Wildlife Worldwide Voyages Brochure 2023

Wildlife Voyages

Antarctica - Arctic - Brazil - Canada - Dominican Republic

Falklands & South Georgia - Galápagos Islands - Indonesia - Mexico - Scotland

WELCOME

We're thrilled to welcome you to our inaugural Wildlife Voyages brochure. Our collection of voyages takes you to some of the most spectacular and inaccessible locations anywhere on the planet and cover an array of wildlife experiences.

Some places are simply impossible to reach by conventional land travel, or once you get there, there’s nowhere to stay. That’s where expedition cruising comes into its own.

It’s all about exploring, and the vessels we use are equipped with Zodiac inflatables or similar so you can make shore landings as often as is practicable, or at the very least explore a remote environment and see its wildlife from sea level.

Expedition cruises are accompanied by highly trained guides and international experts, and there are multiple opportunities to tap into the team’s wealth of knowledge and experience through the programme of informative talks and illustrated presentations planned for the voyage.

From encounters with bull southern elephant seals fighting for supremacy in the wind-swept wildlife paradise of South Georgia to an audience with a Wilson’s bird of paradise in the steamy rainforests of

the Raja Ampat archipelago, our voyages have one critical thing in common – they would all count as ultimate wildlife adventures on anybody’s bucket list.

Some of our voyages are focused on particular species – our cruise around the Great Bear Rainforest, for example, where the target is the spirit bear – or the voyage around southern Indonesia where Komodo dragons are our quarry. Others, such as Heart of the Amazon voyage, are centred on a particular bio-region.

WELCOME INTRO

But whatever your goal, whether it's the sight of a polar bear on the icy tundra of Svalbard or snorkelling with sea lion pups in the Galápagos, rest assured, we’ve got it covered.

We look forward to welcoming you onboard your next Wildlife Voyage!

Chris Breen Founder

CONTENTS

OUR EXCLUSIVE WILDLIFE VOYAGES

Our collection of Wildlife Voyages includes specially chartered exclusive trips which are highlighted in this brochure. Destinations include the Arctic, Southern Ocean and the Falklands, the Galápagos Islands, Baja California, Scotland and Indonesia. These departures offer a unique opportunity to travel with an expert Wildlife Worldwide Tour Leader (or team) together with an onboard team of experts. All our exclusive voyages are planned to maximise phenomenal wildlife encounters.

TRAVEL INSPIRATION

We send regular e-newsletters with all our latest holidays, news, offers and events, to sign up visit our website. www.wildlifeworldwide.com/subscribe

OPENING HOURS

We're open from 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday.

Great Whales of Mexico’s Pacific Coast

Sail down the Baja peninsula in search of cetaceans, seals and seabirds for the whale adventure of a lifetime.

This voyage heads along the west coast of Baja California and offers the best opportunity for close-up encounters with whales anywhere in the world. In San Ignacio Lagoon, about halfway down this bony finger of desert land, you can gaze eyeball-toeyeball with female grey whales and their newly-born calves, an experience like nothing else on Earth.

And this is just one highlight of a trip that takes us from San Diego in California more than 1,000 kilometres south following the route taken by grey, humpback and blue whales on their annual migration from northern feeding grounds to warm-water locations where they mate and give birth.

Our first stop is Isla San Benito, where we hope to find rare Guadalupe fur seals and northern elephant seals, one of the world’s largest pinnipeds, with

the heaviest weighing more than 2 tonnes. Here, some females are nursing pups, while males compete for territory and the right to a harem.

From there, we carry on to San Ignacio Lagoon and the affable grey whales. There’s no need for us to approach them, they come to us – quite why they're happy to interact in such an intimate way, no one quite knows. Whatever the reason, you’ll surely never forget the experience of watching the world’s friendliest 30-tonne leviathans rub themselves against your dinghy.

A few hundred kilometres further south are the nutrient-rich waters of Magdalena Bay. Offshore we hope to encounter blue whales – the biggest animals that have ever lived.

As we reach the bottom of the peninsula, we come to Cabo San Lucas, and head to Gorda Banks, where there's a good chance of seeing humpbacks, which come here to mate,

indulging in their spectacular breaching behaviour.

For our finale we continue onto the Sea of Cortez for two days of exploration, where there's the possibility of other cetacean

species including sperm, Bryde's and fin whales. There may also be the opportunity for snorkelling and encounters with California sea lions. Finally, there's a good chance of seeing whale sharks before heading home.

Itinerary

Day 1: Depart UK for San Diego. Day 2: Board the MV Searcher & depart after dinner.

Day 3: Sail past Islas Todos Santos.

Day 4: Isla San Benito for northern elephant & Guadalupe seals.

Days 5-6: San Ignacio Lagoon for close encounters with grey whale.

Day 7: Offshore Magdalena Bay for humpbacks, dolphins, turtles & sharks.

Day 8: Cabo San Lucas to see possible humpbacks breaching.

Day 9: Los Islotes for possible whale shark encounters.

Day 10: Isla Cerralvo in the Sea of Cortez.

Day 11: Depart Los Cabos for return to London overnight via Phoenix.

Day 12: Arrive UK.

12 days, from £7,395 (incl. flights) £6,795 (excl. flights)

Departure date: 15 Mar 2024

Embark/Disembark: San Diego/Los Cabos (Mexico)

Vessel: MV Searcher, a 28-metre motor cruiser with room for 24 guests

Tour Leader: Chris Breen

Why book Great Whales of Mexico’s Pacific Coast?

For the extraordinary opportunity of unparalleled interactions with grey whales, plus the chance to see blue, fin and humpbacks.

ཀྵ Close-up and personal

ཀྵ Unique wildlife encounters

ཀྵ Suitable for most ages

ཀྵ Warm climate

ཀྵ Incredible seascapes

Wildlife Highlights

ཀྵ Grey & blue whales

ཀྵ Northern elephant seals

ཀྵ Guadalupe fur seals

ཀྵ California sea lions

ཀྵ Nesting ospreys

Activities

Whale watching, bird walks, snorkelling, island landings

There’s no other voyage like this! While searching for multiple cetacean, pinniped and seabird species, we spend two full days in San Ignacio Lagoon, hoping to interact with Baja’s friendly grey whales – an experience like no other.

Helen Bryon, Wildlife Travel Consultant & Tour Leader

San Diego

Isla San Benito

Ignacio

Great Bear Rainforest

Journey to the north-east Pacific to discover the incredible wildlife of British Columbia’s true wilderness, including the extraordinary honey-coloured spirit bear.

Spread over 70,000 square kilometres – that’s more than three times the size of Wales – of British Columbia’s west coast, the Great Bear Rainforest is the world’s most intact temperate rainforest.

And while renowned for its wildlife that includes predators such as wolves and pumas on land, and humpback whales and orcas in the seemingly endless network of sea channels, this area is most famous for one very rare and special inhabitant – the Kermode or spirit bear.

The spirit bear is a striking, creamy-white ‘morph’ of the black bear that’s found on a few islands off British Columbia's coast. An estimated 10% of these bears possess a double recessive gene that produces their unlikely coloured offspring,

up to 500 individuals in total.

Our trip takes us right into the heart of the rainforest, where moss and lichen-clad Sitka spruces and 1,000-year-old western red cedars create a primaeval environment for our adventure.

The best chance of finding bears is from viewing platforms beside salmon streams where during the late summer and early autumn, all bears (black, brown and white!) feast on salmon in preparation for their winter hibernation. This is the most critical time of year for all of them because, in just a few short weeks, the huge influx of spawning salmon provides an incredible 30-60% of their annual calorie intake.

We explore around the islands of the Great Bear Rainforest aboard one of three beautiful motor sail boats. Though there's no strict schedule, we visit both Princess Royal Island and the Fjordland Conservancy at some point during the trip.

