Antarctic Expedition with SilverSea

Inclusions:

• 1 night in a luxury 4-5 star hotel in Bueno Aries (Name TBA)

• Transfer from Ushuaia hotel to Silver Wind

• 10 nights in a Vista/ Verandah Suite (upgrades may be requested)

• Personalised service – nearly one crew member for every guest

• Butler service in every suite – all guests are pampered equally

• Open-seating dining – when and with whomever you please

• Diversity of dining venues – casual, romantic, regional delicacies, and gourmet cuisine

• Beverages in-suite and throughout the ship – select wines, premium spirits, specialty coffees & soft drinks, plus your own tailored mini-bar

• In-suite dining and 24-hour room service – always complimentary, always available

• Sophisticated entertainment: live music to production shows

• Enrichment lecturers and destination consultants

• Complimentary transportation into town in most ports

• Gratuities always included in your fare

• Free WiFi throughout the ship

Day 1 - Buenos Aires, Argentina
Arrive in Buenos Aires and make your own way to your luxury 4.5 star hotel (hotel TBA). After settling in to your room come join your fellow delegates and Conference Directors to celebrate the start of this exciting Conference@Sea Welcome Drinks event. A wonderful chance to network whilst enjoying a selection of fine cuisine, wines and beers.

Day 2 - Ushuaia, Argentina
Get ready to check in to your flight to Ushuaia and transfer to the Silver Wind. At 55 degrees latitude south, Ushuaia (pronounced oo-swy-ah) is closer to the South Pole than to Argentina's northern border with Bolivia. It is the capital and tourism base for the island of Tierra del Fuego, at the southernmost tip of Argentina. What stands out is the light: at sundown the landscape is cast in a subdued, sensual tone; everything feels closer, softer, and more human in dimension despite the vastness of the setting. The snowcapped mountains reflect the setting sun back onto a stream rolling into the channel, as nearby peaks echo their image—on a windless day—in the still waters.

Day 3 & 4 - Drake Passage
The Drake Passage has a notorious reputation for its turbulent seas due to the westerly winds and the funneling effect of the passage. The Antarctic Convergence, a natural boundary where cold polar water flows northward and warmer equatorial water moves southward, is within the Drake Passage. When these two currents meet, nutrients are pushed to the surface, often attracting a multitude of seabirds and whales. Black-browed Albatross, Sooty Shearwaters and White-chinned Petrels glide in the air currents alongside and in the wake of the ship.

Day 5 - Antarctic Sound
The Antarctic Sound is a stretch of water named after the first ship to have passed through this body of water from the Bransfield Strait to the Weddell Sea in 1902. The Antarctic eventually sank and crew and scientists had to spend quite some time in this area before they could be rescued. Sites that have to do with this story - like Hope Bay or Paulet Island - are sometimes visited. At Paulet, Hope Bay and Brown Bluff Adelie and Gentoo Penguins breed, as do Kelp Gulls and Cape Petrels, Snow Petrels and Skuas. The Sound’s main attractions are the spectacular tabular icebergs that come from the Larsen Ice Shelf further south.

Day 6, 7 & 8 - Antarctic Peninsula
Remote and otherworldly, Antarctica is irresistible for its spectacular iceberg sculptures and calving glaciers, and for the possibility of up-close encounters with marine mammals and the iconic penguins. The Antarctic Peninsula – the main peninsula closest to South America – has a human history of almost 200 years, with explorers, sealers, whalers, and scientists who have come to work, and eventually intrepid visitors coming to enjoy this pristine and remote wilderness. It is a region of protected bays, unscaled snow-capped mountains, vast glaciers and a few places where whalers or scientists have worked. Just as irresistible are the many Gentoo and Chinstrap Penguin colonies, the seals basking on ice floes, the whales and orcas.

Day 9 - South Shetland Islands
Some 770 kilometers (478 miles) south of Cape Horn, the South Shetland Islands are usually the first land seen in Antarctica. Separated from the Antarctic Peninsula by the Bransfield Strait, nine major islands make up the group. The region was the first to be exploited by sealers in the early 19th century, and because of its proximity to South America, it still is the most visited by scientists and tourists. Chinstrap, Adelie, Gentoo and Macaroni Penguins all breed here. In addition, because it is the warmest part of the continent, large moss beds as well as orange, black, grey and green lichens grow –even hair grass and pearlwort manage to survive. Leopard seals, Weddell seals, crabeater seals, Southern elephant seals and Antarctic fur seals can be seen in the water and on the beaches.

Day 10 & 11 - Drake Passage
The Drake Passage has a notorious reputation for its turbulent seas due to the westerly winds and the funneling effect of the passage. The Antarctic Convergence, a natural boundary where cold polar water flows northward and warmer equatorial water moves southward, is within the Drake Passage. When these two currents meet, nutrients are pushed to the surface, often attracting a multitude of seabirds and whales. Black-browed Albatross, Sooty Shearwaters and White-chinned Petrels glide in the air currents alongside and in the wake of the ship.

Day 12 - Ushuaia, Argentina
Disembark the ship. Board your flight back to Buenos Aires.