ANTARTICA’S HIGHLIGHTS

Home to a proud and diverse community of porteños, or “port people,” Buenos Aires is a sensual blend of faded European splendor and Latin American panache. An overnight stay here is the ideal way to start your adventure.
There are plenty of places to explore, including many parrillas serving authentic Argentine steak. Or maybe you want to practice your dance moves in the famous hometown of tango.
Why not consider arriving a few days in advance to see all this vibrant city has to offer

Starting from the bottom of the world
Your adventure begins with an early morning flight to Ushuaia, where the hybrid-powered expedition ship specially designed for sustainable sailing in polar waters awaits.
This bustling port is the capital of the Tierra del Fuego province in Argentina. The majestic Martial Glacier provides a stunning backdrop for the city, which is vying for the title of the world's southernmost city.
After meeting with the expedition team, you can check into your cabin and familiarize yourself with the comfortable facilities on board the ship.

Crossing the Drake Passage at its best.
During the two-day crossing of the Drake Passage, the expedition team will go over everything you need to know to get the most out of your polar expedition.
Visit the Science Center on board and find out what awaits you. Listen to experts enthusiastically talk about the history of Antarctica, the science under the ice, and the impact of climate change and plastic pollution. You'll also learn how to make your visit as safe and environmentally friendly as possible, and learn more about the science projects you can join.
There's plenty of time to relax, so indulge in the spa and wellness area, enjoy delicious food, and meet other travelers in the Explorer Lounge & Bar.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Crossing the Drake Passage might be challenging for someone. Depending on the weather conditions, you could expect from a calm waters to a very rough one with waves up to 5 meters. So be prepared.

Experience the majestic nature of Antarctica.

Nothing can prepare you for your first encounter with the vast, beautiful, frozen wilderness of Antarctica. It's impossible to remain untouched when you're surrounded by magnificent glaciers and cathedral-sized icebergs. The silence is perhaps the most surprising thing about Antarctica. Although the silence is occasionally broken by the locals, namely the wildlife.
Whales start to arrive in greater numbers in December and January. This is also when the first baby penguins hatch, and you can see the charming and clumsy clumps of feathers running around. February and March are peak whale watching season, as large quantities of krill attract the sea giants to the area.
Here, nature rules, and we are only here as observers. Our experienced captain will constantly check the conditions to plan the best possible itinerary for your adventure. You can be sure that every day will offer something different and exciting.
You will join the expedition team on landings and ice cruises, and you may also have the opportunity to kayak among the icebergs.
On board the ship, the expedition team will continue their lectures, giving you greater insight into this frozen continent. Over the course of five magical days, you will experience this amazing world in a way that you will remember for the rest of your life.

On the way back north through the Drake Passage 
After five incredible days, you have had many amazing experiences in Antarctica. Your head will probably be full of unforgettable memories and impressions. Over the next few days, you will have the chance to think back and reflect on your adventure on the seventh continent. 
It can also be a good time to look through your photos and videos and relive some of the highlights. And of course, it's never a bad idea to relax in the sauna, or enjoy some relaxing spa treatments in the wellness area.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Crossing the Drake Passage might be challenging for someone. Depending on the weather conditions, you could expect from a calm waters to a very rough one with waves up to 5 meters. So be prepared.

The expedition cruise ends when we arrive in Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego province, which is Argentina's southernmost city.
From here we fly back to Buenos Aires, but that doesn't have to be the end of the adventure. 

We explore some of the world's most remote locations, many of which are far from the nearest hospital or other advanced healthcare facilities. Medical treatment options at sea are limited, and emergency services by boat or plane are often unavailable, especially in the polar regions. It is therefore vital that you disclose any current or past health conditions, and we require a medical questionnaire to be completed for expeditions to Antarctica .
The health, safety and wellbeing of our guests and crew on board is our top priority and we want to ensure that all our guests are fit to travel. We have a qualified doctor on board all our ships and they have a small health centre with standard medicines and medical equipment. However, it is still difficult to diagnose and treat even the simplest of conditions. This can lead to misdiagnosis, worsening of conditions, exacerbation of chronic conditions and, in some cases, very expensive disembarkations for medical attention.