While cruising, we're constantly on the lookout for humpback whales which come here to feed on krill that proliferate in the cold, rich waters, plus killer whales, or orcas, Dall’s porpoises and

Looking upwards, we should see plenty of bald eagles, as well as woodpeckers, owls and seabirds such as common murres and rhinoceros auklets.

Pacific white-sided dolphins.

Itinerary

Day 1: Board your vessel in Terrace or Bella Bella & set sail for the Great Bear Rainforest.

Days 2-4: Explore Fjordland Conservancy, looking for bears feeding on salmon.

Days 5-6: Sail around the Central Coast visiting places such as Campania Sound & Whale Channel - excellent areas for spotting humpback whales & Steller sea lions.

Day 7: Navigate the Princess Royal Island coastline for bears & whales. Visit platforms within the forest to see spirit bears.

Day 8: Return to Terrace or Bella Bella & disembark.

8 days, from £5,845 (voyage only)

Departure dates: Aug-Oct

See pages 28-29 for dates

Embark/Disembark: Terrace/ Bella Bella or vice versa or Terrace/Terrace

Vessels: Island Odyssey, Island

Solitude & Island Roamer

Why book Great Bear Rainforest?

To cruise the myriad sea channels in the world's most intact temperate rainforest and to see the rare spirit bear, as well as a host of other wildlife.

ཀྵ True wilderness

ཀྵ Dramatic scenery

ཀྵ Wildlife of the north-east Pacific

ཀྵ Intimate small vessel

Wildlife Highlights

ཀྵ Spirit or Kermode bear

ཀྵ Grizzly & black bears

ཀྵ Humpback whales

ཀྵ Orcas & other dolphins

ཀྵ Bald eagles

Activities

Shore & forest excursions, bear watching, sea kayaking, First Nations village visit

Bears are perhaps the most endearing of all land mammals, whales the most endearing in the sea, and the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia is the very best place to encounter both.

Chris Breen, Wildlife Worldwide Founder

Canada

Pacific Ocean

Bella Bella

Terrace

Princess Royal Island

Voyage to the Heart of the Amazon

Take to the waterways of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest in search of its unique wildlife, including river dolphins, giant river otters, primates, caimans and a wide variety of birds.

Whilst recognised as the world's largest rainforest and one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, the Amazon does not give up its secrets easily. There's one guaranteed way to unlock its timeless mysteries, however, and that’s to get on a boat.

Starting in Manaus, the gateway of the Amazon, this voyage takes us up the Rio Negro, the Amazon tributary that tumbles out of Colombia and into undisturbed areas of a region nearly 30 times the size of the UK. Here, in sundappled patches of virgin forest, we’ll encounter some of the most iconic as well as surprising species of this celebrated biome.

Slipping gently through the quiet backwaters of the Rio Negro, toucans and kingfishers are regular sightings. Caimans

nose silently into the water as they hear us approaching, while capybara – the world’s largest rodents – sit proudly in family groups along the riverbank.

We spend our time in a number of different craft – we’ll live and sleep aboard a traditional riverboat, MY Tucano, purpose built for Amazon exploration. But to access the narrowest, shallowest creeks and allow us to set foot on dry land when needed, we’ll take to motorised canoes or even pilot ourselves in small river kayaks.

We visit oxbow lakes, geological features of meandering rivers cut off from the main channel. Here, giant river otters forage for piranhas and even the occasional caiman. In this, their natural habitat, we’ll see why they're called the Amazon’s river wolves. Rainforest monkeys will be a regular feature in the canopy with howler, squirrel, capuchin and saki monkeys all likely to be seen. In cecropia trees we may be fortunate enough to find a threetoed sloth ambling slowly through

the branches while colourful macaws make daily flyovers. Other charismatic species are present but rarely seen - jaguars haunt the shorelines in search of prey, while Brazilian tapirs wander the dark forest interiors.

We return to Manaus via the ‘meeting of the waters’, where the Amazon and Negro flow alongside each other for several miles before finally merging into one river – leaving us with the memories of a lifetime.

Itinerary

Day 1: Board MY Tucano & head upstream on the River Negro, visiting some of the seldom-seen corners of the Amazon Rainforest.

Days 2-5: Explore the network of forested islands, flooded varzea & dense terra firme forests of the Rio Negro catchment in motorised canoes, kayaks & on foot. Search for a wealth of birdlife, primates & of course Amazon river dolphins in the company of an expert naturalist guide. In the evenings, we enjoy night walks or boat trips for nocturnal wildlife, enjoying the magnificent starlit skies if conditions allow.

Day 6: Return downstream to the confluence of the Amazon & Negro & spend the evening docked at Manaus.

Day 7: Disembark in Manaus.

7 days, from £5,685 (voyage only)

Departure dates: Jun-Dec

See pages 28-29 for dates

Embark/Disembark: Manaus/ Manaus

Vessel: MY Tucano, a traditional Amazon riverboat with 9 cabins

Why book Voyage to the Heart of the Amazon?

To explore the largest tropical rainforest on Earth and visit its seasonally flooded forests and oxbow lakes.

ཀྵ Immersive rainforest experience

ཀྵ Iconic flora & fauna

ཀྵ Traditional riverboat

Wildlife Highlights

ཀྵ Giant river otters

ཀྵ Macaws, toucans & kingfishers

ཀྵ River dolphins

ཀྵ Reptiles & amphibians

ཀྵ Amazonian monkeys

Activities

Motorised canoe trips, forest walks, kayaking, swimming, indigenous village

From Amazon river dolphins splashing next to the boat to a pair of scarlet macaws flying overhead or waking to the sound of howler monkeys, this special cruise along the spectacular Rio Negro is the perfect introduction to the world's greatest rainforest.

Ian Loyd, Wildlife Product Manager

Brazil

Manaus

Rio Negro

Rio Solimoes

Snorkelling with Humpbacks on Silver Bank

North of the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean, the seabed forms an underwater bank where humpback whales gather to give birth, resulting in vast numbers of mothers and calves. Swimming with the humpbacks of the Silver Bank Sanctuary is one of the most remarkable whale watching experiences anywhere in the world.

In the four months from January to April, up to 3,000 individuals gather here – pregnant mothers to give birth, others to meet and mate – making it the largest gathering of this species in the North Atlantic.

Every care is taken to ensure our presence does not negatively impact the whales in any way with visitor numbers to Silver Bank being very carefully controlled. With only three commercial ecotourism vessels permitted here, it's perhaps the most exclusive whale watching destination in the world.

So imagine the scene – you’re in

a gentle swell in the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea, out of sight of land and wearing a mask and snorkel. You duck under the surface to scan the water and initially, it’s just deep, deep blue all around you. Then, from the depths below comes a hard-todistinguish shape that you realise is a humpback whale. And, not only that, it’s accompanied by a calf that would have been born here at Silver Bank earlier in the year.

The pair slowly approach to within 10 metres or so, then effortlessly move away again. And for half an hour or so the pair are content to be watched by us human interlopers in their environment.

And being in the water with the whales, we won't just be able to watch them, we can listen to them too - their haunting song echoing through the water, and the sound of their pectoral fins and tails as they slap them on the surface of the water.

If this wasn’t enough, it’s

not just humpback whales you can expect to encounter here as the marine sanctuary is also a refuge for dolphins and rays. With twice-daily excursions, there are plenty of opportunities to immerse yourself in the

This is perhaps one of the most unusual of the trips that we offer anywhere on Earth.

Atlantic Ocean.

Itinerary

Day 1: Board Turks & Caicos

Aggressor in Puerto Plata. Depart for Silver Bank around midnight.

