Antarctica Tours in January 2026

Checking in for the internal flights Buenos Aires to and from Ushuaia was chaotic. Despite arriving well in advance check ins opened with barely enough time to make the flights. Once at Ushuaia outward and return all Quark arrangements were clear and efficient. Hotel Albatross in Ushuaia was very good. Onboard Ocean Diamond the hotel service was excellent. The Quark team were excellent. The photographic, historical, geological, ornithological and wildlife lectures were of the highest quality in terms of technical content, detail and delivery. The daily briefings and recaps were informative and entertaining. The zodiak cruises, landings, hikes, paddling and other activities were excellent: fascinating; informative; exciting; well managed; safe; well supervised; well guided. The experienced Quark staff ensured that we saw at close quarters all the wildlife that could be expected for this trip: all penguin species except the Emperor; nesting albatross; elephant, fur, Weddell, leopard seals; orca; humpback and fin whales; guillemots, skewers, etc. The weather was kind to us so we were able to visit nearly all the planned destinations on this expedition skilfully scheduled by the ship's captain and the Quark Expedition Leader to ensure interesting activities each day. The scenery throughout was stunning, especially in the earie light of the midnight sun below the Antarctic Circle. I enjoyed the paddling, not booked in advance, which turned out to be an unexpected highlight getting really close to the wildlife. In conclusion the expedition exceeded my expectations!

An amazing experience: history in the Falklands; huge penguin colonies in South Georgia and beautiful ice and whales in Antarctica. I had high expectations before the trip but they were exceeded in every area. An unforgettable experience.

The trip was wonderfully organised, good mix of landings and zodiac excurions. On the sea days, it was hard to be bored in between yoga sessions, penguin lectures and the entertainment. Visiting Antarctica, The Falklands and South georgia was a humbling experience... Rolling mountains, hearing the roar of avalanche, watching whales swim past the boat, watching elephant seals inspect you as you walk past them - you have the opportunity to be right there, visiting and co-existing with penguins and seals rather than observing them from afar...

It was a long way to travel - but it was well worth it, started with a few days in Ushuaia (Argentina) before the expedition cruise started. Ushuaia is a small town with many overpriced so called duty free shops, and outside the town is the National Park - which to be honest was very ordinary.Now to the actual trip itself - the Falkland, South Georgia and Antarctica - it was brilliant, very well run by the expedtion staff and the journey on the Valivov was 'plain sailing'.On this trip we missed one zodiac cruise, but managed to carry out all the other activites.Managed to see all the expected wildlife for that time of year, and great views when land and ice in view.

A trip I have wanted to do for years and it was wonderful. Quark had an excellent expedition staff on my trip who got us out on the zodiacs whenever they safely could.Nothing was too much trouble and the knowledge of the staff in their lectures enhanced the experience out with the animals and icebergs.A great crowd on the boat also allowed us to do all we could as all were committed to do with extra time for penguins and races around icebergs. In particular I would like to sing the praises of Graham Charles for being an inspiration because of his love for the areas we visited.

What a fantastic trip, Falklands and Albatross, South Georgia and Penguins/Seals and Antarctica and Tabular Icebergs. This trip is a true adventure where the rewards are high and the camera is rarely away from reach. Its jaw dropping beauty will leave you wondering where else on earth can i go that will give you so many fabulous memories.