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Aurora Expeditions · 11 Days
A late season voyage timed for whales, sailing in March 2029 when humpbacks and minkes gather to feed on krill before migrating north, and the crowds of high summer have gone.
The Voyage
By March the Antarctic summer is winding down. Visitor numbers fall, penguin chicks are fledging and taking to the sea for the first time, and the waters off the Antarctic Peninsula are full of whales feeding hard on krill before they swim north to warmer waters to breed and calve. Aurora Expeditions built this voyage around that moment. It sails once, from 14 to 24 March 2029, on the Greg Mortimer.
Humpbacks are the stars. You may see them breaching, slapping their long pectoral fins on the surface, lobbing their tails, or working together to herd krill with curtains of bubbles, a technique known as bubble net feeding. Minke whales are common too, and with luck a pod of orcas may be seen hunting as a team. Often the first sign is the sound of a blow and a plume of mist hanging in the cold air, heard from the deck, a Zodiac or, if you book it, a sea kayak.
The recovery of these animals is one of the great conservation stories. Commercial whaling in the Southern Ocean took well over a million whales in the twentieth century, much of it from shore stations on South Georgia and factory ships working the ice edge, and humpbacks were brought close to extinction. The International Whaling Commission’s moratorium on commercial whaling came into force in 1986, and humpback numbers around the Peninsula have recovered strongly since. Watching them feed today, it is hard to imagine how empty these waters once were.
Like the other Greg Mortimer departures in 2028/29, the voyage starts and finishes in Buenos Aires, with a hotel night, return flights to Ushuaia and airport transfers all included. Premium drinks are included on board, and you have four days planned on the Peninsula and in the South Shetland Islands.
Day by Day
On arrival in Buenos Aires you are met and taken to Aurora’s group hotel, where your night with breakfast is included. Visit the hospitality desk for your cabin luggage tags and any news about the evening information session; the team there can also suggest restaurants, cash machines and pharmacies nearby. The rest of the day is free and meals are at your own expense. March is late summer in Argentina and evenings are still warm, which makes a stroll along the waterfront at Puerto Madero or a steak dinner in Palermo very easy to recommend.
Label your cabin luggage with the tags provided before leaving; it will be taken to the ship for you. Breakfast is at the hotel or in a breakfast box, depending on the flight time, and an Aurora representative accompanies you to the airport for the flight to Ushuaia. You are met at the other end and taken to a pre boarding lounge. Time permitting, you can explore the town, perhaps visiting the former prison that operated from 1902 to 1947 and is now a museum. Boarding the Greg Mortimer is in the afternoon, followed by the compulsory briefings, departure along the Beagle Channel and a welcome dinner.
Crossing the Drake Passage gives you time to find your sea legs and learn what lies ahead. The expedition team covers IAATO wildlife guidelines and biosecurity, and the lectures begin, with plenty on whale behaviour and how to identify the species you may meet. Albatrosses and giant petrels glide alongside the ship. The gym, sauna, Jacuzzis and observation lounges are there between talks. On the afternoon of day four, after crossing the Antarctic Convergence, everyone gathers on deck for the first icebergs near the South Shetland Islands, and if time and weather allow there may be a landing by late afternoon.
The expedition team plans each day around weather, ice and, on this voyage especially, where the whales are. Expect landings or Zodiac cruises twice a day, past ice cliffs and grounded bergs, with stops at penguin rookeries, historic huts and favourite viewpoints on the western Peninsula and in the South Shetlands. The ship may cruise narrow straits or wait in a quiet bay while whales feed nearby, and the bridge is usually open at the captain’s discretion. Keep an eye out from the dining room or your balcony too, as the tell tale blow can appear at any moment. Kayakers who have booked may find themselves paddling close to whales, and the polar plunge will be announced when conditions are right.
A last morning landing in the South Shetland Islands is planned before the ship heads north across the Drake. The return crossing brings recaps, films and a final round of lectures, and there is time to talk over the whales you have seen and sort through your photographs. Aurora ask their guests to go home as ambassadors for the Antarctic and for its protection. If weather and time permit, the captain may sail close to Cape Horn on the approach to South America.
