Expedition Voyages on MS FRAM
All voyages on MS Fram include a minimum of 6 landings on the continent (weather permitting).
Call Toll Free 1 800 345 3324 (within India) or 033 2473 8096 or click here to enquire online.

Discover the last untouched continent!

Experience the wonder of our planet’s last unspoiled wilderness from the comfort and safety of the most sophisticated expedition cruising vessel ever constructed. Our journey will take us across the Drake Passage, escorted by albatross and petrels, to the magnificent scenery of the Antarctic Peninsula and its abundant summer wildlife of seals, penguins, and whales.
On this trip we will enter the Antarctic Sound and sail into the Northern part of the Weddell Sea, to visit the historical sites in the area.

To enrich our experience, MS Fram’s expert team of expedition staff and lecturers will offer presentations on the history, biology, and geology of Antarctica along the way. Come ashore with our team in sturdy PolarCirkel boats for a close-up look at penguin colonies, modern research facilities, and historic sites. Marvel at the mountainous scenery and icebergs floating by from the comfort of our unique Passenger Bridge. Join us for a voyage of exploration and discovery on our modern and comfortable explorer ship – MS Fram!

Day and ports of call

Day 1: Buenos Aires/Ushuaia
Day 2-3: Drake Passage
Day 3-10: Antarctica
Day 11-12 : Drake Passage
Day 13: Ushuaia/Buenos Aires

Day 1: Buenos Aires/Ushuaia
Our voyage departs from the Island of Tierra del Fuego and the southernmost city in the world – Ushuaia.

Cruise&flight guests:
At Buenos Aires’ Aeroparque Domestic Airport you will find the check in counter for our charter flight to Ushuaia. The flight duration is approximately 4 hours during which a light meal will be served.
Our local representatives will greet you at the airport and conduct you on a short sightseeing tour of Ushuaia. Time permitting; you will have a chance to explore Ushuaia on your own before embarkation at 1700.

Cruise-only guests:
Please present yourself at the pier for embarkation at 17:00h

Once onboard there will be a welcome meeting during which the Captain will present his officers and expedition staff. They will introduce you to the ship’s safety procedures and outline the programme for the coming days.

In the evening we set a course through the scenic Beagle Channel for the Drake Passage and Antarctica.

Optional excursion: To be confirmed

Day 2-3: Drake Passage
The Drake Passage is where the Atlantic and Pacific meet the Great Southern Ocean to create the Antarctic Convergence. During the crossing you can enjoy our onboard lecture series to learn more about the wonders of Antarctica.

The Antarctic Convergence is the where the warmer waters of the north meet the colder, denser, less saline waters of the south. As the colder water sinks, a mixing occurs that brings nutrients to the surface and makes the area particularly rich in marine life.

In addition to spotting for the magnificent wandering albatross and other seabirds, the crossing features our lecture series focusing on the history, environment, and wildlife of Antarctica. Our series includes a thorough introduction to the Antarctic visitor guidelines from the Antarctic Treaty and International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO).

The Antarctic Treaty regulates all activities in Antarctica and has created a continent of peace and science. Hurtigruten ASA is committed to meeting and exceeding all Antarctic Treaty and IAATO regulations to ensure that the vulnerable environment will not be disturbed.

We will be on course for the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands where we hope to arrive on the afternoon of Day 3.

Day 3-10: Antarctica
The continent is an endless white wilderness full of fantastic impressions of nature. We will learn the history of the great explorers as we travel in their footsteps and see the landscape as they saw it - unchanged, remote, and awe inspiring. In this trip we would like to try to get as far into the Weddell Sea as weather and ice permit and let the spirit of Nordenskiolds expedition be with us on this journey into this highly interested and very rarely visited area of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Weather, wind, and ice conditions will determine our programme and our schedule. Safety is always the first priority and the final sailing itinerary will be decided by the ship’s Captain during the voyage. We will attempt to visit some of the places below, among others:

Deception Island, South Shetland Islands
When British merchant William Smith was rounding Cape Horn in February 1819 in his brig Williams, a powerful storm drove the ship southward and brought about the discovery of the South Shetland Islands. Together with British naval officer Edward Bransfield, Smith sailed even farther south was initially credited with the discovery of Antarctica. It was later discovered by historians however that an ethnic German in the Russian Navy named Thaddeus von Bellingshausen had seen Antarctica a mere three days before.

