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ANTARCTICA

ANTARCTICA FLY-CRUISE – Silver Cloud

from $17,200$11,250

DATES:  2023 – Nov 26 | Dec 02, 08

DURATION: 9 DAYS/8 NIGHTS

EMBARK: Punta Arenas, Chile
DISEMBARK: Punta Arenas, Chile

SHIPS:  Silver Cloud

FROM: $11,250 – New Port-to-Port Fare
or Free Economy, or reduced Business Class international air.
All Inclusive Expedition Cruise

Download Silver Cloud Fly Cruise Brochure

 

All about the ANTARCTICA FLY-CRUISE – Silver Cloud.

The frozen continent at the end of the earth is well worth the wait. The coldest, highest and driest of all seven continents, Antarctica begs discovery. Be humbled by the solitude and emptiness, as pods of seals lazily bask on floes, waddles of penguins dive (and thrive) in the icy waters and humpbacks – the most magnificent of all maritime beasts; breach gracefully before your very eyes. Your Antarctic adventure begins as soon as you arrive in Punta Arenas. Enjoy meeting your fellow explorers during an evening briefing and welcome dinner before traveling the next day by private BAE146 aircraft to King George Island, where Silver Cloud and your life changing voyage await.

Expedition Highlights
• Cross Drake Passage by Private jet in 2 hours, instead of two days.
• See snow-covered mountains, mighty glaciers and spectacular icebergs
• Encounter Rockhopper, Gentoo, Macaroni, King, Adelie, Magellanic and Chinstrap Penguins
• Watch for seals, dolphins, and whales
• Identify seabirds including albatrosses, shearwaters and petrels
• Visit historic sites of the early explorers and the remains of whaling operations

 

Please note: Expedition highlights and wildlife listed here are possible experiences only and cannot be guaranteed. Your Expedition Leader and Captain will work together to ensure opportunities for adventure and exploration are the best possible, taking into account the prevailing weather, wildlife activity and ice conditions. Expedition Team members scheduled for this voyage are subject to change or cancellation.

Download Silver Cloud Fly Cruise Brochure

 

The tour package inclusions and exclusions at a glance
What is included in this tour?Items that are included in the cost of tour price.
  • Personalised service – the best crew-to-guest ratio in expedition cruising
  • Butler service in every suite and stateroom – all guests are pampered equally
  • Open-seating dining options – dine when and with whomever you please
  • Beverages in-suite and throughout the ship – select wines, premium spirits, specialty coffees and soft drinks, plus your own tailored mini-bar
  • Enrichment lectures by a highly qualified Expeditions Team
  • Guided Zodiac, land and sea tours, and shoreside activities led by the Expeditions Team
  • Gratuities always included in your fare
  • Unlimited Free Internet

Whats not included in this tour.Items that are not included in the cost of tour price.
  • Travel Insurance
  • Pre- or post-cruise arrangements
  • Items of personal nature
  • Airfare (unless included)

  1. Day 1 Arrive Punta Arenas, Chile

    You will fly from Santiago, Chile to Punta Arenas, the southern-most city in Chile, where you will be met and transferred to your deluxe hotel. Remainder of the day is free. We recommend arriving at least one day early to see more of Santiago, Patagonia and Chile, and to avoid complications associated with international air travel and delays. Meet your fellow explorers for a briefing and welcome dinner.

  2. Day 2 Fly to King George Island – Embarkation

    Fly by private BAE146 jet aircraft to King George Is- land, where Silver Explorer and your life changing voyage await. You fly over Drake Passage in about 2 hours, vs. the 2-days it takes to cross by ship!

    As the largest of all the South Shetland Island, King George is considered the gateway to Antarctica. At just 120 kilometers from the Antarctic Peninsula and the only airport in the South Shetlands, it is the connection between “real life” and “Antarctic life”. More than 10 different nations have year-round or summer-only scientific research stations on the is- land (considering that 90% of the island is covered by snow and ice, that is quite an achievement!). Maintaining a base on the island allows membership of the Antarctic Treaty. There is even a Russian Orthodox church, with a permanent on-site priest. The is- land might be home to a few international scientists, but they are very much outnumbered by the diverse wildlife that considers King George Island rightfully theirs. Adelie, Chinstrap and Gentoo Penguins all commute to and from the Antarctic peninsula from the island, while Weddell and leopard seals are regular visitors and can be spotted either in the water or on the shore. Naturally, this brings a huge amount of birdlife: skuas and southern giant petrels are regular summer residents, attracted by the warm climate (warm being a relative term, average temperature is between 1.5 and -6.5 ̊C). The island was named after King George III after British explorer discovered it in 1819. Since then the island has been claimed by both Chile (1940) and Argentina (1943) but remains part of British Antarctic Territory.

