the Scotia Sea and explore South Georgia

Days 6–7 are at sea and days 8–12 are the five planned South Georgia days. The crossing is productive wildlife-watching time, with the expedition team running lectures and preparing guests for South Georgia’s strict biosecurity requirements. Clothing, bags, footwear and equipment are checked and cleaned before the first landing.

Once at South Georgia, possible sites include beaches crowded with king penguins, elephant seals and fur seals, as well as Grytviken and locations connected to the island’s whaling and Shackleton history. Landings can be extraordinarily rich, but surf, swell and wildlife density determine where the team can operate safely.

The strongest days often combine a substantial landing with time cruising by zodiac. A flexible small-ship team can change the order, move to a more sheltered bay or extend a productive wildlife encounter when conditions allow.

South-west towards Antarctica

Days 13–14 are at sea; days 15–18 are the four planned Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands days. All guests attend the mandatory IAATO briefing, covering wildlife distances, protected sites, safe movement ashore and the behaviour expected during landings.

Around the South Shetland Islands and western Peninsula, each day is built around the best safe opportunity. That might mean a penguin-colony landing, a walk to a viewpoint, a zodiac cruise through ice or time watching whales and seals. The actual sites cannot be guaranteed in advance.

Sea Spirit’s 114-guest capacity keeps the expedition relatively compact. The difference is most noticeable when a weather window is short: fewer people are faster to dress, load and move through the gangway than on a 300–500 guest ship.

Drake Passage and Ushuaia

Turn north across the Drake Passage, with final lectures, wildlife watching and time to review photographs. The 21-day voyages normally disembark in Ushuaia on the final morning. Avoid an early onward flight.

Days 19–20 cross the Drake Passage; day 21 is disembarkation in Ushuaia with the operator’s group transfer.