Le Commandant Charcot: 29D28N From Dumont d’Urville to Mawson: retracing Heroic Age expeditions

Price from
MYR202,852 per person
Duration
29 Days
Destination
More than 1
Travellers
2

THE GREAT ESCAPE Your Great Adventure

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Luxury cruise aboard to experience a truly exceptional sea voyage with a difference. Discover expeditions to the majestic landscapes of the Artic and the Antarctic. Great choice for couples, solo travelers and those who love small-ship cruising. Ponant Cruises offers exceptional bilingual service, world-class dining and elegantly-appointed accommodation and public areas in terms of the...

What's included

Destination
Departure Location
Lyttelton
Return Location
Ushuaia
Tour Validity
Now till Feb 05, 2024
From Feb 05 till Mar 04, 2024

Additional Information
Tour Deals: : PONANT Bonus Discount up to 20% : First Time Cruiser EUR 250 : RM7,000 Flight Credit (Book by now - 5th July 2023)
Price includes
  • Return flight Ushuaia/Santiago selected by PONANT, in economy class.
  • Services of local guides, in Santiago.
  • Meals as mentioned in the programme and beverage package.
  • Transfers as mentioned in the programme.
Price does not include
  • International air ticketv
  • Airport transfer
  • Gratuities

Luxury cruise aboard to experience a truly exceptional sea voyage with a difference. Discover expeditions to the majestic landscapes of the Artic and the Antarctic. Great choice for couples, solo travelers and those who love small-ship cruising. Ponant Cruises offers exceptional bilingual service, world-class dining and elegantly-appointed accommodation and public areas in terms of the onboard experience. Choose a cruise on an Explorer Class vessel, you will benefit from several expedition-style features. Relaxing in the Blue Eye Lounge, an underwater multi-sensory environment that boasts comfortable seating and privileged views of life beneath the waves. Ponant’s expedition ships also carry a fleet of Zodiacs deployed frequently throughout each itinerary for sightseeing excursions and trips ashore.

Cancellation Policy

~ Postpone or cancel free of charge up to 10 days after the booking is confirmed
~ From 10 days after the booking is confirmed to 365 days prior to departure: EUR 150 plus RM100 refund admin fees per guest per cruise for the cruise service only
~ From 364 to 211 days prior to departure: 10% of total price
~ From 210 – 91 days prior to departure: 25% of total price
~ Cancellation within 90 days prior to departure: 100% of total price

Payment Terms

~ Deposit payment of 25% must be received within 10 days after the booking is confirmed.
~ Balance payment must be made 90 days prior to departure
~ Booking made within 90 days prior to departure require full payment at the time of booking

  • Day 1
  • Day 2
  • Day 3
  • Day 4
  • Day 5
  • Day 6
  • Day 7
  • Day 8
  • Day 9
  • Day 10
  • Day 11
  • Day 12
  • Day 13
  • Day 14
  • Day 15
  • Day 16
  • Day 17
  • Day 18
  • Day 19
  • Day 20
  • Day 21
  • Day 22
  • Day 23
  • Day 24
  • Day 25
  • Day 26
  • Day 27
  • Day 28
  • Day 29
Day 1

Christchurch

Meet at the airport in the Arrival hall. Look for PONANT sign. You will be greeted by our local representative off the flight selected by PONANT or any other flight (provided that you have previously communicated your flight schedule to your travel agent).

You will be transferred to the hotel Fable Hotel Christchurch 5*.

Lunch will be served at the hotel.

Enjoy day and dinner at your leisure.

Overnight at the hotel.

Day 2

Christchurch/Lyttelton

After check-out, your morning guided visit will begin with a panoramic city tour. Christchurch is known as the “Garden City” and is considered one of the most English-style cities outside of England. You will drive past the Canterbury Museum, housed in a beautiful 19th-century stone building. See the glittering, all-glass facade of the Christchurch Art Gallery and drive by Hagley Park, the city's largest urban open space. You will also pass the Cardboard Cathedral, a transitional cathedral several blocks away from the damaged Christchurch Cathedral where you will have the opportunity to get off the coach and walk through one of New Zealand's most beautiful streets – New Regent Street.