In the early hours the ship slips up the Beagle Channel into Ushuaia, and you disembark 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 staying the night in Buenos Aires in case of delays, and do not recommend flights out of Buenos Aires leaving before 9.00 pm on this day. We can book the extra 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 own footage of humpbacks and minkes off the Peninsula shows exactly why this voyage is timed for late summer.
Video: Whale Watching in Antarctica, from Aurora Expeditions on YouTube.
2028/29 Season
Gentle Giants of the Antarctic: A Whale’s Tale has a single departure, 14 to 24 March 2029, on the Greg Mortimer. March is widely regarded as the best month for whales in Antarctica, as humpbacks and minkes feed intensively before migrating, and you also see penguin chicks fledging and fur seals along the shore. Fares start from £12,348 per person including the Buenos Aires hotel night and flights, with launch savings of up to 20%. Our when to go guide compares the months of the season, and our wildlife guide covers the whales you may see.
One departure in the 2028/29 season, on the Greg Mortimer.
| Departs | Ship | Aurora Stateroom from | Balcony Stateroom from | Suites from | Solo from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Mar 202911 days, Buenos Aires round tripSave up to 20% | Greg Mortimer | £12,348was £15,165 | £13,395was £16,474 | £19,616was £24,250 | £16,474Limited |
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
Two of Aurora’s optional activities are offered on this departure: sea kayaking, which on a whale focused voyage can bring some remarkable encounters, and snorkelling in a drysuit. Places are limited and fees are shown in the table below; our activities guide explains what each involves.
The voyage begins and ends in Buenos Aires, so it is simple to add time in the city or elsewhere in Argentina before or after. Just ask.
| Add-on activity | From, per person |
|---|---|
| Snorkelling | £654 |
| 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
Humpback and minke whales are the most likely, as both feed on the krill swarms off the Peninsula in late summer. Orcas are seen on some voyages, and other species such as fin whales are occasionally recorded. Wildlife is never guaranteed, but March is one of the best times to see whales in the Antarctic.
In March the whales are at their most numerous, there are fewer ships and visitors around, and the light is softer with proper sunsets returning. Penguin chicks are fledging, so the colonies are lively in a different way. The trade off is that days are shorter and a little colder than at midsummer.
Yes, the flights from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia on day 2 and back on day 11 are included, as are one night in a Buenos Aires hotel with breakfast and all airport transfers. International flights to Argentina are extra, and we can arrange them.
The Greg Mortimer, Aurora’s first X-BOW ship, built in 2019 for 130 guests. She has a Citizen Science Centre, observation lounges, a gym, sauna and two Jacuzzis, and hydraulic viewing platforms that fold out over the water, which are excellent for whale watching.
Sea kayaking can be added for a fee, and Aurora note that kayakers sometimes have whales come close. Kayaks always keep to wildlife distance guidelines, and outings depend on weather and sea conditions, so encounters cannot be promised. Some previous paddling experience is needed.
Temperatures on the Peninsula in March are typically around freezing, and wind makes it feel colder. Aurora give you a three in one waterproof polar jacket to keep and lend you Muck Boots on board, so you mainly need thermal layers, waterproof trousers, a hat and gloves.
Aurora have dedicated solo cabins on their ships and, for 2028/29, solo options with no single supplement on every voyage. They are limited in number, so ask us early if you are travelling on your own.
It is strongly recommended. You disembark in Ushuaia around 8.00 am and fly to Buenos Aires that day, and Aurora advise against booking an onward flight from Buenos Aires before 9.00 pm. A night in the city is the safest plan.
Other Voyages
The Spirit of Antarctica also runs a Whale Migration edition, and Antarctica: Through the Lens sails from Ushuaia on the Douglas Mawson at almost the same time in March 2029, with photography workshops. For more of the far south, Wild Antarctica adds the Weddell Sea. All our voyages are on the Antarctica cruises page.