Antarctica Group Trip March 2025

Antarctica Deep Discovery Voyage March 2025

Guided Group Trip

Join Bluewater Travel for a unique and thrilling Antarctic expedition with exciting topside adventures, and the opportunity to experience polar diving, this trip will be enjoyed by divers and non-divers alike.

Why Join This Trip?

• Explore the most untouched and unspoiled territory in the world
• Includes a program of lectures led by renowned naturalists
• Travel aboard the M/V Ortelius, designed for exploring remote locations and navigating through ice
• Aimed at Adventurers - to provide the best possible experience, this trip includes some elements that are best suited to adventure travelers. Contact Us for more details.
• Fully refundable deposit until 18 months from departure. Take advantage of our Flight Package.

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Trip Overview

Discover the breathtaking beauty of Antarctica's pristine landscapes and encounter a diverse array of wildlife, from humpback whales to penguins. Our expedition cruise offers exhilarating activities such as hiking, whale watching, and even polar plunging for the adventurous at heart. Immerse yourself in the stunning ice wildernesses, explore colossal glacier fronts and dazzling berg-filled bays, and marvel at the towering snow-swept mountains that surround the shoreline. Don't miss out on this rare opportunity to explore one of the last remote areas of wilderness on earth!

This trip is perfect for divers and non-divers! 

Note to divers: Polar diving is not for beginners. Polar diving is meant for experienced divers who are familiar with cold-water, dry-suit diving. Divers must have logged at least 30 dry-suit dives in cold water to participate. More info on polar diving, including gear requirements can be found here: https://oceanwide-expeditions.com/to-do/outdoor-activities/polar-diving.

Check out some of Antarctica's wildlife.

Check out this footage from our latest trip to Antartica - and read the full trip report here: Antartica Trip Recap March 2023.

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Marine Life to Photograph

Antarctica's marine life offers a unique and rewarding diving experience for those who are up to the challenge. Some of the species you might encounter include colorful Nudibranchs, crabs, and shrimp, swaying sea anemones capturing plankton, colorful sea stars clinging to rocks, large fish such as the 1.5m-long Antarctic cod, and Giant kelp growing in dense forests in shallow water. In addition you may encounter leopard seals, penguins, and even whales. On land, visitors can enjoy a wide variety of birds such as albatross and elder ducks, along with the popular emperor, gentoo, chinstrap, macaroni, and adelie penguins. The region is also home to bearded seals, elephant seals, fur seals, and other fascinating wildlife.

Read more about scuba diving in Antarctica here.

Facing a leopard seal, like any predator, is exciting. Leopard seals, however, are mostly curious about their underwater visitors, as shown in this video:

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Inclusions

• All meals throughout the voyage aboard the ship including snacks, coffee and tea.
• All shore excursions and activities throughout the voyage by Zodiac.
• Program of lectures by noted naturalists and leadership by experienced expedition staff.
• Free use of rubber boots and snowshoes.
• Luggage transfer from pick-up point to the vessel on the day of embarkation, in Ushuaia.
• Pre-scheduled group transfer from the vessel to the airport in Ushuaia (directly after disembarkation).
• All miscellaneous service taxes and port charges throughout the program.
• AECO fees and governmental taxes.

Exclusions

• Any airfare, government arrival and departure taxes.
• Meals ashore.
• Baggage, cancellation and personal insurance (which is strongly recommended).
• Excess baggage charges and all items of a personal nature such as laundry, bar, beverage charges and telecommunication charges.
• The customary gratuity at the end of the voyages for stewards and other service personnel aboard.

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Trip Type

This trip is a GUIDED GROUP TRIP. It will be led by an experienced Bluewater Trip Leader who will provide  logistical assistance and support throughout the trip. While you are welcome to bring your underwater photography equipment, the Trip Leader is not necessarily a photo expert and is unable to offer much in the way of photography advice. Our Guided Group Trips provide an excellent opportunity for guests who enjoy meeting and traveling with other like-minded individuals or for those who benefit from the additional reassurances of group travel.

