Falkland Islands - South Georgia - Elephant Island - Antarctica - Polar Circle

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23 days from

£13132.5

* Current p/p indicative rate.

Overview
Highlights
Dates & Prices
Itinerary
Map
Ships

Highlights

  • Polar Diving
  • Zodiac Cruising & Shore Program
  • Petermann Island
  • Saunders Island
  • Carcass Island
  • Prion Island
  • Grytviken
  • Brown Bluff
  • Fortuna Bay
  • West Point Island
  • Elephant Island
  • Rockhopper Penguin

Highlights

  • Polar Diving
  • Zodiac Cruising & Shore Program
  • Petermann Island
  • Saunders Island
  • Carcass Island
  • Prion Island
  • Grytviken
  • Brown Bluff
  • Fortuna Bay
  • West Point Island
  • Elephant Island
  • Rockhopper Penguin
Ship Hondius
Capacity: 176, Type: Expedition

This Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and Antarctic Peninsula cruise is an animal-lover’s dream come true. The expedition explores one of the last untamed areas on Earth – a land of ruggedly beautiful landscapes and amazingly varied wildlife.

  • Polar Diving
  • Zodiac Cruising & Shore Program
  • Petermann Island
  • Saunders Island
  • Carcass Island
  • Prion Island
  • Grytviken
  • Brown Bluff
  • Fortuna Bay
  • West Point Island
  • Elephant Island
  • Rockhopper Penguin
20 February, 2025 to 14 March, 2025 on Hondius
Prices

Prices quoted here are often dependent on currency fluctuations. Please check with (01432 507450 or info@small-cruise-ships.com) for the very latest price, which may well be cheaper than the one advertised here.

Quadruple Porthole
£ 13132 GBP pp
Quadruple Porthole
2 portholes 2 upper & lower berths Small sofa Private shower & toilet Flatscreen TV Desk & chair Telephone and WiFi Coffee & tea maker Hair dryer Cabinet Wardrobe Safe This cabin is suitable for families traveling with children, or passengers who do not require a twin or more luxurious cabin
Triple Porthole
£ 14832 GBP pp
Triple Porthole
2 portholes 1 upper berth & 2 lower berths Small sofa Private shower & toilet Flatscreen TV Desk & chair Telephone and WiFi Coffee & tea maker Hair dryer Cabinet Wardrobe Safe This cabin is suitable for families traveling with children, or passengers who do not require a twin or more luxurious cabin
Twin Porthole
£ 15895 GBP pp
Twin Porthole
2 portholes 2 single beds Small sofa Private shower & toilet Flatscreen TV Desk & chair Telephone and WiFi Coffee & tea maker Hair dryer Cabinet Wardrobe Safe
Twin Window
£ 16575 GBP pp
Twin Window
1 window 2 single beds Small sofa Private shower & toilet Flatscreen TV Desk & chair Telephone and WiFi Coffee & tea maker Hair dryer Cabinet Wardrobe Safe
Twin Deluxe
£ 17552 GBP pp
Twin Deluxe
2 windows 2 single beds Sofa Private shower & toilet Flatscreen TV Desk & chair Telephone and WiFi Refrigerator Coffee & tea maker Hair dryer Cabinet Wardrobe Safe
Superior
£ 18785 GBP pp
Superior
2 windows 1 double bed Sofa Private shower & toilet Flatscreen TV Desk & chair Telephone and WiFi Refrigerator Coffee & tea maker Hair dryer Cabinet Wardrobe Safe
Junior Suite
£ 20060 GBP pp
Junior Suite
1 double window 1 double bed Private shower & toilet Flatscreen TV Desk & chair Telephone and WiFi Refrigerator Coffee & tea maker Hair dryer Cabinet Wardrobe Safe
Grand Suite with Private Balcony
£ 22822 GBP pp
Grand Suite with Private Balcony
1 double window 1 double bed Sofa Private balcony Private shower & toilet Flatscreen TV Desk & chair Telephone and WiFi Refrigerator Coffee & tea maker Hair dryer Cabinet Wardrobe Safe
16 February, 2026 to 10 March, 2026 on Hondius
Prices

Prices quoted here are often dependent on currency fluctuations. Please check with (01432 507450 or info@small-cruise-ships.com) for the very latest price, which may well be cheaper than the one advertised here.