Days 2-6: Morning & afternoon excursions to swim with humpback whales. Our objective will be for you to spend as much time in the water as possible with the whales as long as they're comfortable with it. Schedules may vary slightly depending on how the whales behave.

Day 7: Final excursion into the water, before departing for Dominican Republic at lunchtime. Day 8: Disembark in Puerto Plata.

8 days, from £3,745 (voyage only)

Departure dates: Jan-Apr

See pages 28-29 for dates

Embark/Disembark: Puerto Plata/Puerto Plata

Vessel: Turks & Caicos

Aggressor, a comfortable motor cruiser accommodating 18 passengers

Why book Snorkelling with Humpbacks on Silver Bank?

For the most intimate of encounters with one of the largest animals on the planet in the safe surroundings of the Caribbean Sea.

ཀྵ Bucket-list adventure

ཀྵ Wildlife encounters

ཀྵ Caribbean experience

Wildlife Highlights

ཀྵ Humpback whales

ཀྵ Bryde’s whales

ཀྵ Bottlenose & spinner dolphins

ཀྵ Southern stingrays

Activities

Boat excursions, swimming & snorkelling, whale watching, birdwatching

This is surely the most incredible of all the whale watching trips that are possible to enjoy - snorkelling in the Caribbean with humpback whales, seeing them underwater and even hearing them singing. It must go right to the top of the bucket list!

Chris Breen - Wildlife Worldwide Founder

Puerto Plata

Haiti

Silver Bank

Dominican Republic

Raja Ampat's Birds of Paradise

Few birds fire the imagination like the remarkable birds of paradise, so why not head to Indonesia’s Coral Triangle to witness the most extraordinary courtship displays by the most beautiful birds anywhere on Earth.

The humid rainforests of New Guinea and a myriad of islands to the west are a living laboratory demonstrating sexual selection in action, with birds of paradise as the test subjects. Over tens of thousands of years, in isolation from mainland species, the females’ aesthetic choices have driven the evolution of this spectacular group of birds.

And our trip to the Raja Ampat and Maluku archipelagos, which pockmark the Halmahera Sea, will give us a ringside seat at this process in action. Cruising from island to island in the 35-metre sailing yacht Katharina, we watch the sophisticated courtship dances of the elaborately attired males from very close quarters.

There will be at least six bird

of paradise species, out of 44 known, in our sights. Wilson’s bird of paradise, with its dazzling array of electric blue, yellow, red and green plumage, not to mention the violet tail feathers that end in delicate curls resembling fancy ironwork is perhaps the most spectacular, but they're all truly stunning.

Unlike most other members of its family, the male Wilson’s bird of paradise displays at ground level, exploiting shafts of light piercing the forest canopy to inflame his bright colours. Other forest fauna you should see includes the glossy-mantled manucode, the gorgeously iridescent bird of paradise with its purple-black, blue and green plumage.

Another key target is the lek of the king bird of paradise in Salawati Forest on the island of Pulau Gam. Perhaps not quite as striking as Wilson’s, this species has the most extraordinary of all the leks we're likely to witness, with green-tipped tufts fanning out from its shoulders and tail wires held high above its head.

Bird of paradise courtship dances are beautiful and mesmeric for humans to watch, as they must be for the females, who choose their mates on the basis of which of them has the brightest feathers and the

most-alluring dance steps. It’s this process, performed and perfected over millions of years, which has driven the evolution of the male’s extraordinary plumage.

Itinerary

Day 1: UK to Dubai.

Day 2: Dubai to Jakarta.

Days 3-4: Jakarta to Sorong, West Papua for two nights at Kasuari Valley Beach Resort.

Day 5: Board the Katharina & begin exploring the Raja Ampat archipelago.

Day 6: Salawati Forest for king bird of paradise.

Day 7: Explore Misool for lesser bird of paradise.

Day 8: Explore Misool for more birdlife & snorkelling.

Days 9-10: Explore Kofiau for localised birdlife & coral reefs.

Day 11: Mioskon Island for red bird of paradise.

Day 12: Explore Pulau Waigeo in search of Wilson’s bird of paradise lek.

Day 13: Depart Sorong for Jakarta & then on to Dubai.

Day 14: Dubai to UK.

14 days, from £10,350 (incl. flights) £9,550 (excl. flights)

Departure date: 19 Nov 2024

Embark/Disembark: Sorong/ Sorong

Vessel: Katharina

Tour Leader: Terry Goble

Why book Raja Ampat’s Birds of Paradise?

For intimate encounters with perhaps the world’s most beautiful birds, and serene sailing through jewel-like islands.

ཀྵ Stunning island scenery

ཀྵ Fascinating birdlife

ཀྵ Superb motorised yacht

ཀྵ Mind-blowing snorkelling

Wildlife Highlights

ཀྵ Wilson’s bird of paradise

ཀྵ King, red & lesser birds of paradise

ཀྵ Excellent variety of other rainforest bird species

ཀྵ Waiego spotted cuscus & Papuan frogmouth

ཀྵ Dolphins & pristine reefs

Activities

Birdwatching, snorkelling, hikes, dolphin watching

Our trip has many highlights: Wilson's bird of paradise in its iridescent splendour; playful dolphins leaping around the bow; the adorable spotted cuscus, and a backdrop of verdant forests, stunning islands and beautiful night skies. These images will stay with you long after you return.

Terry Goble, Tour Leader

Wildlife of Indonesia with Mike Dilger

Visit the remote islands of southern Indonesia for fascinating encounters with Sumatran orangutans, black-crested macaques and one of the world's most extraordinary reptiles.

It’s not just the world’s largest lizard, a 3-metre behemoth that inspired stories about mythological dragons, but it’s also the top predator on the islands where it lives. And while the Komodo dragon may not be able to breathe real fire, it does possess a toxic bite that's just as deadly to its prey.

If an encounter with such a beast is not a reason to fly halfway around the world, then the rest of this trip with renowned wildlife expert and presenter Mike Dilger certainly is. The strange, unique fauna of Sulawesi, the aweinspiring Sumatran orangutan in one of the world’s oldest rainforests or the fabulous snorkelling on the island of Komodo itself, are just a few of the many highlights.

This unique trip will also be an introduction to Alfred Russel Wallace. It was Wallace’s natural history expeditions to the Malay Archipelago that helped him establish a theory of evolution that almost stole Darwin’s thunder.

We first explore Tangkoko National Park at the northern tip of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, where the endemic black-crested macaques, along with the tiny insectivorous spectral tarsier, curious bear cuscus and colourful knobbed hornbill will be among our targets.

From Tangkoko, we fly to northern Sumatra to discover the biologically complex rainforests of the vast Leuser ecosystem. Here we explore Gunung Leuser National Park, one of the last strongholds for some of the island's most iconic, yet endangered mammals. The awe inspiring Sumatran orangutan and acrobatic siamang gibbon will be among the targets.

For the finale, we head south

to Flores, where we board a traditional Indonesian phinisi – a two-masted wooden yacht – and set sail for Komodo itself. It won’t be long before we encounter the dragons that bear the island’s name. We have ample opportunity

to admire the magnificent lizards, while looking out for the other wildlife. During our final days cruising, we have the chance to enjoy world-class snorkelling, where we’ll find a great diversity of corals, fish and even manta rays.

Itinerary

Day 1: UK to Jakarta.

Day 2: Overnight in Jakarta.

Day 3: Fly to Manado, Sulawesi.

Days 4-5: Excursions in Tangkoko National Park.

Day 6: Return to Jakarta.

Day 7: Jakarta to Medan & on to Bukit Lawang, Sumatra.

Days 8-10: Excursions in Gunung Leuser National Park.

Day 11: Return to Jakarta.

