Get a personal appreciation for the struggle to tame the bottom of the world on this 22-day adventure to the land that entranced Ernest Shackleton and countless others since. Down here, you’ll explore the Falkland Islands, encounter abandoned whaling stations on South Georgia Island, and pay your respects at Shackleton’s grave. Elsewhere, you’ll catch up with penguins (king, chinstrap, gentoo, and Adélie varieties), learn all about them through daily lectures, get close to whales and cavorting seals from a Zodiac boat, and keep an eye peeled for towering icebergs and massive glaciers. Prepare to be astonished.

This voyage was created as a celebration of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s odyssey, as we try to retrace his steps, but in much more style and comfort! From the northern tip of the Peninsula, we endeavour to dip into the Weddell Sea and onward to Elephant Island, where Shackleton’s crew spent many months. Finally, we sail across the Scotia Sea to South Georgia, where Shackleton, Worsely and Crean found many new challenges on land. Our expert expedition team will be on hand to provide fascinating facts, stories and show you points of interest from that epic adventure.

Famed for its tremendous tabular icebergs, year-round sea ice, fascinating fossils and the pivotal role it played in Shackleton’s Endurance expedition, the Weddell Sea offers unsurpassed opportunities for exploration. Embark on a true Antarctic expedition as we not only explore the west Antarctic Peninsula, but also attempt to venture east towards the icy perimeter of the Weddell Sea, often guarded by impenetrable pack ice and home to awe-inspiring tabular icebergs.

Venturing below the Antarctic Circle is about more than just earning bragging rights. It is the chance to enter a different world more rarely seen, it feels more isolated and colder than further north, with great swathes of pack-ice and dreamlike icebergs. Thread through pack ice and narrow channels where scenes of ice-clad mountains, feeding whales and lively penguin colonies become lasting memories.

Early Antarctic explorers returned from their voyages to the deep south with tales of a magnificent, ice-covered land teeming with life. Experience the awe-inspiring immensity of Antarctica yourself, reducing your time on the high seas by flying across the Drake in at least one direction. Immerse yourself in the unimaginable beauty of the Antarctic Peninsula, where vast glaciers tumble into the sea, penguins are dwarfed by soaring peaks and humpback and minke whales feast on abundant krill.