Antarctic Expedition Cruises
Join us on an Antarctic adventure to the end of the Earth and experience this spectacular and pristine landscape. The great white continent of Antarctica is home to an incredible wealth of untamed wildlife, where penguins, seals and whales are the only permanent residents. Gaze up at magnificent icebergs, stand amongst king penguin rookeries and spot Minke and humpback whales in the icy waters.
We offer a superb range of Antarctic cruises, including the best modern expedition ships that use electric hybrid technology to promote environmentally-friendly cruising. Luxury expedition ships designed for polar conditions allow guests to explore Antarctica in comfort and elegance, with world-class facilities including helicopters and submarines for exclusive access to parts of Antarctica that are usually unreachable.
Cruise Collection
Antarctic Explorer: Discovering the 7th Continent
Special OfferSave up to 37%!
Discover the wonders of the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands on this expedition cruise accompanied by polar experts, with Zodiac landings for incredible wildlife encounters with penguins, whales and seals
Ushuaia and back
Emblematic Antarctica
Special OfferSave up to 25% PLUS free flights or no single supplement! Fly-cruise now from just £9260pp!
Embark on a thrilling polar adventure to the heart of the Antarctic Peninsula, renowned for its incredible scenery and diverse wildlife, on this luxury expedition voyage. Includes pre-cruise hotel stay and charter flights between Buenos Aires and Ushuaia
Buenos Aires and back
Highlights of Antarctica
Special OfferSave up to 25% PLUS No Single Supplement on Selected Expedition Cruises!
Marvel at colossal glaciers and icebergs on this incredible 14-night Antarctica expedition cruise with flights and pre-cruise stay in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires and back (11-night itinerary)
The Emperor Penguins of Weddell Sea
Special OfferSave up to 15%!
Santiago (Chile), Ushuaia (Argentina), Crossing the Drake Passage, North Antarctic Peninsula , The Weddell Sea, Crossing the Drake Passage, Ushuaia (Argentina)
Antarctic Exploration
UK - Puerto Williams (Chile) , Cruising Drake Passage , Antarctic Sound (Antarctica) , Antarctic Peninsula , South Shetland Islands , Cruising Drake Passage , Sailing around Cape Horn - Puerto Williams (Chile) , Puerto Williams - UK
Antarctic Explorer Fly and Cruise
Punta Arenas, Chile, Chilean Fjords, Drake Passage - Antarctic Peninsula, King George Island to Punta Arenas
Antarctica & Falklands Expedition
Buenos Aires, Ushuaia, The Drake Passage, Antarctica, The Drake Passage, The Falklands, Ushuaia - Buenos Aires
Antarctica Bridge Fly and Cruise
King George Island (Antarctica), Antarctic Sound - Antarctica Peninsula - South Shetland Islands, King George Island
Extraordinary Landscapes of Antarctica
Buenos Aires , Buenos Aires - Ushuaia , At Sea , Antarctica , At Sea , South Georgia , At Sea , Falkland Islands , At Sea , Buenos Aires
Patagonia to Chilean Fjords and Antarctica Southbound
Valparaiso (Chile), Castro, Puerto Eden, Puerto Natales, Chilean Fjords, Antarctica, Ushuaia (Argentina) - Buenos Aires - UK
The Great Adventure
Buenos Aires (Argentina) - Ushuaia (Argentina), Drake Passage, Antarctic Peninsula (Antarctica), At sea , Gold Harbour - Fortuna Bay - Salisbury Plain (South Georgia), Montevideo (Uruguay)
A Musical Cruise in Novia Scotia and the East Coast of the United States
Boston, Massachusetts, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Eastport, Maine, Portland, Maine, Provincetown, Massachusetts, Cruising Cape Cod Canal, Newport, Rhode Island, New York, New York, Boston, Massachusetts
About Antarctic Cruises
All Antarctica expedition ships carry Zodiacs to allow exciting shore landings and up-close encounters with amazing wildlife. Expedition teams lead the way on these trips, and also offer kayaking amongst icebergs, hiking on glistening glaciers and perhaps even camping on the ice. On-board experts often include naturalists and scientists who give enriching presentations on the history, geology, ecology and wildlife of Antarctica to help guests discover the most fascinating aspects of this polar region.
After rounding Cape Horn and crossing the legendary Drake Passage you’ll begin your Antarctic exploration of this vast white landscape – one of the last true wilderness areas on earth. Here you can admire the spectacular scenery of glaciers, icebergs and mountains and get up close to the abundance of unique wildlife including penguin colonies, whales and seals.
An Antarctic cruise can be combined with a voyage through the enchanting beauty of the Chilean Fjords, a remote area barely touched by humans where snow-capped peaks contrast with the stunning coastline. Some cruises to Antarctica also call at the far-flung Falkland Islands, home to spectacular populations of penguins, seals and albatrosses. You can even experience rarely-visited South Georgia, home to king penguins and elephant seals, and learn more about the great explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton.
Most of our Antarctic expedition cruises start from Ushuaia in the very south of Argentina and include flights from Buenos Aires. We can arrange flights to Buenos Aires for you, as well as hotel stays to make the most of this fascinating city. It is now also possible to fly direct to Antarctica, across the Drake Passage, to save four days at sea and start your cruise right in the heart of Antarctica.
