Antarctica and South Georgia

Begin your expedition in Puerto Williams, a remote settlement on Chile’s Navarino Island surrounded by the mountains and waterways of Tierra del Fuego. Board Silver Wind and settle into life aboard before departing in the evening. Your course turns east into the Southern Ocean, beginning an ambitious journey linking South Georgia with the Antarctic Peninsula.

Spend your first full day at sea as Silver Wind heads towards South Georgia. Watch the Patagonian landscape disappear behind you and become acquainted with the expedition team, whose lectures and briefings introduce the wildlife, history and environments awaiting farther south. Outside, the open ocean provides opportunities to watch for the seabirds that thrive across these remote latitudes.

Continue across the Southern Ocean towards one of the world’s great wildlife sanctuaries. Time aboard offers the chance to learn more about South Georgia’s remarkable ecosystem and polar history, while the outer decks become natural observation platforms for spotting albatrosses, petrels and other ocean-going birds.

The final day of the outward crossing brings you closer to South Georgia. Prepare for the dramatic change from open ocean to a rugged sub-Antarctic landscape of mountains, glaciers and wildlife-rich shores. Expedition briefings help prepare you for the days of exploration ahead as Silver Wind approaches the island.

Arrive at South Georgia for the first of three days devoted to this extraordinary island. Vast mountain ranges and glaciers provide a spectacular backdrop to shores inhabited by immense concentrations of wildlife. Expedition activities vary with conditions, creating opportunities to explore by Zodiac and on foot while encountering the island’s penguins, seals and seabirds.

Spend another day immersed in South Georgia’s remarkable natural world. The island is renowned for its spectacular gatherings of King Penguins, whose distinctive golden markings bring colour to vast colonies along the coastline. Elephant seals may also be found hauled out along the beaches, while the surrounding cliffs and skies attract an extraordinary variety of seabirds.

Enjoy a final day exploring South Georgia before departing in the evening. Depending on local conditions, the expedition team may select another wildlife-rich landing or Zodiac excursion, revealing a different side of the island’s rugged coastline. Take in the glaciers, mountains and remarkable animal colonies one last time before Silver Wind turns south towards Antarctica.

Enter the waters of the Drake Passage as the voyage continues towards Antarctica. The crossing provides time to relax after the intensity of South Georgia while attending further presentations from the expedition team. Outside, keep watch for albatrosses and other seabirds as the environment gradually becomes colder and increasingly polar.

Continue through the Drake Passage as the first signs of Antarctica begin to emerge. Icebergs may appear across the horizon while the temperature drops and wildlife becomes increasingly adapted to the frozen environment. By the end of the crossing, the expedition is poised to begin exploring the islands and waterways surrounding the Antarctic Peninsula.

Arrive at Elephant Island, an isolated and historically significant outpost of the South Shetlands. The island is inseparable from the story of Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance expedition, whose stranded men found refuge here in 1916. Weather permitting, explore this formidable landscape and appreciate the scale of the mountains, glaciers and exposed coastline that confronted those early polar explorers.

Reach the Antarctic Peninsula and enter a landscape of immense glaciers, snow-covered mountains and iceberg-filled waterways. The expedition team chooses activities according to the day’s conditions, with potential opportunities for Zodiac cruising and shore landings. Step onto fresh Antarctic snow while watching for penguins, seals and seabirds throughout the surrounding wilderness.

Continue exploring the Peninsula’s spectacular coastline. Each landing offers a different experience, from penguin colonies and seal-haunted beaches to secluded bays framed by glaciers. Zodiac excursions may bring you closer to immense ice formations, while the surrounding waters offer opportunities to watch for whales as they travel through the Antarctic marine environment.

Enjoy a third day dedicated to the Antarctic Peninsula. Weather, sea ice and wildlife determine where the expedition unfolds, allowing the Captain and Expedition Leader to pursue the most rewarding conditions available. Venture among sculpted icebergs by Zodiac or explore ashore, absorbing the silence and scale of one of the planet’s most extraordinary wildernesses.

Explore the South Shetland Islands, the archipelago guarding the northern approaches to the Antarctic Peninsula. Here, volcanic terrain, glaciers and wildlife-rich coastlines create a striking final chapter to your expedition. Depending on conditions, venture ashore or explore by Zodiac before the ship positions itself for the final journey to nearby King George Island.

Arrive at King George Island, bringing your voyage aboard Silver Wind to an end. Rather than completing a second Drake Passage crossing by sea, disembark in Antarctica for the fly portion of this Sail & Fly expedition. Leave the South Shetland Islands behind from the air, concluding a journey that has connected the immense wildlife colonies of South Georgia with Elephant Island and the pristine landscapes of the Antarctic Peninsula.