Triple Porthole
£ 15477 GBP pp
Triple Porthole
2 portholes 1 upper berth & 2 lower berths Small sofa Private shower & toilet Flatscreen TV Desk & chair Telephone and WiFi Coffee & tea maker Hair dryer Cabinet Wardrobe Safe This cabin is suitable for families traveling with children, or passengers who do not require a twin or more luxurious cabin
Twin Porthole
£ 16632 GBP pp
Twin Porthole
2 portholes 2 single beds Small sofa Private shower & toilet Flatscreen TV Desk & chair Telephone and WiFi Coffee & tea maker Hair dryer Cabinet Wardrobe Safe
Twin Window
£ 17363 GBP pp
Twin Window
1 window 2 single beds Small sofa Private shower & toilet Flatscreen TV Desk & chair Telephone and WiFi Coffee & tea maker Hair dryer Cabinet Wardrobe Safe
Grand Suite with Private Balcony
£ 23870 GBP pp
Grand Suite with Private Balcony
1 double window 1 double bed Sofa Private balcony Private shower & toilet Flatscreen TV Desk & chair Telephone and WiFi Refrigerator Coffee & tea maker Hair dryer Cabinet Wardrobe Safe
Junior Suite
£ 20982 GBP pp
Junior Suite
1 double window 1 double bed Private shower & toilet Flatscreen TV Desk & chair Telephone and WiFi Refrigerator Coffee & tea maker Hair dryer Cabinet Wardrobe Safe
Superior
£ 19635 GBP pp
Superior
2 windows 1 double bed Sofa Private shower & toilet Flatscreen TV Desk & chair Telephone and WiFi Refrigerator Coffee & tea maker Hair dryer Cabinet Wardrobe Safe
Twin Deluxe
£ 18711 GBP pp
Twin Deluxe
2 windows 2 single beds Sofa Private shower & toilet Flatscreen TV Desk & chair Telephone and WiFi Refrigerator Coffee & tea maker Hair dryer Cabinet Wardrobe Safe
Quadruple Porthole
£ 13706 GBP pp
Quadruple Porthole
2 portholes 2 upper & lower berths Small sofa Private shower & toilet Flatscreen TV Desk & chair Telephone and WiFi Coffee & tea maker Hair dryer Cabinet Wardrobe Safe This cabin is suitable for families traveling with children, or passengers who do not require a twin or more luxurious cabin
show reverse 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: The winged life of the westerlies

Several species of albatross follow the vessel into the westerlies, along with storm petrels, shearwaters, and diving petrels.

Day 3: Finding the Falklands

The Falkland Islands offer an abundance of wildlife that is easily approachable, though caution is always advised. These islands are largely unknown gems, the site of a 1982 war between the UK and Argentina. Not only do various species of bird live here, but chances are great you’ll see both Peale’s dolphins and Commerson’s dolphins in the surrounding waters. During this segment of the voyage, you may visit the following sites: Westpoint Island – This beautiful island hosts a bounty of birdlife, from shore birds near the landing site to black-browed albatrosses on the nest. Among them is a rookery of rockhopper penguins who have to undertake an incredible climb from the sea to get to their nests among the albatrosses. Saunders Island – On Saunders Island you can see the black-browed albatross and its sometimes-clumsy landings, along with breeding imperial shags and rockhopper penguins. King penguins, Magellanic penguins, and gentoos are also found here.

Day 4: The seat of Falklands culture

The capital of the Falklands and center of its culture, Port Stanley has some Victorian-era charm: colorful houses, well-tended gardens, and English-style pubs are all to be found here. You can also see several century-old clipper ships nearby, silent witnesses to the hardships of 19th century sailors. The small but interesting museum is also worth a visit, covering the early days of settlement up to the Falklands War. Approximately 2,100 people live in Port Stanley. Admission to the museum is included.

Day 5 – 6: Once more to the sea

En route to South Georgia, you now cross the Antarctic Convergence. The temperature cools considerably within the space of a few hours, and nutritious water rises to the surface of the sea due to colliding water columns. This phenomenon attracts a multitude of seabirds near the ship, including several species of albatross, shearwaters, petrels, prions, and skuas.

