Explore Antarctica with Girls LOVE Travel and Oceanwide Expeditions 🐧

WHALE WATCHING EXPLORATION!!!

Join us for an 11-day, 10-night journey to the 7th continent, a place where untouched wilderness and breathtaking landscapes await. From towering icebergs to diverse wildlife, Antarctica offers a truly unique experience that will leave you in awe. Your adventure begins in Ushuaia, Argentina, where you'll board the m/v Hondius, an ice-strengthened vessel equipped for polar exploration with a capacity of 170 passengers. 

Click here to learn more about the expedition and our ship!

GLT first partnered with Oceanwide in 2018, beginning our journey to Antarctica with 1/2 of the ship's 115 passengers being GLTers!!  Since then, we’ve sent over 200 GLT members and their families on incredible adventures with Oceanwide. 

Oceanwide Expeditions has over 30 years of experience offering exceptional polar expedition cruises, making them the ideal choice for exploring the Arctic and Antarctic. Their self-owned fleet of ice-strengthened vessels ensures a safe and intimate experience. 

These small ships allow for a more personal and immersive journey, aiming for twice-daily outings on land and at sea to get you closer to nature in one of the most surreal environments on Earth. Their short and direct sea routes ensure more shore time, and their activities cater to a wide range of fitness levels and experiences, making them accessible for both seasoned adventurers and first-time travelers. 

As a responsible operator and member of AECO and IAATO, Oceanwide adheres to the highest environmental standards, ensuring sustainable travel practices in the polar regions. Their commitment to safety, sustainability, and providing a high-value, unforgettable experience makes Oceanwide the premier choice for anyone looking to explore the polar regions with a trusted, experienced operator.

Since a trip to Antarctica is a bucket-list adventure for many, we want to ensure you can experience this once-in-a-lifetime journey with your loved ones. Therefore our GLT-Oceanwide trips are open to all genders and ages, with a few guidelines to help make your journey as enjoyable as possible.

Oceanwide recommends that children be at least eight years old to join this journey, with the maximum age considered a child being 16. For families, we offer a 40% child discount for one child, provided there are at least two full-paying passengers in the same cabin. This discount applies to children aged three to 15 and is available only in certain cabin types on select voyages.

Regarding rooming, here are a few guidelines:

• Quad Rooms: Solo travelers must stay in quad rooms with participants of the same gender. If you're traveling as a group of four, you can book a quad room together.
• Twin/Triple Rooms: If you're traveling with a significant other or family, you can choose to stay in a twin or triple room.

*Please note that while this is still an expedition voyage to Antarctica, there is no overnight camping or kayaking included on this trip. Please see our Basecamp trip if you would like an itinerary with more excursions included. 

The staff on board the ship have final say about the itinerary.  Girls LOVE Travel is not responsible for changes or alterations made by the staff as a result of things such as but not limited to: weather, ice, wildlife, and/or safety of the passengers on board.  All activities are complimentary and will be done in addition to the voyage when they are safely available.  

Verbiage direct from Oceanwide Expeditions: 

During this voyage, Oceanwide Expeditions will attempt landings that have rarely if ever been offered by Oceanwide Expeditions – or any other Antarctic cruise operator.  Flexibility is key during these thrilling expeditions. Since information about most of the landing sites is limited or unknown, this target itinerary can only mention scheduled landings and general information. All itineraries are for guidance only. Programs may vary depending on local ice, weather, and wildlife conditions. 

The on-board expedition leader will determine the final schedule and itinerary. Flexibility is paramount for expedition cruises. 

- Arrivals: You MUST be in Ushuaia no later than one day before departure.  This is written into the agreement from Oceanwide Expeditions. Overnight accommodation for this night is not included in the trip. If you are able to come a day or two earlier I would encourage it. Reason being is that there are limited flights to / from Ushuaia. Last fall there were unexpected air strikes with Aerolinas Aregntinas Airlines which caused a lot of delays and delays = stress. We had one GLTer miss the trip entirely at the last minute due to flight cancelations. No one wants that! Also there tends to be some more discounts and options to use a lot less frequent flyer miles if you come a little early or stay a day or two after.  

- Departures: Oceanwide Expeditions encourages choosing departure flights on the last day no earlier than 1pm.  The ship will arrive back in Ushuaia and all will exit the boat after breakfast. If you have a flight out that same day, you can take the courtesy bus supplied by Oceanwide Expeditions to the airport. Since this is Antartica, there is a chance that weather might cause delays - which is why the company encourages that after-lunch flight time just in case.  

We have collected your non-refundable deposit to hold your spot. Payment plans are automatically set up for you already, however if you have any concerns regarding the plan, please let GLT know and we can work out an alternative plan that works for you.  

- ALL payments must be paid in FULL no later than 90 days before the mandatory date of arrival. 

- At time of booking: 20% non-refundable deposit (of original package price) to hold your spot  

- ALL payments must be paid in FULL no later than 90 days before the mandatory date of arrival. 

If you need to cancel for any reason at any time, please contact GLTtrips@gmail.com right away! Unfortunately the deposit is non-refundable and non-transferable. If we are able to help secure a transfer, there may be a $100 rebooking fee.

