Emperor Penguins of the Weddell Sea - Le Commandant Charcot
From CAD $38,620
Guarantee
Small Group
Rating
Experience Overview
The theatre of the greatest expeditions, a refuge for the rarest wildlife and an endless ice desert, the Weddell Sea promises to stir your emotions during this unique voyage of exploration aboard Le Commandant Charcot. This place is home to emperor penguins, majestic birds endemic to the Antarctic, rarely observed and only in the most southern latitudes. The ultimate quest and the promise of new and unforgettable encounters.
From the wind and waves of the Drake Passage, you will enter the southern seas, to the extreme and captivating Weddell Sea. Ice flows as far as the eye can see and gigantic tabular icebergs form the backdrop of the colonies of Adelie penguins that populate this wild expanse. Visiting these curious and quirky birds is a privilege in itself, yet the ultimate challenge of this exploration is the search for the majestic Emperor penguins. In this season, as the winter gradually makes way for the southern spring, you will hopefully, have the opportunity to encounter one of the largest penguins in the world. It is rare to discover their elegance and to encounter them in person, guarantees an equally fascinating and touching show.
While exploring the Weddell Sea, we will follow in the footsteps of the great polar explorers like Sir Ernest Shackleton. Your passionate naturalist guides will share the history of the surrounding, gigantic, tabular icebergs, including their birth in the heart of the immense Larsen Ice Shelf. The ice here boasts all possible shades and the white takes different forms in the surrounding reliefs. Let yourself be guided and set off on an adventure into the heart of this extraordinary wilderness. Your Captain and expert crew, will seize any opportunities to ensure that they offer you an experience of a lifetime.
An exploration into the Weddell Sea - in search of majestic emperor penguins
See tabletop icebergs and immense glaciers - in this immaculate and dreamlike landscape
Travel in the company of Nicolas Vincent - Endurance 22's Expedition Sub Sea Manager
Rare Wildlife opportunities - with the possibility to observe emperor and Adelies as well as a variety of seals and whales
Trip Details
Product Code: 20513
Tour Type: Small Group
Accommodation: Moderate
Transport: Le Commandant CharcotZodiac
Guide Language: English
Tour Operator:
Explore Worldwide
Supplier Code: CCEP
Starts: Antarctica
Finishes: Antarctica
Duration: 14 days
Departures: Guaranteed
Physical Rating:
Basic
Includes
- Expedition Crew
- Naturalist(s)
Price
Price per person: (Double Occupancy) CAD $38,620 ($2,759 /day)
Itinerary
Arrive into Santiago and transfer to your included hotel in Santiago, where you will be greeted by a local representative. Check-in is available from late morning onwards. The rest of your day is at leisure.
Accommodation:
- Type - Hotel
- Accommodation Name - Hotel in Santiago to be confirmed
- Grade - Comfortable
- All Inclusive - No
- Any Meal Provided - Yes
- Breakfast Provided - No
- Dinner Provided - Yes
- Lunch Provided - No
- Meal Name - Meals Provided: Dinner
A light morning breakfast will be served before leaving for the airport for your flight from Santiago to Ushuaia - approximate flying time is 3 hours. You will be met on arrival and transferred to the ship, ready for embarkation at 4 p.m.
Capital of Argentina's Tierra del Fuego province, Ushuaia is considered the gateway to the White Continent and the South Pole. Nicknamed El fin del mundo by the Argentinian people, this city at the end of the world nestles in the shelter of mountains surrounded by fertile plains that the wildlife seem to have chosen as the ultimate sanctuary.
Accommodation:
- Type - Boat
- Accommodation Name - Le Commandant Charcot
- Grade - Premium
- All Inclusive - No
- Any Meal Provided - Yes
- Breakfast Provided - Yes
- Dinner Provided - Yes
- Lunch Provided - Yes
- Meal Name - Meals Provided: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Use your days spent in the Drake Passage to familiarise yourself with your ship and deepen your knowledge of the Antarctic. The Expedition Leader will first present the IAATO rules of conduct that must be observed during landings in the region and will explain everything you need to know about the Zodiac outings.
Accommodation:
- Type - Boat
- Accommodation Name - Le Commandant Charcot
- Grade - Premium
- All Inclusive - No
- Any Meal Provided - Yes
- Breakfast Provided - Yes
- Dinner Provided - Yes
- Lunch Provided - Yes
- Meal Name - Meals Provided: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Lectures about the history and wildlife of the Antarctic will be an opportunity for you to learn more about this magical region, where every voyage offers a unique experience. Join the naturalist-guides on your ship's exterior decks to look out for albatrosses, cape petrels, and other seabirds flying over the Drake Passage.
Accommodation:
- Type - Boat
- Accommodation Name - Le Commandant Charcot
- Grade - Premium
- All Inclusive - No
- Any Meal Provided - Yes
- Breakfast Provided - Yes
- Dinner Provided - Yes
- Lunch Provided - Yes
- Meal Name - Meals Provided: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Throughout your time in the north of the Antarctic Peninsula, you will find yourself in the heart of spectacular scenery, surrounded by exceptional wildlife. You will sail through the Antarctic Sound, named after Swedish explorer Otto Nordenskjöld's ship, which was trapped by the ice during an important scientific expedition in 1902. The gateway to the Weddell Sea, this sound is filled with gigantic tabular icebergs and plates of sea ice drifting northward from the coastal areas of this vast sea. It is home to Adelie penguins and a great many leopard seals.
