Antarctic Peninsula Expedition Cruise, Including South Shetland Islands

Arrive at Ushuaia, the world's southernmost city, surrounded by the wilds of southern Patagonia and framed by the jagged peaks of the Martial Mountains, this end-of-the-world outdoor playground is also the gateway to our Antarctic Peninsula cruise. Make your way to your hotel, where you will spend the first night of the expedition.

This evening, meet your fellow voyagers and some of our expedition guides over dinner at the hotel.

Enjoy breakfast in the hotel restaurant and have the morning free to explore Ushuaia before returning to the hotel and departing for the Ushuaia Cruise Port to embark Heritage Discoverer. The captain and expedition team will welcome you on board, and you will have time to settle into your accommodations and familiarise yourself with the ship. You are invited to join the expedition team in the Observation Lounge as we set our course for Antarctica and the South Shetland Islands. The official start of your Heritage Discoverer Antarctica cruise.

Learn more about the biology and history of the South Shetland Islands and Antarctica through a series of lectures and presentations, and ease into ship life as we cross the legendary Drake Passage, one of the world's great ocean crossings. Spend time out on deck and in the Observation Lounge as we pass through the Antarctic Convergence looking for seabirds and cetaceans as you prepare for your upcoming adventure.

Summer in Antarctica is especially magical, pairing long clear days with an abundance of wildlife and spectacular lighting. Even the most novice photographer can't help but take exceptional photos with the low hanging sun creating epic sunrises and sunsets, washing icebergs, ice, sea and sky in vivid colours. (Please note: 12 December and 10 January departures spend 4 days in Antarctica) Our voyage is timed to coincide with the breeding season, when Antarctica's wildlife converges in full force and mating behaviours at chaotic penguin cities can be observed. Icebergs, frequently clad with Chinstrap, Gentoo and Adélie Penguins, are at their most captivating. Landings here are frequent, maximising the long daylight hours and the opportunities they present are eventful, occasionally unexpected and always exciting.

We have 4 or 5 days, each with more than 20-hours of daylight, to explore multiple historic and wildlife-rich landing sites, hidden bays, quiet coves and walk on the ice and snow of the Seventh Continent. Prepare to be dwarfed by nature as we discover alien landscapes and elaborate icescapes of unimaginable beauty carved by wind and waves, expedition cruising the South Shetland Islands, Antarctic Sound and south through the famed Lemaire Channel. Look for, and walk among Gentoo, Chinstrap and Adélie Penguins; Weddell, Leopard and Crabeater Seals; in the water, Humpback and Minke Whales fill these important feeding grounds along with Orca.

Birders can gaze skywards for Cape, Storm and Snow Petrels, our constant companions while in Antarctica, along with predatory Antarctic Skua and the curious, ground dwelling Snowy Sheathbill – the only bird in Antarctica without webbed feet. While specific landings cannot be guaranteed, they could include the following, and many other exciting opportunities: Half Moon Island Enjoy your first taste of Antarctica before we officially step foot on the continent, exploring this crescent-shaped island nestled between Livingston and Greenwich Islands at the entrance to Moon Bay. A designated Important Bird Area, Half Moon Island is a vital breeding site for Antarctic Terns, Blue-eyed Shags, Chinstrap and Gentoo Penguins and Wilson's Storm Petrel, while lone vagrant Macaroni Penguins have occasionally been observed along its pebbled beaches.

Zodiac cruise along rugged cliffs, spot Antarctic Fur, Elephant and Weddell Seals and the wreck of an old whaling boat littered with whale bones. Enjoy the short but rewarding hike up a small hill for stunning views across jostling icebergs in McFarlane Strait and the frozen expanse of vast glaciers on Livingston Island. An incredibly memorable Half Moon Island cruise stop. Brown Bluff This scenic setting in the Antarctic Sound, which marries sheer stone walls, fallen boulders and ice capped peaks, is the location of a large, bustling Adélie Penguin rookery, where Gentoo Penguins and Snow Petrels can also be observed. Brown Bluff also offers excellent views of the pink-tinged Madder Cliffs in Kinnes Cove.

Cierva Cove A visit to Cierva Cove is sure to be a highlight as you weave through this magnificent body of water, navigating astounding calved icebergs and ice sculptures, set to the soundtrack of pops and crackles as air bubbles trapped for millennia escape the brash ice surrounding your Zodiac. Cutting deep into the spine of the Antarctic Peninsula, if we are lucky, we may see huge slabs of ice sliding down the 1,300-metre mountain chain. Ten species of birds breed here, including a Chinstrap Penguin colony; Humpback Whales are regular visitors, and the plant life includes mosses (Drepanocladus uncinatus), turf (Polytrichum alpestre) and Antarctic hair grass (Deschampsia antarctica).