 Learn more about what's included in this trip type.

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Sample Itinerary

• Day 1: End of the world, start of a journey
• Your voyage begins where the world drops off. Ushuaia, Argentina, reputed to be the southernmost city on the planet, is located on the far southern tip of South America. Starting in the afternoon, you embark from this small resort town on Tierra del Fuego, nicknamed “The End of the World,” and sail the mountain-fringed Beagle Channel for the remainder of the evening. 
• Day 2 - 3: Path of the polar explorers
• Over the next two days on the Drake Passage, you enjoy some of the same experiences encountered by the great polar explorers who first charted these regions: cool salt breezes, rolling seas, maybe even a fin whale spouting up sea spray. After passing the Antarctic Convergence – Antarctica’s natural boundary, formed when north-flowing cold waters collide with warmer sub-Antarctic seas – you are in the circum-Antarctic upwelling zone. Not only does the marine life change, the avian life changes too. Wandering albatrosses, grey-headed albatrosses, black-browed albatrosses, light-mantled sooty albatrosses, cape pigeons, southern fulmars, Wilson’s storm petrels, blue petrels, and Antarctic petrels are a few of the birds you might see.
• Day 4 - 9: Sights of late summer Antarctica
• Options for Antarctic Peninsula activities are many, and no less great during the late summer. Humpback whales are prolific in this region, gorging themselves on krill before their migration north. The penguin chicks are also fledging, stirring up activity on the beaches while sleek leopard seals lie in wait, poised to attack the less fortunate ones.
• Sites for your Antarctic adventures may include: 
• • Livingston Island – Here you find a wide variety of gentoo and chinstrap penguins on Hannah Point, as well as southern giant petrels and elephant seals hauling out onto the beach. 
• • Deception Island – Actually a subducted crater, this island opens into the sea and creates a natural harbor for the ship. An abandoned whaling station, and multiple bird species – cape petrels, kelp gulls, brown and south polar skuas, and Antarctic terns – can be seen here. Wilson’s storm petrels and black-bellied storm petrels also nest in the ruins of the whaling station in Whalers Bay. 
• • Cuverville Island – A small precipitous island nestled between the mountains of the Antarctic Peninsula and Rongé Island, Cuverville houses a large colony of gentoo penguins and breeding pairs of brown skuas. 
• • Neko Harbour – An epic landscape of mammoth glaciers and endless wind-carved snow, Neko Harbour offers opportunities for a Zodiac cruise and landing that afford the closest views of the surrounding alpine peaks. You might also be able to set foot on the continent here. 
• • Paradise Bay – You could take a Zodiac cruise in these sprawling, ice-flecked waters, where you have a good chance of seeing humpback and minke whales. 
• • Pléneau & Petermann Islands – If the ice allows it, you may sail through the Lemaire Channel in search of Adélie penguins and blue-eyed shags. There’s also a good chance you’ll encounter humpback and minke whales as well as leopard seals. 
• • Crystal Sound – Your journey takes you south along the Argentine Islands to this ice-packed body of water, and from here across the Polar Circle in the morning. 
• • Detaille Island – You may make a landing at an abandoned British research station here, taking in the island’s lofty mountains and imposing glaciers. 
• • Fish Islands – Further north you encounter one of the southernmost Adélie penguin and blue-eyed shag colonies in the Antarctic Peninsula. 
• • Melchior Islands – These islands offer a beautiful landscape rich with icebergs. Leopard seals, crabeater seals, and whales are found here, and there are excellent opportunities for kayaking and diving. 
• Conditions on the Drake Passage determine the exact time of departure.
• Day 10 - 11: Familiar seas, familiar friends
• Your return voyage is far from lonely. While crossing the Drake, you’re again greeted by the vast array of seabirds remembered from the passage south. But they seem a little more familiar to you now, and you to them.
• Day 12: There and back again
• Every adventure, no matter how grand, must eventually come to an end. It’s now time to disembark in Ushuaia, but with memories that will accompany you wherever your next adventure lies.
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• Please note this is a sample itinerary and is subject to change depending on conditions.

