0333 405 0194
Enquiries & Reservations
Aurora Expeditions · 14 Days
Fourteen days from Ushuaia with seven of them on the Antarctic Peninsula, and paddling, snorkelling, snowshoeing and a night camping on the ice all included in the fare.
The Voyage
On most Antarctic voyages the activities are extras, booked one at a time and often sold out months ahead. Antarctica Active turns that around. Four of Aurora’s most popular outings, paddling, snorkelling, snowshoeing and a night camping on the ice, come with your fare, and the expedition team plan for every guest to try each of them at least once, weather and ice allowing. Aurora describe it as their activity sampler, and it is the voyage we suggest to travellers who would rather be out on the water or up a snowy ridge than watching from the deck.
You get seven full days (Days 5 to 11) on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands, which is a generous amount of time for a fourteen day trip. The voyage runs early in the season, from late October to December, when the Peninsula is just waking up. Snow still lies deep and clean, which is ideal for snowshoeing and sleeping out, and the penguins are courting and building their nests from stones. With up to 20 hours of daylight in midsummer, the days can be as full as you like. Our when to go guide explains what each month brings.
This coast has a long story. The Belgian expedition of Adrien de Gerlache charted much of it aboard the Belgica between 1897 and 1899 and became the first to spend a winter in Antarctic waters, with a young Roald Amundsen serving as first mate. Today every visit is governed by the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 and the guidelines of IAATO, which was founded in 1991, the same year Greg Mortimer and Margaret Werner set up Aurora Expeditions (now also known as AE Expeditions).
The 2026 sailings are on the Sylvia Earle, and in 2027 the voyage moves to the Douglas Mawson and the Greg Mortimer. All three are X-BOW sister ships carrying 130 guests on expedition, and premium spirits, cocktails, beer and wine are included throughout. See what’s included for the full list.
Day by Day
You arrive in Ushuaia, where an Aurora representative meets you and takes you to the Las Hayas Ushuaia Resort for your included night with breakfast. If you are already in town, simply make your own way there. Check in opens at 3.00 pm, and the Aurora hospitality desk in the lobby is open from 3.00 pm to 7.00 pm to hand out luggage tags and answer questions. Arrive later than that and a welcome pack will be waiting, with the desk open again from 8.00 am to 10.00 am the next morning. Dinner tonight is at your own expense. Ushuaia sits on the Beagle Channel, named after HMS Beagle, the ship that carried Robert FitzRoy and a young Charles Darwin through these waters. Our gateway cities guide has ideas for your free time.
After breakfast, label your cabin luggage with your name and cabin number and leave it at reception before or when you check out. It goes straight to the port and will be waiting in your cabin, so keep valuables with you. You have a late check out and a hospitality room, so the day is yours: walk the waterfront, visit the museums or head out on a trek where the Andes meet the sea. At the time confirmed by the ground team, meet in the hotel lobby or at the car park near the pier. Once aboard there are mandatory briefings, then everyone gathers on deck as the ship slips out along the channel, with Tierra del Fuego on both sides. A welcome dinner rounds off the day.
The Drake Passage is the stretch of open ocean between Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands, and it can be calm or lively. These two days are when you find your sea legs and learn the rules of the road, including the wildlife guidelines and biosecurity checks every visitor must follow, plus briefings for the included activities. If seasickness keeps you in your cabin, a separate catch up briefing is arranged. Lectures on history, wildlife and the environment begin, and albatrosses and giant petrels ride the air around the ship. There is a gym, a sauna and two Jacuzzis for the quieter hours. Having crossed the Antarctic Convergence on the way, by the afternoon of Day 4 the first icebergs appear and, if time and weather allow, you may make a first landing.
Seven days on the Peninsula, planned one day at a time by an expedition team who know this coast well and choose sites according to the weather, the ice and the wildlife. Most days bring two landings or Zodiac cruises, which might mean nosing along ice cliffs and grounded icebergs looking for whales, seals and porpoising penguins, or stepping ashore at a rookery or a historic hut. On top of that, your included activities are scheduled whenever conditions allow, in the order of preference you give the team: paddling among bergs in sheltered bays, snorkelling, snowshoeing up to a viewpoint, and a night sleeping out on the snow. There is a dedicated photography guide on board and you may be able to join a citizen science project. The ship may cruise narrow channels too, the bridge is often open at the Captain’s discretion, and anyone brave enough can take the polar plunge.