Continue visiting some of the areas affected by the earthquakes, including a trip by the Canterbury Earthquake Memorial to learn how Christchurch is now preserving some of its iconic heritage buildings. Your guide will share aspects of the exciting vision and plan to rebuild and restore the inner city.

Enjoy a stroll through the Mona Vale Gardens. From the beginning, the gardens at Mona Vale have featured significant English and European trees, rhododendrons, camellias, conifers and maples. Stroll through the alley alongside the Avon River, which is lined with annual bedding displays.

Lunch will be served at a local restaurant

You will then be transferred to the pier of Lyttelton to embark on board your ship.

Embarkation 6/2/2024 from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm Departure 6/2/2024 at 6:00 pm

Day 3

AT SEA ABOARD LE COMMANDANT CHARCOT

Spend exceptional moments sailing aboard Le Commandant Charcot, the world’s first luxury polar exploration vessel and the first PC2-class polar cruise ship capable of sailing into the very heart of the ice, on seas and oceans which the frozen conditions render inaccessible to ordinary ships. Le Commandant Charcot is fitted with oceanographic and scientific equipment selected by a committee of experts. Take advantage of the on-board lectures and opportunities for discussion with these specialists to learn more about the poles. Participate in furthering scientific research with PONANT and let us discover together what these fascinating destinations have yet to reveal to us.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Day 4

AT SEA ABOARD LE COMMANDANT CHARCOT

Spend exceptional moments sailing aboard Le Commandant Charcot, the world’s first luxury polar exploration vessel and the first PC2-class polar cruise ship capable of sailing into the very heart of the ice, on seas and oceans which the frozen conditions render inaccessible to ordinary ships. Le Commandant Charcot is fitted with oceanographic and scientific equipment selected by a committee of experts. Take advantage of the on-board lectures and opportunities for discussion with these specialists to learn more about the poles. Participate in furthering scientific research with PONANT and let us discover together what these fascinating destinations have yet to reveal to us.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Day 5

AT SEA ABOARD LE COMMANDANT CHARCOT

Spend exceptional moments sailing aboard Le Commandant Charcot, the world’s first luxury polar exploration vessel and the first PC2-class polar cruise ship capable of sailing into the very heart of the ice, on seas and oceans which the frozen conditions render inaccessible to ordinary ships. Le Commandant Charcot is fitted with oceanographic and scientific equipment selected by a committee of experts. Take advantage of the on-board lectures and opportunities for discussion with these specialists to learn more about the poles. Participate in furthering scientific research with PONANT and let us discover together what these fascinating destinations have yet to reveal to us.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Day 6

AT SEA ABOARD LE COMMANDANT CHARCOT

Spend exceptional moments sailing aboard Le Commandant Charcot, the world’s first luxury polar exploration vessel and the first PC2-class polar cruise ship capable of sailing into the very heart of the ice, on seas and oceans which the frozen conditions render inaccessible to ordinary ships. Le Commandant Charcot is fitted with oceanographic and scientific equipment selected by a committee of experts. Take advantage of the on-board lectures and opportunities for discussion with these specialists to learn more about the poles. Participate in furthering scientific research with PONANT and let us discover together what these fascinating destinations have yet to reveal to us.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Day 7

MAGNETIC SOUTH POLE

The convergence point for the field lines of the Earth's magnetic field, the Magnetic South Pole attracts the magnetic needle of the compass. While the Geographic South Pole is the Earth’s southernmost fixed point, marking the intersection of the Globe's rotation axis with the Earth’s surface, the Magnetic South Pole moves over time. In fact, it is linked to the Earth's magnetic field which originates in the Earth's outer core, which is made up of molten metal and is subject to convection movements. It was during the French Dumont d’Urville expedition to Antarctica, aboard the famous ships L’Astrolabe and La Zélée, that the hydrographer and engineer Vincendon-Dumoulin made the first calculation of the magnetic inclination that enabled him to localise this pole in 1838. Set off in search of the Magnetic South Pole, try to get closer to it and, if luck allows it, attempt to reach it!

