The Private Ship

We suggest 11-13 days to do it without rushing — enough for the private guiding, the unhurried mornings and a little room to simply be there. Your advisor tunes the length to your calendar and pace.

As a private, tailored journey it starts from roughly US$22,000 per traveler (double occupancy) and scales with your dates, party and level of privacy — a starting point, never a fixed package price. Your advisor confirms the figure once the itinerary is tailored.

Travel November through March, when the Antarctic summer opens the ice and daylight barely fades; December and January bring peak wildlife, while November delivers pristine snow and March offers the finest whale watching. Your Forest Travel advisor times it to the light, the seasons and your calendar.

A smaller vessel means more time ashore, later stays in the golden light and a route that bends to the day rather than the schedule. It is the difference between visiting the Peninsula and living inside it for a while.

Zodiac cruises threaded quietly between blue icebergs at the mouth of a glaciated fjord. A private landing among a gentoo colony, timed for the low golden light of late evening. A polar plunge into the Southern Ocean followed by a champagne toast on deck. Everything is private and shaped to you.

Yes — because it is built from scratch for your party, it adapts to honeymoons, milestone celebrations, and multigenerational families alike, with the pace, privacy and comfort set to your group.

A Virtuoso member like Forest Travel unlocks room upgrades, daily breakfast, hotel credits and early/late check-out at the finest hotels, plus a dedicated advisor who designs and manages the whole journey — access and service a booking engine can't match.

Expect penguins in the tens of thousands, seals hauled out on the ice, and whales feeding along the peninsula. A private yacht lets the itinerary bend to the wildlife rather than a fixed schedule, lingering at a humpback sighting or repositioning overnight toward a gentoo or chinstrap colony. Late-season voyages in February and March bring the strongest whale activity, while November and December favor courting penguins and pristine, untracked snow.

Yes. Because you charter the vessel privately, the day flexes to the light: early Zodiac launches for low-angle sun on the ice, extended shore time at a single colony, and repositioning toward the compositions you want. Your advisor can arrange a dedicated photography guide, kayaks for water-level angles, and unhurried landings that a group ship's timetable rarely allows. Antarctic summer daylight barely fades, giving you golden conditions across long stretches of the day.

A privately chartered ice-class yacht reaches landing sites well beyond the standard circuit: quiet bays, seldom-visited colonies, and stretches of the peninsula where you may see no other vessel. Zodiacs and, where conditions permit, kayaks carry you ashore on the expedition team's reading of ice and weather rather than a fixed roster. The itinerary is drawn each morning around what the ice allows, so no two days repeat.

A private Antarctic journey from US$22,000 per traveler typically includes the chartered ice-class yacht, all Zodiac landings and expedition-team guiding, cabins, meals and beverages aboard, and polar gear such as parkas and boots. Your advisor also arranges the flights and city stays that bracket the voyage, often through Buenos Aires or Santiago, with Virtuoso privileges at the finest luxury hotels. Airfare to South America and personal extras generally sit outside the fare.

A dedicated expedition team guides every day: naturalists, polar-experienced Zodiac drivers, and often a glaciologist or ornithologist who read the ice and interpret the wildlife. On a private charter the guiding is yours alone, so landings, briefings and pace follow your group rather than a full ship. Your Forest Travel advisor matches the team to your interests, whether that leans toward photography, wildlife, or a first polar journey for the family.

Most private journeys begin in South America, sailing from Ushuaia, Argentina, across the Drake Passage to the peninsula in about two days each way. A faster option flies you over the Drake to King George Island, where you board the yacht, ideal if time is short or open seas concern you. Your advisor arranges the connecting flights and a night or two in Buenos Aires or Santiago to bracket the expedition comfortably.