
Antarctica Complete
Head further south than most ever will on this Antarctic journey aboard the Greg Mortimer
From: USD 22,636
A 23-day expedition cruise
20 Reviews
The Trip Highlights
Set foot on the Antarctic continent
Cross the Antarctic Circle (weather permitting)
Awe at the largest King Penguin colony
Spot seals and whales in their natural habitats
Your Polartours 'Plus' Experience
Adaptable itineraries
Expert guides answer all questions
Your trip is 100% carbon offset
Expedition Parka to take home
Experience an unforgettable adventure and discovery on this Antarctic voyage. If you want to see it all, this is the trip for you. Be transported to jaw-dropping subantarctic islands rich with human history and unique wildlife. Then venture into the deep south of the Antarctic Peninsula, crossing the coveted Antarctic Circle. Zodiac cruise in vast ice-covered landscapes, visit bustling penguin colonies, watch for whales and learn the rich history of this fascinating region.
Your ship: Greg Mortimer
Welcome aboard the Greg Mortimer, a cruise ship built for expeditions to the most remote places on earth. The first passenger cruise ship to feature the revolutionary Ulstein X-BOW®, allowing the ship to cross polar oceans more comfortably and efficiently. A Greg Mortimer polar cruise is designed for rugged remote areas. The ship accommodates roughly 126 passengers per voyage, and with an expansive observation deck, the ship brings you closer to the incredible secluded environment the Arctic and Antarctic have to offer. With unsurpassed environmental credentials and a perfect base camp for far … Read more about Greg Mortimer
Amenities
Fitness Center
Bar
Mudroom
Expedition Parka
Lecture Theater
Zodiac Fleet
Observation Lounge
Hot Tub
Spa
Rubber Boots
Sauna
Medical Services
Library
Food & Drinks
One can argue the most important part of any trip is the food! A Greg Mortimer polar cruise offers hearty delicious cuisine with a variety of options and courses for each meal. Mealtimes are a great way to get to know your fellow travelers in the open-seating dining room. Tea, coffee, and various snacks are available 24 hours a day. Enjoy a wide range of house wines, beers, and soft drinks included with dinner, perfect after a long day of exploration.
Every passenger is also invited to join the cruise ship captain and expedition team for Welcome and Farewell drinks, which include complimentary cocktails and appetizers. The bars and lounges aboard the Greg Mortimer are a tasteful, yet inviting place to gather with new friends. Enjoy the sunset through the floor-to-ceiling windows that offer stunning views. The friendly bartenders aboard the ship will quench your thirst and entertain you with tales of previous adventures.
All of our seafood onboard is sustainably sourced in accordance with the Marine Stewardship Council guidelines. We also cater to vegetarian and vegan diets (please mention this when booking).



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Adventure Options
Adventure Options during your cruise
Day 1 • Your incredible Antarctic adventure starts in Ushuaia



Arrive in Ushuaia, where you will be met by a representative of Aurora Expeditions and transferred to our group hotel. Upon arrival at your included hotel, kindly remind hotel check-in staff to provide you with Aurora Expeditions cabin tags. Please clearly label the tags with your name and ship cabin number.
At approximately 6.00 pm this evening, meet your fellow expeditioners at a voyage briefing. Afterwards, there’s free time to enjoy the local cuisine at one of Ushuaia’s many restaurants. (Dinner not included).
Accommodation: Las Hayas Hotel (or similar)
Day 2 • Embark on your new home, the Greg Mortimer



his morning, please ensure your cabin luggage is fitted with cabin tags clearly labelled with your name and cabin number. Please take your cabin luggage down to hotel reception by 8.00 am. Your luggage will be collected from your hotel and transferred directly to the port for clearance and delivered to your cabin ahead of your arrival on board. Please keep any valuables or personal items with you throughout the day. Once you have checked out of your hotel by 11.00 am, you have free time before meeting back in the hotel lobby at 2.00 pm to commence a short sightseeing tour of Ushuaia. Alternatively, enjoy time at leisure and make your own way to the Prison Museum carpark by 3.45 pm to re-join the group to be transferred to the pier for embarkation.
Day 3-4 • Cross the infamous Drake Passage



The Drake Passage is the name given to the infamous stretch of open ocean between the tip of South America and the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula.
It usually takes 2 or 3 days to cross the Drake Passage, and this is a great time to learn from your expert Antarctic naturalist guides. Through a series of fascinating talks and lectures, you'll begin to learn more about the remarkable wildlife and awe-inspiring geology of the Antarctic continent.
Your guides are always on hand to help you identify the sea bird species that always follow the ships, as well as spotting whales and other cetaceans that can be seen en route to the Antarctic Peninsula or the South Shetland Islands.
Day 5-6 • Explore the South Sthetland Islands



