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This 20-day expedition is for people who are always on the move. It offers an average of three activites off the ship per day while in the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula. The education program introduces you to the flora and fauna of each region. Optional adventures - camping and kayaking - are available on selected departures.

This extended adventure begins at the tip of South America, in Ushuaia, Argentina, with a night at a local hotel.

Charles Darwin was the first to identify the indigenous trees in the region. Ushuaia is situated on a channel named for the ship that brought him here, HMS Beagle. You’ll sail the channel after boarding in the late afternoon.

En route to the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), you learn more about Darwin. He visited the islands in 1833 on the voyage that led to his iconoclastic work, The Origin of Species. The shipboard education program introduces the flora and fauna that you can expect to encounter during landings. Properly prepared, you are zipped from the ship to shore in a Zodiac to hike to a plain where geese graze and Magellanic Penguins guard their burrows.

You’ll comb beaches and socialize with local residents. There are activities for a diverse range of interests – historical, natural and physical.

The published account of James Cook’s voyage to South Georgia brought fortune seekers to the island for nearly two hundred years. Now there are only a handful of scientists studying the abundant bird life and the glaciers that cover the island. The Expedition Team plans a series of landings including King Penguin rookeries, abandoned whaling stations and the grave of Sir Ernest Shackleton. Different activity levels will be accommodated during the landings. You can be as active as you like.

As the ship sails south and west, watch for tabular icebergs, as now you will be in Antarctic waters. Landings in the South Shetland Islands are planned. The northernmost island in the archipelago is Elephant Island, where the crew of Endurance waited for rescue. While a landing there is not likely, no exploration of the Antarctic is complete without hearing of the exploits of Shackleton and his crew.

You’ll be off the ship at least twice a day, to climb craggy hills, or cruise in Zodiacs along granite beaches choked with brash ice. Perhaps, you’ll take a polar plunge. Wildlife viewing will be a priority ashore and from the deck. The optional activities – camping or kayaking – are planned also. For all activities, included and optional, the Expedition Team consults weather reports and marine charts to find the best sites for a memorable experience.

This famous passage is notorious for its high winds and rolling seas. Crossing it is as much a part of the Antarctic experience as penguins and krill. All great explorers have braved the Drake Passage. It is a most fitting end to your Antarctic quest.

Embracing the unexpected is part of the legacy – and excitement – of expedition travel. There are no guarantees that we can achieve everything we set out to accomplish. A measure of flexibility is something all of us must bring to a voyage.

• One night pre-expedition hotel accommodation with breakfast as indicated in the itinerary.
• Shipboard accommodation with daily housekeeping.
• All breakfasts, lunches and dinners on board throughout your voyage.
• All shore landings and Zodiac excursions per the daily program.
• Leadership throughout the voyage by our experienced Expedition Leader, including shore landings and other activities.
• Formal and informal presentations by our Expedition Team and guest speakers as scheduled.
• Photographic Album on DVD.
• A pair of waterproof expedition boots on loan for shore landings
• Hair dryer in every cabin.
• A Quark Expeditions parka.
• Coffee, tea, cocoa and bottled water available around the clock.
• Comprehensive pre-departure materials, including a map and an informative Antarctic Reader.
• Group transfers from the hotel to the ship at the embarkation port, and from the ship to the local airport on disembarkation – plus all baggage handling aboard ship.
• All miscellaneous service taxes and port charges throughout the program.
• Emergency Evacuation Insurance for all passengers to a maximum of $100,000 per person.

• Any airfare.
• Passport and visa expenses.
• Government arrival and departure taxes.
• Any meals ashore with the exception of breakfast at the host hotel before embarkation.
• Baggage, cancellation and medical travel insurance.
• Excess baggage charges.
• Laundry, bar, beverage and other personal charges.
• Telecommunications charges.
• The customary gratuity at the end of the voyage for Hospitality Team members, ship’s crew and Expedition Team Members
• Any possible helicopter flying time in excess of that offered for the group will be charged at an hourly rate to be announced on board.
Map of Journey