Emperor Penguin Tour & Weddell Sea

Optional Activities:
– Ice-trekking in Perito Moreno Glacier: one hour and a half or three hours and a half
– Navigations through Lago Argentino
– Kayak Experience

The expedition departs from Ushuaia, Argentina, where the world drops off. This is the southernmost city on the planet, is located on the far southern tip of South America.
Starting in the afternoon, you embark and sail the mountain-fringed Beagle Channel for the remainder of the evening.

Over the next two days on the Drake Passage, you enjoy some of the same experiences encountered by the great polar explorers who first charted these regions: cool salt breezes, rolling seas, maybe even a fin whale spouting up sea spray. After passing the Antarctic Convergence, you are in the circum-Antarctic upwelling zone. Here we will start to notice that the wildlife changes. 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 are a few of the birds you might see.

When sailing into the Weddell Sea, the search is on for emperor penguins. Using both the vessel and helicopters, there’s a good chance you’ll find them.

Helicopter flights might change depending on the weather conditions, and may include:

• The west slopes of the Antarctic Sound: From this flight the landscape is epic: Layered sandstones, lava flows, glaciers, icebergs, and pack-ice extend as far as the eye can see. There are often individual emperor penguins and Adélie penguins on the ice floes, as well as kelp gulls, skuas, and various breeds of petrel.
• Duse Bay: There’s still a lot of snow and ice this time of year, but much of the walk in this location is over frost-shattered rock covered with lichen of all shapes and colors.
• Seymour Island: This is where the Swedish Antarctic Expedition of 1901 – 4 wintered under harrowing polar conditions. Sedimentary rock, fossils, and expansive views define this location.

Zodiac trips are also available and may include:

• Devil Island: Home to a large colony of Adélie penguins. This Island is great for hikers, it has a hill with amazing views. A waterfall dropping from the cliffs close to Cape Well-met is formed if the ice started to melt.
• Brown Bluff: Maybe the most scenic location in the entire northern tip of the Antarctic Continent: sheer canyon walls, fallen boulders, beautiful volcanic creations capped with ice. A large Adélie penguin rookery lives here, with gentoo penguins and nesting snow petrels also to be found.
• Gourdin Island: Chinstrap, gentoo, and Adélie penguins love this island, which is yet another landing option for your continuing Antarctic adventure.
• Esperanza Base: This Argentine research station, which operates year-round and is one of only two civilian settlements in Antarctica, could serve as an alternative landing site. Is an interesting place to see how people live in Antarctica.

Your return voyage is far from lonely. While crossing the Drake, you’re again greeted by the vast array of seabirds remembered from the passage south.

Every adventure, no matter how grand, must eventually come to an end. It’s now time to disembark in Ushuaia, but with memories that will accompany you wherever your next adventure lies.

Arrival and disembark in Ushuaia during the morning. Flight to Buenos Aires and night there.

End of the tour, and optional extensions to other regions in Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Perú.  We strongly recommend our travellers to take advantage of the visit to enjoy as well the main highlights of Southern Patagonia.

Helicopters provide an advantage in reaching the emperor penguin colony, but nature makes the rules in Antarctica. If conditions are favourable, you’ll spend the first two days at the penguin rookery. The helicopter operation takes a full day, and the flight duration is approximately 15 minutes. Each helicopter can accommodate 4 – 6 passengers per flight, and the landing site is carefully chosen so that the penguins are not disturbed. Upon arrival to the site, it is about a 45-minute walk to the rookery. Please keep in mind that you are in the world’s most remote area: There are no guarantees. Conditions may change rapidly, which can have a profound impact on our helicopter operations. It is important to understand and respect this. Safety is our greatest concern, and no compromises can be made.