A final morning landing in the South Shetland Islands, then the ship turns north into the Drake Passage for South America. The crossing back is a chance to go through your photographs, catch the last lectures and films, and talk over what you have seen with new friends. Aurora hope you go home as ambassadors for Antarctica, and after a week out on the ice most people do. Keep an eye out on deck for the big albatrosses, which often stay with the ship for hours. As you near the tip of South America the Captain may take the ship close to Cape Horn, weather and time permitting, the headland sailors feared for centuries.
The ship sails up the Beagle Channel in the early morning and docks in Ushuaia, where you disembark at around 8.00 am. If you booked a hotel through Aurora, or are staying in the centre near the port, transport to your hotel is arranged. Guests flying out before 2.30 pm go straight to the airport, and those on later flights have time to explore the town before an afternoon transfer, with details confirmed on board. Aurora advise against booking a flight that leaves Ushuaia before midday on this day in case of delays, and we would say the same.
Every Antarctic itinerary depends on the ice, the weather and the wildlife. The Captain and Expedition Leader choose each day’s landings and Zodiac cruises on the spot, so the order of the days and the places visited can change.
Watch
Snorkelling is one of the four activities included on this voyage. Aurora’s own film shows what it is like to slip under the surface among the ice.
Video: Snorkelling in Antarctica, from Aurora Expeditions on YouTube.
2026/27 to 2027/28 Seasons
Antarctica Active sails only in the early part of the season, between late October and December, when the snow is at its best for snowshoeing and camping and the penguin colonies are busy with courtship and nest building. The 2026 departures are on the Sylvia Earle. In 2027 the season opens at the end of October on the Douglas Mawson, followed by three November and December sailings on the Greg Mortimer. There are five departures still on sale, from £13,021 per person, with savings of up to 15% on selected dates. See our special offers for the latest.
Two departures in the 2026/27 season, on the Sylvia Earle. One of them is already sold out.
| Departs | Ship | Aurora Stateroom from | Balcony Stateroom from | Suites from | Solo from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Nov 202614 days, Ushuaia round trip | Sylvia Earle | Sold out | Sold out | Sold out | Sold out |
| 6 Dec 202614 days, Ushuaia round tripSave up to 10% | Sylvia Earle | Sold out | £14,895was £16,550Limited | £19,400was £21,555Limited | Sold out |
Four departures in the 2027/28 season, on the Douglas Mawson and the Greg Mortimer.
| Departs | Ship | Aurora Stateroom from | Balcony Stateroom from | Suites from | Solo from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 Oct 202714 days, Ushuaia round tripSave up to 15% | Douglas Mawson | £13,021was £15,319 | £13,414was £15,781 | £19,696was £23,172 | £14,549Limited |
| 13 Nov 202714 days, Ushuaia round tripSave up to 10% | Greg Mortimer | £13,094was £14,549 | £14,203was £15,781Limited | £20,855was £23,172 | £16,550Limited |
| 25 Nov 202714 days, Ushuaia round tripSave up to 10% | Greg Mortimer | £13,094was £14,549 | £14,203was £15,781Limited | £20,855was £23,172 | Sold out |
| 7 Dec 202714 days, Ushuaia round tripSave up to 10% | Greg Mortimer | £13,094was £14,549Limited | £16,073was £17,859 | £20,855was £23,172 | Sold out |
Prices are per person in pounds, two sharing, and include Aurora’s current savings. The Solo column is the price for a cabin to yourself. They are taken from Aurora Expeditions’ UK fares on 3 November 2026. Flights from the UK are not included, and we are happy to arrange them for you. Aurora adjust fares and offers often, so prices and availability can change daily. Call us on 0333 405 0194 for today’s fare and the full range of staterooms on your chosen date.