Sometimes overlooked as a destination by people keen to set foot on the Antarctic Peninsula, the South Shetland Islands are a must-see destination in their own right.
Often the first and last landfall on an Antarctic cruise, many people are taken aback by the stunning beauty of these islands. What better way to make contact with the Antarctic than by making your first beach landing here surrounded by gentoo penguins?
Apart from some of the most southerly species of penguin, the South Shetlands are home to a huge range of Antarctic wildlife, and they make a superb introduction to the wildlife of the whole region, including key species like elephant seals, humpback whales, and more.
With active volcanoes, the relics and remains of its history as a centre for whaling, and some of the most beautiful Antarctic mountain scenery, the South Shetland Islands are a fitting first destination for any Antarctic cruise.
Day 7-8 • Cross the Antarctic Circle!



For the hardiest of adventurers only, this is the "deep south"!
The South West side of the Antarctic Peninsula starts south of the Lemaire Channel and locations just to the south of the Lemaire - roughly south to the Yalour Islands - are popular if the channel is free of ice, and the chance to see Adelie Penguins.
But the rest of the deep south is only visited by a few select few cruises, and only then subject to the ice conditions. Narrower passages can be impassable due to ice build-up, meaning going around the outside in the open sea, the Southern Ocean. If you are lucky you will enjoy remarkable frozen vistas with invigorating Zodiac and ship cruises bringing you up close and personal with the wonderful ice landscapes of places like Crystal Sound.
If conditions are right, you may be lucky enough to cross the Antarctic Circle, and get ashore to some remote historical sites - and be able to describe yourself as a true Antarctic explorer.
Day 9-11 • Travel back north along the western Antarctic Peninsula



The North-West portion of the Antarctic Peninsula is the most frequently visited by expedition cruises and is home to many of the most popular landing sites. The Gerlache Strait is renowned for the stunning scenery with the snow covered mountains, as if covered in icing sugar, with numerous glaciers tumbling down to the sea.
Being the most northerly part of the whole continent, the Peninsula enjoys the mildest Antarctic condition, with temperatures in winter averaging a balmy -20 degrees C (-4 degrees F)! In the summer, things warm up to an average of just above freezing. Large areas of this part of the peninsula are ice-free in the early season, being important breeding and feeding grounds for many iconic Antarctic species.
It's here that many of the historic Antarctic expeditions began, and where early military and scientific bases were first established, some of which you will be able to visit if conditions allow. These remarkable artefacts have been left as time capsules, their contents showing remarkable levels of preservation thanks to the dry and cold climate.
Day 12 • At sea towards South Georgia Island



En route for South Georgia we'll head across the Scotia Sea, following the route that Shackleton and five of his men took in order to find help for the rest of their crew. On 24 April, 1916, they piled into the James Caird, the most seaworthy of their open boats, to attempt this perilous journey to South Georgia, some 1290 km (802 miles) distant. Shackleton hoped to reach South Georgia in two weeks. There he would enlist the help of the whalers to return to Elephant Island and rescue the men who had been left behind. As excitement builds for South Georgia, catch up with fellow expeditioners in the bar, keep watch for wildlife alongside our naturalist from the open bridge, or learn more of the Shackleton story from our historian.
Day 13 • At sea towards South Georgia Island



En route for South Georgia we'll head across the Scotia Sea, following the route that Shackleton and five of his men took in order to find help for the rest of their crew. On 24 April, 1916, they piled into the James Caird, the most seaworthy of their open boats, to attempt this perilous journey to South Georgia, some 1290 km (802 miles) distant. Shackleton hoped to reach South Georgia in two weeks. There he would enlist the help of the whalers to return to Elephant Island and rescue the men who had been left behind. As excitement builds for South Georgia, catch up with fellow expeditioners in the bar, keep watch for wildlife alongside our naturalist from the open bridge, or learn more of the Shackleton story from our historian.
Day 14-17 • Explore South Georgia



This remote and mountainous island might seem to be barren at first, given that it has no trees and is snow-covered for much of the year. However, appearances can be deceptive, and South Georgia is teeming with life!
Not only is it home to important breeding grounds for fur seals, elephant seals, and king penguins, it is also the only known habitat of the South Georgia Pipit - the Antarctic's only songbird - and the South Georgia Pintail duck.
High, rugged mountains and stunning coastal fjords make cruising the coast of South Georgia a spectacle you will remember.
Used as a base for early-20th century sealers, there are relics of this industry at various places around the island - a reminder of the human history of exploitation of Antarctica and its natural resources.
Day 18-20 • At sea to the Falkland Islands