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Day 8

ADÉLIE LAND

Adelie Land covers around 400,000 km2 (around 250,000 square miles) of the White Continent between the 136th and 142nd meridians longitude East. These lands claimed by France in Antarctica are home, on Petrel Island, to Dumont-d’Urville station, which is named after the eponymous French explorer who investigated the region in 1840. Here, the few resident scientists share the Antarctic desert with Adelie penguins, seals and orcas, as well as emperor penguins during the winter. The extreme climate of this land at the edge of the world, characterised by its very low temperatures and its violent winds or blizzards, make it difficult to access its shores, which are protected by thick ice floe. Be among the rare people to discover this unique place where you will be captivated by the polar silence and the ice reflecting the rays of the sun as you experience the Southern Continent’s powerful fragility.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Day 9

VICTORIA LAND

Reach the inaccessible by exploring extreme Victoria Land. You will discover part of the history of the Australian polar expeditions: in Commonwealth Bay, slip into the shoes of the legendary Douglas Mawson, who created his main base in 1911 in Cape Denison, where there are still remnants of his wooden cabin. Welcome to the country of blizzards, these violent winds filled with snow flakes. Among the natural marvels of this territory, you will note the glacial tongue of the impressive Mertz Glacier whose wall of ice is cut with immense crevasses. The grandiose sight of absolute nature. Marking the border with Marie Byrd Land, the Transantarctic Mountains, extending the Andes, offer this Eden of ice some mountainous landscapes.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Day 10

VICTORIA LAND

Reach the inaccessible by exploring extreme Victoria Land. You will discover part of the history of the Australian polar expeditions: in Commonwealth Bay, slip into the shoes of the legendary Douglas Mawson, who created his main base in 1911 in Cape Denison, where there are still remnants of his wooden cabin. Welcome to the country of blizzards, these violent winds filled with snow flakes. Among the natural marvels of this territory, you will note the glacial tongue of the impressive Mertz Glacier whose wall of ice is cut with immense crevasses. The grandiose sight of absolute nature. Marking the border with Marie Byrd Land, the Transantarctic Mountains, extending the Andes, offer this Eden of ice some mountainous landscapes.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Day 11

THE ROSS SEA

‘The last ocean’ is what scientists from all around the world call this deep bay that runs along the edge of Antarctica between Marie Byrd Land and Victoria Land. Since 2016, the world’s largest marine protected area has been keeping this last marine ecosystem intact. The theatre of the most impressive expeditions, it was discovered by James Clark Ross between 1839 and 1843. It was then that he discovered the enormous ice barrier formed by a gigantic ice shelf extending out to the open sea and from which titanic icebergs are calved. At a later stage, it was Ernest Shackleton and Robert Falcon Scott who explored the region and installed their base camp on Ross Island, at the foot of Mount Erebus. Weather and ice conditions permitting, perhaps you will be able to discover one of these two emblematic sites. Among the possible ports of call, Cape Adare, at the far north of the Borchgrevink Coast, is home to one of the world’s largest Adelie penguin colonies. One third of the world’s population of these penguins lives in the area where this barrier breaks into icebergs. The currents maintain polynyas there, vast areas of persistent open water surrounded by sea ice. These give the penguins access to food.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Day 12

THE ROSS SEA

‘The last ocean’ is what scientists from all around the world call this deep bay that runs along the edge of Antarctica between Marie Byrd Land and Victoria Land. Since 2016, the world’s largest marine protected area has been keeping this last marine ecosystem intact. The theatre of the most impressive expeditions, it was discovered by James Clark Ross between 1839 and 1843. It was then that he discovered the enormous ice barrier formed by a gigantic ice shelf extending out to the open sea and from which titanic icebergs are calved. At a later stage, it was Ernest Shackleton and Robert Falcon Scott who explored the region and installed their base camp on Ross Island, at the foot of Mount Erebus. Weather and ice conditions permitting, perhaps you will be able to discover one of these two emblematic sites. Among the possible ports of call, Cape Adare, at the far north of the Borchgrevink Coast, is home to one of the world’s largest Adelie penguin colonies. One third of the world’s population of these penguins lives in the area where this barrier breaks into icebergs. The currents maintain polynyas there, vast areas of persistent open water surrounded by sea ice. These give the penguins access to food.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Day 13

