The Grand Southern Ocean

A single destination goes deep; the grand voyage goes wide, tracing the whole geography of the Southern Ocean in one continuous journey. If you have the weeks and want the definitive expedition, this is the one that leaves nothing out.

They are part of the experience, not filler. This voyage spends weeks at sea, and the finest expedition vessels make the long crossings comfortable. Naturalists turn the open-water days into a moving classroom of albatross and whales, naming every wing overhead. Our advisors suggest choosing a suite you love, since it makes the sea days a pleasure, and then simply settling in and enjoying them.

Pack a wardrobe that runs from windproof shells to sun layers. The landings on this voyage vary widely: the tussock and nesting birds of the Falklands, the king penguin beaches of South Georgia, and the ice and glaciated channels of the Antarctic Peninsula. That variety rewards flexible layers, especially as the journey runs through the Antarctic summer, when daylight barely fades.

The voyage opens with a landing in the Falklands among the tussock and nesting birds, continues to a run of days on the king penguin beaches of South Georgia, and then crosses into the ice and glaciated channels of the Antarctic Peninsula. Long open-ocean days among albatross link the three, and you watch the wildlife and the ice change character as the latitude climbs.

The Grand Southern Ocean takes 22-26 days. Those weeks trace the full arc of the far south in a single voyage: a landing in the Falklands to open, a run of days on the king penguin beaches of South Georgia, then a crossing into the ice and glaciated channels of the Antarctic Peninsula. Much of the time is spent at sea, where naturalists turn open-water days among albatross and whales into a moving classroom. A suite you love makes those sea days a pleasure.

As a private, tailored journey it starts from roughly US$26,000 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, the Antarctic summer, when the ice opens and daylight barely fades. December and January bring peak wildlife, November delivers pristine snow, and March offers the finest whale watching for the long open-ocean days. Because this voyage links the Falklands, South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula, ask your advisor about the best departure windows for all three regions at once; they time it to the light, the crowds and your calendar.

The Grand Southern Ocean opens with a landing in the Falklands among the tussock grass and nesting birds, arranged privately and shaped to you. It is the first chapter of a voyage on which you watch the wildlife and the ice change character as the latitude climbs, moving on to the king penguin beaches of South Georgia and finally into the glaciated channels of the Antarctic Peninsula.

On The Grand Southern Ocean, South Georgia receives a run of days on its king penguin beaches rather than a single brief stop, timed to see them at their fullest. The days there are arranged privately and shaped to you. December and January bring peak wildlife across the Antarctic summer season, which runs from November through March.

Antarctica is the last true wilderness, a continent with no residents and no crowds, and a private expedition on The Grand Southern Ocean places the great white silence entirely at your own unhurried pace. Your advisor also times the voyage to the light, the crowds and your own calendar, from the Falklands and South Georgia to the ice of the Antarctic Peninsula.