Join me on the best activity voyage, in December 2026
ANTARCTICA
Antarctica - Basecamp - free camping, kayaking, snowshoe/hiking, mountaineering, photo workshop
15 December – 27 December 2026 (12 nights)
The Antarctic Peninsula Basecamp expedition offers you a myriad of ways to explore and enjoy the Antarctic Region. This expedition allows you to hike, snowshoe, kayak, go mountaineering, and even camp out under the Southern Polar skies.
VOYAGE OVERVIEW: Pure exploration and adventure!
Join a truly immersive Antarctic adventure designed for explorers, photographers, and nature lovers alike. This expedition combines basecamp exploration, kayaking, snowshoeing, mountaineering, and photo workshops to bring you into deeper contact with the Antarctic wilderness.
From 15 December to 27 December 2026, you’ll travel aboard the m/v Ortelius through some of the most dramatic landscapes on Earth: ice shelves, remote islands, dynamic glaciers, and wildlife-rich shores.
This 12-day expedition offers a range of activities tailored to the season and conditions. You’ll have the opportunity to camp overnight on the Antarctic mainland, paddle among icebergs in kayaks, traverse snowfields on snowshoes, climb modest peaks for panoramic views, and participate in intensive photography workshops led by professional expedition staff. Daily lectures, planned shore landings, and deck‐based programs will deepen your appreciation for Antarctica’s fragile ecosystems and geological marvels.
Highlights at a glance
Snowshoeing – Explore your way inland from the Polar shorelines with a wide variety of snowshoeing expeditions built for everyone.
Mountaineering – Ascend the heights to enjoy spectacular views of the polar surroundings.
Antarctic Camping – Few things get you closer to the Antarctic expedition experience than making camp, settling into your bivouac bag, and sleeping under the Southern Hemisphere stars.
Kayaking – Kayaking is one of the best ways to immerse yourself in the beautiful blue-and-white world of the peaceful polar seas.
Zodiac Cruising & Shore Program – By Zodiac you will explore the polar world, getting up close to icebergs, glaciers, and iconic wildlife
Onboard educational program – Gain insights through expert-led lectures covering wildlife, geology, polar history, and more.
Photo Workshop – On select voyages, professional photographers will help you get the most out of your personal camera equipment
Itinerary
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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.
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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.
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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.
Places you might visit includes:
Neumayer Channel – The vessel may position itself here, launching its multiple basecamp activities from the protected waters around Wiencke Island. You can enjoy the splendors of this alpine environment at sea with Zodiac and kayaking trips, or if you’re in the mood for a walk, there are possible snowshoe hikes and soft-climb mountaineering options farther inland. Naturally, favorable weather conditions determine the possible activities.
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.Pléneau & Petermann Islands – If the ice allows it, you can sail through the Lemaire Channel in search of Adélie penguins and blue-eyed shags. There’s also a good chance you’ll encounter humpback and minke whales here, as well as leopard seals. Kayaking, glacier walks, and more ambitious mountaineering trips are the potential activities of this location.
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 have the chance to make camp here like a true polar explorer, enjoying a supreme overnight Antarctic adventure.
Errera Channel – Possible sites in this area include Danco Island and Cuverville Island, but also the lesser known (though equally picturesque) Orne Island and Georges Point on Rongé Island.
On your last day of near-shore activities, you pass the Melchior Islands toward the open sea. Keep a sharp lookout for humpback whales in Dallmann Bay. You might also shoot for Half Moon Island, in the South Shetlands, with further chances for activities.
Conditions on the Drake Passage determine the exact time of departure.
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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.
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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.
The Ship
A Glimpse into Ortelius’ Past…. Ortelius was originally the Marina Svetaeva. Built in Gdynia, Poland in 1989, it served as a “special-purpose“ (read: espionage) vessel for the Russian Academy of Science. Later it was re-flagged and renamed after the Dutch/Flemish cartographer Abraham Ortelius (1527 – 1598), who in 1570 published the first modern world atlas: Theatrum Orbis Terrarum or Theater of the World. At that time his atlas was the most expensive book ever printed. Ortelius is classed by Lloyd’s Register in London and flies the Dutch flag.
Ortelius offers an exploratory educational travel program in the polar regions spending as much time ashore as possible. Click here for more information about the ship.
