Antarctica Cruise: Icebreaker Adventures

"Emperor Penguins: Snow Hill Island Safari" Itinerary:

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• Days 1-2: At the end of one world, another begins

• As your plane lands in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, you'll be treated to a stunning view. Ushuaia is nestled at the foot of the Andes, with the rugged peaks of the Five Brothers overlooking the Beagle Channel. After a night at our host hotel, tour the nearby National Park and enjoy a traditional asado barbecue lunch. Late in the afternoon, from the deck of Kapitan Khlebnikov, watch as crewmen cast off the lines as the voyage begins.

• Days 3-4: Look out for birds and ornithologists

• Emperor Penguins will be on your mind while you cross the Drake Passage. By the time you reach the Weddell Sea, you'll be a well-rounded expert on birds of all kinds. In addition to the biology, habitat and behavior of Emperors, our ornithologist will have made presentations on the pelagic birds that accompany the ship during the crossing. With your binoculars, scan for Wandering Albatross, Giant Petrels or the tiny Wilson's Storm-Petrel.

• Days 5-7: The aristocrats of the Antarctic

• Reaching the Snow Hill rookery under the best possible conditions is the goal of the expedition. The Captain and Expedition Leader consult charts, weather bulletins and satellite images to determine where to park the icebreaker for efficient helicopter flights to the rookery.
  
  You will be visiting early in the rearing season. The adult penguins have just endured the harsh austral winter. Males have spent nine weeks without food, incubating eggs by holding them on their feet and huddling with each other.
  
  Our aim is to spend a few days getting to know these gallant birds. We plan to use helicopters to land at a site from which you will walk for a closer look. (But not close enough to interfere.) You'll see the young chicks waddling and jostling about, acting like children in a playground, some might be brooding on their parents' feet. The adults will affect a much more dignified manner - until they drop on their stomachs and start tobogganing.

• Days 8-11: Discovering The White Continent

• While the Emperors are our priority, we also plan to visit the White Continent. Our exact route will be determined by local conditions.
  
  You will sail Iceberg Alley, passing massive tabular icebergs that will have you snapping pictures until your camera beeps a warning that the memory is full. While passing through Antarctic Sound, you may set foot on the continent. A soulful silence will engulf you - unless a glacier calves an iceberg - then suddenly, everything is noise and waves.
  
  Should conditions make it difficult to reach the rookery during the first days of the voyage, the Expedition Leader and Captain will revise their plans and may make landings on the Peninsula before reaching the rookery.
  
  Delicious food, and activities a la carte
  While visiting the Peninsula, we hope to visit penguin rookeries under construction. Adelie, Chinstrap and Gentoo Penguins court, lay eggs, and raise their young during the austral summer. Your voyage takes place when these smaller penguins are selecting nesting sites and choosing partners.
  
  Each day's activities will leave you hungry - but only for a moment. The Hospitality Team prides itself on satisfying your hunger as well as the Expedition Team satisfies your craving for adventure.

• Days 12-14: Recollection and reflection

• Return to Ushuaia via the Drake Passage. When the ship docks, you'll be recalling what you saw near Snow Hill Island. These memories will stay with you, as clear and powerful as the day they were formed. The existence of the Emperor Penguin is more than a story of survival and endurance. It is the triumph of life itself.

"Emperor Penguins: Snow Hill Island Safari" Itinerary:

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• Days 1-2: At the end of one world, another begins
• Days 3-4: Look out for birds and ornithologists
• Days 5-7: The aristocrats of the Antarctic
• Days 8-11: Discovering The White Continent
• Days 12-14: Recollection and reflection

"Epic Antarctica: Semi-Circumnavigation" Itinerary:

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• Days 1-7: Remote islands close up

• Make your way to the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) to embark. At sea, the days are active. Through formal presentations, experts introduce you to the remote islands that you will encounter during this first part of the voyage: Shag Rocks, South Georgia, and the South Sandwich Islands. There, if conditions permit, we'll deploy our Zodiacs and visit one of the largest Chinstrap Penguin rookeries in existence.

