The Works: South Georgia, The Falklands, & Antarctica Aboard the Clelia II. 21 Days.
Be warned: A trip to Antarctica could change your life.
Imagine finding yourself surrounded by—open space. Remember the concept of space—where other people keep clear of that imaginary 360 degrees surrounding you?
Antarctica astounds with its vast deserts wrapped in ice, its open skies alive with swooping seabirds, its pure snow, and its waters filled with whales, seals, sea lions, penguins—all living and breeding in this rare and beautiful Pleistocene time warp.
R. Crusoe offers two journeys (with many departure dates) to the bottom of the earth aboard a ship ideally suited for exploring Antarctica (you wouldn't want to visit on anything but). Our ship? The all-suite 100-guests Clelia II. A fleet of Zodiacs on both ships allows us to land in shallow water and navigate small waterways. Naturalists accompany us on the ships and in the Zodiacs to keep us informed on all we’re seeing.
Our shorter journeys visit the Antarctic Peninsula. Longer cruises include additional stops in South Georgia Island (home of the king penguin), the Falklands, and other intriguing destinations.
From Ushuaia (Argentina), the very tip of civilization, continue down to Antarctica for a comprehensive exploration of the peninsula and archipelagos of the Scotia Sea. Glaciers calf new icebergs. Fin whales frolic in our wake. Rookeries of penguins invite us over for a little socializing. Research stations along the way open their doors to us, and scientists living here share their experiences. The extraordinary silence is deafening, the space liberating. See for yourself.
Read here about our 21-day The Works. South Georgia, the Falklands, & Antarctica Aboard the Clelia II: Gather in Buenos Aires, Argentina (where you should consider spending a bit more time before we depart for Antarctica). From there, fly down to Ushuaia, a Patagonian city on the Beagle Channel surrounded by the Darwin Cordillera and forests of southern beech. The town has a frontier feel—and no wonder.
Then cruise to the Falkland Islands, a twin-island outpost where the wildlife is plentiful. So is the very British feel; in fact, the population of 2,500 is almost exclusively British. Downtown Port Stanley is a charmer.
The South Georgia Islands, next. Once a busy whaling stopover, these islands and their surrounding waters are now strictly protected. Elephant seals crowd the shoreline, along with fur seals and king penguins. Sooties and albatrosses fill the sky. Sir Ernest Shackelton is laid to rest in a small cemetery here.
To the South Orkney Islands, where we visit a working scientific station to see what’s up.
Then cruise to the Antarctic Peninsula, where we make a series of landings on islands, anchor in bays, even take a dip in the geothermally heated waters of Pendulum Cove (something to brag to your grandkids about). Disembark in Ushuaia, then fly to Buenos Aires and home.
For a look at our other Antarctic journey, go to:
To request a detailed itinerary for this journey (and others), click here.