THE ROSS SEA

‘The last ocean’ is what scientists from all around the world call this deep bay that runs along the edge of Antarctica between Marie Byrd Land and Victoria Land. Since 2016, the world’s largest marine protected area has been keeping this last marine ecosystem intact. The theatre of the most impressive expeditions, it was discovered by James Clark Ross between 1839 and 1843. It was then that he discovered the enormous ice barrier formed by a gigantic ice shelf extending out to the open sea and from which titanic icebergs are calved. At a later stage, it was Ernest Shackleton and Robert Falcon Scott who explored the region and installed their base camp on Ross Island, at the foot of Mount Erebus. Weather and ice conditions permitting, perhaps you will be able to discover one of these two emblematic sites. Among the possible ports of call, Cape Adare, at the far north of the Borchgrevink Coast, is home to one of the world’s largest Adelie penguin colonies. One third of the world’s population of these penguins lives in the area where this barrier breaks into icebergs. The currents maintain polynyas there, vast areas of persistent open water surrounded by sea ice. These give the penguins access to food.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Day 14

THE ROSS SEA & CROSSING THE INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE

‘The last ocean’ is what scientists from all around the world call this deep bay that runs along the edge of Antarctica between Marie Byrd Land and Victoria Land. Since 2016, the world’s largest marine protected area has been keeping this last marine ecosystem intact. The theatre of the most impressive expeditions, it was discovered by James Clark Ross between 1839 and 1843. It was then that he discovered the enormous ice barrier formed by a gigantic ice shelf extending out to the open sea and from which titanic icebergs are calved. At a later stage, it was Ernest Shackleton and Robert Falcon Scott who explored the region and installed their base camp on Ross Island, at the foot of Mount Erebus. Weather and ice conditions permitting, perhaps you will be able to discover one of these two emblematic sites. Among the possible ports of call, Cape Adare, at the far north of the Borchgrevink Coast, is home to one of the world’s largest Adelie penguin colonies. One third of the world’s population of these penguins lives in the area where this barrier breaks into icebergs. The currents maintain polynyas there, vast areas of persistent open water surrounded by sea ice. These give the penguins access to food.   Your itinerary enables you to cross the International Date Line. This imaginary line across the Earth’s surface approximately follows the 180th meridian in the Pacific Ocean. Because of the roundness of the Earth and the necessity of having reference time meridians, we have to change dates when we cross this line. So if your ship is travelling west, you will need to add a day to the expected date; conversely, if travelling east, you will take away a day. This paradox, already noted by Magellan’s crews during his circumnavigation, serves as dramatic motivation in several novels, including Jules Verne’s famous Around the World in Eighty Days.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Day 15

MARIE BYRD LAND EXPLORATION

Marie Byrd Land is one of the most remote territories of our planet’s most inaccessible continent. It is a real privilege to just be able to contemplate its shores! Between the Ross Sea and its large shelf to the east and Bellingshausen Sea to the west, the frozen coastlines of these lands are bordered by the Amundsen Sea, partially covered by a thick ice floe. Stretching over more than a million km2 (over 620,000 square miles) in Western Antarctica, its ground is also isolated from the rest of the continent by the Transantarctic Mountains. It is certainly this geographic remoteness and its harsh climate that have made it one of our planet’s rare Terra nullius, a territory claimed by no State. In 1929, Marie Byrd Land got its name from Admiral Richard E. Byrd, in honour of his wife, following his expedition to the region. The exploration of its ice-sculpted landscapes will plunge you into the infinite Antarctic desert, where penguins, seals, whales and orcas are the only living souls. Depending on the time and weather conditions, your exploration of the region will take you towards a string of islands which, although little-known, remain fascinating: Siple Island and its eponymous mount, resulting from an old volcano and Clark Island.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Day 16

