Keep Updated
Don't miss our latest offers
Subscribe for special offers, news and new Antarctica voyages as soon as they are released.
We respect your email privacy
0333 405 0194
Enquiries & Reservations
Classic Antarctica · 12 Days
Buenos Aires, Ushuaia and up to five days exploring the Antarctic Peninsula aboard the hybrid powered sister ships MS Fridtjof Nansen and MS Roald Amundsen. The most popular way to reach the White Continent, with 46 departures between October 2026 and March 2029.
The Voyage
Not everyone can disappear for a month, and this is the voyage HX designed for them. In twelve days you go from the tango bars of Buenos Aires to the end of the world in Ushuaia, across the Drake Passage and onto the ice of the Antarctic Peninsula, with up to five full days of exploring before you head home. It is the most popular Antarctica cruise in the HX programme, and the one we recommend most often to first timers. With sailings every week or so from late October to late March in 2026/27, 2027/28 and 2028/29, it is also the easiest Antarctic voyage to fit around your plans.
In 2026/27 every departure sails on MS Fridtjof Nansen, and from 2027/28 she shares the voyage with her twin, MS Roald Amundsen. These are the two hybrid powered sister ships that changed expedition cruising when they arrived, and on board there is very little to choose between them. Each carries a fleet of small expedition boats and kayaks, and with a maximum of 490 guests each is well under the 500 passenger limit above which ships are not allowed to land anyone ashore in Antarctica. That matters more than it sounds. It means you actually set foot on the continent, rather than admiring it from a deck rail.
No two voyages follow quite the same route. Once you reach the Antarctic Peninsula the Captain and Expedition Leader choose each day's landings according to the weather, the ice and where the wildlife happens to be. Typical stops include the gentoo colonies of Neko Harbour and Cuverville Island, the narrow cliffs of the Lemaire Channel and the bays of the South Shetland Islands, but part of the joy of an expedition is not knowing exactly what tomorrow will bring.
Day by Day
Your adventure starts in the Argentine capital, with an included night in a central hotel and breakfast the following morning. If you can, fly out a day or two early. Buenos Aires is a city of grand boulevards, steak houses and late night tango, and it deserves more than an evening. Read more about the city on our gateway cities page.
An early transfer takes you to the airport for the included flight south to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, tucked between the mountains of Tierra del Fuego and the Beagle Channel. Here you board your ship, find your cabin and meet the Expedition Team, who give a first briefing on the days ahead before the ship slips out along the Beagle Channel.
Two days at sea crossing the Drake Passage, where the Atlantic, Pacific and Southern Oceans meet. Albatrosses and petrels follow the ship, and the Expedition Team fill the Science Centre with talks on Antarctic history, wildlife, climate change and plastic pollution. You will also be briefed on the IAATO guidelines for visiting Antarctica responsibly, and have your outdoor clothing checked and cleaned so you do not carry seeds or soil ashore. Then there is the sauna, the hot tubs and the Explorer Lounge & Bar, which is no bad place to watch the ocean go by.
The first icebergs usually appear before the land does. For the next five days the ship works its way along the Peninsula and the islands around it in full expedition mode, with landings by small boat, cruises among the ice and, for those who book it, kayaking in sheltered bays. You may visit penguin colonies where gentoo, chinstrap and Adélie penguins nest just a few metres from the landing site, watch humpback and minke whales feeding alongside the ship, and spot crabeater and leopard seals hauled out on the floes. From the 2028/29 season HX also plan snowshoeing outings beyond the shoreline, a lovely way to get a little further from the landing site.
The Captain adjusts the plan every day to make the most of the conditions, and lectures continue on board between landings. Wildlife varies through the season, so do look at our when to go guide if there is something particular you are hoping to see.
Two more days at sea give you time to sort through your photographs, swap stories with your fellow travellers and hear the Expedition Team's final lectures. The onboard photographer can help you edit your best shots, and you can contribute your whale photographs to the Happywhale Citizen Science project, which identifies individual humpbacks by the markings on their tails.
The ship arrives back in Ushuaia in the morning. After disembarking you transfer to the airport for the included flight to Buenos Aires, where you can connect with your international flight home or stay on for an optional post programme. We can arrange extra hotel nights in Buenos Aires for you if your flights call for them.
All itineraries are subject to weather, sea and ice conditions. On an expedition the route is a plan rather than a promise, and the Captain will always put your safety and the protection of the environment first.
2026/27 to 2028/29 Seasons
Highlights of Antarctica runs from late October to late March in each of the next three seasons, with every departure starting in Buenos Aires. Choose a season to see the dates and brochure fares.
Fourteen departures, all on MS Fridtjof Nansen.
| Cabin Category | From, per person |
|---|---|
| Polar OutsideOutside cabin with window, double bed or twins | £8,693 |
| Arctic SuperiorLarger cabins, many with a private balcony | £9,493 |
| Expedition SuiteSuites with balcony, Lindstrøm dining and suite extras included | £12,184 |
Tour code FNANT2610.
Fifteen departures, on MS Roald Amundsen and MS Fridtjof Nansen.
| Cabin Category | From, per person |
|---|---|
| Polar OutsideOutside cabin with window, double bed or twins | £9,008 |
| Arctic SuperiorLarger cabins, many with a private balcony | £9,818 |
| Expedition SuiteSuites with balcony, Lindstrøm dining and suite extras included | £12,542 |
Tour codes RAANT01 (MS Roald Amundsen) and FNANT01 (MS Fridtjof Nansen).
Seventeen departures, on MS Roald Amundsen and MS Fridtjof Nansen.
| Cabin Category | From, per person |
|---|---|
| Polar OutsideOutside cabin with window, double bed or twins | £9,648 |
| Arctic SuperiorLarger cabins, many with a private balcony | £10,595 |
| Expedition SuiteSuites with balcony, Lindstrøm dining and suite extras included | £13,778 |
Tour codes RAANT01 (MS Roald Amundsen) and FNANT01 (MS Fridtjof Nansen).
Brochure prices from, per person, two sharing, taken from the HX 2026/27, 2027/28 and 2028/29 brochures. HX use flexible pricing, so fares can move up or down with demand and are often reduced by special offers. Call us on 0333 405 0194 for today's price on your chosen date. Solo travellers, ask about cabins with no single supplement.
Your Fare
International flights to Buenos Aires, travel insurance and optional activities are not included. Our what's included page explains the differences between cabin and suite fares in more detail.
Make More of It
Some of the most memorable experiences on an HX voyage are booked on board, once the Expedition Team know what the ice and weather will allow. Kayaking among the icebergs is offered as a short Discovery Kayak outing for beginners (around £112) or a longer Guided Sea Kayaking Adventure (around £173). Braver souls can spend a night camping on the Antarctic snow, either in a bivvy bag under the sky (around £304) or in a tent (around £382). Places are limited and depend on conditions.
Before or after the voyage you can extend your stay in South America. Popular choices include a few days in Patagonia, a Buenos Aires dinner and tango show, or a trip to the thundering Iguazú Falls on the border with Brazil. Ask us and we will put together the extras that suit you.
Other Voyages
If five days on the ice does not feel like enough, the Iconic Antarctica, The Explorer's Route gives you up to nine, including the Weddell Sea, while the Antarctica & Falklands Expedition adds three days in the Falkland Islands. Looking further ahead, the new Antarctica & Patagonia Expedition (18 days, October 2027) combines the Chilean fjords with four days in Antarctica, and Antarctica & South Georgia, Kingdoms of Ice & Wildlife (19 days, new for 2028/29) adds South Georgia to a round trip from Ushuaia. You can compare every voyage on our Antarctica cruises page.