Antarctic Adventure Highlights
Antarctica (Antarctica)
The spectacular region of Antarctica, known as the White Continent, is dedicated to research and has no permanent human inhabitants. Depending on weather and ice conditions, landings may be made at Livingston for sightings of Weddell and Elephant seals, and the King George Islands, where the waters offshore are a feeding ground for humpback whales. On crescent-shaped Half Moon Island is a colony of Chinstrap penguins, whilst further south in the region of Paradise Harbour and Hope Bay, the mainland scenery is dramatic and awesome, with ice cliffs and numerous floating icebergs shining blue and indigo in the sunshine. Calved from glaciers, as they melt they create fantastical shapes and arches, or remain flat-topped and sheer-sided. Visits may be made to one of the many research stations.
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina. Shuttle buses take visitors from its busy port to the city centre half a mile away. Near historic Plaza de Mayo, Calle Florida is the main shopping street, a good place to buy cheap leather goods, jewellery and designer clothes. Buenos Aires has many good cafes and tango bars, where you can see the dance being performed. Eva Peron's grave can be found in the picturesque Recoleta Cemetery.
Deception Island (Antarctica)
Enter the volcanic caldera through a narrow entrance to find hot geothermal springs bubbling up close to shore – a place for both hot and cold baths
Drake Passage (Antarctica)
Named after Sir Francis Drake, the Drake Passage is one of the world's greatest seaways connecting the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Infamous and legendary, it is steeped in the history and lore of exploration and discovery. At the Antarctic Convergence the temperature drops as the cold waters of the Antarctic Ocean meet the warmer waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and albatross and petrels are frequently seen.
Falkland Islands (Antarctica)
The Falklands are a remote British territory, with wildlife and landscapes reflecting their sub-Antarctic climate. On the high cliffs of West Point, rockhopper penguins and the black-browed albatross can be seen, and visits might be made to Carcass Island for its Gentoo and Magellanic penguins and to Saunders island to see colonies of the highly-coloured King penguin and the black-browed albatross on the sandy isthmus of The Neck.
Lemaire Channel (Antarctica)
This narrow and spectacular channel is hemmed in on either side by 1000-metre high mountains, stretching for 11 kilometres of calm, sheltered waters. The Lemaire Channel is sometimes blocked by icebergs, necessitating a diversion around Booth Island to sail south.
Paradise Bay (Antarctica)
Cliffs surround a natural harbour, with possible shore landings for fine views
Paulet Island (Antarctica)
This narrow and spectacular channel is hemmed in on either side by 1000-metre high mountains, stretching for 11 kilometres of calm, sheltered waters. The Lemaire Channel is sometimes blocked by icebergs, necessitating a diversion around Booth Island to sail south.
Port Stanley
The Falkland Islands are a photographer's paradise, with fantastic landscapes and tiny settlements nestling in large open spaces amongst varied wildlife and the delicate beauty of Falklands flowers. The Falkland Islands have a rich military and maritime history, and there are some remnants of the most recent conflict still in evidence. Port Stanley is the capital and has Victorian houses, a pub, and an Anglican Cathedral with an arch made of whalebones.
South Georgia (Antarctica)
South-east of the Falkland Islands is the mountainous landscape of South Georgia island, which has over a hundred glaciers and is an important breeding habitat of the King penguin, perhaps seen on landings at Salisbury Plain and Gold Harbour. Elephant seals lie in the tussock grass, and petrels and skuas can be seen soaring in the sky. The explorer Ernest Shackleton’s grave is situated on South Georgia and the whaling stations at Grytviken, Stronsnes or Fortuna Bay might also be included on visits.
South Shetland Islands (Antarctica)
The South Shetland Islands are a volcanic island chain almost entirely covered in ice. Elephant Island is well known, as it was from here that Sir Ernest Shackleton set out in a small boat for South Georgia in 1916 on a rescue mission for his men. The largest island is King George, where Admiralty Bay is a favourite feeding ground for humpback whales. The remarkable caldera of Deception Island which has hot springs and steaming black sand beaches, Half Moon and Livingstone Islands are all part of the South Shetlands. Livingstone’s Byers Peninsula is a Site of Special Scientific Interest under the Antarctic Treaty, as it contains most of the regions historic sites.
Tristan de Cunha (Antarctica)
The isolated island chain of Tristan de Cunha may be visited on voyages sailing south from Europe to Antarctica. North-east of the Falklands in the middle of the South Atlantic, the landscape is dramatic, with mountainous, volcanic terrain basking in a tropical climate. The archipelago includes the uninhabited islands of Inaccessible and Nightingale, untouched wildlife havens where the indigenous Moseleyi rockhopper penguin and the Tristan albatross might be spotted.
Ushuaia
Situated on the shores of the vast Beagle Channel, Ushuaia is the world's most southerly city, situated in the Argentinian provice of Tierra del Fuego. It is overlooked by Mount Martial to the west and by Mounts Olivia and Cinco Hermanos to the east, and is the departure point for cruises to the Antarctic and the Falkland Islands. There are a number of museums in the town tracing the maritime and military history of the area.
Customer Reviews
"Le Lyrial Antarctic Cruise"
by C.WalkerWe had a holiday of a life time through Blue Water Holidays with Ponant Cruise line. This was an expedition cruise that took 21 days right across the Southern Atlantic. Our goal was too see as many penguins as possible and we also managed to see the very rare Northern Rockhopper !
We started in Ushuaia, Argentina a stunning location, then departed on the luxury ship Le Lyrial. She was very comfortable with excellent service and expedition guides.
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