Accommodation:
- Type - Boat
- Accommodation Name - Le Commandant Charcot
- Grade - Premium
- All Inclusive - No
- Any Meal Provided - Yes
- Breakfast Provided - Yes
- Dinner Provided - Yes
- Lunch Provided - Yes
- Meal Name - Meals Provided: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Impassable, extreme and captivating: this is the best way to describe the Weddell Sea, much of which is covered by a layer of thick, densely packed ice. It is a challenge and a privilege to sail upon this sea. Polar exploration finds its full meaning here.
Accommodation:
- Type - Boat
- Accommodation Name - Le Commandant Charcot
- Grade - Premium
- All Inclusive - No
- Any Meal Provided - Yes
- Breakfast Provided - Yes
- Dinner Provided - Yes
- Lunch Provided - Yes
- Meal Name - Meals Provided: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Heading towards the South is a real quest, with the promise of highly-charged encounters with the continent's endemic fauna.
Accommodation:
- Type - Boat
- Accommodation Name - Le Commandant Charcot
- Grade - Premium
- All Inclusive - No
- Any Meal Provided - Yes
- Breakfast Provided - Yes
- Dinner Provided - Yes
- Lunch Provided - Yes
- Meal Name - Meals Provided: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
In this southern sea, where the ice changes and is transformed continuously. You will sail into the heart of the immaculate ice floe, which is densely packed into an alley of icebergs. Among them are immense blocks of ice, tabular icebergs, that drift and illuminate the ocean with their cerulean blue halos.
Accommodation:
- Type - Boat
- Accommodation Name - Le Commandant Charcot
- Grade - Premium
- All Inclusive - No
- Any Meal Provided - Yes
- Breakfast Provided - Yes
- Dinner Provided - Yes
- Lunch Provided - Yes
- Meal Name - Meals Provided: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
This is the kingdom of the emperor penguin, the largest penguin in the world, renowned for its elegance. Unlike other penguins that live on the rocks, the emperor nests on the ice floe which it needs for its reproductive cycle. It is therefore on the ice floe that you will be able to observe it walking around with its characteristic gait.
Accommodation:
- Type - Boat
- Accommodation Name - Le Commandant Charcot
- Grade - Premium
- All Inclusive - No
- Any Meal Provided - Yes
- Breakfast Provided - Yes
- Dinner Provided - Yes
- Lunch Provided - Yes
- Meal Name - Meals Provided: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
On shore, or from your Zodiac, you will be as close as possible to the wildlife and will have plenty of time to explore this glacial wilderness.
Accommodation:
- Type - Boat
- Accommodation Name - Le Commandant Charcot
- Grade - Premium
- All Inclusive - No
- Any Meal Provided - Yes
- Breakfast Provided - Yes
- Dinner Provided - Yes
- Lunch Provided - Yes
- Meal Name - Meals Provided: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
There is an abundance of wildlife here; colonies of Adelie penguins, Weddell seals, Minke whales and orcas to name a few. There is also exceptional birdlife which you will learn more about in the informative on-board lectures. With some luck, you might catch a glimpse of a rare Ross seal with its silver pelage and hopefully, some emperor penguins, waddling along the edge of the ice floe.
Accommodation:
- Type - Boat
- Accommodation Name - Le Commandant Charcot
- Grade - Premium
- All Inclusive - No
- Any Meal Provided - Yes
- Breakfast Provided - Yes
- Dinner Provided - Yes
- Lunch Provided - Yes
- Meal Name - Meals Provided: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Situated at the latitude of the infamous Furious Fifties winds, between Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands, the Drake Passage is the shortest route to connect Antarctica to South America. Seasoned navigators will tell you that you must earn your visit to the White Continent by travelling this unpredictable stretch of water.
Accommodation:
- Type - Boat
- Accommodation Name - Le Commandant Charcot
- Grade - Premium
- All Inclusive - No
- Any Meal Provided - Yes
- Breakfast Provided - Yes
- Dinner Provided - Yes
- Lunch Provided - Yes
- Meal Name - Meals Provided: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
As the Antarctic convergence zone where cold currents rising up from the South Pole meet warmer equatorial water masses, the Drake Passage harbours a very diverse marine fauna. Don't forget to look to the sky to catch a glimpse of elegant albatross and Cape petrels, playfully floating about in the wind around your ship.
Accommodation:
- Type - Boat
- Accommodation Name - Le Commandant Charcot
- Grade - Premium
- All Inclusive - No
- Any Meal Provided - Yes
- Breakfast Provided - Yes
- Dinner Provided - Yes
- Lunch Provided - Yes
- Meal Name - Meals Provided: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
We arrive into Ushuaia in the early morning and will disembark after breakfast. You will be transferred to the airport for your flight to Santiago, where your trip comes to a close. We recommend that you book your International flights for a day later incase there are any delays back to Ushuaia.
Accommodation:
- Type -
- Accommodation Name -
- Grade -
- All Inclusive - No
- Any Meal Provided - Yes
- Breakfast Provided - Yes
- Dinner Provided - No
- Lunch Provided - No
- Meal Name - Meals Provided: Breakfast
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Tour Operator
Explore Worldwide
A prominent adventure travel company with over four decades of experience, this business that offers a comprehensive array of unique and thrilling experiences worldwide. Catering to various interests, they provide small group journeys, walking and cycling trips, solo holidays, and family adventures.
In Business Since 1981
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