Ushuaia - City Tour
Reception and transfer from Ushuaia Airport to the hotel. We'll spend the morning in the city, visiting the legendary and ancient Jail of Recidivists, that keeps its impressive architecture as well as the tough history of the south of the American Continent. We'll visit the harbour, the Paseo del Centenario (a fantastic panoramic point) and the Bebán house that was bought in Sweden and built in 1911.

National Park of Tierra del Fuego - Train of the End of the World
Breakfast at the hotel. We'll take the Train at the End of the World, from the central station to the National Park of Tierra del Fuego. The Austral Fueguino Railroad is attractive not only because of its elegance and style but also because it evokes the history of the early days of Ushuaia related to the old jail and the train of the convicts. We'll cross Pipo River to reach our first stop: La Macarena. The second stop will show us the remains of the old sawmill. Then the train leaves the river to get to a beautiful forest. From that point we'll continue our journey to the National Park of Tierra del Fuego where we'll find the Pipo Falls, Bahía Ensenada, Roca Lake, Negra Lagoon and, finally, Lepataia Bay.

Leaving from the city of Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
Embarking in the afternoon; we will meet the expedition team. We will start our trip to Antarctica sailing along the famous Beagle Channel, crossing the Mackinlay Passage.

Crossing the Drake Passage
This passage is named for the Explorer Sir Frances Drake, who sailed it in 1578. The Drake Passage is the frame of the Antarctic Convergence, a natural limit between the cold polar waters which run under the northern warmest waters.

This produces a great deal of nutrients, which serve as support to the biodiversity in this Antarctic region. The Drake Passage is also the northern limit of many Antarctic seabirds such as the Albatross, our companion during our trip to Antarctica.

At the first sight of ice floes and snowy mountains, we will come closer to the South Shetland Islands. This is an archipelago formed by 20 islands and inlets discovered at the beginning of the 19th century by Captain William Smith, in command of his brig Williams. Weather permitting while passing the Drake Passage on the third day of our trip, we will disembark to see penguins and seals closely.

Discovering the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula
In these days we will visit the South Shetland Islands with diverse wildlife. We will see penguin rookeries and also beaches rich in Antarctic seals and southern elephant seals. We will sail the narrow passage to the flooded volcanic crater in Deception Island to go deep in the warm waters of Pendulum Cove enjoying an unprecedented spectacle.

King George Island is the biggest one in the South Shetland Islands and is rich in rookeries of Adelie and chinstrap penguins, cook seagulls, imperial cormorants, Antarctic terns and southern giant petrels. There are scientific stations from different countries here. In Livingston Island we will find chip strap penguins, macaroni penguins, gentoo penguins and elephant seals.

We will visit the Antarctic Peninsula and explore its enigmatic landscape, formed by a pristine desert of snow, ice, mountains and water flows, and diverse wildlife. We will see not only penguins and seabirds, but also have the opportunity of watching Weddell crab-eating seals, and hunchback whales and killer whales.

If ice conditions are favorable, we will sail some of the most beautiful channels: Gerlache Strait, Neumayer Channel and Lemaire Channel; these are narrow passages hidden among spectacular rocks and glaciers.

We will have the opportunity to visit Paradise Bay, which is a paradise indeed. After crossing the waters of the Antarctic Strait covered with icebergs, we will head for the active Adelie penguin’s rookeries, one of the biggest colonies in Antarctica with more than 100,000 imperial cormorant chicks and colonies in Paulet Island.

In 1903, the Nordenskjöld expedition built a stone refuge in Paulet Island; this ruin has been occupied by the eggs laid by penguins. We will also have the opportunity to see Melchior Islands, Cuverville Island, Punta Portal, Neko Harbour, Pléneau Island, and if ice conditions are favorable, we will visit Petermann Island to see the southernmost rookery of the gentoo penguin.

Crossing the Drake Passage
These are the last days of our trip to Antarctica; on our way back, we will say goodbye to the Antarctic Peninsula and move northwards to cross the Drake Passage to arrive at the city of Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego. The last presentations will be given, and, on deck, we will have the opportunity to see seabirds and whales.

Arriving at Ushuaia Port
We will arrive at Ushuaia very early in the morning; after breakfast we will disembark and so end our fantastic cruise to Antarctica.

Lake Fagnano & Escondido
Breakfast at the hotel. It is a transition area where the arid steppes change into the profusion of the woods. We'll see the village of Tolhuin, rising in the middle of the woods, almost at the edge of the Lake Fagnano. The village has the typical charm of small towns, with bungalows and streets that get lost in continuous hillocks. Then the road starts to descend to show the splendid Fagnano Lake. Little by little we'll start ascending the Andes. Here the forests get thicker and, in the Cordillera de los Andes, appears Lake Escondido.

Puerto Natales - Torres del Paine Nationalpark
Breakfast to the hotel. Visiting the Patagonia without going to Torres del Paine National Park is almost a sin. This tour departs at 8 AM from your lodging place in Puerto Natales to Torres del Paine National Park. The first stop will be the millenary Milodon Cave, a huge natural ground accident with an incalculable anthropological value, which is believed to have been inhabited by the primitive Patagonian man, and the Milodon, an extinct herbivorous animal.

Once 30 minutes have elapsed and 36 km have been traveled, the second stop will be made: Cerro Castillo, where passengers will be able to enjoy cafeteria services. A perfect preamble to later arrive to Torres del Paine National Park through the Amarga Lagoon area, a stunning scenery where you can enjoy watching red foxes and condors which usually are part of the beautiful panoramic views of the Paine mountain range. What comes next is even more impressive. Following the route, you can see the Nordenskjold and Pehoé lakes, together with groups of guanacos and lesser rheas or ñandúes.

The journey continues with a 10 minute hike, where it is possible to discover the astonishing Salto Grande (Large waterfall) to continue through the front of the imposing horns towards the Grey lake area. A stop will be made at the Grey inn to have lunch. During the afternoon, the tour continues towards the glacier area, where an approximate one-and-a-half-hour stop will be made, as well as a beautiful hike among forests of lengas and breathtaking ice floes of the Grey glacier.

Puerto Natales - El Calafate
Breakfast to the hotel. Departure from Puerto Natales to Calafate.