One of the highlights of the South Shetlands is Deception Island. The island is a distinctive ring-shaped volcanic caldera approximately 12 km (7 mi) in diameter. A portion of the caldera wall has collapsed and created a navigable opening into the flooded interior. The natural harbour inside the island includes Whalers Bay, home to an abandoned whaling station known as Hektor and a derelict British base. The Norwegian manned Hektor operated from 1912 to 1931 processing the meat and bones of whales left as refuse by nearby factory whaling ships. The British base was established in 1941 and destroyed when the island erupted in the late 1960’s. We are free to visit the relics at Whalers Bay if weather conditions permit.

Half Moon Island, South Shetland Islands
A small 2 km (1.2 mi) long island in the shadow of picturesque Livingston Island, Half Moon is a jewel of diversity in the polar landscape. The serrated and crevassed cliffs are home to a large colony of chinstrap penguins as well as Antarctic terns, kelp gulls, snowy sheathbills, Wilson’s storm petrels, and several species of seals are regular visitors. There is a derelict wooden boat rotting on the beach and farther along the western end is Teniente Camara station with its huge Argentine flags emblazoned on the orange buildings. Half Moon presents many photographic opportunities with its varied wildlife posed against scenic backgrounds and Antarctic highlights.

Yankee Harbour, South Shetland Islands
Early sealers to the area used Yankee Harbour on Greenwich Island as frequent base of operations because of its remarkable natural haven created by a spit nearly one kilometre long (0.6 mi). The spit is a favoured haul out for tired Weddell, crabeater, fur, and elephant seals now that the hunters are gone. Remnants from the sealing era can still be found including an old trypot on the beach. The main attraction for many visitors however is Yankee’s terraced gentoo penguin colony with an estimated 4000 breeding pairs. Predatory skuas also nest here and travelers are often witness to the struggle between a penguin protecting its young and a skua trying to feed theirs. Yankee Harbour offers views across the McFarlane Strait to Livingston Island and out into the Bransfield Strait, a common feeding area for whales.

Antarctic Sound
The huge ice shelves of the Antarctic continent give birth to mile-long tabular icebergs. The strong currents of the Weddell Sea conspire to bring these massive flat-topped bergs north into the Antarctic Sound at the northeast end of the Antarctic Peninsula. Dubbed “Iceberg Alley” by expedition staff, the sound is a startling assortment of floating ice in shapes and sizes that strain the imagination. The area takes its name from Otto Nordenskjöld’s 1903 Swedish South Polar Expedition and their ship Antarctic, captained by legendary Norwegian C.A. Larsen. The fate of the Antarctic and her men is one of the most harrowing and hard to believe tales of the continent. Our staff will be happy to share the tale as we cruise between the icebergs. The 48 km (30 mi) sound is also home to an estimated half million Adélie penguins as well as gentoo penguins, leopard seals, and killer whales.

Brown Bluff
Brown Bluff lies on the coast of the Antarctic Sound at the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. As the name suggests, the landscape is dominated by an ominous 745 m (2450 ft) cliff. The towering, rust-coloured bluff is volcanic in origin and the beach is peppered with lava “bombs”. Adélie penguins, gentoo penguins, kelp gulls, and Cape petrels can be found breeding here and Weddell seals are regular visitors. If the weather permits, we may land to stroll along the beach among the penguins. Experienced staff will tell you however that the best way to experience Adélie penguins is just to sit quietly and watch nature’s cutest comedians at work.

Snow Hill Island
Is an almost completely snowcapped island, 20 miles (32 km) long and 6 miles (10 km) wide, lying off the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. It is separated from James Ross Island to the northeast by Admiralty Sound. It is one of several islands around the peninsula known as Graham Land, which is closer to South America than any other part of that continent. It was discovered on January 6, 1843 by a British expedition under James Clark Ross who, uncertain of its connection with the mainland, named it Snow Hill because its snow cover stood out in contrast to the bare ground of nearby Seymour Island. Its insular character was determined in 1902 by the Swedish Antarctic Expedition under Otto Nordenskiöld, who spent the winters of 1901, 1902, and 1903 there, using it as a base to explore the neighboring islands and the Nordenskjold Coast of the Antarctic Peninsula.

