Antarctica, South Georgia and Falklands: Holiday Voyage

Few cities can match the unbridled energy of Buenos Aires, where you will spend one night at the Palacio Duhau – Park Hyatt Buenos Aires hotel. Sun-bleached boulevards, cutting-edge restaurants and sultry dance halls set the stage for a festive expression of Argentine identity. This is a city of neighborhoods, each with its own charm. La Boca, bright with kaleidoscopic houses and football culture; elegant Recoleta and buzzy Palermo, both packed with independent stores and bars; while the historic streets of San Telmo house antique shops, Parisian-style cafes and tango parlours. Relax with a welcome cocktail ahead of your flight to Ushuaia tomorrow.

Beyond Ushuaia’s neat streets and waterfront restaurants stretches the dramatic wilderness of Tierra del Fuego, at the very tip of the Americas, where serrated massifs tower above native forests amid a maze of islands. After your flight from Buenos Aires, take an afternoon trek in the Cerro Alarkén Nature Reserve before boarding your floating home, Le Lyrial, and heading out into the South Atlantic.

This vast, wild stretch of ocean south of the equator extends from the east coast of South America to the west coast of Africa and southward to Antarctica, encompassing the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, among other territories. Sailing from Ushuaia and skirting Tierra del Fuego — an archipelago of snowcapped mountains, glaciers, tundra and wind-sculpted trees — Le Lyrial heads east towards the Falkland Islands as a program of lectures and Young Explorer activities gets underway.

Comprising East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 other islands, this British Overseas Territory 300 miles east of South America is as rich in history as it is in wildlife. Stanley, the tiny time-warp capital, is home to the Falkland Islands Museum, Government House, a cathedral, shops, restaurants and a golf course. Throughout this starkly beautiful sub-Antarctic enclave, look out for four species of penguin, lumbering elephant seals, fur seals, whales and some of the largest albatross colonies on the planet.

Christmas Eve in the Falklands affords more opportunities to experience the islands’ wealth of marine and bird life.

Celebrate Christmas Day in style as Le Lyrial sails for South Georgia. After the party and a visit from Santa for the young ones, immerse yourself in the history, geography and wildlife of Antarctica with your expert Expedition Team.

As you approach South Georgia, deckside wildlife sightings may become more frequent. This stretch of ocean is a treasure chest bursting with life. Scan for seabirds as you keep an eye out for remote islets like the six distinctively pointed outcroppings of the Shag Rocks.

Mountainous, with a central ridge and a coastline pitted with fjords and bays, this island 870 miles east of the Falklands archipelago is a breeding ground for vast colonies of elephant seals, fur seals and king penguins, as well as endemic birds such as the South Georgia pipit.

Continue to explore South Georgia’s glacier-carved coves and rugged shores in search of wildlife and, with an A&K historian, learn about the island’s whaling history and the exploits of legendary explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, known for his determination and unflappable calm under pressure.

South Georgia continues to reveal its wonders on excursions led by your top-notch Expedition Team. As always, have your camera at the ready to capture images of one of the most photogenic wildernesses on earth.

Le Lyrial crosses the boundary from the South Atlantic through the Scotia Sea and into the Southern Ocean, a place where Antarctica feels almost close enough to touch. Cruise past an arc of islands rich in wildlife and partly covered in ice and snow year-round.

Celebrate New Year’s Eve beside your shipmates with a lavish party on board, backdropped by the world’s most spectacular wilderness.

Finally, you have a chance to set foot on the White Continent, with landings — weather permitting — on the Antarctic Peninsula or the South Shetland Islands. Ride aboard a Zodiac as you head to shore against a backdrop of snowcapped mountains, shimmering glaciers and iceberg-strewn channels.

Look out for chinstrap and gentoo penguins by day and photograph the world’s last great wilderness at twilight.

Antarctica invites another day of adventure as snowcapped mountains, shimmering glaciers and iceberg-strewn channels compete for your attention.

Pause to take it all in on this, your final day in Antarctica, perhaps getting the opportunity to check off any species that may have eluded you until this point.

Bid farewell to Antarctica as the ship heads north to Ushuaia, through a stretch of water bridging the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and separating the White Continent from Cape Horn in South America. Sightings of giant petrels and the elusive albatross are possible, while indoor entertainment for Young Explorers is provided by their dedicated guide.

On your final day at sea, your Expedition Team keeps the onboard enrichment coming with classes, presentations and a recap of your voyage that includes a professionally produced photo retrospective — a perennial guest favorite. Relax, unwind and reflect on the highlights of your Antarctic voyage as Le Lyrial nears the Argentine coast.

After your arrival in Ushuaia, disembark and transfer to your charter flight to Buenos Aires.