The Argentine research station Base Primavera is also located here. The Cierva Cove Antarctica experience is one of the highlights guests talk about long after they're home. Petermann Island Petermann Island might be small, at just 1 kilometre long, but this volcanic outpost boasts some incredible features. More than half the island is covered by a permanent icecap, and the island is both Antarctica's northernmost Adélie Penguin colony and southernmost Gentoo colony. It's also the wintering site of renowned French Explorer Captain Jean-Baptiste Charcot's second French Antarctic Expedition (1908–1910) aboard his aptly named ship Pourquoi-Pas? (Why Not?).

Anchoring in a cove he named Port Circumcision, Charcot carried out extensive scientific, cartographic, and biological research and left behind a number of artefacts still visible today, including the letters 'PP' engraved in stone. An Argentine refuge hut and commemorative cross signifying the deaths of three members of the British Antarctic Survey in 1982 can also be found on the island. Port Lockroy, Goudier Island Location of the famed Penguin Post Office, the world's southernmost post office, Port Lockroy's safe harbour in the Palmer Archipelago has attracted explorers, whalers, scientists, and sailors for more than a century. Featuring a young-ish (mid-80s established) Gentoo Penguin colony, historic sites and a museum including Britain's Base A, part of a wartime mission code-named Operation Tabarin, all set against a backdrop of snowy mountain ranges and ice caps, a visit to the time capsule that is Port Lockroy never disappoints.

Home to the famous Port Lockroy Penguin Post Office, a bucket-list stop for any Antarctica cruise. Paradise Bay Once the anchorage site for whalers' floating factory ships, Paradise Bay is now considered one of the Antarctic Peninsula's most stunning locations, delivering the ultimate, unrestrained, iconic and pristine Antarctic wilderness experience just north of the legendary Lemaire Channel. A true Lemaire Channel cruise highlight. An otherworldly environment, expect towering mountain peaks, ancient glaciers jutting out of steely blue water and shimmering icebergs the size of buildings floating on water so millpond calm (weather permitting) it perfectly mirrors this incredible scene. Whales, Gentoo Penguins and Crabeater Seals are all known to frequent these waters, and both Argentina's Almirante Brown and Chile's González Videla research stations are located here.

Cuverville Island Cuverville Island combines a stunning, ice-capped landscape where steep cliffs and a boulder strewn beach meet the Antarctic Peninsula's largest Gentoo Penguin population (home to some 14,000 birds), while its shallow bay features astounding monolithic grounded icebergs perfect for Zodiac exploration. With two thirds of the island covered by a huge, pointed dome icecap and mostly steep surrounds, there is just one landing site where whaling artefacts, including whale bones and a whaler's dam, can still be found. There is also the opportunity to stretch your legs, where a moderately challenging uphill hike rewards with a new perspective and jaw-slackening panoramic views over the Errera Channel and the surrounding glaciers.

Melchior Islands This collection of snow and icecapped islands, part of the Palmer Archipelago, in the centre of Dallmann Bay, promises stunning views and exciting Zodiac adventures exploring towering glaciers and ice cathedral-strewn waters. Today is an authentic expedition day among Melchior, Coats, Eta and Omega Islands and the fast ice of Alphabet Channel. In addition to the next level landscapes, Antarctic Shags, Gentoo and Chinstrap Penguins, Antarctic Fur and Weddell Seals, Humpback Whales and Orca are all known to visit these remote islands and waters. Argentina established its second Antarctic base, Melchior on Gamma Island in 1947, and is still operational each summer.

En route to Ushuaia, enjoy your second Drake Passage crossing and take time to rest after the adventures of Antarctica, look for whales and enjoy shipboard life. Now is the time to edit photos while they are fresh in your memory and you have access to our knowledgeable expedition team, catch up on journalling and bask in the afterglow of this incredible shared experience with your fellow travellers and new friends.

Early this morning we will arrive in the Ushuaia Cruise Port.

After a final breakfast, we bid farewell to our fellow voyagers and take a complimentary coach transfer to Ushuaia International Airport. In case of unexpected delays due to weather and/or port operations we ask you not to book any onward travel until after 12 noon. Note: During our voyage, circumstances may make it necessary or desirable to deviate from the proposed itinerary. This can include poor weather and opportunities for making unplanned excursions.

Your Expedition Leader will keep you fully informed. This tour offers a variety of activities and excursions. Your personal interests will determine which of these you wish to join. Please note that some activities and excursions will run at similar times, and it will not be possible to participate in both. Accordingly, refunds for excursions and missed landings are not available. Voyages are planned and scheduled pending final regulatory approval.