Day 12: Fly to Labuan Bajo.

Day 13: Board the Tiger Blue & sail to Sabayor Kecil.

Day 14: Day to explore Rinca & Manta Point.

Day 15: Mauan & Kode’s reefs.

Day 16: Komodo & Padar Islands.

Day 17: Final morning on Komodo. Sail back to Labuan Bajo for flight onto Jakarta.

Day 18: Return to UK, via Dubai.

18 days, from £9,995 (incl. flights) £9,195 (excl. flights)

Departure date: 6 Oct 2025

Embark/Disembark: Labuan

Bajo (Flores)/Labuan Bajo

Vessel: Tiger Blue, a traditional two-masted boat sleeping 12 guests

Tour Leader: Mike Dilger

Why book Wildlife of Indonesia with Mike Dilger?

For close-up encounters with the world’s largest lizard, plus a chance to get to know the unique wildlife of this unexplored part of the world.

ཀྵ Fascinating range of primates

ཀྵ Traditional yacht

ཀྵ Island hopping

ཀྵ World-class snorkelling

Wildlife Highlights

ཀྵ Black-crested macaque

ཀྵ Bear cuscus & spectral tarsier

ཀྵ Sumatran orangutan

ཀྵ Siamang gibbon

ཀྵ Komodo dragons

Activities

Wildlife walks, snorkelling, birdwatching

This awe-inspiring Indonesian odyssey through the Malay Archipelago will take in the finest wildlife this island chain has to offer. Visiting everything from Sumatra in the west, to Lombok in the east, we’ll be ogling at orangs, listening to lar gibbons and of course dining with dragons!

Mike Dilger, Tour Leader

Indonesia

Manado

Tangkoko National Park

Denpasar Rinca

Komodo Labuan Bajo

Shiant's Spectacular Puffins

Join award-winning photographer Kevin Morgans, author of Puffins: Life On The Atlantic Edge, for a photographic cruise to the Shiant Isles. These seldomvisited islands in the Outer Hebrides are a vital breeding site for seabirds - especially photogenic Atlantic puffins. Around ten per cent of the UK’s puffins breed here, and its 150-metre-high cliffs of black basalt make a spectacular backdrop.

After meeting Kevin in Ullapool, we take the ferry to Stornoway, with an opportunity to look for seabirds and marine mammals as we cross The Minch – the stretch of water separating mainland Scotland with the Inner Hebrides. On arrival, we board our vessel and head south along the Lewis coastline, keeping watch for seals, otters and birds including white-tailed eagles.

A former fishing boat, the MV Monadhliath has been transformed for wildlife observation in the Hebrides,

with two stern platforms that provide unrivalled views. The vessel accommodates up to nine guests, while the experienced crew ensure a relaxing and enjoyable voyage.

We dedicate two full days to exploring the rugged Shiant Isles south-east of Lewis. As the only uninhabited island group in The Minch, they provide sanctuary to an abundance of seabirds. Atlantic puffins nest here in thousands, along with guillemots, razorbills, fulmars, kittiwakes, shags and great skuas. The grassy slopes of Garbh Eilean host the largest puffin colonies, as the soft ground is ideal for burrowing, and the sight and sound of seabirds going to and fro between the sea and their nests create an astounding spectacle.

We devote another day to searching The Minch for marine life: minke whales, common and Risso's dolphins, harbour porpoise and basking shark are all regular visitors, and we may also see white-beaked and

bottlenose

We’re in good hands with Kevin as our leader. His photos have been published across the globe and have won multiple

awards; his work with puffins in particular has attracted critical acclaim. The small group format means Kevin can help everyone develop their photographic skills and build an exciting and varied portfolio.

dolphins, humpback and fin whales, and even orcas.

Itinerary

Day 1: Ferry from Ullapool to Stornoway, embark & sail across

The Minch to the Shiant Isles.

Days 2-3: Explore the Shiant Isles to photograph the Atlantic puffin colony & other seabirds.

Day 4: Search for cetaceans such as minke whales, common & Risso’s dolphin in The Minch. If we’re lucky we may also encounter white-beaked dolphin, humpback & fin whales.

Day 5: Return to Stornoway, disembark & ferry to Ullapool. 5 days, from £1,995 (voyage only)

Departure date: 17 Jun 2024

Embark/Disembark: Stornoway/Stornoway

Vessel: MV Monadhliath

Tour Leader: Kevin Morgans

Why book Shiant's Spectacular Puffins?

Develop your photographic skills with Kevin Morgans and observe a remote and spectacular seabird colony.

ཀྵ Small vessel voyage

ཀྵ Fabulous bird & marine life

ཀྵ Build an exciting portfolio of images

Wildlife Highlights

ཀྵ Abundant seabirds including Atlantic puffins, shags, razorbills & guillemots

ཀྵ Minke, fin & humpback whales

ཀྵ Common, Risso’s & bottlenose dolphins

ཀྵ White-tailed eagles

Activities

Photography, walking

Exploring the Atlantic by boat is a magical experience as we search for marine life and step foot on the remote Shiants to photograph the charismatic puffin. This is certainly a trip I'm looking forward to.

Kevin Morgans, Tour Leader

Scotland

Ullapool

Stornoway Shiant Isles

The Minch

Whales & Dolphins of the Outer Hebrides

The Minch is perhaps one of the finest places in the United Kingdom for whale and dolphin watching. It's also home to huge populations of seabirds and some of our largest raptors.

The UK has some of the best marine wildlife in the world, and nowhere is it more spectacular and more prolific than the west coast of Scotland. There’s rarely a dull moment as you cruise the Minch – the narrow strait separating the Outer Hebrides from the mainland – in the converted fishing vessel, MV Monadhliath.

Minke whales are Britain’s most common large cetacean, and we’ll most likely find them by spotting a feeding frenzy of plunge-diving gannets and other seabirds. Here we may find the minkes lunge-feeding, a spectacular sight as they accelerate to the surface of the sea with their cavernous mouths wide open to engulf and consume a baitball of fish.

Humpbacks and fin whales are also possible sightings, along with four dolphin species, including the world’s largest –the orca or killer whale – and the blunt-headed, grey-blue Risso’s dolphin, cetaceans more commonly found in deeper sea areas but which seem to love the squid-rich waters of the Minch.

One very special destination for our trip is the Shiant Isles, a small archipelago off the east coast of Harris and renowned for its seabirds, notably puffins, whose summer population numbers over 100,000 birds. This is one of the UK’s most vibrant ‘seabird cities’, a place of constant activity where there's always something of interest to photograph.

The geometric, lichenclad dolerite is very similar in appearance to the rock formations of Staffa and the Giant’s Causeway, and it makes ideal nesting sites for guillemots and razorbills, while waters rich with sand eels surrounding the islands make for good foraging

for all the seabirds.

While the Minch is the main focus of our adventure, with basking sharks – planktoneating sharks that grow to 8 metres long and more – also

on our target list, a couple of land-based trips will present opportunities for spotting whitetailed and golden eagles, and watching otters fishing in the rising tide of an estuary.

Itinerary

Day 1: Ferry from Ullapool to Stornoway, then board MV Monadhliath.

Day 2: Shiant Isles.

Day 3: Whale watching in Broad Bay, North Lewis.

Day 4: Cross the Minch to the mainland looking out for minke whales.

Day 5: Explore the West Coast, looking for orcas & possible eagle sightings.

Day 6: Return to Ullapool for the last chance for whale & dolphin sightings.

6 days, from £2,295 (voyage only)

Departure dates: 14 Aug 2023 & 12 Aug 2024

Embark/Disembark: Stornoway/Stornoway

Vessel: MV Monadhliath, a converted fishing boat accommodating 9 guests

Tour leader: Alexa Kershaw

Why book Whales & Dolphins of the Outer Hebrides?