The passage to South Georgia to or from the Falklands or South America is usually a 2-day sailing. On your way to the magnificent yet remote South Georgia, your expert guides will enthrall you with a range of talks and lectures all about the remarkable concentrations of Antarctic wildlife that can be found on the island.
As well as the huge numbers of breeding birds and sea mammals, you'll also learn about the geology and human history of the island, and its importance in the exploration (and exploitation) of the Southern Ocean.
On deck, your guides will help you to identify the bird species that frequently follow the ships, as well as spotting cetaceans and other marine life you can spot en route.
Day 21 • Explore the Falkland Islands



Lying 300 miles off the Patagonian coast, and 750 miles from the Antarctic Peninsula, the Falkland Islands (also known as Islas Malvinas in Spanish) is a far-flung British overseas territory.
Consisting of two major islands and over 770 smaller islands and islets, they are home to a hardy resident population of about 3,400 islanders. With a chequered history of disputed sovereignty, the islands were uninhabited until the 1700s.
With an economy that was traditionally driven by whaling, then fishing and farming, the islands have more recently diversified into sustainable tourism. With an abundance of wildlife, particularly birds - including some species found nowhere else - the islanders have been restoring natural habitats previously lost to grazing, as well as farming in ways that are more environmentally friendly.
There are a variety of sites to visit where you can see endemic and migrant birds, as well as several colonies of penguins and seals. Whales and dolphins are frequently spotted in the Sound and off the shoreline around the islands.
You will also see the historic capital, Stanley, which visitors often remark reminds them of how England used to be 50 years or more ago…
Day 22 • At sea towards Ushuaia



The Falklands Passage is the name given to the stretch of the Southern Ocean between mainland South America and the Falkland Islands. This is usually a 2-day sailing.
During this time, your naturalist guides will hold a series of informative and exciting talks and lectures about the wildlife and the geology that makes the Falklands and the Southern Ocean so remarkable.
Your guides will also be available to help you spot the various species of seabirds you will encounter, as well as using their expert eye to spot whales and other cetaceans in the water as you make your way to your next destination.
Day 23 • Your unforgettable Antarctic cruise comes to an end in Ushuaia



During the early morning, we cruise up the Beagle Channel, before quietly slipping into dock in Ushuaia, where we will be free to disembark around 8.00 am. Farewell your expedition team and fellow passengers as we all continue our onward journeys, hopefully with a newfound sense of the immense power of nature. A transfer to Ushuaia airport or to your hotel is included in the voyage fare.
Note: At the conclusion of the voyage, we do not recommend booking flights departing Ushuaia prior to 12.00 pm on the day of disembarkation in case there are delays.
Reviews
Deanna Rieden
This was the trip of a lifetime. Our final continent. Once we arrived in Punta Arenas, we were met at the airport by Paula from Aurora who took us to hotel. My baggage was lost by airline and she gave me a coat to wear immediately. Shout out to Paula and Michael for tracking my Luggage. Once we transferred to Antarctica we were met by ship crew with drinks and smiles. The week was packed with excursions and amazing information presented by scientists in different aspects of expertise. The ship staff was friendly, personable making the trip an amazing adventure. The fly and cruise is the way to go!
Doug Beham
Couldn't be better! This company checks all the boxes: well-planned expeditions, pristine ship, and skilled & courteous service from all the employees. Best cruise company I have traveled with by far. (Copied from Google)
Kelly Hayes
Great line for cruising to Antarctica. Expedition staff were wonderful and very approachable. Ship staff were great. I'm always amazed at how quickly they remember your name and what you like. Rooms and public areas were well maintained and always clean. Activities and landings/excursions were well organized. The small ship meant everyone got to land every time and minimal time was spent waiting for your turn. (Copied from Google)
Steph Kwan
I had a once in a lifetime experience on the "Antarctic Explorer" expedition. The Greg Mortimer ship was great, our balcony room was super comfortable, and the staff was so accommodating. Aurora Expeditions crew took care of every little detail, allowing us to fully enjoy every moment of our time in Antarctica. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. (Copied from Google)
Mark Luttinen
Fantastic experience starting with a voyage through the straights of Magellan and a quick trip through Drakes Passage. Best part of the trip was getting up in the morning to see what new sites and adventures were in store for the day. Definitely got out to see more unique locations in Antarctica than I would expect. The expedition staff was a delight to be around and helped get us out to see whales, seals, penguins and fantastic displays of ice. Hotel staff catered to our needs and made us feel welcome, comfortable and somewhat pampered. Always met with a smile and cheerful greeting any time. (copied from Google)