Polar Expedition Manual

About the M/V Ortelius

This Oceanwide Expeditions ice-strengthened vessel offers safety and comfort for adventure seekers traveling into Antarctica. With the highest ice-class notation, it is ideal for exploring remote locations and navigating through ice, while maintaining high standards of guest service and amenities.

The M/V Ortelius offers 4 quadruple porthole, 28 twin porthole, 12 twin window, 2 twin deluxe, and 6 superior cabin options, all featuring ensuite showers and toilets. There are 52 cabins available for a maximum of 108 guests.

Read more about the M/V Ortelius here.

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About the Trip Leader

Tim grew up in tiny Singapore, where driving for more than an hour meant you would need a passport. Traveling was always his passion, but Tim became addicted to dive travel soon after he got scuba certified in Malaysia.

During Tim’s undergraduate studies at UCLA, he flew home to Singapore every summer to visit his parents for a couple of weeks. Then he would take off to a new dive destination in Southeast Asia (such as Thailand, Indonesia, or the Philippines) to satisfy his cravings for warm tropical diving.  As his diving addiction grew, Tim eventually became a staff instructor with PADI and an instructor trainer with SDI. After getting his instructor certification, Tim spent time teaching scuba in Malaysia and Vietnam. Tim has since traveled to over 40 countries and scuba dived off the shores of 6 continents. He is planning an expedition to dive his remaining continent (Antarctica) in 2023. 

Tim loves all types of diving: Wreck diving in the Red Sea and Truk Lagoon, big animal diving in Socorro and Galapagos, beach diving in Bonaire and Bali, muck diving in Anilao and Lembeh Straits, wall diving in Roatan and Sipadan, and reef diving in Palau and the Fiji. Read more about Tim here.

Contact Tim at tim@bluewaterdivetravel.com for more info about his trips. 

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Flight Information

This trip departs from Ushuaia, Argentina (USH). Guests coming from the USA will typically fly via Buenos Aires (flight time approximately 9 - 13 hours), where there are several options for connecting flights to Ushuaia (flight time approximately 3 hours). We strongly advise planning to arrive at least 1 day prior to embarkation. Guests should be in Ushuaia on 10 March ready to drop their luggage for transfer to the boat between 8 and 11.30am. Embarkation is between 4 and 5pm. 

For guests arriving early, we recommend the following hotels in Ushuaia:

• Hotel Albatros and Hotel Canal Beagle are both nice hotels located in the center of town with many shops and restaurants within walking distance.
• Los Naranjos is a more modest and affordable hotel, and it is close to the baggage drop-off point.
• Las Hayas Ushuaia Resort is the nicest hotel in Ushuaia, but it is located about 15 minutes by car outside of town.

At the end of the trip (21 March) a bus transfer will take guests from the pier to the airport. The bus leaves between 8.30 and 9am and guests should book a return flight after 12pm.

NOTE: We recommend arriving into Ushuaia 2-3 days early and we will arrange 1-2 days of diving in the Beagle Channel to check that all your gear is in good working order before we depart for Antarctica. The expedition vessel does not carry spare diving equipment.

Flight Package 

Our group trips attract guests from all over the globe and many of our customers prefer to book their own flights to take advantage of mileage points or credit card discounts. For these reasons, flights are not included in our group trip packages.

However, we are more than happy to work with you to find the best travel itinerary for your trip and will gladly give suggestions and advice, even if you make the final booking. We will check through your travel reservations at any time to ensure they fit with the trip schedule and can give recommendations on transit hotels and day tours where needed. 

If you would like us to book flights, hotels, and transfers for your domestic and/or international travel on your behalf, we are also happy to arrange this. Please be advised that there is a 10% fee for this service to cover our booking and administration costs. 

Contact Us for more information.

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Payment Schedule  

Deposit: $800

Payment 2: $2,000 - 10th March 2024

Payment 3: $2,000 - 10th Sept 2024

Balance: Due 10th Dec 2024

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