  3. Day 3 Antarctic Sound

    Few voyages ignite the imagination like a journey down to one of the planet’s most remote, extreme and enchanting wilderness, Antarctica. An adventure in its purest form, only a handful of people will ever be lucky enough to experience the majestic beauty of these monochrome landscapes first-hand. The Antarctic Sound will be one of your first en- counters of this whitewash kingdom, located at the northerly tip of the Antarctic Peninsula – which sprawls up like a tentacle towards Tierra del Fuego, South America’s most southerly point, otherwise known as the ‘End of the World’. Taking its name from the first ship to brave the passageway be- tween the peninsular and the Joinville Island groups back in 1902, the Sound is a raw, sensory assault of imposing iceberg slabs, broken away from the disintegrating Larsen Ice Shelf. Come face-to-face with stadium-sized islands of ice and meet the extraordinary birdlife that call this whitewash kingdom home. Watch on, as colonies of Gentoo penguins hop around, and cape petrels sweep overhead, as the continent’s unique wildlife thrives around you.

  4. Days 4-6 Antarctic Peninsula

    Stretching up from the heart of the world’s southernmost continent, the Antarctic Peninsula lies a mere 620 mile from Tierra del Fuego and, for many, offers a spectacular first taste of the snow- blanketed landscapes and colossal ice sculptures, which make up Earth’s least-explored continent. Unseen by humans until 1820 – a blink of an eye ago in relative terms – this is an adventure sure to make your hairs stand on end, as you experience the thrill of the truly unknown and extraordinary. The vast peninsula is sprinkled with research bases, which are at the frontline of human scientific endeavor, pushing to study and understand this unique landscape, its exceptional wildlife, and the impact that humans are having on this pristine continent. Witness cathedral-sized icebergs up close, and blue-hued glaciers, slowly slipping from imposing locations like Hope Bay. Blanched mountain peaks cover the peninsula, and you’ll find thousands of adorable Adelie penguin pairs thriving undisturbed in this peninsula’s unique setting.

  5. Day 7 South Shetland Islands

    The ice-coated Antarctic Peninsula forms perhaps the most accessible region of mainland Antarctica, lying a mere 480-miles away from South America, across the fabled waters of Drakes Passage. Lying close to the northwestern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, separated by the Bransfield Strait, the South Shetland Is- lands fall under the jurisdiction of the Antarctic Treaty, suspending claims on their sovereignty. Several countries maintain research bases here, and with plump elephant seals, and crowds of Gentoo, Chinstrap and Adelie Penguins also calling the islands home, it can even feel a little crowded at times. King George Island is the largest and most hospitable is- land, hosting the majority of the research stations – some of which are populated all-year-round by hardy crews. Don’t be fooled though, these islands offer extraordinary adventure in one of the most remote lo- cations on earth. The triple peaks of Mount Foster tower above the archipelago, and you’ll feel your heart pumping a little quicker, as you sail into the core of Deception Island’s magnificent collapsed volcano caldera. Hike the luna landscapes within, and even dip into the improbably warm, geothermally- heated waters of Pendulum Cove. Elephant Island, meanwhile, is written deep into the annals of Antarctic expedition legend, as the site where Ernest Shackleton and the stricken crew of the Endurance miraculously survived a harsh Antarctic winter, in 1916.

  6. Day 8 King George Island – Return flight to Punta Arenas

    Return to Punta Arenas, where you will have another overnight stay.

     

  7. Day 9 Flight to Santiago and Home

    Transfer to the airport for your included flight to Santiago and home. Or stay on longer to see more of Patagonia, Torres del Paines, Argentina and Chile.