James Ross Island
James Ross Island is a large island off the southeast side and near the northeastern extremity of Antarctic Peninsula, from which it is separated by Prince Gustav Channel. Rising to 1,630 m, it is irregularly shaped and extends 40 miles in a north-south direction. It was charted in October 1903 by the Swedish Antarctic Expedition under Otto Nordenskiöld. He named it for Sir James Clark Ross, leader of a British expedition to this area in 1842, who discovered and roughly charted a number of points along the eastern side of the island.

Vega Island
Vega Island is a small island to the northwest of James Ross Island, on the Antarctic Peninsula
Vega Island has a rich trove of fossils in deposits which span the Cretaceous and Paleogene (early "Tertiary") periods. This includes the K-Pg extinction event, which wiped out all non-avian dinosaurs. For documenting the consequences of this event, Vega Island is one of the best locations in the world.
The first dinosaur discovered on Antarctica was an armored ankylosaurian, discovered in 1986 on James Ross Island. The second was discovered on Vega Island in 1986 by the British Antarctic Survey. The hypsilophodont, a type of small, herbivorous dinosaur, was discovered in the mudstone layer of the Earth by López de Bertodano Formation. Both dinosaurs were dated to the late Cretaceous.

Trinity Peninsula/Prince Gustav Channel
Trinity Peninsula is the extreme northeast portion of the Antarctic Peninsula, extending northeastward for about 130 km. The Prince Gustav Channel was named in 1903 after Crown Prince Gustav of Sweden by Otto Nordenskiöld of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition. The channel is bounded on the west by the Antarctic Peninsula and on the east by James Ross Island. In 1995, the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) reported that an ice shelf formerly blocking the channel had disintegrated. In the area previously covered by the shelf, the channel's water depth is between 600 and 800 meters. Between February and March 2000 scientists collected sediment cores 5 to 6 m in length from the ocean floor. Carbon dating of organic material found in the sediment layers suggested that for a period between 2,000 to 5,000 years ago, much of the channel was seasonally open water. While icebergs were able to navigate the channel, ice rafted debris was deposited within the sediment. It appears that before and after this period, the channel remained closed. The period when the channel was open coincides with a period of local warming supported by data gathered from land-based studies of lake sediments and ancient, abandoned penguin rookeries. With the return of colder conditions about 1900 years ago, the Prince Gustav ice shelf reformed until its recent retreat. Ice shelves are sensitive indicators of regional climatic change, therefore recent warming in the vicinity of the Prince Gustav Channel is exceptional for at least the past 1900 years.

Cuverville Island
Situated in the scenic Errera Channel, Cuverville Island boasts the largest known colony of gentoo penguins in the Antarctic Peninsula. The island was discovered by Adrien de Gerlache’s 1897 Belgian Antarctic expedition and named for a Vice-Admiral in French navy. The narrow Errera Channel offers a spectacular passage to and from Cuverville as icebergs become trapped and grounded on its shallow bottom. Watching from the observation decks as our expert navigators weave the ship carefully between the icebergs is as exciting as being surrounded by the throngs of nesting penguins onshore.

Neko Harbour
The deep, fjord-like Andvord Bay stretches so far into the Antarctic Peninsula that its end is a mere 50 km (31 mi) from the east side of the Peninsula and the Weddell Sea. Neko Harbour, with its gentoo penguin colony and small Argentine refuge hut, lies nestled in Andvord Bay surrounded by the mountains and high glacier walls of the Peninsula. A favoured feeding ground for shy Minke whales, the harbour is perfectly situated to appreciate the grandeur of Andvord Bay and Antarctic Peninsula scenery. Named for a factory whaling ship in the early 1900’s, Neko is one of the rare places in the Antarctic Peninsula area where we may land on the Antarctic mainland.

Paradise Harbour
The harbour is paradise not only in name but in splendour and scenery as well. Protected from the winds of the nearby Gerlache Strait, Paradise Harbour offers another rare opportunity for a mainland landing and some of the finest vistas the Peninsula has to offer. Here we can find the Argentine base Almirante Brown and the Chilean base Gonzalez Videla with their neighbouring penguin colonies. Gonzalez Videla is situated at Waterboat Point, so named for the two members of a failed expedition that spent the cold winter of 1922 living there underneath a small upturned boat. Named for the Irish-born founder of Argentina’s navy, Almirante Brown had to be rebuilt after the crazed base doctor set fire to the buildings in 1984.