Day 7 – 10: South Georgia journey

Today you arrive at the first South Georgia activity site. Please keep in mind that weather conditions in this area can be challenging, largely dictating the program. Over the next several days, you have a chance to visit the following sites: Prion Island – This location is closed during the early part of the wandering albatross breeding season (November 20 – January 7). From January on, the breeding adults have found their partners and are sitting on eggs or nursing their chicks. Enjoy witnessing the gentle nature of these animals, which possess the largest wingspan of any birds in the world. Fortuna Bay – A beautiful outwash plain from Fortuna Glacier is home to a large number of king penguins and seals. Here you may also have the chance to follow the final leg of Shackleton’s route to the abandoned whaling village of Stromness. This path cuts across the mountain pass beyond Shackleton’s Waterfall, and as the terrain is partly swampy, be prepared to cross a few small streams. Salisbury Plain, St. Andrews Bay, Gold Harbour – These sites not only house the three largest king penguin colonies in South Georgia, they’re also three of the world’s largest breeding beaches for Antarctic fur seals. Literarily millions breed on South Georgia during December and January. By February the young fur seals are curious and playful and fill the surf with life and fun and large elephant seals come to the beaches to moult. Grytviken – In this abandoned whaling station, king penguins walk the streets and elephant seals lie around like they own the place – because they basically do. Here you might be able to see the South Georgia Museum as well as Shackleton’s grave. In the afternoon of day 10 and depending on the conditions, we will start sailing southwards in the direction of the South Orkney Islands.

Day 11: Southward bound

There may be sea ice on this route, and at the edge of the ice some south polar skuas and snow petrels could join the other seabirds trailing the vessel south.

Day 12: The scenic vistas of South Orkney

Depending on the conditions, you might visit Orcadas Base, an Argentine scientific station on Laurie Island in the South Orkney archipelago. The personnel here will happily show you their facility, where you can enjoy expansive views of the surrounding glaciers. If a visit isn’t possible, you may instead land in Coronation Island’s Shingle Cove.

Day 13: Legendary Elephant Island

You‘ve now completed roughly the same route (albeit in the opposite direction) as Sir Ernest Shackleton did using only a small life boat, the James Caird, in spring of 1916. Watching Elephant Island materialize on the horizon after crossing all that water, it’s hard not to marvel at how he and his five-man crew accomplished that feat. The purpose of Shackleton’s crossing was to rescue 22 shipwrecked members of his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, also known as the Endurance Expedition, who were stranded on Elephant Island. For four and a half months, Shackleton undertook this legendary rescue. Conditions on Elephant Island are severe. The coastline is mostly made up of vertical rock and ice cliffs highly exposed to the elements. If possible you will take the Zodiacs to Point Wild, where the marooned members of Shackleton’s expedition miraculously managed to survive.

Day 14: Along the Antarctic Peninsula

If ice permits, you sail into the Antarctic Sound at the northwestern edge of the Weddell Sea. Here colossal tabular icebergs herald your arrival to the eastern edges of the Antarctic Peninsula. Brown Bluff is a potential location for a landing, where you may get the chance to set foot on the continent.

Day 15: Scenes of South Shetland

The volcanic islands of the South Shetlands are windswept and often cloaked in mist, but they do offer subtle pleasures: There’s a wide variety of flora (mosses, lichens, flowering grasses) and no small amount of fauna (gentoo penguins, chinstrap penguins, southern giant petrels). In Deception Island, the ship plunges through Neptune’s Bellows and into the flooded caldera. Here you find hot springs, an abandoned whaling station, and thousands of cape petrels – along with kelp gulls, brown and south polar skuas, and Antarctic terns. A good hike is a possibility in this fascinating and desolate volcanic landscape.