Now-100 days before departure - will allow refund of any amount paid over the non-refundable deposit. 

99-76 days before departure - 50% of the package price will be able to be refunded. 

75 days-day of departure - package price is non-refundable in its entirety. No refunds will be given.

If the payment was made with a credit card, the refund amount issued will be the total original purchase price minus any credit card processing fees incurred by the company at the time of the transaction. These fees may include transaction fees, chargeback fees, or other related charges from the payment processor.

Additionally please note that no refunds will be given for weather cancelations of any of the complimentary free add-on activities. 

This is Antarctica and part of this experience is the unpredictable weather. The staff on the ship are dedicated to do everything in their power and abilities so that you have a safe, and enjoyable experience!   You might get sea sick.  You might not camp or kayak or be able to get off the boat on certain days  - this is all a gamble due to the inconsistencies of Antarctica.   

Girls LOVE Travel and Oceanwide Expeditions are not responsible for the activities you are able to do, nor are we responsible for the weather conditions you might encounter. 

While we strive to ensure this trip goes as planned, unforeseen complications may arise, particularly due to inclement weather or unexpected circumstances like COVID-19.

Please note that Girls LOVE Travel will not provide refunds for cancellations due to illness, missed flights, or other reasons. Travel insurance is MANDATORY per Oceanwide policy.

Your travel insurance must provide at least the following coverage for medical evacuation and repatriation:

• Antarctica & sub-Antarctic islands: minimum EUR/USD 100,000 per person

If you have an annual travel and/or cancellation insurance policy, carefully check whether:

• this trip falls within the policy conditions

• expedition cruises to polar regions are included

• the required coverage amounts are met

If the coverage is insufficient, you must take out an additional, separate insurance policy for this trip.

The tour is offered as a package, with no price adjustments for those who choose to “opt-out” of included activities. Additionally, no refunds or adjustments will be made if on-board staff decide to cancel an activity or landing due to adverse weather conditions.

Your voyage begins where the world drops off. Ushuaia, Argentina, reputed to be the southernmost city on the planet, is located on the far southern tip of South America. Starting in the afternoon, you embark from this small resort town on Tierra del Fuego, nicknamed “The End of the World,” and sail the mountain-fringed Beagle Channel for the remainder of the evening. 

Over the next two days on the Drake Passage, you enjoy some of the same experiences encountered by the great polar explorers who first charted these regions: cool salt breezes, rolling seas, maybe even a fin whale spouting up sea spray. After passing the Antarctic Convergence – Antarctica’s natural boundary, formed when north-flowing cold waters collide with warmer sub-Antarctic seas – you are in the circum-Antarctic upwelling zone. 

Not only does the marine life change, the avian life changes too. Wandering albatrosses, grey-headed albatrosses, black-browed albatrosses, light-mantled sooty albatrosses, cape pigeons, southern fulmars, Wilson’s storm petrels, blue petrels, and Antarctic petrels are a few of the birds you might see.

 Gray stone peaks sketched with snow, towers of broken blue-white ice, and dramatically different wildlife below and above. You first pass the snow-capped Melchior Islands and Schollaert Channel, sailing between Brabant and Anvers Islands.

Sites you may visit include: (weather permitted)

Danco Island – Activities here may focus on the gentoo penguins nesting on the island, in addition to the Weddell and crabeater seals that can be found nearby.

Neko Harbour – An epic landscape of mammoth glaciers and endless wind-carved snow, Neko Harbour offers opportunities for a Zodiac cruise and landing that afford the closest views of the surrounding alpine peaks. Paradise Bay – You may be able to take a Zodiac cruise in these sprawling, ice-flecked waters, where there’s a good chance you’ll encounter humpback and minke whales.

Pléneau & Petermann Islands – If the ice allows it, you could sail through the Lemaire Channel in search of humpback and minke whales, as well as leopard seals.

Port Lockroy – After sailing through the Neumayer Channel, you may get a chance to visit the former British research station – now a museum and post office – of Port Lockroy on Goudier Island. You may also be able to partake in activities around Jougla Point, meeting gentoo penguins and blue-eyed shags.  At the nearby sites, such as Damoy Point there may be the opportunity for snowshoeing to the old ski-way, this is also one of our favourite camping sites.
 

Wilhelmina Bay & Guvernøren  – This is a great place to spot humpback whales. You also may embark on a Zodiac cruise ending at the ghostly wreck of the Guvernøren, a whaling vessel that caught fire here in 1915. Around the Melchior Islands, amid a frozen landscape peopled with icebergs, you may encounter even more whales, leopard seals, and crabeater seals.

Charlotte Bay - We might encounter a variety of wildlife, including gentoo penguins, Weddell seals and possibly some migrating whale species such as humpback whales or minke whales.

Conditions on the Drake Passage determine the exact time of departure. 

Your return voyage is far from lonely. While crossing the Drake, you’re again greeted by the vast array of seabirds remembered from the passage south. But they seem a little more familiar to you now, and you to them.

Every adventure, no matter how grand, must eventually come to an end. It’s now time to disembark in Ushuaia, but with memories that will accompany you wherever your next adventure lies.