Lemaire Channel
Lemaire Channel was discovered by German explorer Eduard Dallman in 1873 but not traversed and charted until 1898 by Adrien de Gerlache, who named it after his Belgian colleague Charles Lemaire. This 11 km (7 mi) long and 1.6 km (1 mi) wide channel is commonly known as one of the most beautiful passages in Antarctica. The reason for this reputation cannot be described in words or captured on film. It bestows upon the traveler a glimpse into what fascinates us about Antarctica; that it is at once sublime and imposing, delicate and daunting, inviting and inhospitable. On a clear day, the Lemaire Channel is the entire Antarctic experience writ small.

Petermann Island
Also discovered by Dallman and named for German geographer August Petermann, the island is better known for its association with Jean-Baptiste Charcot and the French Antarctic Expedition of 1908. Charcot and the crew of the Pourquoi Pas? wintered here among the Adélie penguins and imperial cormorants (blue-eyed shags). It’s location in the picturesque Penola Channel makes Petermann a great spot for iceberg and whale spotting and offers spectacular views across the channel to the Antarctic Peninsula. The island is also home to an Argentine refuge hut, a commemorative plaque from the French expedition, and a cross erected in the memory of three men from a nearby British base.

Port Lockroy
The British base on Goudier Island in Port Lockroy was built in 1941 and abandoned in 1962. It then lay empty until 1996 when it was refurbished as a museum by the Antarctic Heritage Trust. It has since become one of the most popular sites in Antarctica and offers a peek into life on an Antarctic base in the 1950’s. Pemmican and tinned custard line the old cupboards and 1950’s books and magazines can be found in the lounge. The nesting gentoo penguins surrounding the main building have become accustomed to the frequent human visitors. The museum operates a post office and souvenir shop with caps and shirts and postcards. In addition to postal service, the shop offers first-day covers and rare Antarctic stamps. All mail sent from Port Lockroy has a special Antarctic stamp and frank.

Wilhelmina Bay
The mountains and high glaciers around Wilhelmina Bay ensure plenty of dramatic scenery and sculpted ice from tiny brash to large bergs. The bay is a choice feeding ground for whales and seals and therefore was a choice hunting ground the whalers of the past. As evidence of this, the partially submerged wreck of the Norwegian whaling ship Guvernøren lies in a tiny harbour of the bay. If weather and ice conditions permit, we may take a closer look at the wreck from our PolarCirkel boats. The 3433 ton ship caught fire in 1915 and was run aground in order to rescue men and supplies. It now provides a perch for tired terns and an occasional mooring for passing sailboats.

We plan to leave Antarctica in the afternoon of day 10.
The final departure time depends on the weather forecast and is decided by the ship’s Captain.

Day 11-12: Drake Passage
With our bow pointed north and unforgettable images and experiences in our souls, we are invited to a new understanding of the Antarctic.

The voyage from the Antarctic Peninsula to Ushuaia at the southern tip of Argentina is roughly 950 km (600 mi) or 40 hours sailing time in good weather. During the voyage north, we will continue our lecture series and recap our experiences of Antarctica.


Day 13: Ushuaia/Buenos Aires
Argentina’s charming and proud capital welcomes you back from your voyage of discovery and bids you a safe journey home!

Disembarkation will be after breakfast, in the morning hours.

For guest with cruise&flight programme:
After breakfast you will be taken to the airport for the flight to Buenos Aires (approx. 4 hours). A simple meal will be served on the flight.

Optional Excursion: To be confirmed

Price includes: 12 night voyage Ushuaia to Ushuaia in cabin grade of your choice including full board and domestic charter flights between Ushuaia and Buenos Aires.
Not included: travel insurance, international flights, luggage handling, optional excursions, gratuities, fuel surcharges

Call Toll Free 1 800 345 3324 (within India) or 033 2473 8096 or click here to enquire online.
Kolkata: +91 98300 53005            Jaipur: +91 94140 70017                Chennai: +91 92831 90875