Aurora Expeditions: Antarctica Explorer

• See and hear the busting activity of a penguin city
• Chance to spot leopard seals on ice floes from our Zodiacs
• Zodiac-cruise in search of feeding and breaching whales
• Skip one or two legs of the Drake Passage to maximise your holiday time in the white continent

• Arrival transfer from airport to hotel on Day 1
• Two night’s hotel accommodation with breakfast in Punta Arenas (Day 1 & 10)
• Transfer from hotel to airport in Punta Arenas on Day 2
• Return flight Punta Arenas to King George Island (Day 2 & 10)
• Transfer to hotel in Punta Arenas on Day 10
• On-board accommodation during voyage including daily cabin service
• All meals, snacks, tea and coffee during voyage
• Beer, house wine and soft drinks with dinner
• Captain’s Welcome and Farewell reception including four-course dinner, house cocktails, house beer and wine, non-alcoholic beverages
• All shore excursions and Zodiac cruises
• Educational lectures and guiding services from expedition team
• Free access to our onboard doctor for consultations relating to sea-sickness.
• A 3-in-1 waterproof polar expedition jacket
• Complimentary use of muck boots during the voyage
• Comprehensive pre-departure information
• Port surcharges, permits and landing fees

• Bird watching
• Lectures on wildlife, our environment, history and destinations
• Photography
• Polar plunge
• Trips ashore
• Walking
• Whale and mammal spotting
• Zodiac cruises

Day 1 Arrive Punta Arenas

Arrive in Punta Arenas, where you will be met by a representative of Aurora Expeditions and transferred to your hotel (preferred flights only). Upon arrival at your included hotel, kindly remind hotel check-in staff to provide you with Aurora Expeditions cabin tags. Please clearly label the tags with your name and ship cabin number.

Day 2 Fly Punta Arenas To King George Island

This morning we will be transferred to Punta Arenas airport for our early morning charter flight to King George Island, Antarctica (weather permitting). The flight will take approximately one-and-a-half hours.

On arrival at King George Island, our expedition team is on hand to greet you and provide you with gumboots for your Zodiac transfer to board the Greg Mortimer. You’ll have time to settle into your cabin before our important briefings. This evening, get to know your fellow expeditioners and friendly expedition team and crew at a welcome dinner to celebrate the start of a thrilling adventure to Antarctica.

Days 3-9 Antarctic Peninsula

In the week ahead, a host of choices are open to us, and depending on ice and weather conditions, the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula is ours to explore. Our experienced expedition team, who have made countless journeys to this area, will use their expertise to design our voyage from day to day. This allows us to make the best use of the prevailing weather, ice conditions and wildlife opportunities.

Because we are so far south, we will experience approximately 18-20 hours of daylight and the days can be as busy as you wish. We will generally make landings or Zodiac excursions two, and occasionally three, times a day; cruising along spectacular ice cliffs, following whales that are feeding near the surface, and landing on the continent and its off-shore islands to visit penguin rookeries, seal haul outs, historic huts, and a few of our other favourite spots along the peninsula. There will be plenty of time for sleep when you get home!

Day 10 Fly King George Island To Punta Arenas

As we approach Frei Base on King George Island, it is time to farewell Antarctica and our amazing adventure before boarding our return flight to Punta Arenas, Chile. On arrival at the Punta Arenas airport, you will be transferred to our preferred downtown hotel.

Day 11 Punta Arenas

After breakfast, bid a fond farewell to your fellow passengers as we all continue our onward journeys, hopefully with a newfound sense of the immense power of nature.

This voyage is departing on the following dates:

• 27th December 2020
• 5th January 2021
• 13th January 2021
• 12th February 2021
• 1st March 2021
• 16th January 2022