"We just wanted to say thanks for the fantastic time we had...All the crew made it a memorable trip. The ship was comfortable and the food was great. A great adventure we will never forget."

Colin & Sue Worley, Antarctic Dream 2008

"... it allowed me to visit a place I never dreamt I would, in comfort, style, and safety, and provided a geunine learning experience as well!"

David Smith, Antarctic Dream 2007

overview

This trip involves an eleven-day cruise to the vast and pristine wilderness of Antarctica, taking in the spectacular scenery and unique wildlife of the ‘White Continent’.

The cruise operates during the summer season from November to March, when the sun barely sets. The ship used is the M/V Antarctic Dream - an ice-strengthened ship run by former naval officers that is one of the most comfortable passenger ships sailing in Antarctic waters.

Passengers board the vessel in Ushuaia, at the southern tip of Argentina. From here, the ship sails across the Drake Passage to the South Shetland Islands, and then on to the mainland where it spends several days exploring the coastline of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Navigating between fjords and channels, the ship passes landscapes of breathtaking beauty – cliffs, rugged mountains and glaciers calving huge icebergs into the sea – with the ice formations reflecting a kaleidoscope of colours as the light changes.

Passengers can expect to encounter wildlife including sea elephants, sea lions, Weddell, crab-eater and leopard seals, gentoo, chinstrap and Adelie penguins, and a variety of seabirds including the ocean-going wandering albatross, storm petrels, skuas and Antarctic terns. Orcas, humpback and minke whales may also be spotted at close range.

A team of lecturers and guides is on board to explain the wildlife, geology and the epic history of Antarctica’s exploration by the likes of Amundsen, Shackleton and Scott. The M/V Antarctic Dream is also equipped with four inflatable boats for excursions to shore.

At King George Island, the largest of the South Shetlands, there is an opportunity to visit the Argentine scientific base, and at Deception Island the ship sails into a huge flooded crater where it is even possible to take a dip in Antarctic waters heated by an active volcano.

The journey ends back in Ushuaia, from where passengers can travel home via Buenos Aires, or explore the warmer climes of Latin America.

N.B. The exact route and programme of the M/V Antarctic Dream varies according to the weather conditions.