To experience the best place in the UK for whale watching as well as the spectacular seabird city of the Shiant Isles.

ཀྵ Wildlife cruise closer to home

ཀྵ Bow-riding dolphins

ཀྵ Dramatic seascapes

Wildlife Highlights

ཀྵ Minke whales

ཀྵ Bottlenose & common dolphins

ཀྵ Puffins & other seabirds

ཀྵ Basking sharks

ཀྵ White-tailed eagles

Activities

Whale & dolphin watching, island visits, birdwatching

August is a wonderful time to explore the rich waters of the Outer Hebrides. Days scanning the sea for cetaceans and visiting the isles, nights at anchor in sheltered sea lochs, accompanied by eagles and otters – magical!

Alexa Kershaw, Tour Leader

Scotland

Ullapool

Stornoway Shiant Isles

The Minch

The Galápagos Islands

Located approximately 1,000 kilometres west of continental South America and straddling the equator, the Galápagos Islands are one of the most sought-after wildlife travel destinations in the world. Here, the intimacy of wildlife encounters is unrivalled as you weave your way through colonies of blue-footed boobies performing their elaborate courtship dance or swim with playful, young Galápagos sea lions. Famous too as a location that helped Charles Darwin produce his theory of evolution, the Galápagos Islands hold a significant place in human history.

The Galápagos Islands

Española

Waved albatrosses breed here from AprilDecember. Other seabirds include bluefooted boobies.

Wildlife

Much of the wildlife in the Galápagos is found nowhere else on Earth - including marine iguanas, three species of land iguana, nine species of racer snake, ten species of lava lizard, eight species of gecko and 14 species of giant tortoise (in fact ‘galápago’ is a Spanish term for tortoise).

which may include island landings (both wet and dry) and exploring in the small pangas (dinghies) that each of the boats has.

You'll always be accompanied on excursions by an experienced naturalist guide, and the landings are strictly controlled, with marked trails showing where you can and can't go.

As for dining, all meals will be onboard, with plenty of fresh fish, fruit and vegetables, and it's possible to cater for virtually all dietary requirements.

The Islands

The archipelago consists of 18 major islands spread over more than 200 kilometres but you're likely to visit about half of them. All the islands are rich in wildlife but some have particular strengths.

Isabela

The largest of the islands, and a good location for encountering giant tortoises on its volcanic slopes.

Santa Cruz

Eight out of the 13 species of endemic finches live on Santa Cruz. Off the coast, you may see turtles, sharks and rays.

Santiago & Bartolomé

Expect to see endemics such as the Galápagos dove, hawk and mockingbird, plus land iguanas on Santiago and Galápagos penguins on Bartolomé.

Fernandina

An active volcano, Fernandina is renowned for its large population of land iguanas. Floreana has one of the best snorkelling sites in the archipelago – the Devil’s Crown.

San Cristóbal

The first of the Galápagos Islands Charles Darwin landed on. Home to blue-footed boobies.

Genovesa

Good for breeding fur seals and sea lions and the world’s rarest gull – the lava gull.

Other important endemics include many birds such as Galápagos penguin, Galápagos dove, Galápagos hawk, Galápagos flamingo and several mockingbirds and finches which Darwin made famous through his theory of evolution.

But much of the wildlife that the islands are famous for is not endemic. Three species of booby nest here in large colonies and can be approached without alarming them.

All the native mammals you're likely to see are marine mammals – most notably Galápagos sea lions and Galápagos fur seals, but there's also an endemic species of rice rat that we occasionally see too. And beneath the waves, there's a rich array of fish, sharks and rays to add to the long list of exceptional wildlife that calls this archipelago home.

Getting there

Getting to the Galápagos is easy with all flights departing from Quito in mainland Ecuador and stopping en route at Guayaquil to refuel and collect passengers. There are two commercial airports in the Galápagos: one on Baltra, just north of Santa Cruz, and the other on San Cristóbal. Voyages start and end at either of these airports.

What to Expect

All voyages in the Galápagos follow the same blueprint, visiting different islands each day. To enable you to visit various islands the vessels often sail overnight, so you arrive at your new destination in the morning. There are generally two excursions each day

Tea and coffee are available whenever you want them, and there's free time to read or relax in shared spaces above deck or in your cabin.

Experiences & Activities

Wildlife watching is the primary activity in the Galápagos, but there are plenty of different ways to enjoy the natural cornucopia. Wildlife photography is popular with most visitors, and you'll find much of the wildlife remarkably habituated to humans - it simply isn't concerned by our presence at all.

Most vessels offer snorkelling every day, which will be the trip's highlight for many. Turtles, sharks, rays and a huge variety of fish species can be seen safely and quite easily.

Kayaking is also possible on many boats and the seas around the islands, which tend to be relatively calm and safe, making this activity something that even novices can enjoy.

Fernandina

Isabela

Santiago

Santa Cruz

Floreana Española

San Cristóbal

Genovesa

Bartolomé

The Galápagos Islands Wildlife Calendar

The Galápagos is an incredible location, with most of the animals and birds visible year-round. From lizards and iguanas to giant tortoises, sea lions and fur seals, cormorants, flamingos and boobies, to frigatebirds and penguins, the islands are rich with magnificent wildlife. There’s so much to see, and there really is no ‘best time’ to visit; it’s fabulous throughout the year. The archipelago is generally warmer and wetter between December and May, and between June and November, it’s cooler and drier, during which cooler ocean currents attract more marine life.

ཀྵ On Española, adult marine iguanas are at their most brightly coloured

ཀྵ Green sea turtles arrive on the beaches to lay their eggs

ཀྵ Land birds begin their courtship and nesting rituals

ཀྵ Galápagos sea lions are at the end of their mating season

ཀྵ Giant tortoises begin to hatch

ཀྵ Flamingos begin to nest on Floreana

ཀྵ Start of the black-tailed pintail breeding season

ཀྵ Marine iguanas begin to nest on Santa Cruz

ཀྵ Courtship of magnificent frigatebirds begins on North Seymour

ཀྵ The optimum time to see nesting Galápagos doves

March

ཀྵ Marine iguanas nest on Fernandina

ཀྵ On 21st March, the equinox heralds the arrival of the first waved albatross on Española

ཀྵ Frigatebirds nest on San Cristóbal and Genovesa

ཀྵ Start of the nesting period for Galápagos penguins and flightless cormorants

ཀྵ Wildflowers bloom in the highlands

ཀྵ Waved albatrosses arrive en-masse on Española to start their courtship

ཀྵ Giant tortoise hatching season comes to an end

ཀྵ Green sea turtle eggs start to hatch

ཀྵ Land iguana eggs hatch on Isabela

ཀྵ The best time to see Galápagos penguins on Isabela

ཀྵ North Seymour’s blue-footed boobies begin their courtship

ཀྵ Green sea turtles hatch at Gardner Bay (Hood), Punta Cormorant (Floreana) and Puerto Egas (Santiago)

ཀྵ Waved albatross on Española begin laying their eggs

ཀྵ Band-rumped storm petrels begin their first nesting period

ཀྵ Migrating humpback whales are seen between now and September

ཀྵ Giant tortoises migrate from the Santa Cruz highlands in search of nesting sites

ཀྵ Southern migrant birds begin their northward journey – Galápagos is an important landfall

ཀྵ Blue-footed boobies begin their courtship rituals on North Seymour

ཀྵ The peak nesting season for seabirds

ཀྵ A great time to see all four stages of nesting blue-footed boobies on Española - eggs, chicks, juveniles and sub-adults

ཀྵ Flightless cormorants perform beautiful courtship rituals and nest on Fernandina

