Sailing expedition to the Antarctica

You'll get accommodated on board and will get to know the boat and the team. After leaving Ushuaia we get straight into the Beagle Channel. Congratulations: your dream starts coming true! Right after the departure the team will give you instructions on how to behave on board and on shore as well as on how to use the life-saving equipment. If you have a photo camera, you'd better have it prepared in the Beagle Channel already, because you may see whales, dolphins and Magellanic penguins there.

Crossing the Drake Passage is the most difficult part of the expedition and amilestone for every intrepid traveler. It takes around four days in the open ocean. This experience provides a sense of a true adventure as the weather and ocean conditions are always unpredictable. Sometimes it is smooth, sometimes it is turbulent. Don’t forget to take motion sickness medications and patches with you, it will help to get through any rough waves conditions.

At this point you will be able to see the silhouette of the South Shetland Islands on the horizon already. Our first landing spot is the Antarctic polar station Bellingshausen located on Waterloo Island. Here you will see how Russian polar explorers live; we'll attend the southernmost church on the Earth — the Saint Trinity Church; and if the master of the stations allows — we'll have a chance to experience a Russian sauna.

We are going to the Yankee Harbour and the Halfmoon Island. The coastline of the Yankee Harbour is covered with pebbles. It is a protected area and the habitat of gentoo penguin colonies, elephant seals and fur seals. The Halfmoon Island has a shape of a half moon as you might have guessed already, it is partly covered with Antarctic moss. Here we can also meet elephant seals, gentoo and chinstrap penguins and giant petrels.

We'll spend the night in a flooded caldera of the active volcano at the Deception Island. The island structure resembles a horseshoe and it has the best natural harbor for waiting out any extreme weather. At the beginning of the 20th century it used to be a whaling station here; it’s remains can still be found on the island. The Bailey Head headland is located on the outer side of the island, it is inhabited by the largest colony of the Antarctic penguins. It is an amazingly beautiful place but extremely difficult to disembark at. We will need a total lack of wind and a calm ocean in order to get there.

We will cruise around the Trinity Island’s bays that are filled with icebergs and will go under the cliff arches by the dinghy. A magnificent experience!

Here we'll moor for the night to a sunken ship in the place called Enterprise. In the daytime we'll be looking for whales here. If we are lucky, we’ll be able to see one of the most stunning wildlife activities — bubble net feeding, the process when whales blow bubbles from their noses to encircle their food like a net, and then several whales come up to the surface at once and gulp up the krill caught into their bubble trap. That is an unbelievable, breathtaking show!

We are in the Orne Harbour, home for Gentoo penguins colony and blue-eyed shags. We will hike up the hill here to watch whales and seals from above and to see the panorama of the nearby islands and the bay with icebergs.

We will make stops at the Cuverville Island Bay and the Neko Harbour.The Cuverville Island is a cliffy island with a bay filled with icebergs.A colony of papua penguins lives here, and in the coastal waters you can easily spot seals enjoying themselves on the ice floes. We will visit the Neko Harbour to have a look at a gigantic glacier with ice chunks calving off it and falling into the water making a roaring sound and huge waves.  

Lemair Channel separates Booth Island from the Antarctic Peninsula. The most narrow part of the Channel is only 300 meters wide: one can see sheer cliffs up to 400 meters high rising from both sides of the vessel. Sailing through this channel is one of the most memorable moments of the Antarctic cruise. Orcas and humpback whales visit these waters quite often.

Yalour Islands is a group of low rocky islands not far from the Academic Vernadsky station. This is one of a few places on the Antarctic peninsula inhabited by a colony of Adélie penguins. The island itself is surrounded by icebergs and ice floes with seals resting on them.

It's time to send postcards from Port Lockroy station! It used to be a whaling factory at the beginning of the 20th century, then it was turned into a British Antarctic Exploration Centre, and finally in 1996 they transformed the station into museum and the southernmost post office in the world. The museum is only open during the tourist season, from November till March. You can send a postcard or a letter from here and buy some souvenirs. They do accept card payments.

You don’t pay the whole amount up front. Your berth is secured with a deposit of at least 25 % of the trip cost, and you settle the balance in instalments according to the expedition’s payment schedule before departure. rusarc.com

A professional chef sails with us, so expect varied, tasty meals and desserts every day.

Russian citizens do not need a tourist visa for Argentina if the stay is under 90 days. Your passport must be valid for at least six months after the trip, and return tickets may be requested on entry. (Travellers of other nationalities should check their own visa rules.)

Typical outside temperatures run from -2 °C to +10 °C. The yacht has a full heating system, so it stays warm and comfortable inside. Landings can be windy or wet, so bring proper layers and waterproof gear (the organisers link to a detailed packing article).