MARIE BYRD LAND EXPLORATION

Marie Byrd Land is one of the most remote territories of our planet’s most inaccessible continent. It is a real privilege to just be able to contemplate its shores! Between the Ross Sea and its large shelf to the east and Bellingshausen Sea to the west, the frozen coastlines of these lands are bordered by the Amundsen Sea, partially covered by a thick ice floe. Stretching over more than a million km2 (over 620,000 square miles) in Western Antarctica, its ground is also isolated from the rest of the continent by the Transantarctic Mountains. It is certainly this geographic remoteness and its harsh climate that have made it one of our planet’s rare Terra nullius, a territory claimed by no State. In 1929, Marie Byrd Land got its name from Admiral Richard E. Byrd, in honour of his wife, following his expedition to the region. The exploration of its ice-sculpted landscapes will plunge you into the infinite Antarctic desert, where penguins, seals, whales and orcas are the only living souls. Depending on the time and weather conditions, your exploration of the region will take you towards a string of islands which, although little-known, remain fascinating: Siple Island and its eponymous mount, resulting from an old volcano and Clark Island.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Day 17

MARIE BYRD LAND EXPLORATION

Marie Byrd Land is one of the most remote territories of our planet’s most inaccessible continent. It is a real privilege to just be able to contemplate its shores! Between the Ross Sea and its large shelf to the east and Bellingshausen Sea to the west, the frozen coastlines of these lands are bordered by the Amundsen Sea, partially covered by a thick ice floe. Stretching over more than a million km2 (over 620,000 square miles) in Western Antarctica, its ground is also isolated from the rest of the continent by the Transantarctic Mountains. It is certainly this geographic remoteness and its harsh climate that have made it one of our planet’s rare Terra nullius, a territory claimed by no State. In 1929, Marie Byrd Land got its name from Admiral Richard E. Byrd, in honour of his wife, following his expedition to the region. The exploration of its ice-sculpted landscapes will plunge you into the infinite Antarctic desert, where penguins, seals, whales and orcas are the only living souls. Depending on the time and weather conditions, your exploration of the region will take you towards a string of islands which, although little-known, remain fascinating: Siple Island and its eponymous mount, resulting from an old volcano and Clark Island.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Day 18

MARIE BYRD LAND EXPLORATION

Marie Byrd Land is one of the most remote territories of our planet’s most inaccessible continent. It is a real privilege to just be able to contemplate its shores! Between the Ross Sea and its large shelf to the east and Bellingshausen Sea to the west, the frozen coastlines of these lands are bordered by the Amundsen Sea, partially covered by a thick ice floe. Stretching over more than a million km2 (over 620,000 square miles) in Western Antarctica, its ground is also isolated from the rest of the continent by the Transantarctic Mountains. It is certainly this geographic remoteness and its harsh climate that have made it one of our planet’s rare Terra nullius, a territory claimed by no State. In 1929, Marie Byrd Land got its name from Admiral Richard E. Byrd, in honour of his wife, following his expedition to the region. The exploration of its ice-sculpted landscapes will plunge you into the infinite Antarctic desert, where penguins, seals, whales and orcas are the only living souls. Depending on the time and weather conditions, your exploration of the region will take you towards a string of islands which, although little-known, remain fascinating: Siple Island and its eponymous mount, resulting from an old volcano and Clark Island.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Day 19

MARIE BYRD LAND EXPLORATION

Marie Byrd Land is one of the most remote territories of our planet’s most inaccessible continent. It is a real privilege to just be able to contemplate its shores! Between the Ross Sea and its large shelf to the east and Bellingshausen Sea to the west, the frozen coastlines of these lands are bordered by the Amundsen Sea, partially covered by a thick ice floe. Stretching over more than a million km2 (over 620,000 square miles) in Western Antarctica, its ground is also isolated from the rest of the continent by the Transantarctic Mountains. It is certainly this geographic remoteness and its harsh climate that have made it one of our planet’s rare Terra nullius, a territory claimed by no State. In 1929, Marie Byrd Land got its name from Admiral Richard E. Byrd, in honour of his wife, following his expedition to the region. The exploration of its ice-sculpted landscapes will plunge you into the infinite Antarctic desert, where penguins, seals, whales and orcas are the only living souls. Depending on the time and weather conditions, your exploration of the region will take you towards a string of islands which, although little-known, remain fascinating: Siple Island and its eponymous mount, resulting from an old volcano and Clark Island.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Day 20

