Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands

Scenic Eclipse AntarcticaThe Drake Passage crossed on a small expedition yacht

Scenic Eclipse sails south from Ushuaia into the Drake Passage and works the Antarctic Peninsula. Once there, Zodiac cruises, shore landings and wildlife fill the days, and the expedition team reshapes the plan around weather and ice. Back on board, suites, restaurants and a spa are included. Helicopters and the submarine are separate extras.

Most departures leave from Ushuaia and sail south across the Drake to the Antarctic Peninsula. Longer itineraries push on to South Georgia or into the Weddell Sea.

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PlaceAntarctic Peninsula

TypeExpedition yacht

SuitsFirst-time Antarctic travellers

Stay11-13 days

Zodiacs and landings decide how you see Antarctica

Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands — All-inclusive expedition yacht.

The sailing starts at Ushuaia and crosses the Drake Passage. On the peninsula, Zodiac cruises, landings and wildlife watching become the spine of every day, and the expedition team sets the order of them. The ship is the base from which that happens, not the thing you are looking at.

Cabins and dining give you somewhere to recover between outings, and the schedule adjusts to what the ice is doing. Helicopters and the submarine are additional choices on top of that. Neither replaces the work of comparing the core itinerary and the landing programme, which is what a peninsula voyage actually delivers.

This is for a first Antarctica trip, for photographers, and for travellers who want comfort around hard outdoor days and the option of a helicopter or submarine. Both of those cost extra and depend on weather, and the Drake can be rough on the way across.

A dark expedition yacht floating beside a tall tabular iceberg, its reflection broken on the surface. — A dark hull doubled in the face of an iceberg

Loose floes drifting on blue water, a long grey glacier wall filling the background. — Open water, loose ice and a glacier wall behind

Flat blue sea scattered with white brash ice, an expedition ship small against snow peaks.

A Zodiac cruise and a landing each day

The team picks the stretch of shore that can be landed on safely, given the ice. Penguins, seals and icebergs fall inside that choice, and the Zodiac is both the transport to the beach and the way to get close to floating ice and the heads of bays. Where you land is settled that morning.

An open-air hot pool on a ship's deck, steam rising, glacier and grey water beyond the glass screen.

Glacier scale from a helicopter

When weather permits, a helicopter lifts off the deck and the same ice field and bay you have been watching at water level appear at another scale. The flight is short and the pilot works with the deck team. It is the only way on this voyage to read the shape of the peninsula from above.

Two chairs and a small table on a cabin terrace, breakfast plates and cups set out, sea beyond the rail.

An all-inclusive yacht to come back to

Dining is included in the voyage and spread across several restaurants, so no meal needs a separate decision or a bill at the end. Suites, the spa and the pool deck do the recovering after a morning in a Zodiac and a wet landing, and that recovery is part of the itinerary.

An expedition ship under way on grey water, a line of snow-covered mountains receding behind it.

Route

Two nights in Buenos Aires, then south

Start with two nights in Buenos Aires before the flight to Ushuaia, and keep a flight buffer at both ends of the Antarctic section. A classic peninsula voyage runs about eleven to thirteen days; longer products add routes and time. The Argentine legs are where connections usually go wrong.

Wiring Buenos Aires and Ushuaia to the sailing

The Antarctic section is the simple part. The mainland flights, the charter and the port meet-up are what need slack around them.

Stay

A classic Antarctic Peninsula voyage runs about eleven to thirteen days, and longer itineraries can go beyond twenty days at sea.

Getting there

You usually connect through Buenos Aires and Ushuaia to board. Charters, hotels and the port meeting point are confirmed per departure.

Season

The main Antarctic season runs from November through to March, and the light and the wildlife change across those months.

Watch out

Helicopters and the submarine cost extra and depend on weather. The Drake Passage can be rough in both directions, so build slack into the return flight.

Plan this into a journey

Tell us your dates and whether the helicopter matters to you. We will set the peninsula voyage and the mainland nights around it.

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