Antarctica

10 February - 8 march 2019

Antarctica

Diving with leopard seals, snorkeling with whales, meeting penguins, iceberg diving.

Antarctica. The most remote and hard-to-reach place on Earth, the biggest dream of travellers, divers, photographers and wildlife enthusiasts. Our team takes you to the edge of the world! Sail through the Drake Passage on a sailing yacht, dive among icebergs, swim with whales, observe penguins and much more. In addition, one of the most important points of our program is diving with leopard seals - the large and beautiful predators of the southern waters. Accompanied by an experienced guide, you can enter the world of these magnificent animals.

We start our expedition from Ushuaia, the southernmost harbour of Argentina. A comfortable and safe marine yacht Aurora and its experienced crew takes us across the Drake passage. The vessel is equipped with the everything necessary for a long expedition: from large fresh water tanks to modern communication and safety equipment. After four days we arrive at the Antarctic peninsula, where we spend over 2 weeks enjoying the beauty of the pristine nature, diving with icebergs, snorkeling with whales and seals, observing penguins and visiting abandoned polar stations of pioneer explorers to become pioneers ourselves.

The key point of our expedition is to dive with leopard seals. These large mammals have long become one of the symbols of Antarctic diving and they are famous for their special attitude towards divers. February and March are the best months to encounter these spectacular animals. Accompanied by an experienced guide we may enter the cold waters of Antarctica and meet leopard seals face to face. Diving with leopard seals is the main focus of our expedition.

In addition to helping you experience breathtaking adventures, we provide lectures and educational programmes. Participants learn a lot about seals and whales, iceberg formation, ocean biology and meteorology, polar pioneers and much more.

After spending two weeks in the Antarctic peninsula we cross the Drake Passage back to Ushuaia.

Small group and flexible schedule

We go in a small group of 7 guests on our sailing yacht. This allows us to control the route and to be able to change it whenever necessary. All the participants will have plenty of time to spend with wildlife, enough photo opportunities, no one will hurry you up.

What animals are there to meet?

There will be opportunities to see plenty of unique species, including:

Whales: minke, humpback, fin whale, orca, southern right whale;
Seals: leopard seal, crabeater seal, Weddell seal, Ross seal, southern elephant seal, southern sea lion;
Penguins: adelie, chinstrap, gentoo;
Plenty of other marine birds

Program

27 days, 24 days at sea

Day 1 (February 10)
Arrival to Ushuaia. Meeting at the airport.

Day 2 (February 11)
Reserve day for flight delays

Day 3-6 (February 12 - 14)
Drake Passage

Day 7 (February 15)
Melchior islands within Dallman bay is a small ice-covered archipelago. A good place to meet feeding humpback whales.

Days 8-9 (February 16-18)
Cuverville islands is home to the largest colony of gentoo penguins (up to 10 000 specimens) and plenty of sea birds. The archipelago is often visited by leopard seals which feed on local penguins. Diving with leopard seals.

Days 10-11 (February 19-20)
Paradise harbour, spectacular glaciers, great place to see whales and seals. Diving with leopard seals.

Day 12 (February 21)
Port Lacroy - a spectacular harbour, one of the most famous tourist destinations in Antarctica.

Day 13 (February 22)
At sea.

Day 14 (February 23)
Iceberg diving at Boothe island.

Day 15-16 (February 24-25)
Lemaire Channel and Petermann island. Adeile and gentoo penguin colonies, seals, leopard seals, whales and orcas.

Days 17-19 (February 26-28)
Pleneau bay. Iceberg graveyard where icebergs get trapped in the shallows. Penguins, seals and leopard seals.

Days 20-22 (March 1-3)
Vernadsky base. Southernmost pub in the world. Popular tourist location, also great for leopard seal diving.

Days 23-25 (March 4-6)
Sailing back to Ushuaia.

Day 26 (March 7)
Arrival at Ushuaia.

Day 27 (March 8)
Flights back home.

Program may be adjusted due to weather conditions.

Price:

Triple cabin 11 150 euro per person (3 spaces)
Double cabin 13 500 euro per person (4 spaces)
Single accommodation 26 000 euro per person

What is included:

Accommodation and meals on the yacht
Polar diving
Tanks and weigh tbelts
Airport transfer

What is not included:

Flights
Accommodation in Ushuaia
Additional expenditures in Ushuaia
Personal scuba diving equipment
Diving insurance

Equipment recommendations

During summer in Antarctica the surface temperature is expected to vary from +5C to -5C. However, due to winds and humidity the air feels colder.

Personal equipment

Warm (very warm!) clothing
Several pairs of warm socks
Rubber boots
Shoes for wearing onboard the yacht
Waterproof clothes and gloves
Swimwear for in case the hot springs are in action
Sunglasses
Personal hygiene items
Suncream
Waterproof bags and cases for photography equipment
Personal medicine
Seasick pills

Diving

Polar diving is not the most extreme kind of diving, but it requires some special skills.
Water temperature may fall down to -2 Celsius, which means that every diver should be confident and comfortable with his equipment. Cold water experience is required. Expect a maximum 2 dives per day at depths of up to 20 meters.

Diving equipment
We provide tanks, compressor and weight belts. Each diver must bring personal equipment, including:

Masks, snorkel, fins (+spare mask)
Drysuit with hood
Drysuit underwear (do not hesitate to bring 2 sets)
Two independent cold-water regulators with DIN thread
BCD
Gloves (7mm wet gloves are recommended), SMB, knife, computer, torch, compass
Gear repair kit

Weather
Drake Passage is know for it's hard and unpredictable weather, which can affect the lenght of expedition. As far as we can not change the weather, we are not responsible for any schedule changes caused be the weather.

Can non-divers join?

Of course you are welcome to join. It is not necessary to be a diver to enjoy the beauty of Antarctica. The price for non-divers is the same.

Contacts:

info@team-trip.ru

info@team-trip.ru

+7 999 721 01 84