MARIE BYRD LAND EXPLORATION

Marie Byrd Land is one of the most remote territories of our planet’s most inaccessible continent. It is a real privilege to just be able to contemplate its shores! Between the Ross Sea and its large shelf to the east and Bellingshausen Sea to the west, the frozen coastlines of these lands are bordered by the Amundsen Sea, partially covered by a thick ice floe. Stretching over more than a million km2 (over 620,000 square miles) in Western Antarctica, its ground is also isolated from the rest of the continent by the Transantarctic Mountains. It is certainly this geographic remoteness and its harsh climate that have made it one of our planet’s rare Terra nullius, a territory claimed by no State. In 1929, Marie Byrd Land got its name from Admiral Richard E. Byrd, in honour of his wife, following his expedition to the region. The exploration of its ice-sculpted landscapes will plunge you into the infinite Antarctic desert, where penguins, seals, whales and orcas are the only living souls. Depending on the time and weather conditions, your exploration of the region will take you towards a string of islands which, although little-known, remain fascinating: Siple Island and its eponymous mount, resulting from an old volcano and Clark Island.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Day 21

AMUNDSEN SEA

Stretching from the west of the Antarctic Peninsula to the Amundsen Sea, the Bellingshausen Sea was named after the Russian admiral and explorer who has been attributed the first confirmed sighting of mainland Antarctica, in 1820. Among others, its waters surround two of the Antarctic’s largest islands: Alexander Island and Thurston Island. You will explore this sea amid ice floe, blocks of sea ice and majestic icebergs. The coastal areas along the Bellingshausen Sea are also renowned as the home of colonies of emperor penguins. Depending on the month of the southern summer, you will perhaps be lucky enough to observe isolated adults, adolescents seeking emancipation or recently independent new adults.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Day 22

EXPEDITION TO PETER I ISLAND

You will then head for the legendary Peter I Island. Located 450 km away from the Atlantic coast, it was discovered in 1821 by the Russian explorer Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, who named it in honour of the Russian tsar Peter the Great. In 1909, Captain Charcot sighted it for the first time from aboard the Pourquoi Pas ?, but was unable to land there: “In the parting mists, one or two miles away, an enormous black mass shrouded in clouds appears suddenly before us: it is Peter I Island.” Surrounded by pack ice and with about 95% of its surface covered by ice, this volcanic island, whose highest peak reaches 1,640 metres, is protected by ice cliffs some 40 metres tall, making any approach difficult.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Day 23

BELLINGSHAUSEN SEA

Stretching from the west of the Antarctic Peninsula to the Amundsen Sea, the Bellingshausen Sea was named after the Russian admiral and explorer who has been attributed the first confirmed sighting of mainland Antarctica, in 1820. Among others, its waters surround two of the Antarctic’s largest islands: Alexander Island and Thurston Island. You will explore this sea amid ice floe, blocks of sea ice and majestic icebergs. The coastal areas along the Bellingshausen Sea are also renowned as the home of colonies of emperor penguins. Depending on the month of the southern summer, you will perhaps be lucky enough to observe isolated adults, adolescents seeking emancipation or recently independent new adults.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Day 24

EXPEDITION TO CHARCOT ISLAND

When he discovered this island surrounded by sea ice in 1910 from aboard the Pourquoi Pas ? as he mapped Alexander Island, Jean-Baptiste Charcot had not be able to get less than 40 miles away from it. Situated in a zone that experiences frequent low-pressure systems and regular cloud cover, the island remains in many ways an enigma. It is entirely covered in ice and sheer cliffs, with the exception of the rocky outcrops extending over a dozen kilometres in the far north-west. The ice in the narrowest part of Wilkins Sound has been cracking in recent times, thus officially detaching this island from its neighbour, Alexander Island, lying 50 km away. Very few people have landed on this largely untouched island, whose waters attract numerous seabirds, such as petrels, Antarctic terns and skuas.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Day 25

