Antarctica
Few experiences can compare to the feeling you'll have as you head off on an expeditionary Antarctica cruise to a magnificent glacial continent that defies description. Your adventure begins with two nights in Buenos Aires, where you'll become acclimated to the local time – and culture – with Tauck. Then it's all aboard two of the newest of Tauck ships, Le Boréal and Le Soléal for a 10-night cruise to an arctic wonderland where the locals, from penguins and seals to myriad seabirds, welcome you ashore with friendly curiosity. Learn about their life and icy habitats from onboard naturalists who educate and inspire on our Antarctica cruise. And at night, enjoy informal chats, onboard lectures, documentary films and warm camaraderie with fellow explorers, the captain and crew.
Day 1
Your Antarctica cruise begins on land in Buenos
Aires
Tauck's Antarctica cruise begins at 2:00 PM
at Caesar Park Buenos Aires, Argentina. A transfer is included upon arrival
at the Buenos Aires Ezeiza International Airport to Caesar Park Buenos Aires.
Join us for a sightseeing tour that visits La Recoleta Cemetery, and Evita
Perón’s grave, before returning to the hotel for our welcome reception and
dinner featuring live music, tango dancers and lessons.
Lodging
Caesar Park Buenos Aires
Meals
D
Day 2
Spend the day exploring Buenos Aires
Your exploration of Buenos Aires continues today.
City sightseeing includes Avenue 9 de Julio, renowned as the world’s widest
avenue, Plaza de Mayo, site of Argentina’s most important historical events,
the Cathedral and Palermo’s garden-graced parks – here you will find Japanese
and botanical gardens, a planetarium, museums, monuments and a zoo. The
remainder of the day is free for you to explore on your own. Must-see sights
include the city’s charming neighborhoods, from San Telmo to La Boca, where
history plays out along streets lined with antique shops, decades-old
restaurants and tango halls.
Lodging
Caesar Park Buenos Aires
Meals
B, L
Day 3
Fly to the tip of South America and embark on your
Antarctica cruise
Let your imagination soar as you fly down to
Ushuaia, the southernmost point of South America, for the start of Tauck's
Antarctica cruise. An afternoon visit to Tierra del Fuego National Park
provides a closer look at the landscapes of this frontier town including
lush forests, waterfalls, glaciers and mountains – and promises to
whet your appetite for the expedition to follow. Your luxury yacht is
docked here, and your 10-night Antarctica cruise begins. On-board amenities
include all outside staterooms, two restaurants and lounges with evening
entertainment, a fitness center, and multiple observation areas.
Lodging
Aboard Le Boréal
Meals
B, L, D
Day 4
Cruising the infamous Drake Passage
Find your sea legs on a two-day crossing of the
Drake Passage, named after 16th-century explorer Sir Francis Drake who sailed
these waters back in the late 1500s. While there is no land in sight during
this part of your Antarctica cruise, you will have an opportunity to spot
whales, dolphins and petrels from the observation decks of your yacht. You can
attend on-board lectures from your naturalist team whose specialties include
oceanography, ornithology and more. You may also take the time to visit the spa
or the gym, curl up with a book from the ship's library or visit the bridge to
chart your ship's progress.
Lodging
Aboard Le Boréal
Meals
B, L, D
Day 5
Getting closer to Antarctica
One more day to go until you spot your first sight
of the Antarctic Peninsula islands. Once part of a large Equatorial land mass,
these islands broke off on their own more than 180 million years ago and are
now home to glacial landscapes and wildlife that are awe-inspiring in every
way. If you haven't yet watched one of the ship's collection of documentaries,
today might be a good day to do so.
Lodging
Aboard Le Boréal
Meals
B, L, D
Day 6
Feel terra firma, Antarctic Archipelago-style,
under your feet
Wake up to a glacial wonderland. For the next four days, you'll
be able to join an expedition team leader for a Zodiac excursion to any one of
a number of Antarctic islands. Due to changing weather and shifting glacial
patterns, your day-to-day itinerary will vary; each new day aboard this
Antarctica cruise brings something different. Be on the lookout for seals on
ice floes along the shore. Look up to spot seabirds flying against a cloudless
blue sky. Look down in the waters where marine animals may be seen. At night,
share stories during the daily cocktail hour and enjoy the camaraderie with
fellow explorers.