ཀྵ Lava lizards begin mating rituals

ཀྵ One of the best months to see whales and dolphins

ཀྵ Galápagos hawks begin courtship displays on Española and Santiago

ཀྵ Nazca boobies and swallow-tailed gulls nest on Genovesa

ཀྵ Migrant waders begin to arrive, and stay until March

ཀྵ Giant tortoises return to the highlands on Santa Cruz after laying their eggs

ཀྵ Galápagos sea lions begin to give birth

ཀྵ Galápagos penguins are at their most active on Bartolomé with courtship

ཀྵ Galápagos sea lions are very active – females are in season, and males constantly bark and fight

ཀྵ Blue-footed boobies are nesting on some of the islands

ཀྵ A good month for migrating humpbacks off the coast

ཀྵ Lava herons start nest building and continue until March

ཀྵ Galápagos fur seals begin mating

ཀྵ Blue-footed boobies raise their chicks on Española and Isabela

ཀྵ Giant tortoises still lay eggs in some places

ཀྵ The beaches are teeming with sea lions and their pups

ཀྵ Galápagos sea lion pupping continues

ཀྵ The breeding season for brown noddies begins

ཀྵ Jellyfish can be seen in the water around the islands

ཀྵ Band-rumped storm petrels begin their second nesting period.

ཀྵ Migrating waders begin arriving from North America in good numbers

ཀྵ Giant tortoise’s eggs begin to hatch, lasting until April

ཀྵ Green sea turtles begin their mating display

ཀྵ The first young waved albatrosses fledge and won’t return until April

ཀྵ Marine iguanas and land iguanas begin their mating rituals

Galápagos Wildlife Cruise

Head for the world’s most famous wildlife islands for remarkable encounters with iconic wildlife and to follow in the footsteps of one of the greatest naturalists of all time.

While the Galápagos Islands are best known for the plethora of species that can be found nowhere else in the world and as the living laboratory that helped Charles Darwin formulate his theory of evolution, any visit here is arguably most memorable for the fantastic intimacy of these wildlife encounters. This is because many species have evolved without natural predators and have little fear of other animals – including humans.

Fauna falls into two main categories. First and foremost are the endemics, many of which are unique in their appearance and behaviour. These include marine iguanas, the only lizards in the world that forage in the sea and are renowned for the row of spines along their backs that give them a fearsome and utterly unique appearance.

On Fernandina, there’s an opportunity to snorkel with these amazing reptiles as they feed on underwater algae.

Other notable endemics are giant tortoises, flightless cormorants and the 13 species of finch that so critically influenced Darwin’s thinking. Everything from the Galápagos penguin (the only penguin found in the Northern Hemisphere) to the Galápagos mockingbird are likely to be seen.

And that’s not forgetting the Galápagos sea lions and fur seals, like much of the wildlife so unafraid of humans you can swim with them from some beaches. Snorkelling is also a must-do daily activity, allowing you to glide over schools of huge rays and other tropical fish.

Then there are the creatures that are found in other parts of the world but which you can observe here with unparalleled ease. One of the great joys of a trip to the Galápagos is meandering slowly through nesting colonies of bluefooted, red-footed and Nazca

boobies, watching their tender, elaborate courtship dances.

We visit ten different islands during this exceptional 12-night voyage aboard the 36-metre MV Beluga – the perfect place

to relax after a busy day on the wildlife trail.

We offer two departures for this trip, one led by Helen Bryon and the other with Mark Carwardine and Chris Breen.

Itinerary

Day 1: Depart UK & arrive Quito. Day 2: Depart Quito & arrive San Cristóbal. Board MV Beluga.

Day 3: Española Island. Day 4: Floreana.

Day 5: Santa Cruz & Santiago Islands.

Day 6: Genovesa.

Days 7-8: Santa Cruz & Rabida.

Days 9-12: Isabela & Fernandina. Days 13: Santiago & Bartolomé Island.

Day 14: Depart Baltra Airport for UK arriving Day 15.

Embark/Disembark: San Cristóbal/Baltra

Vessel: Beluga

Galápagos Wildlife Cruise 15 days, from £11,395 (incl. flights) £10,595 (excl. flights).

Departure date: 17 Apr 2025

Tour Leader: Helen Bryon

Galápagos Exclusive with Mark Carwardine 15 days, from £13,995 (incl. flights) £13,195 (excl. flights)

Departure date: 1 May 2025

Tour Leaders: Mark Carwardine & Chris Breen

Why book Galápagos

Wildlife Cruise?

To observe the iconic wildlife of this famous archipelago in the company of a passionate and knowledgeable wildlife guide and aboard a comfortable and spacious motor cruiser.

ཀྵ Endemic species

ཀྵ Close encounters

ཀྵ Fascinating history

ཀྵ Expert-led departures

Wildlife Highlights

ཀྵ Galápagos sea lions

ཀྵ Marine & land iguanas

ཀྵ Red, blue-footed & Nazca boobies

ཀྵ Giant tortoises

Activities

Wildlife watching, snorkelling, swimming, photography, walking

The Galápagos is a place of pure magic, that hasn't changed since the world began. To walk amongst albatrosses, boobies and frigatebirds is one thing, but to swim with sea lions, turtles and marine iguanas is quite another.

Chris Breen, Wildlife Worldwide Founder

The Galápagos Islands

Galápagos Islands Highlights

The Galápagos Islands are one of the most sought-after wildlife destinations in the world. In addition to our exclusive Galápagos Wildlife Cruises, we offer further trips, each taking in different parts of this unique archipelago.

The Western Galápagos itinerary takes in some of the bigger islands including Isabela and Fernandina. Three days are scheduled to explore Isabela where you'll discover iconic species that include marine iguanas, bluefooted boobies and giant tortoises.

Another of the bigger islands, Santiago, offers an equally impressive range, including Galápagos sea lions and fur seals plus endemic birds such as the Galápagos hawk and many of Darwin’s finches.

The Eastern Galápagos trip takes you to some of the smaller and more dispersed islands such as Española, Santa Fe and South Plaza. Española specialities include a breeding colony of the world’s most northerly (and only tropical) albatross – the waved albatross – while on Santa Fe, you encounter its endemic land iguana, one of three species unique to the Galápagos.

Both trips can be experienced on a variety of vessels. Whichever you choose, you'll certainly enjoy a fantastic cruise around these islands.

Itinerary - Western Galápagos Highlights

Day 1: Arrive Baltra & board your vessel. Later visit the Charles Darwin Research Station.

Day 2: Visit Sombrero Chino for wildlife spotting & Rabida Island to see flamingos & pelican nesting sites.

Days 3-5: Three days visiting Isabela, the largest of the archipelago, where highlights include sightings of Galápagos penguins, green turtles, flamingos & rays. Endemic land iguanas & giant tortoises should also be encountered.

Day 6: A still active volcano, Fernandina has good populations of must-see species such as Galápagos sea lions & marine iguanas, plus nesting blue-footed & Nazca boobies.

Day 7: Visit Santiago for a variety of seabirds, marine iguanas & fur seals. Continue to Bartolomé for swimming & snorkelling.

Day 8: Return to Santa Cruz via North Seymour for blue-footed booby colonies, magnificent frigatebirds & endemic Palo Santo trees.

8 days, from £4,545 (voyage only)

Departure dates: Jan-Dec (weekly)

Embark/Disembark: Baltra/Baltra

Vessel: Beluga

Itinerary - Eastern Galápagos Highlights

Day 1: Arrive Baltra & board your vessel. Later visit the Charles Darwin Research Station & enjoy a couple of landing sites.

Day 2: Visit the South Plaza Islands & Santa Fe, home to beautiful white sand & calm turquoise waters. South Plaza island is home to a healthy population of land iguanas.

