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Aurora Expeditions · 11 Days
A one off documentary series voyage in January 2029, sailing with a wildlife filmmaker and his team, who share the stories behind the footage while you explore the Antarctic Peninsula at the height of summer.
The Voyage
Most of us first saw Antarctica on a television screen. This special edition, which Aurora Expeditions (also known as AE Expeditions) call their documentary series voyage, turns that around. You travel with people who make wildlife films for a living, and between landings they talk about how memorable sequences were captured, what went wrong along the way, and what it really takes to work in the coldest, windiest place on earth. It sails once, from 17 to 27 January 2029, on the Greg Mortimer.
The guest team is led by wildlife filmmaker and naturalist Ian McCarthy. With him are Anne McCarthy, a documentary production coordinator, Joanna Ruxton, described by Aurora as a Plastic Free pioneer, and Juan Antonio Romero, a science communicator, marine biologist and filmmaker. Their lectures and storytelling sessions run alongside the normal programme from Aurora’s own naturalists and historians, so you get the behind the scenes view and the science of what you are looking at.
The route itself is the classic one. You spend four days on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula and in the South Shetland Islands, with landings and Zodiac cruises usually twice a day. Mid January is high summer: the sun barely sets, the snow has started to retreat from the rookeries, and penguin chicks are still sitting close to their parents, not yet ready for the water. It is the same coastline that Adrien de Gerlache charted in the Belgica in 1898, on the first expedition to spend a winter in the Antarctic, and many of the bays still carry the names his crew gave them.
This is also one of Aurora’s 2028/29 Greg Mortimer departures that start and finish in Buenos Aires. A hotel night in the city with breakfast, return flights to Ushuaia and all airport transfers are included, so you only need to get yourself to Argentina. As with every Aurora voyage we sell, premium drinks are included on board.
Day by Day
You are met on arrival in Buenos Aires and taken to Aurora’s group hotel, where your night with breakfast is included. Call in at the hospitality desk to pick up your cabin luggage tags; the ground team can also tell you about the evening information session and the next morning’s arrangements, and point you towards somewhere good for dinner. The rest of the day is yours, and meals are at your own expense. Argentina’s capital is a city of grand boulevards, cafés and late dinners, and an afternoon walking around San Telmo or Recoleta is a fine way to shake off the long flight.
Tag your cabin bags before you leave the hotel; they go straight to the ship and will be waiting in your cabin. Depending on the flight time you will have breakfast at the hotel or a breakfast box. An Aurora representative goes with you to the airport for the flight south to Ushuaia, where you are met and taken to a pre boarding lounge. If there is time, the old prison, which held inmates from 1902 to 1947 and is now a museum, gives a good picture of how remote Tierra del Fuego once was. In the afternoon you board the Greg Mortimer, attend the compulsory briefings and sail out along the Beagle Channel before a welcome dinner.
The Drake Passage is roughly two days of open ocean, and the time is well used. The expedition team runs through IAATO wildlife guidelines and the biosecurity checks every guest goes through before landing, and the lecture programme begins, with the first sessions from the documentary team. Albatrosses and giant petrels follow the ship, and the gym, sauna and Jacuzzis help pass the hours. On the afternoon of day four you cross the Antarctic Convergence and the first icebergs appear near the South Shetland Islands. If time and weather allow, a first landing may be possible by late afternoon.
Four days to explore the western side of the Peninsula and the South Shetlands, with the plan decided each day by the expedition leader according to weather, ice and wildlife. Expect two outings most days: Zodiac cruises beneath ice cliffs and among grounded bergs, and landings at penguin rookeries, historic huts and viewpoints reached by a walk up a snowy ridge. Whales are often seen from the ship as it cruises the narrow channels, and the bridge is usually open, at the captain’s discretion. Anyone who has booked an optional activity such as kayaking will go out when conditions allow, and the polar plunge can happen at any point, so listen out for the call.
A final morning landing in the South Shetland Islands is planned before the ship turns north. The crossing back is a time for recaps, film screenings and the last of the guest lectures, and for going through your own photographs and footage while the memories are fresh. Aurora hope their guests go home as ambassadors for Antarctica, and the documentary team’s work on how stories change minds fits that well. Weather and time permitting, the captain may pass close to Cape Horn, the southern tip of the Americas, on the way in.