• Days 8-10: Kapitan Khlebnikov versus the Weddell Sea

• The ice-choked Weddell Sea has confounded explorers for centuries. The power of Kapitan Khlebnikov is essential to navigate the pack ice. On deck or from the Bridge, stand watch for whales and icebergs. The education program continues, shifting focus from subantarctic islands to glaciology, seals and Emperor Penguins. The Polar Arts program will be underway. Lessons in traditional media and in digital photography deliver alternate ways of examining the seldom visited regions through which you are navigating.

• Days 11-13: Underground laboratories and towering landscapes

• For the next few days you'll be sailing from about 15°W crossing the Greenwich Meridian, a.k.a. Zero Longitude, toward 40°E. If permission is granted en route, we'll visit Georg von Neumayer Station, built under the ice of a 200-meter-thick ice shelf. We also plan to visit two Emperor Penguin rookeries located in the area.
  
  The ship will follow the Riiser-Larsen Ice Shelf - 402 km (250 miles) of towering white ice.

• Days 14-18: Friendships are born

• Many activities are planned for the days at sea - wildlife watches; ice-chart reading lessons; presentations on the workings of an icebreaker and the life cycle of an iceberg. The library will be open for quiet moments of contemplation. Play cards or chess in the lounge while sipping a steaming mug of cocoa. You can be as active or as relaxed as you like, while getting to know the international group of adventurers who choose icebreaker expeditions. Friendships born at sea often last a lifetime.

• Days 19-24: Discovering The White Continent

• The other side of the world, or due south. During this portion of the voyage, depending on which hemisphere you call home, you will be either on the opposite side of the world, or due south of where you live.
  
  We keep you busy along the Enderby Land coast. From the air, you could be watching Kapitan Khlebnikov cut through the thick pack ice, a striking demonstration of technology and power. In a Zodiac, you could approach an ice floe on which seals are lounging. The Expedition Team takes advantage of the 18 hours of daylight that you can expect during the Summer Solstice.

• Days 25-27: The whitest Christmas

• The scent of roasting turkey will drift across the deck as our Hospitality Team prepares for a Christmas celebration. This will be a holiday to remember.
  
  As you near Mawson Station, our Expedition Team will present the famous exploits of Sir Douglas Mawson. He is Australia's most beloved Antarctic explorer, and his ordeal of adventure and survival rivals those of Scott and Shackleton.

• Days 28-30: Visiting scientific research stations

• As this is our International Polar Year featured expedition, we plan to visit as many scientific research stations as possible, such as Zongshan Station, China's research facility in the Larsemann Hills.
  
  Australians research the biology, geology and glaciology at several bases in the Lambert- Amery region of Antarctica. One of their facilities studies the Antarctic stratosphere using laser technology.
  
  Please note: All visits to research stations are subject to permission and can only be confirmed locally.

• Days 28-30: You have joined a select group of adventurers

• Celebration is in order: not just the New Year, but the fact that you've traveled to the farthest reaches of the Earth. You've explored beautiful, remote landscapes and been transformed by the breathtaking scale of this wondrous continent.
  
  Sailing towards Fremantle, Australia, you will experience the majesty of the Southern Ocean. Watch for birds above and whales below. Your odyssey may be coming to an end, but the memories are just beginning.

"Epic Antarctica: Semi-Circumnavigation" Itinerary:

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• Days 1-7: Remote islands close up
• Days 8-10: Kapitan Khlebnikov versus the Weddell Sea
• Days 11-13: Underground laboratories and towering landscapes
• Days 14-18: Friendships are born
• Days 19-24: Discovering The White Continent
• Days 25-27: The whitest Christmas
• Days 28-30: Visiting scientific research stations
• Days 28-30: You have joined a select group of adventurers

"Emperors & Kings: Snow Hill and South Georgia " Itinerary:

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• Day 1: Ushuaia, Argentina

• Special guests Robert Bateman and Birgit Freybe Bateman will join the expedition in Ushuaia, our staging point for this exclusive voyage. All guests will spend the night at a well-located hotel in the frontier community.

• Day 2: Embarkation Day

• At the beginning of what is arguably the ultimate penguin expedition, travelers will be introduced to the Expedition Team, Hospitality Team and the Batemans at the Welcome Briefing.

• Days 3-4: Crossing the Drake Passage

• Prepare for rough water, but do not be disappointed if this crossing of the Drake Passage is smooth sailing. The Drake is always changing.

