Luxury Antarctica Fly And Cruise

King George Island, the largest among the South Shetland Islands, is Antarctica's principal entry point. Positioned just 120 kilometres away from the Antarctic Peninsula and hosting the sole airport in the South Shetlands, it bridges everyday life and the Antarctic environment. With over ten nations maintaining year-round or seasonal scientific research stations on the island, its significance in Antarctic exploration is profound, particularly given its formidable snow and ice cover, encompassing 90% of its landmass.

Establishing a presence on King George Island affords nations membership in the Antarctic Treaty, underscoring its strategic importance. Notably, a Russian Orthodox church with a resident priest is a testament to the island's cultural diversity. While international scientists inhabit the island, they are vastly outnumbered by the rich wildlife that claims it as its own.

Various species, including Adelie, Chinstrap, and Gentoo Penguins, commute between the island and the Antarctic Peninsula. At the same time, Weddell and leopard seals are frequent visitors, often seen basking on the shores or swimming in the surrounding waters. This biodiversity extends to the avian population, with skuas and southern giant petrels making the island their summer residence, drawn by the relatively warmer climate, where temperatures average between 1.5 and -6.5˚C.

Named after King George III by British explorers who discovered it in 1819, the island was subject to territorial claims by Chile and Argentina in the 1940s. Nonetheless, it remains part of the British Antarctic Territory, serving as a beacon of international collaboration and scientific exploration in the Antarctic region.

Departure at 18:00

Embarking on a trip to Antarctica captivates the imagination like many other expeditions. It offers an unparalleled adventure into one of Earth's most isolated, extreme, and mesmerising wildernesses. Such an expedition represents adventure in its most unadulterated form, with only a select few ever having the opportunity to witness the awe-inspiring beauty of its stark, icy landscapes with their own eyes. Your introduction to this icy realm is likely to be the Antarctic Sound, positioned at the northernmost point of the Antarctic Peninsula. This peninsula stretches toward Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost tip of South America, famously called the 'End of the World'. Named after the pioneering vessel that first navigated the channel between the peninsula and the Joinville Island groups in 1902, the Sound offers a breathtaking spectacle of towering icebergs that have calved from the deteriorating Larsen Ice Shelf. Here, you're greeted by ice formations the size of stadiums and encounter the remarkable avian species that inhabit this icy domain. As flocks of Gentoo penguins scurry about, cape petrels glide above amidst a thriving spectacle of the continent's distinctive wildlife. If this is your maiden journey to Antarctica, enhancing your photography skills beforehand is advisable, enabling you to immortalise this formidable continent's raw, unbridled magnificence.

3 Included Shore Excursions:

• Zodiac cruise with the expedition team
• Hiking with the expedition team
• Kayaking with the expedition team

The Antarctic Peninsula stretches northward, like an inviting arm towards those brave enough to venture into its pristine wilderness. From the depths of the world's southernmost landmass, it extends to within 620 miles of Tierra del Fuego, presenting adventurers with their initial glimpse into a world of snow-draped vistas and towering ice formations that define the planet's most uncharted territory. It remained hidden from human eyes until 1820, making any expedition here a journey into the almost untouched and truly extraordinary. Dotting the vast expanse of the peninsula are research stations, standing on the edge of human knowledge, dedicated to unravelling the secrets of this remarkable landscape, its rare wildlife, and the effects of human activity on this untouched frontier. Here, you can marvel at icebergs as tall as cathedrals and glaciers with a blue sheen, inching their way down from majestic locales like Hope Bay. The peninsula is crowned with snow-capped mountains and is home to thousands of charming Adelie penguins, living in harmony in this unparalleled environment.