Day 3: At Cerro Brujo on San Cristóbal, swim with Galápagos sea lions & encounter bluefooted boobies & brown pelicans.

Day 4: Visit Española where highlights include a waved albatross breeding colony & marine iguanas.

Day 5: Snorkelling at Champion Islet on Floreana with fish, rays, sharks & sea lions.

Day 6: Visit Dragon Hill with its hypersaline lagoon, often frequented by flamingos. Nearby James Island offers a wide variety of wildlife.

Day 7: The steep cliffs of Darwin Bay on Genovesa dominate the island, home to thousands of birds, frigatebirds, red-footed boobies & Noddy terns, to name a few.

Day 8: Return to Baltra on Santa Cruz via Black Turtle Cove.

8 days, from £4,545 (voyage only)

Departure dates: Jan-Dec (weekly)

Embark/Disembark: Baltra/Baltra

Vessel: Beluga

Our Galápagos Islands Vessels

Passengers: 16

Type: Superior Motor Yacht

Length: 34 m

Cruising speed: 12 knots

The Beluga is a charming and surprisingly spacious motor cruiser featuring eight cabins, a delightful bar and dining area and a large sundeck, perfect for sightseeing.

Passengers: 20

Type: Luxury Expedition Yacht

Length: 43 m

Cruising speed: 12 knots

This luxury yacht boasts superb social areas including a stylish lounge, bar, and library. Cabins are sophisticated and spacious and enjoy panoramic views.

Passengers: 14

Type: Sail Catamaran

Length: 22 m

Cruising speed: 9 knots

The Nemo II is a sail catamaran boasting six cabins, each varying in size and configuration. On board facilities include a sun deck, bar and outside dining area.

Passengers: 16

Type: Catamaran

Length: 28 m

Cruising speed: 10 knots

The Anahi is a stable and comfortable ship with wellappointed cabins. Social areas include a relaxing lounge, bar, and sun deck with hot tub.

Passengers: 48

Type: Luxury Motor Cruiser

Length: 64 m

Cruising speed: 10 knots

La Pinta boasts 24 spacious cabins with floor-to-ceiling windows, a wellstocked library, a lecture area with cinema screen, inside and outside dining areas and a choice of bars.

Passengers: 16

Type: Sailing Yacht

Length: 66 m

Cruising speed: 8 knots

The Mary Anne is an elegant ship with an astonishing 1,000 metres of canvas sail. Featuring a traditionalstyle lounge, bar, dining area, and 12 well-appointed cabins.

This is a selection of the vessels that we use for our Galápagos voyages. For further details on all the vessels we can offer, please visit our visit our website or speak to our expert team.

La Pinta

Beluga

Nemo II

Anahi

Mary Anne

Origin

Worldwide Voyages Calendar 2023-2025

To request a detailed day-to-day itinerary and to book any of our wildlife voyages, please call our expert team on 01962 302055

All holiday prices shown are based on two people sharing a room/cabin and include wildlife activities. Flight inclusive prices from the UK also include transfers. Single supplements on request.

Polar Expedition Voyages

To visit the Arctic and Antarctic is to travel to regions like nowhere else on Earth. These frozen lands are home to some of the world's most unique wildlife and offer unforgettable wildlife encounters, from seeing the iconic polar bear, to sitting amidst huge colonies of penguins in a vast, icy wilderness. We arrange dedicated charters to the Arctic and Antarctic, as well as tailor-made options on hand-picked vessels and recommended itineraries.

Visiting the Polar Regions

As the most remote locations on the planet, trips to both the Arctic and Antarctic can be time-consuming and complex adventuresbut the rewards once you’re there are out of this world. The Arctic is home to the world's largest terrestrial predator, the polar bear, as well as gargantuan marine species such as walruses. Penguins – from emperor to Adelie – are the specialities of Antarctica, but it’s also a feeding ground for a multitude of great whales, most notably humpback, minke and blue. Seal-predating orcas are also common. Perhaps best of all, there’s rarely a dull moment – if there’s no wildlife to be seen, then there’s always the stupendous landscape to gaze upon in awe.

How to Choose your Polar Voyage

All of our trips take place on specialist polar vessels that are comfortable for those on board while being able to access the remotest areas.

Our shortest trip to Antarctica (in which you fly across the Drake Passage) lasts seven days, excluding the days required to reach the departure point of Punta Arenas in southern Chile. Our longest, the Great Antarctic Voyage, which takes in the Antarctic Peninsula as well as the sub-Antarctic Falkland Islands and South Georgia, is up to 20 days. The shortest Arctic trip, our Svalbard Wildlife Expedition, lasts 8 days.

Then you must decide what you want to see on your voyage – is it penguins or polar bears? Orcas or auks? Most of our Arctic trips are centred on the Svalbard archipelago, though one takes you to the heavily fjorded east coast of Greenland. (See pages 38-39 for our Spitsbergen, Greenland & Iceland trip).

Fitness

You don’t need to be a marathon runner, but you do need the stamina to walk medium distances over sometimes rough, uneven ground. Probably, the most important requirement is reasonable agility so that you can climb in and out of Zodiacs.

Best Time to Visit

Our trips only take place during the polar summers and early autumns – for the Arctic, that’s June to early September, and for Antarctica, it’s October through to March. However, Emperor Penguins of the Weddell Sea is a one-off that only departs in November because that’s the best time to see the large Snow Hill Island colony with their chicks.

What to Expect on a Polar Voyage

Expect the unexpected! Or, at the very least, be prepared for something to happen at any time. Remember, because these trips take place during the polar summers, you’ll experience long hours of daylight, often 24 hours.

There are generally two excursions on the Zodiacs each day, but some of the voyages offer other activities such as sea kayaking, hiking, snow-shoeing and overnight camping. The expert and experienced guides will constantly be on hand to point out wildlife and interpret what you’re watching.

Life on Board

Life on your voyage will be busy, comfortable and fun. Your first outing of the day –assuming reasonable weather conditions –will usually depart after breakfast, with lunch sandwiched between that and your afternoon excursion.

Food is varied, healthy and filling, with freshly prepared breakfast, lunch and dinner each day, and tea and coffee available at all times.

Most evenings, there’s the option to attend lectures given by the onboard team, and these will give you more details on polar wildlife, landscapes, history and exploration. Many of our guests use any spare time to watch out for wildlife on deck, whether marine mammals or seabirds. Just to make sure you don’t miss out, announcements will alert you to anything worth grabbing your binoculars and camera for.

The Arctic

Home to some of the most spectacular landscapes and charismatic wildlife on the planet, the Arctic is a bucket-list destination for many people. It’s a harsh environment, where even during the summer, temperatures rarely rise more than a few degrees above freezing. At this time of year, there’s still a great deal of broken sea ice in the fjords and permanent glaciers inland. On the coast however the relative warmth has opened up a snow-free tundra habitat where mosses and a few hardy wildflowers grow.

Wildlife Calendar

TheArcticCircle

Polar bears Cetaceans Pinnipeds Birdlife

May Polar bears on packice along the northern coast of Spitsbergen.

Cetaceans in the waters of the High Arctic after annual migration.

Pinnipeds, especially walrus around the west coast of Spitsbergen.

The Arctic’s birdlife begins to arrive in preparation for the short breeding season.

Pole

Jun Polar bears make landfall, particularly on Spitsbergen.

Jul Sea ice retreats, polar bears become isolated on land across the High Arctic.

Aug Polar bear sightings are less frequent as summer ends with lower prey density.