Day 16 – 20: Onward into Antarctica

Gray stone peaks sketched with snow, towers of broken blue-white ice, and unique polar wildlife below and above welcome you into the otherworldly expanse of Antarctica. You enter the area around Gerlache Strait, venturing into one of the most beautiful settings Antarctica has to offer. Sites you may visit here include: 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. Paradise Bay – You may be able to take a Zodiac cruise in these sprawling, ice-flecked waters, where there’s a good chance you’ll encounter humpback and minke whales. The aim is then to head south. If conditions allow, sites you can visit ‘over’ the polar circle include: 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. Pourquoi Pas Island – You might circumnavigate this island, named after the ship of the famous French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charcot. This location is known for its tight fjords and lofty, glacier-crowded mountains. Horseshoe Island – This is the location of the former British Base Y, a remnant of the 1950s that is now unmanned though still equipped with almost all the technology it had while in service. As with all of our Antarctic trips, conditions on the Drake Passage determine the exact time of departure.

Day 21 – 22: 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 23: 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.

Please Note:

All itineraries are for guidance only. Programs may vary depending on ice, weather, and wildlife conditions. Landings are subject to site availabilities, permissions, and environmental concerns per IAATO regulations. Official sailing plans and landing slots are scheduled with IAATO prior to the start of the season, but the expedition leader determines the final plan. Flexibility is paramount for expedition cruises. The average cruising speed for our vessel is 10.5 knots.

Hondius
Hondius is the first-registered Polar Class 6 vessel in the world, meeting the latest and highest Lloyd’s Register demands for ice-strengthened cruise vessels. Hondius also exceeds the requirem…

Hondius

Polar Class 6
Built 2019
Length 107 metres
Speed 15 knots
Crew 72

Hondius is the first-registered Polar Class 6 vessel in the world, meeting the latest and highest Lloyd’s Register demands for ice-strengthened cruise vessels. Hondius also exceeds the requirements of the Polar Code as adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), allowing you to enjoy the polar regions as much as possible while impacting them as little as possible. Upon completion, Hondius will be the most flexible, advanced, innovative ice-strengthened vessel in the polar regions. It is optimized for exploratory voyages that provide you the utmost first-hand contact with the Arctic and Antarctica.

Hotel comfort, expedition class

Hondius offers high-quality accommodation for 176 passengers in a range of suites and cabins. The spacious 'Hondius' suite (35 square metres, 377 square feet), six grand suites with balconies (27 square metres, 291 square feet), eight junior suites (19 to 20 square metres, 205 to 215 square feet), eight superior cabins (20 to 21 square metres, 215 to 226 square feet), 11 twin deluxe cabins, (19 to 21 square metres, 205 to 226 square feet), 14 twin window cabins (12 to 14 square metres, 129 to 151 square feet) as well as 28 twin porthole cabins, two triple porthole cabins, and four quadruple porthole cabins that vary in size from 12 to 18 square metres, or 129 to 194 square feet all offer a high level of accommodation. The passenger capacity certificate for Hondius is 196 persons.

One deck consists of a large observation lounge and separate lecture room, which are reserved for a wide variety of interactive workshops, exhibitions, and performances particular to Hondius. Though elegantly designed in stylish mid-century modern décor, this vessel holds true to Oceanwide’s distinctive cozy and informal atmosphere. 

Swift & safe ship-to-shore operations

It is the philosophy of Hondius' managers to keep sea time as short as possible so that they can focus instead on fast, effective access to shore and near-shore activities. To give you the maximum contact with the nature and wildlife you traveled so far to see, they employ a tough fleet of rigid-hull inflatable Zodiac boats that guarantee swift and safe landing operations for all passengers at the same time. Hondius has two separate gangways and a sheltered indoor Zodiac embarkation platform that can also be used for special outdoor activities, such as kayaking.  

The fast, flexible, friendly heart of the polar regions

The top priority is taking advantage of every wildlife and terrain opportunity as it occurs. To keep the itineraries flexible itineraries and the response time rapid, Hondius is equipped with advanced stabilizers and two main engines capable of powering the vessel up to 15 knots. But Hondius sacrifices no warmth to achieve its keen polar edge: You will have 72 crew and staff members (including expedition and hotel staff) at your service while on board, ensuring that what little time you do spend on the ship you will spend comfortably entertained.

Cabin layout for Hondius
Overview
Highlights
Dates & Prices
Itinerary
Map
Ship

23 days from £13132.5

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