3 Included Shore Excursions:

• Zodiac cruise with the expedition team
• Hiking with the expedition team
• Kayaking with the expedition team

The Antarctic Peninsula stretches northward, like an inviting arm towards those brave enough to venture into its pristine wilderness. From the depths of the world's southernmost landmass, it extends to within 620 miles of Tierra del Fuego, presenting adventurers with their initial glimpse into a world of snow-draped vistas and towering ice formations that define the planet's most uncharted territory. It remained hidden from human eyes until 1820, making any expedition here a journey into the almost untouched and truly extraordinary. Dotting the vast expanse of the peninsula are research stations, standing on the edge of human knowledge, dedicated to unravelling the secrets of this remarkable landscape, its rare wildlife, and the effects of human activity on this untouched frontier. Here, you can marvel at icebergs as tall as cathedrals and glaciers with a blue sheen, inching their way down from majestic locales like Hope Bay. The peninsula is crowned with snow-capped mountains and is home to thousands of charming Adelie penguins, living in harmony in this unparalleled environment.

3 Included Shore Excursions:

• Zodiac cruise with the expedition team
• Hiking with the expedition team
• Kayaking with the expedition team

The Antarctic Peninsula stretches northward, like an inviting arm towards those brave enough to venture into its pristine wilderness. From the depths of the world's southernmost landmass, it extends to within 620 miles of Tierra del Fuego, presenting adventurers with their initial glimpse into a world of snow-draped vistas and towering ice formations that define the planet's most uncharted territory. It remained hidden from human eyes until 1820, making any expedition here a journey into the almost untouched and truly extraordinary. Dotting the vast expanse of the peninsula are research stations, standing on the edge of human knowledge, dedicated to unravelling the secrets of this remarkable landscape, its rare wildlife, and the effects of human activity on this untouched frontier. Here, you can marvel at icebergs as tall as cathedrals and glaciers with a blue sheen, inching their way down from majestic locales like Hope Bay. The peninsula is crowned with snow-capped mountains and is home to thousands of charming Adelie penguins, living in harmony in this unparalleled environment.

3 Included Shore Excursions:

• Zodiac cruise with the expedition team
• Hiking with the expedition team
• Kayaking with the expedition team

This area is bustling with research outposts from various nations amidst the local inhabitants of hefty elephant seals and colonies of Gentoo, Chinstrap, and Adelie Penguins, making it feel surprisingly lively. King George Island is the archipelago's most accommodating landmass, hosting most of these research facilities, where small, resilient teams operate throughout the year. However, don't let this human presence mislead you; the islands are gateways to extraordinary explorations in one of the planet's most secluded spots. The towering trio of Mount Foster's peaks dominates the skyline, while the journey into Deception Island reveals the awe-inspiring vista of its vast volcanic caldera. Trek through its moonlike terrain and soak in the unexpectedly warm waters of Pendulum Cove, warmed by geothermal heat. Elsewhere, Elephant Island holds a storied place in the lore of Antarctic exploration, marking the spot where Ernest Shackleton and his crew of the Endurance, against all odds, endured the brutal Antarctic winter of 1916.

1 Included Shore Excursion:

• Zodiac cruise with the expedition team

King George Island, the largest among the South Shetland Islands, is Antarctica's principal entry point. Positioned just 120 kilometres away from the Antarctic Peninsula and hosting the sole airport in the South Shetlands, it bridges everyday life and the Antarctic environment. With over ten nations maintaining year-round or seasonal scientific research stations on the island, its significance in Antarctic exploration is profound, particularly given its formidable snow and ice cover, encompassing 90% of its landmass.

Establishing a presence on King George Island affords nations membership in the Antarctic Treaty, underscoring its strategic importance. Notably, a Russian Orthodox church with a resident priest is a testament to the island's cultural diversity. While international scientists inhabit the island, they are vastly outnumbered by the rich wildlife that claims it as its own.

Various species, including Adelie, Chinstrap, and Gentoo Penguins, commute between the island and the Antarctic Peninsula. At the same time, Weddell and leopard seals are frequent visitors, often seen basking on the shores or swimming in the surrounding waters. This biodiversity extends to the avian population, with skuas and southern giant petrels making the island their summer residence, drawn by the relatively warmer climate, where temperatures average between 1.5 and -6.5˚C.

Named after King George III by British explorers who discovered it in 1819, the island was subject to territorial claims by Chile and Argentina in the 1940s. Nonetheless, it remains part of the British Antarctic Territory, serving as a beacon of international collaboration and scientific exploration in the Antarctic region.

Arrival at 05.30