The combination of the Sub Antarctic Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula makes this voyage an expedition full of exciting highlights. To us, South Georgia is one of the most beautiful places in the world. With albatrosses and thousands of King Penguins, fur seals and historic sites, including Shackleton’s last resting place. Narrow sheltered waterways and fjords. Spectacular mountains rising directly from the sea, icebergs and active glaciers
And the Antarctic Peninsula, the most accessible and wildlife-rich part of Antarctica - penguins, whales seals, sea birds Active scientific stations. A great variety of terrain over short distances.

Today we board our flight in Santiago. On arrival to Port Stanley passengers will be transferred to the group hotel.

Today we will be taken on a tour of Port Stanley. The Falklands capital, features an excellent war museum, welcoming shops and pubs. After our tour we will be transferred to the port in the late afternoon and board our ship, Polar Pioneer.

Today we aim to visit some of the southern, most isolated islands in the Falklands. Between the penguins' nests are gentle black-browed albatross sitting serenely upon beautifully molded mud nests. The air is filled with soaring albatross, turkey vultures, skuas and many species of sea birds.

Cruising towards the South Georgia we resume our lecture programme and we share our experiences of the Falkland Islands. Between the Falklands and South Georgia you will be entranced by the ceaseless flight of the many seabirds that follow our wake. You may decide to join the whale watchers on the bridge, or just relax and read a favourite book. If time and weather conditions permit we could pass close to Shag Rocks, a fascinating group of jagged rocky islets protruding from the sea. Blue-eyed cormorants fill the air; their precarious nesting sites are white with guano. South Georgia is a tiny speck in the South Atlantic Ocean, located in one of the most desolate parts of our planet. A 3,000-metre mountain range forms the spine of this long, narrow island. Between the mountains, shattered glaciers carve their way through tussock grass to the deeply indented coastline.

Our South Georgia landings are mostly along the northeast coast. We’ll see: the world’s largest king penguin rookeries, wandering albatross on nests, beaches of elephant and fur seals, macaroni and rockhopper penguin colonies, walking Shackleton’s route from Fortuna Bay to Stromness; and visiting Grytviken’s whaling museum; Originally a Norwegian sealing and whaling station, it was finally abandoned in 1965. Here we must be careful to avoid stepping on sleeping elephant seals as we skirt the ruins of factory buildings peering into the past, trying to imagine what it was like when whale processing was in full swing. Abandoned ships lie sunken alongside old wharves, while pitted concrete walls remind us of the more recent Falkland's War, which started here.
Sir Ernest Shackleton died from a heart attack during his final expedition on board the Quest on 6 May 1922. His body was laid to rest at Grytviken and we will make a pilgrimage to visit the cross his men erected in his memory looking out across beautiful Cumberland Bay.

Sailing south, we look out for great whales and possibly our first icebergs!

If pack ice allows, we go ashore in the dramatic South Orkney Islands, then across whale-rich waters to Elephant Island, hoping to take Zodiacs near Point Wild, where Shackleton’s men wintered over.

After visiting the South Shetlands, we sail overnight down Gerlache Strait, awakening to the thrill of Antarctica! Weather and ice permitting, we’ll visit busy penguin rookeries, historic sites and make a continental landing.

North across Drake Passage, we’re treated to graceful displays by prions, petrels and majestic albatross. Once we’ve rounded Cape Horn, we recap our many experiences with shipboard friends.

In the wee hours we sail up the Beagle Channel to Ushuaia where our next adventure begins.