The ship sails up the Beagle Channel in the early hours and docks in Ushuaia, with disembarkation at around 8.00 am. You are transferred to the airport for the included flight back to Buenos Aires, where the voyage ends. Aurora strongly recommend a night in Buenos Aires afterwards in case of delays, and advise against booking an onward flight from Buenos Aires that leaves before 9.00 pm. We are happy to arrange that hotel night and your flights home.
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
Aurora’s short film gives a feel for life on their small expedition ships, from Zodiac cruises to evenings in the lounge.
Video: Small Ships, Big Adventures, from Aurora Expeditions on YouTube.
2028/29 Season
Antarctica: Behind the Lens is a special edition with a single departure, 17 to 27 January 2029, on the Greg Mortimer. January is the warmest and brightest part of the Antarctic summer, with up to 24 hours of usable light, busy penguin colonies and chicks that have not yet fledged. Fares start from £13,888 per person including the Buenos Aires hotel night and flights, and Aurora are offering savings of up to 20% at launch. With one sailing and a guest team that will draw a following, we would book early. See our when to go guide for how the season changes month by month.
One departure in the 2028/29 season, on the Greg Mortimer.
| Departs | Ship | Aurora Stateroom from | Balcony Stateroom from | Suites from | Solo from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Jan 202911 days, Buenos Aires round tripSave up to 20% | Greg Mortimer | £13,888was £17,090 | £15,057was £18,552 | £22,080was £27,330 | £18,552Limited |
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 5 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
Several of Aurora’s optional activities can be added to this departure: sea kayaking, paddling (a shorter, easier introduction to kayaking), snorkelling in a drysuit and polar scuba diving for qualified divers. Places are limited and each has its own fee, shown in the table below. Our activities guide explains what each involves and the experience needed.
Because the voyage starts and ends in Buenos Aires, it is easy to add a few extra nights in the city or a trip further afield in Argentina. Ask us and we will put it together.
| Add-on activity | From, per person |
|---|---|
| Paddling | £269 |
| Snorkelling | £654 |
| Scuba diving | £997 |
| Sea kayaking | £1,116 |
Activity prices vary by departure. Places are limited, they are booked with your voyage, and every activity depends on the weather and ice on the day. See our Aurora activities page for what each one involves.
Questions
The team is led by wildlife filmmaker and naturalist Ian McCarthy, joined by Anne McCarthy (documentary production coordinator), Joanna Ruxton (a Plastic Free pioneer) and Juan Antonio Romero (science communicator, marine biologist and filmmaker). They give lectures and storytelling sessions about how their work is made. Guest line ups can change, so we will confirm the team nearer the time.
No. The sessions are about the stories behind the films as much as the technique, and you can join as many or as few as you like. The voyage is otherwise a full Antarctic Peninsula expedition, with the same landings, Zodiac cruises and lectures from Aurora’s expedition team that any guest would enjoy.
The flights from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia on day 2 and back on day 11 are included, along with one hotel night with breakfast in Buenos Aires and all airport transfers. Your international flights to and from Buenos Aires are not included, but we can book them for you.
It is 11 days from arrival in Buenos Aires to the flight back. Four full days, days 5 to 8, are planned on the Antarctic Peninsula and in the South Shetland Islands, with the chance of a first landing late on day 4 and a final one on the morning of day 9.
It varies from flat calm to properly rough, and nobody can predict it far ahead. The Greg Mortimer’s X-BOW hull is designed to ride waves more smoothly than a conventional bow, and the doctor on board can help with seasickness. We suggest bringing your preferred remedy and taking it before you sail.
Gentoo, chinstrap and Adélie penguins are busy feeding chicks, which are still close to the colonies. Weddell, crabeater and leopard seals are often seen on the ice, and humpback and minke whales are regularly spotted as the summer goes on. Albatrosses and petrels follow the ship across the Drake.
Aurora have dedicated solo cabins on every sailing, and for the 2028/29 season they offer options with no single supplement on every voyage. These are limited, so if you are travelling alone please ask us early and we will check what is available.
Aurora strongly recommend it. You disembark in Ushuaia at about 8.00 am and fly to Buenos Aires the same day, and they advise against booking a flight out of Buenos Aires that leaves before 9.00 pm. A night in the city takes the pressure off if anything runs late.
Other Voyages
If photography is your main interest, Antarctica: Through the Lens sails in March 2029 on the Douglas Mawson with photography workshops. Gentle Giants of the Antarctic follows the same Buenos Aires route but focuses on whales, and Spirit of Antarctica is the classic Peninsula voyage with many dates to choose from. Every voyage we sell is on our Antarctica cruises page.