Lodging
Aboard Le Boréal
Meals
B, L, D
Day 7
Explore the world of the penguin
If conditions permit, take a shore excursion to a
polar village populated by fascinating and very amusing penguins. Walk softly
among them on the beaches where their rookeries are found. See them waddle and
wave as they make treks into the sea and back with food for themselves and
their families. Your naturalist guide will share expert insights with you about
these locals!
Lodging
Aboard Le Boréal
Meals
B, L, D
Day 8
The main attractions are made of ice... cruising
the Archipelago
Dramatic icebergs, masterfully carved in all manner
of shapes and sizes by the elements, don technicolor coats of blues, greens and
snow whites and are the main event here in Antarctica. Get a closer look as you
cruise among them and watch their transformation with the changing light of
day. The sun never completely sets at this time of year so you can stroll on
the deck late into the night and still enjoy an amazing glacial show.
Lodging
Aboard Le Boréal
Meals
B, L, D
Day 9
Seabirds of different feathers
By your fourth day cruising the Antarctic
Archipelago, you may have passed by Penguin Island, blessed with diverse
wildlife such as chinstrap and Adélie penguins, southern giant petrels,
Antarctic terns and skuas, and Hannah Point, one of the best places to see
gentoo and macaroni penguins, blue-eyed shags, and Wilson's storm petrels, with
the occasional fur seal or elephant seal among them. Don't worry if their names
sound confusing; you will soon become a pro at identifying them with some help
from your on-board ornithologists.
Lodging
Aboard Le Boréal
Meals
B, L, D
Day 10
Whales and seals of Antarctica
The wildlife experts on your ship are eager to
point out the region's fur seals and elephant seals who share the frigid waters
with penguins and humpback whales. You may find a fur seal or two languidly
sunning or sleeping on ice floes, their faces endearing with natural smiles, in
large part because there are few native predators like polar bears here.
Southern elephant seals, so named for their massive sizes and trunk-like noses
of the males, prefer to hang out in beach parties; look for them on rocky
island shores. As your captain skillfully navigates your yacht around Lemaire
Channel, you'll have a good chance to see humpback whales, always a
breathtaking sight. The evening colors are spectacular too!
Lodging
Aboard Le Boréal
Meals
B, L, D
Day 11
Back through the Drake Passage
Your ship begins its voyage back through the Drake
Passage today, making it the perfect time to record the experiences you had
during the past week. Your private ship log might include your thoughts about
the array of icebergs and the Swedish expeditioners' hut you saw in Hope Bay,
or the old whaling station you encountered near Neptune's Bellows and that dip
you were tempted to make in the hot geothermal springs there. You may have had
an opportunity to meet the researchers and scientists of King George Island or
explore the history of Elephant Island, linked to Ernest Shackleton and his
men. Your stories will make great reading back home!
Lodging
Aboard Le Boréal
Meals
B, L, D
Day 12
Enjoy your last day aboard ship as your Antarctica
cruise ends
Savor your last day of your
Antarctica cruise as you cross the Drake Passage
again. Activities include on-board lectures that enrich your
new-found knowledge; spa treatments that keep you relaxed and refreshed;
work-out equipment that invigorates; and card games or chess tournaments
with shipmates. Your last evening aboard ship is a perfect
time to toast your expedition, and celebrate what for many travelers is
their "seventh continent."
Lodging
Aboard Le Boréal
Meals
B, L, D
Day 13
Your Antarctica cruise ends in Ushuaia – fly to
Buenos Aires
Your Antarctica cruise ends when you disembark ship
today in Ushuaia for your flight back to Buenos Aires. A transfer to Buenos
Aires' (Ezeiza) Ministro Pistarini International Airport is included. Tour
ends: 5:30 PM at Buenos Aires' (Ezeiza) Ministro Pistarini International
Airport. You should allow three hours for flight check-in.
Meals
B
Note: Antarctica features
two types of landings in the Antarctic Archipelago. Dry Landings occur when
guests step from a Zodiac-style raft on to rocks or a dock. Wet Landings occur
when the raft edges on to land and guests step into knee-deep water to wade
ashore.