Your Fare
Aurora’s fares cover more than many people expect, including drinks, landings and your polar jacket. On this voyage the price includes:
Not included: flights to and from South America unless shown above, travel insurance (which must include at least US$250,000 of medical, repatriation and evacuation cover), optional add-on activities, visas and personal spending. A crew gratuity of US$20 per person per day is added to your onboard account, and you can adjust or remove it when you settle up. For suite guests the gratuity is already included. Our Aurora what’s included page has more detail.
Make More of It
The usual optional extras are not sold separately on this voyage, because paddling, snorkelling, snowshoeing and camping are already part of the fare. Zodiac cruises, landings, guided walks and the polar plunge are included as they are on every Aurora voyage. Our activities page explains each one in more detail.
If you would like longer in South America, Aurora offer extension tours either side of the voyage: an Ushuaia City Stay before you sail (2 days), Taste of Buenos Aires (4 days), Buenos Aires and Iguazu Falls Explorer (6 days), Taste of Santiago (4 days), Santiago and Valparaiso Explorer (6 days), the Patagonia Eco Camp from Punta Arenas (5 days) and an Atacama Desert Adventure from Calama (4 days). We can price any of these alongside your voyage.
Questions
Paddling, snorkelling, snowshoeing and camping on the ice are all included in the fare, on top of the Zodiac cruises, landings, guided walks, lectures and polar plunge that come with every Aurora voyage. You also have a dedicated photography guide on board, and there may be the chance to join citizen science projects.
Aurora plan for each guest to do snorkelling, paddling, snowshoeing and camping at least once, and they schedule them in the order of preference you give. Antarctic weather and ice always have the final say, though, so nothing can be promised. If you turn down your slot on a given day you go to the back of the list, so it pays to go when you are called.
Aurora say no previous experience is needed for snowshoeing or camping, and their paddling programme is designed as a gentle way to get out on the water in small craft. The guides give all the instruction you need on board. Snorkelling in polar water is more demanding, so if you are unsure about being in the sea, have a chat with us before you book. The voyage is graded moderate overall.
The 2026 departures sail on the Sylvia Earle. In 2027 the 31 October sailing is on the Douglas Mawson, Aurora’s newest ship, and the November and December departures are on the Greg Mortimer. All three are near identical X-BOW expedition ships carrying 130 guests on expedition, with an observation lounge, library, gym, sauna and two outdoor Jacuzzis.
It varies from flat calm to a proper swell, and you cross it twice, with two days at sea each way. Aurora’s ships have the X-BOW, which is designed to ride through waves more smoothly than a conventional bow, but anyone prone to seasickness should bring their usual remedies. The ship’s doctor is on hand, and if you miss the activity briefing because you feel unwell, a catch up session is arranged.
Late October to December is late spring in Antarctica. The snow is fresh and deep, the ice is at its most dramatic, and penguins are pairing up and building nests. Daylight runs to as much as 20 hours. It can be colder than mid summer, so good layers matter. Aurora give you a three in one waterproof polar jacket to keep and lend you Muck Boots for the landings.
Yes. Flights are not included, so you need to reach Ushuaia, usually via Buenos Aires, in time for Day 1. Your first night at the Las Hayas Ushuaia Resort is included, along with the transfers in the itinerary. On the last day, avoid flights leaving Ushuaia before midday. We can help with flights and with extra nights in Buenos Aires.
Very much so. An activity voyage is a sociable way to travel, and Aurora offer up to 10 dedicated solo cabins on every sailing with no single supplement. These go quickly, and once they are gone you can book any other stateroom for sole use with a 50% supplement. Call us on 0333 405 0194 and we will check what is left.
Other Voyages
If you would rather pick and choose your activities, Spirit of Antarctica is Aurora’s classic Peninsula voyage from Ushuaia, with a wide menu of optional activities including camping, kayaking and ski touring. Antarctic Explorer saves time by flying one way over the Drake Passage, and In Shackleton’s Footsteps adds South Georgia and the Weddell Sea for those with more time. You can compare every Antarctic voyage we sell on our Antarctica cruises page.