Day 1: Buenos Aires/Ushuaia
Depart Buenos Aires on your charter flight to the southernmost city in the world, Ushuaia for your 5 p.m. embarkation aboard the MS Fram. An informative welcome meeting will be held as you begin your Weddell Sea, Antarctic expedition.
Day 2-3: Drake Passage
Just under two days will be spent crossing the Drake Passage. During the crossing to the Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands, enjoy onboard lectures about the history and mystery of Antarctica's environment and wildlife.
Day 3-10: Antarctic Expedition
The "White Continent," more than half the size of North America, is an endless wilderness. On this portion of your Antarctic tour, your ship will try to reach as far into the Weddell Sea as it can, retracing the steps of the 1901-1904 Swedish Antarctic Expedition led by Otto Nordenskiold. Weather, wind, and ice conditions will determine the program and schedule, but highlights should include:
- Deception Island—a flooded volcanic caldera in the South Shetland Islands that's home to Whaler's Bay, an abandoned whaling station and former U.K. base.
- Half Moon Island, where the cliffs house Chinstrap penguins, Antarctic terns, Kelp gulls, other birds.
- Yankee Harbour, rife with seals and about 4,000 breeding pairs of Gentoo penguins.
- Brown Bluff, a 2,450-foot-high cliff at the tip of the peninsula that draws Adelie and Gentoo penguins, Kelp gulls and Weddell seals.
- Snow Hill Island was used as a base by Nordenskiold in the winters of 1901-1903.
- James Ross Island, named by Nordenskiold after U.K. explorer Sir James Clark Ross, rises to 5,347 feet.
- Vega Island has a rich trove of Cretaceous and Paleogene fossils. The first dinosaur discovered in Antarctica was an armored ankylosaurian, discovered in 1986 on James Ross Island. The second was discovered on Vega Island in 1986.
- Trinity Peninsula is the extreme northeast portion of the Antarctic Peninsula, extending northeastward for about 80 miles.
- The Prince Gustav Channel was named in 1903 after Crown Prince Gustav of Sweden by Nordenskiöld.
- Cuverville Island, with the largest known colony of Gentoos in Antarctica.
- Neko Harbour, a favorite Minke whale feeding ground.
- Paradise Harbour, named for its beauty and home to Gentoos and Chinstraps as well as Argentine and Chilean bases.
- Lemaire Channel, considered one of the most beautiful passages in Antarctica. Humpback and Killer whales, Elephant seals and all types of penguins are common sights.
- Petermann Island, favored by the southernmost Gentoo colony as well as Blue-eyed shags (Imperial cormorants) and Adelie penguins.
Other highlights of this Antarctic expedition include:
- Port Lockroy, where you can visit a museum run by the Antarctic Heritage Trust and mail postcards stamped and canceled with rare Antarctic stamps and frank.
- Wilhelmina Bay, scenic resting place of Norwegian whaling ship Guvernoren, which ran aground and burned here in 1915.
- The 30-mile-long Antarctic Sound—dubbed "Iceberg Alley," it's a startling assortment of floating ice, including mile-long tabular icebergs.
Day 11-12: Drake Passage
With the bow pointed north you will enjoy unforgettable images and experiences as you cross the 600-mile-plus Drake Passage back to Ushuaia. During the 40 hours or so of sailing time, enjoy more lectures recapping your Weddell Sea and Antarctic tour experiences.
Day 13: Ushuaia/Buenos Aires
Disembark in Ushuaia after breakfast for your flight to Buenos Aires. Enjoy the rest of the day at your leisure.