• Day 5 South Shetland Islands

• Emperors and Kings are the stars of this expedition, but they are not the only penguins you will encounter. During landings in the South Shetland Islands you could visit Adélie, Chinstrap and Gentoo penguin rookeries.

• Days 6-8: Emperor Penguin Rookery

• A guest who visited the rookery near Snow Hill Island wrote, "I never thought that I would be sitting on the ice and have the penguins within an arms reach."
  
  The Captain and Expedition Leader consult charts, weather bulletins and satellite images to determine where to park the icebreaker for efficient helicopter flights to the rookery. From the landing zone, you will walk about 2.4 km (1.5 miles) to the rookery, through a sculpture garden of ice. This route is taken each time you visit the rookery during the three days allotted.

• Days 9-11: South Orkney Islands and Southern Ocean

• While at sea, the Batemans will deliver one of two presentations about their life as activists and artists. Their presentations supplement the in-depth education program delivered by the Expedition Team.

• Days 12-16: South Georgia

• Wildlife landings on South Georgia will include visits to King Penguin rookeries. King Penguins breed all year round, so you will encounter the meter (3 feet) tall birds in all stages of growth.
  
  Elephant and fur seals, albatross and other penguin species inhabit the island, which is now a nature preserve.

• Days 17-18: At sea
• Days 19-20: Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)

• When you reach the Falklands (Malvinas) you are no longer in Antarctica, yet you will add three more species of penguins to your life list - Rockhopper, Macaroni and Magellanic Penguins.

• Day 21 Fly from Stanley to Santiago, Chile

• If weather and ice conditions permit, during this expedition you will have seen eight different species of penguin in the wild. Only polar-class icebreaker expedition makes this possible.

• Day 22: Depart for home

"Emperors & Kings: Snow Hill and South Georgia " Itinerary:

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• Day 1: Ushuaia, Argentina
• Day 2: Embarkation Day
• Days 3-4: Crossing the Drake Passage
• Day 5 South Shetland Islands
• Days 6-8: Emperor Penguin Rookery
• Days 9-11: South Orkney Islands and Southern Ocean
• Days 12-16: South Georgia
• Days 17-18: At sea
• Days 19-20: Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
• Day 21 Fly from Stanley to Santiago, Chile
• Day 22: Depart for home

Although we do our best to adhere to the schedule listed above, this itinerary is subject to change for numerous reasons beyond our control.

Airfares to or from the gateway city, whether on scheduled or charter flights; passport and visa expenses; government arrival and departure taxes; any meals ashore with the exception of breakfast at the host hotel and our traditional Argentine asado lunch before embarking from Ushuaia; baggage, cancellation and travel insurance (please note that emergency medical insurance is mandatory when traveling with our partner, Quark Expeditions); excess baggage charges; laundry, bar, beverage and other personal charges; telecommunications charges; and the customary gratuity at the end of the voyage for stewards and other service personnel (guidelines will be provided). On icebreaker expeditions, any possible helicopter flying time in excess of that offered for the group will be charged at an hourly rate to be announced on board.

The weather in Antarctica is notorious for extreme variability. Although heavy rainfall is unusual, strong winds are fairly common and can greatly affect your comfort during shore landings. Average temperatures on the Antarctic Peninsula during the summer months range from approximately 23º - 41º F. Ushuaia will be slightly warmer but equally unpredictable with regard to sunshine, wind and rain.

The trip is rated easy to moderate [2]. During most shore landings, trip participants will have the opportunity to walk for short distances (less than 1 mile) while visiting penguin rookeries and exploring the landscape. Dependent on location, walks may involve crossing snowfields or bare, rocky terrain. Individuals prone to motion sickness should carry appropriate remedies as high seas may be encountered while crossing the Drake Passage.

This trip is subject to the booking information set forth in the current REI Adventures Reservation Information. Please read this information carefully and call us if you have any questions. A full gear list and pre-departure information is sent upon sign-up. We highly recommend the purchase of travel insurance through REI Adventures. If coverage is purchased at the time of your initial reservation, the 'Pre-existing Conditions Exclusion' is waived (certain exclusions apply).

We look forward to having you join us for the trip of a lifetime! Why wait? Space is limited, reserve your adventure today.

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