A Swan Among Giants: Whales, Ice, and the White Continent

Your journey begins in the "Paris of the South." Upon arrival in Buenos Aires, you’ll be transferred to your luxury 4/5-star hotel. Take the afternoon to explore the grand boulevards of Recoleta or the colorful corners of San Telmo.

This evening, enjoy a welcome dinner with your fellow explorers, catching a final taste of cosmopolitan energy before we head toward the pristine silence of the south tomorrow morning.

Take a charter flight south to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. Nestled between the snow-capped Martial Range and the Beagle Channel, the city’s colorful streets cascade toward the water’s edge.

After a brief exploration of this 'End of the World' outpost, board the boutique HS Minerva. As the ship slips into the Beagle Channel, enjoy your first gourmet dinner on board while the dramatic landscapes of Tierra del Fuego provide a cinematic backdrop to the start of your voyage.

Today we enter the legendary Drake Passage, the gateway to the White Continent. Whether it presents as the "Drake Shake" or the "Drake Lake," the crossing is a rite of passage for every polar explorer.

Spend your day in the Observation Lounge watching for wandering albatross and giant petrels following the wake. Between wildlife sightings, join the first of several enriching lectures from our polar specialists, designed to prepare you for the extraordinary ecosystems of the Antarctic Peninsula.

As the ship continues south, the air takes on a crisp, crystalline quality and the first tabular icebergs begin to appear. This is a day for anticipation and preparation.

Perfect your photography skills with guidance from our onboard professionals or visit the Science Lab to learn about the oceanographic studies being conducted on board. By evening, we cross the Antarctic Convergence, where the meeting of cold and warm waters creates a nutrient-rich environment teeming with life.

Welcome to Antarctica. Your first landfall brings you to the magical Mikkelsen Harbour. Surrounded by towering glaciers, this site is a hub for Gentoo penguin colonies and snowy sheathbills.

Step ashore to witness the frantic energy of the penguins or watch for Antarctic Weddell seals hauling out on the ice. The scale of the landscape is immediate and humbling, offering your first true taste of the pristine, untouched wilderness that has drawn explorers for centuries.

Navigate the icy wonders of the Gerlache Strait, one of the most photogenic stretches of water in the world. Today, the focus is on the water. Board a Zodiac for an exhilarating expedition through ice-choked channels, searching for humpback whales and leopard seals.

The intimate scale of the Zodiac allows you to hear the 'crackle' of ancient air escaping the ice. For the adventurous, optional kayaking excursions offer a silent, water-level perspective of the blue-veined icebergs and soaring cliffs.

Today we navigate the Lemaire Channel, often referred to as the 'Kodak Gap' for its staggering beauty. The ship glides through a narrow passage where 1,000-meter cliffs rise vertically from mirror-still water.

Later, visit Pleneau Island and the 'Iceberg Graveyard,' where massive bergs have run aground, creating a labyrinth of sculpted blue ice. The silence here is profound, broken only by the distant boom of a calving glacier—a visceral reminder of the continent's living geology.

We head toward the Weddell Sea and the Antarctic Sound, famous for its 'Iceberg Alley' filled with colossal tabular icebergs. Weather permitting, we may attempt a landing at Brown Bluff, a dramatic volcanic tuya with rust-colored cliffs that serve as a nesting site for thousands of Adélie penguins.

The landscape here feels distinctively different—wider, windier, and more rugged—highlighting the incredible environmental diversity of the Peninsula’s northern tip.

As we begin our northward journey back across the Drake Passage, take the time to decompress and process the scale of what you have witnessed. The ship’s Observation Decks provide a final opportunity to sit back and let the Southern Ocean go by.

Join our polar specialists for recap sessions or share your favorite shots in a photography workshop. This is a day for reflection, turning your experiences into memories through conversation and the quiet comforts of the HS Minerva.

The snow-capped peaks of Tierra del Fuego appear on the horizon as we re-enter the Beagle Channel. Spend your final full day on board perfecting your photography skills or enjoying the ship’s spa and wellness area.

Tonight, join your fellow travelers and the ship’s officers for a farewell dinner in the Swan Restaurant. It is a night to toast to the White Continent and the shared awe of exploring one of Earth's last truly pristine wilderness regions.

We return to the colorful harbor of Ushuaia this morning. After a final breakfast on board, disembark for your transfer to the airport and your charter flight back to Buenos Aires.

As you leave the 'End of the World' behind, you carry with you the profound silence of the ice and the vibrant memories of a land that remains as indomitable as it is beautiful.