We require all guests (including children) to complete and submit the health form before departure to Antarctica.
Complete the form online via the Vikand Medical portal . It contains sections for both you and your doctor to complete. You can start the process up to 120 days before your departure date. If your name is not found, please contact us to ensure that your name is added to the booking exactly as it appears on your passport. For the doctor section - if your doctor is unable to sign the form, you can consult an alternative doctor or use Vikand's online doctor service.
To ensure you receive important updates about your Medical Screening Form, we will send a confirmation email to the address you provided. Please check your inbox (and spam folders) and click on the confirmation link to continue. Once confirmed, you can complete the passenger portion of the form. If you do not receive the email, please try using an alternate address for future updates.

Note: We only accept the health form available through the Vikand portal, which is specifically designed for HX sea voyages to remote destinations.

Antarctica looks like nothing else on Earth! It is a stunning icescape of white and blue, rising from the sea in all sorts of fantastic shapes. There are high, snow-capped mountains where the wind sweeps the steep, dark rock clean of snow that doesn't stick in the cracks. There are also some rocky headlands, but most of the land is covered in snow and ice with occasional rocks breaking through. With very little vegetation, Antarctica is vast and barren, but the warmer Antarctic Peninsula has some low vegetation in the summer.
From the sea, huge cliffs made of ice look like extra-bright and extra-white chalk cliffs. These vast ice shelves "calve" huge icebergs of various sizes and shapes, each a unique sight to behold. Around the continent, the sea freezes in winter and then thaws in summer, leaving behind a patchwork of floating, broken ice with channels of green-black water between them. 

Antarctica is teeming with wildlife. Although it is one of the least hospitable places on earth, the wildlife here is spectacular.
The largest animal on Earth, the whale, can be experienced here. Blue whales, humpback whales, minke whales, sperm whales and beaked whales are some of the species you can see. It is also believed that the world's largest population of killer whales (a species of dolphin) lives around Antarctica. In addition, there are many other species of dolphins. There are many types of seals, including fur seals, leopard seals, elephant seals and sea lions.
The most common bird species in Antarctica is the penguin, and there are 18 different species of it here. Most are migratory, but emperor penguins and Adelie penguins stay on the continent year-round and hatch their eggs among the rocks. Other birds found here include albatross, petrels, gulls, walruses, seahorses, lyres, gulls, terns and cormorants.
One of the biggest differences between Antarctica and the Arctic is the animals that live there. While the penguin is characteristic of Antarctica, there are no penguins in the Arctic. In addition, there are no land mammals, reptiles or amphibians in Antarctica, and therefore no polar bears! In fact, the only vertebrates on land in Antarctica are the birds found on the subantarctic islands – the mourning dove and the freshwater duck.
Further down the food chain, we find enormous quantities of krill, fish and squid that provide nourishment for the marine ecosystem. The vertebrates of Antarctica are almost entirely dependent on the Southern Ocean that surrounds the continent for nourishment.
Invertebrates in Antarctica include earthworms and mollusks, as well as spiders, beetles and flies – although these are mainly found on the warmer subantarctic islands. There are no flying insects on the Antarctic continent – ​​only tiny roundworms and springtails manage to survive and complete their life cycle here.

It gets very cold. In fact, Antarctica is the coldest continent on Earth. The lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth's surface was recorded at the Vostok research station, where temperatures once dropped to -89.2°C in winter.
However, the temperature varies significantly with location, weather, and seasons in Antarctica.
The coldest parts of Antarctica are in the interior of the continent, away from the coast. Even in summer, the interior remains below freezing with an average temperature of between -20°C and -35°C. The average temperature here in the coldest months is between -40°C and -70°C. It gets so cold because the sun doesn't rise here in the winter. In the very summer, the sun stays low in the sky, so its rays are spread over a larger surface area than they are in warmer parts of the world.
The warmest parts of Antarctica are the coastal areas, where the maritime climate keeps temperatures slightly higher. The average temperature in the coldest months here ranges from −20 °C to −30 °C, while the average temperature in mid-summer is around 0 °C on the coast.
The Antarctic Peninsula and surrounding islands extend furthest north towards the equator. Here, midsummer temperatures mostly stay below 0 °C, but can occasionally reach as high as 15 °C.
Research indicates that climate change in Antarctica is higher than the global average.