An icy white wilderness awaits you at the end of the world. On this Antarctica cruise, you'll begin and end your tour in the sophisticated streets and squares of Buenos Aires. You'll also visit one of the southernmost cities on Earth, where you'll board a ship bound for the final frontier of human discovery. Witness towering white glaciers, icebergs in a thousand shades of blue and the teeming colonies of hardy penguins and seals that call these rocky shores home.

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1 - Buenos Aires

Your journey begins with a regularly scheduled overnight flight to Argentina on an internationally recognized airline.

Day 2 - Buenos Aires

Touch down in Buenos Aires. A Go Ahead representative greets you at the airport after you clear customs and then escorts you to your hotel. After settling into your room, meet your fellow travelers at tonight’s included Welcome Dinner.
Included meals: breakfast (in flight), dinner

Day 3 - Ushuaia

Embark on a guided tour of Buenos Aires and get to know the city where the tango was born. Begin at Plaza de Mayo to see the Casa Rosada, the Metropolitan Cathedral and the Cabildo. Then, continue to the historic neighborhood of San Telmo before exploring the colorful streets of La Boca. Next, drive along 9 de Julio Avenue, the widest street in the world, to Palermo and its beautiful parks. End your tour in aristocratic Recoleta to visit the grave of Eva Perón. This afternoon, board a flight to Ushuaia
Included meals: breakfast

Day 4 - Cruise

This afternoon, transfer to the docks and board the M/V Ushuaia, your home for the next nine days. Settle into your cabin and enjoy your passage through the Beagle Channel.
Included meals: breakfast, dinner onboard

Day 5 - Cruise

About your cruise: This cruising itinerary is a guide only. The exact route and program will vary based on local weather and ice conditions, and the opportunity to view wildlife. A daily program sheet will be provided onboard. Flexibility is important.

Spend today crossing the Drake Passage. You may wish to spend your time up on deck, where you can watch as albatrosses follow the Ushuaia south. You can also head up to the bridge to learn about navigation or watch for whales with the ship’s officers.
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner daily

Day 6 - Cruise

Spend another day crossing the Drake Passage. At these latitudes, there are no major landmasses, which in the Age of Sail afforded wind-powered ships a safer passage than the narrow Straits of Magellan. However, the lack of landmasses also lets ocean currents and winds flow freely, which can combine to create rough seas. The Drake Passage is always unpredictable, but you’re in good hands: the Ushuaia was originally designed as a research vessel, and her crew is adept at handling whatever rough patches you might encounter.
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 7 - Cruise

Over the next four days, you’ll explore the rocky South Shetland Islands and the northernmost tip of the Antarctic continent. Today's itinerary might include a visit to the penguin rookeries on the South Shetland Islands and a cruise through Neptune’s Bellows into the natural harbor at Deception Island.
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 8 - Cruise

On King George’s Island, you’ll encounter Adélie and Chinstrap penguins, and on Livingston Island, you’ll come face-to-face with elephant seals. While you’re cruising between islands, keep an eye on the sea, where you might spot orcas and humpback whales.
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 9 - Cruise

Weather permitting, you’ll cruise along the Antarctic coast in the Gerlache Strait and gaze in awe at the towering sea cliffs lining the Lemaire and Neumayer Channels.
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 10 - Cruise

Enjoy your final day of cruising in Antarctica. Other possible shore excursions include Paulet Island, where geothermal energy keeps parts of the island ice free and 200,000 Adélie penguins live; the uninhabited Melchior Islands, where new geographic discoveries are still happening thanks to the islands’ thick covering of ice; the Gentoo penguin rookery and the towering icebergs of Cuverville Island; Portal Point, where blue ice and towering sea cliffs greeted the first explorers to venture onto the Antarctic Plateau; calving icebergs at Neko Harbor; Pleneau Island,  where icebergs come to rest in a shallow bay, creating a natural art gallery; Petermann Island, home to the world’s southernmost colony of Gentoo penguins; or the placid waters of Paradise Bay, where the sea serves as a mirror for the surrounding mountains.
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 11 - Cruise

Enjoy two days of uninterrupted cruising back to South America. Join the Ushuaia’s lecturers and naturalists on deck for more whale- and bird-watching, and reminisce with your fellow travelers over the incredible sights you’ve seen.
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 12 - Cruise

Spend another day cruising back to the South American mainland.
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 13 - Buenos Aires

Disembark in Ushuaia this morning and board a flight for Buenos Aires. This evening is free at leisure. Carnivores will love this city’s parillas, where meats, offal and sausages are grilled over wood fires. Nature enthusiasts should check out the Reserva Ecologica, an 865-acre stretch of reclaimed green space where you can wander among ten-foot-tall bunches of Pampas grass. Soccer lovers may wish to make a pilgrimage to La Bombonera (“the chocolate box”), the nickname of the Boca Juniors soccer team’s home stadium. And no trip to Buenos Aires would be complete without an introduction to the tango. Consider joining our optional Tango Show & Dinner, or try your luck at one of the city’s tango clubs, where you can perfect your abrazo, the close embrace that defines the art form.
Included meals: breakfast

$99 USD

Tango Show & Dinner Relax and enjoy the show as accomplished tangueros perform their national dance. Accompanied by live music, the elegant dancers will transport you to a bygone era. You’ll also enjoy a dinner featuring regional specialties and Argentine wine.

Day 14 - Buenos Aires

A Go Ahead representative escorts you to the airport for your flight home. Depending on your departure time, you may have a day room in which to store your luggage before your flight.
Included meals: breakfast
(In the case of early morning departures, breakfast may not be provided.)

Day 15 - Buenos Aires

Arrive home today.