MARGUERITE BAY

The icebergs are each more majestic than the next and scattered around the deep and intense blue waters of Marguerite Bay, one of the most beautiful regions in the Antarctic. It is delimited in the north by the mountainous Adelaide Island, in the south by George VI Sound and Alexander Island, and in the east by the Fallières Coast. Charcot named it after his wife during his second expedition to the Antarctic between 1908 and 1910. In 1909, in the southern summer when the skies are at their clearest, he led an important scientific mission to map and study this region. The bay is home to a number of cetaceans and you may get the chance to observe leopard seals or Adelie penguins.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Day 26

CROSSING THE DRAKE PASSAGE

If there is one place, one sea, one waterway dreaded by tourists, researchers and hardened seafarers alike, it is undoubtedly Drake Passage. Situated at the latitude of the infamous Furious Fifties winds, between Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands, it is the shortest route to connect Antarctica to South America. Seasoned navigators will tell you that you must earn your visit to the White Continent! As the Antarctic convergence zone where cold currents rising up from the South Pole meet warmer equatorial water masses, Drake Passage harbours a very diverse marine fauna. Don't forget to look to the sky to catch a glimpse of elegant albatross and Cape petrels, playfully floating about in the wind around your ship.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Day 27

CROSSING THE DRAKE PASSAGE

If there is one place, one sea, one waterway dreaded by tourists, researchers and hardened seafarers alike, it is undoubtedly Drake Passage. Situated at the latitude of the infamous Furious Fifties winds, between Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands, it is the shortest route to connect Antarctica to South America. Seasoned navigators will tell you that you must earn your visit to the White Continent! As the Antarctic convergence zone where cold currents rising up from the South Pole meet warmer equatorial water masses, Drake Passage harbours a very diverse marine fauna. Don't forget to look to the sky to catch a glimpse of elegant albatross and Cape petrels, playfully floating about in the wind around your ship.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Day 28

Pier of disembarkation/Santiago

Meet and greet upon arrival of the flight to Santiago selected by PONANT by our local representative.
You will be transferred to The Singular Santiago, Lastarria Hotel 5*.
Lunch and afternoon at leisure.
Dinner at leisure.

Breakfast
Day 29

Santiago

Disembarkation after breakfast, meet and greet at the port. Transfer to airport in time for flight back to Santiago. Service end in Santiago airport. NOTES: We highly recommend you stay one night in Santiago after this flight

~ The half-circumnavigation of the Antarctic, an unforgettable trip into the heart of the ice and a continent full of extremes.
~ A dive into the history of the French and Australian conquests of the South Pole, with the approach to Adelie Land and the Dumont d’Urville scientific station and the exploration of Victoria Land.
~ Attempt to reach the Magnetic South Pole.
~ Set off in the footsteps of the famous Sir Ernest Shackleton and Robert Falcon Scott on Ross Island, which still guards vestiges of the time they spent there.
~ The crossing of five southern seas: Dumont d’Urville, Somov, Ross, Amundsen and Bellingshausen.
~ The exploratory approach to some of the least-known islands in the world: Charcot, Peter I and the Marie Byrd Land.
~ Outings and shore visits in a zodiac dinghy with a reinforced team of naturalist guides.
~ Landscapes: ice shelves, surrealist glaciers, monumental icebergs, immersion in the heart of the ice floe.
~ Wildlife: crabeater, leopard and Weddell seals; Adelie penguins; humpback whales and orcas.
~ Many activities: kayaking, hiking or snowshoeing.

**Each departure is unique. The itinerary, landings, wildlife encounters and activities are subject to weather and ice conditions.

Tour price (Price shown subject to exchange rate fluctuation) Superior Stateroom (pperson) Deluxe stateroom (pperson) Prestige Stateroom (pperson) Deluxe Suite (pperson)
05 Feb - 04 Mar 2024RM202,852RM226,096Fully BookedRM319,020
    ★★★★★
    ★★★★★
    ★★★★★
    ★★★★★

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Le Commandant Charcot: 29D28N From Dumont d’Urville to Mawson: retracing Heroic Age expeditions

Price
MYR202,852 per person
Duration
29 Days
Destination
More than 1
Travellers
2

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