Need help with photography?
Join me on this adventure, and let’s capture the beauty of one of the wildest and purest places on Earth together.
For those who are interested, I can reveal my secrets for taking beautiful photos. As we explore this incredible environment, I’ll help you see every detail of the beauty around you. I’ll guide you through various (technical) aspects of photography, tailored to your skill level, so you can better understand your camera and settings. I am also happy to give you feedback on the photos you take on this expedition. Whether you’re a beginner or advanced, this journey will inspire and elevate your photography skills. Let’s make unforgettable memories—one shot at a time!
If photography isn’t your passion, that’s perfectly fine! Let’s share in the wonder of this incredible place together!
CABINS & PRICES
Quadruple Porthole
For a berth in a Quadruple Porthole
€ 9.600,- per person
Quadruple Porthole
• Cabin size between 12,4 m² and 14,1 m²
• 2 portholes
• 2 upper / lower berths
• Private shower & toilet
• Desk & chair
• Flatscreen TV
• Telephone & WiFi (supplemented)
• Hair dryer
• Safe deposit box
• Ample storage space
Triple Porthole
For a berth in a Triple Porthole
€ 11.800,- per person
Triple Porthole:
•2 portholes
• 1 upper / lower berth + 1 single lower berth
• Private shower & toilet
• Desk & chair
• Flatscreen TV
• Telephone & WiFi (supplemented)
• Hair dryer
• Safe deposit box
• Ample storage space
Twin Porthole
For a berth in a Twin porthole
€ 11.800,- per person
Twin Porthole:
• Cabin size between 11,4 m² and 15,1 m²
• 2 portholes
• 2 lower berths
• Private shower & toilet
• Desk & chair
• Flatscreen TV
• Telephone & WiFi (supplemented)
• Hair dryer
• Safe deposit box
•Ample storage space
Twin Window
For a berth in a Twin window
€ 12.400,- per person
Twin Window:
• Cabin size between 17,5 m² and 17,7 m²
• 2 windows
• 2 lower berths
• Private shower & toilet
• Desk & chair
• Flatscreen TV
• Telephone & WiFi (supplemented)
• Hair dryer
• Safe deposit box
• Ample storage space
Twin Deluxe
For a berth in a Twin window
€ 13.350,- per person
Twin Deluxe:
• Cabin size 17,7 m²
• 3 windows
• 2 lower berths
• Private shower & toilet
• Desk & chair
• Small sofa
• Refrigerator
• Coffee & tea maker
• Flatscreen TV
• Telephone & WiFi (supplemented)
• Hair dryer
• Safe deposit box
• Ample storage space
Superior room
For a berth in a Superior cabin
€ 28.400,- for the complete cabin
Superior:
• Cabin size between 18,4 m² en 20,4 m²
• 2 windows (minimum)
• 1 double bed
• 1 single (sofa) bed
• Private shower & toilet
• Desk & chair
• Flatscreen TV
• Telephone & WiFi (supplemented)
• Refrigerator
• Coffee & tea maker
• Hair dryer
• Safe deposit box
• Ample storage space
Included in this voyage
Voyage aboard the indicated vessel as indicated in the itinerary
All meals throughout the voyage aboard the ship including snacks, coffee and tea.
All shore excursions and activities throughout the voyage by Zodiac.
Program of lectures by noted naturalists and leadership by experienced expedition staff.
Free use of rubber boots and snowshoes.
Luggage transfer from pick-up point to the vessel on the day of embarkation, in Ushuaia.
Pre-scheduled group transfer from the vessel to the airport in Ushuaia (directly after disembarkation).
All miscellaneous service taxes and port charges throughout the programme.
Comprehensive pre-departure material.
Excluded from this voyage
Any airfare, whether on scheduled or charter flights
Pre- and post- land arrangements.
Passport and visa expenses.
Government arrival and departure taxes.
Meals ashore.
Baggage, cancellation and personal insurance (which is strongly recommended).
Excess baggage charges and all items of a personal nature such as laundry, bar, beverage charges and telecommunication charges.
The customary gratuity at the end of the voyages for stewards and other service personnel aboard (guidelines will be provided).
IF YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS OR WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A BOOKING,
PLEASE FILL OUT THE FORM BELOW :
See you in Antarctica!
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