Where to go

Our Arctic voyages mainly visit the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, centring on the biggest island, Spitsbergen. This is a land of incredibly beautiful indented fjords, glaciers and icebergs. For people based in the UK or Europe, it’s relatively quick to reach the departure port of Longyearbyen. One trip also runs to Greenland, the world’s largest island, where you’ll find equally jaw-dropping scenery but a different suite of terrestrial wildlife and a rich indigenous culture.

Wildlife

The most sought-after Arctic species are usually found in or near the water. These include polar bears, which are as at home in the sea as they're on land, though ice is of greatest importance to them because it’s here that they hunt seals, their most significant prey. Don’t be surprised to see them swimming however as they have incredible stamina and can travel huge distances this way.

During the Arctic summer, the opportunities for predation on ice are limited, and many wander Svalbard’s shores looking for dead whales or reindeer to eat as carrion. Some individuals have learned to raid nesting bird colonies for eggs or chicks.

You may see walruses hauled out on the shore, and ringed and bearded seals on

More cetaceans arrive from the south, increasing frequency of sightings.

Cetacean numbers peak across the Arctic, both in abundance and variety.

Cetaceans continue to feed, but some begin migration south.

ice floes. Cetacean sightings could include humpback whales, belugas and narwhals, with a possibility of the only whale endemic to the Arctic, the bowhead, in the waters off Greenland.

Inland, you have an excellent chance of encountering reindeer and Arctic foxes. The latter must use the short summer months to bring up litters of eight or more pups, frequently by raiding accessible bird colonies. On Greenland, you may come across musk ox and Arctic hares, species not found on Svalbard.

Summer birdlife is abundant, with little auks, black guillemots and razorbills easily seen, along with kittiwakes, skuas and terns. Pinkfooted and barnacle geese breed on the archipelago, and eider ducks are common.

What to Expect

We offer a wide range of polar vessels including purpose-built and converted research boats. From the moment you step aboard, there’s an extensive programme of excursions, lectures and other activities such as photography or cultural workshops to keep you fully occupied. In your spare time head out on deck – after all, you never know when a polar bear may hove into view.

Meals are served three times a day, with a full range of food including plenty of fresh fruit

Pinnipeds, including harp and bearded seals give birth.

Walrus haul out on the beaches, seals are attracted to the ice-floes.

Sea ice retreats, pinnipeds are less frequently found as they follow the ice.

Huge numbers of seabirds - little auks, guillemots and puffins start to breed.

Peak of breeding season. Fledglings leave the nest, attracting predators like Arctic fox.

Last fledglings leave the nest, and some species begin to migrate south.

and vegetables, and tea, coffee and biscuits available throughout the day.

When to go

We only run trips to Spitsbergen during the summer months of May to August, when the seas surrounding the island, and the rest of Svalbard, are sufficiently ice-free to allow us to access fjords and reach the best locations to ensure you make the most of your Arctic adventure.

North

Spitsbergen

Svalbard Wildlife Expedition

Explore the Svalbard archipelago in exclusive company aboard one of the smaller vessels that regularly cruises these wildlife-rich waters and frozen islands.

Travelling to the Arctic is an adventure however you choose to do it, but aboard the 44-metre M/S Sjøveien and with just 12 passengers in total, our small vessel expedition adds a greater sense of intimacy and uniqueness to the experience.

The exact itinerary is dictated by the weather and ice conditions, but wherever we go, we'll aim to undertake Zodiac landings and excursions every day. Our main goal is to find the iconic wildlife for which this polar region is world-renowned.

Like all Svalbard trips, our voyage starts in its biggest town, Longyearbyen, from where we set off down Isfjorden and then north to Prins Karls Forland. We should see our first walrus colonies here, as well as abundant breeding seabirds and harbour seals.

Sailing in a clockwise direction we investigate Kongsfjorden and make landfall at Ny Ålesund, a small town originally founded to service a nascent mining operation, now entirely given over to scientific research and said to be the most northerly civilian settlement in the world. Amundsen set off from here in what’s considered the first successful attempt to reach the North Pole. There’s a good chance of seeing Arctic foxes hunting among the houses and reindeer grazing on the surrounding tundra here.

If possible, we carry on right around the top of Svalbard and even push on into the southern edge of the pack ice, where the chances of encounters with polar bears are high. On the east side, we enter inlets such as Liefdefjorden and cruise along the face of the Monaco Glacier in search of nesting pink-footed geese and rare king eiders.

Another likely destination is Hornsund, in the south-west, an area of spectacular glaciers

and Svalbard’s highest peak, Hornsundtind. This is another area where we have a good chance of seeing polar bears, as well as bearded seals hauled out on the sea ice. But travelling in a relatively small boat, we can

adopt a flexible approach to where we go, always responding to what will yield the best results.

We're also offering a photographic departure of this itinerary led by Bret Charman.

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive Longyearbyen, stay overnight in a hotel.

Day 2: Board our exclusively chartered vessel for a 7-night expedition.

Days 3-8: Over the coming days we explore icy Arctic waters, witness spectacular glaciers, & navigate numerous magnificent fjords. We search for wildlife such as polar bear, Arctic fox, Svalbard reindeer, walrus, & several species of seal, as well as various cetaceans & numerous seabirds.

Day 9: Our expedition comes to an end, & we disembark in Longyearbyen.

9 days, from £7,745 (voyage only)

Departure date: 24 May 2024

Embark/Disembark: Longyearbyen (on Svalbard)/ Longyearbyen

Vessel: A former training vessel built in 1964, Sjøveien was completely renovated for luxury cruising in 2017 & boasts eight roomy cabins (for 12 guests), spacious dining areas & a hot tub.

Tour Leader: Helen Bryon

Why book Svalbard Wildlife Expedition?

For an Arctic cruise with a difference – you’ll enjoy all the classic Arctic sights and sounds but from a ship less than half the size of a usual expedition craft.

ཀྵ Intimate experiences

ཀྵ Iconic wildlife

ཀྵ Expedition cruising

ཀྵ Beautiful glaciers

Wildlife Highlights

ཀྵ Polar bears

ཀྵ Arctic foxes

ཀྵ Walruses & other pinnipeds

ཀྵ King eiders

ཀྵ Seabirds including Brünnich's guillemot

Activities

Zodiac excursions, island landings, wood-fired hot tub

Whilst polar bears are the big draw, this incredible archipelago provides much more. Set against a backdrop of mountains, cliffs, glaciers, bergs and pack ice, kissed by constant sunlight, lies a wide variety of land, sea and aerial wildlife.

Helen Bryon, Wildlife Travel Consultant & Tour Leader

14th July Glacier

Longyearbyen

Around Spitsbergen

Head north to the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard for an epic Arctic adventure in search of polar bears, walruses, reindeer and a wide variety of seabirds.

For most visitors to the Arctic, the region’s apex land predator will be top of their list of mustsee species. Thankfully, in a cruise around the island of Spitsbergen, polar bears can be seen at any time in almost any location.

Indeed, you’re as likely to encounter polar bears out at sea, patrolling the sea ice or swimming doggedly through the frigid seas, as you're on land, where they go during the summer months in search of a washed-up whale carcass or reindeer carrion.

But polar bears are only the icing on the proverbial Arctic cake. Here, charismatic wildlife is always just behind the next glacier or perhaps across the tundra. You’ll love seeing walruses hauled out on the

beaches, but watching them in the water – where they're reborn as lithe and agile sea wolves – is magnificent.

You may also see reindeer in their slightly scruffy summer coats, as well as seabirds everywhere such as kittiwakes, little auks and of course, skuas.

Our cruise begins in Longyearbyen, the archipelago’s largest town (still fewer than 2,500 people), and from there, we head north along the west coast towards the tiny research settlement of Ny Ålesund, where breeding pink-footed geese and Arctic terns attract predatory Arctic foxes.

The voyage continues in a clockwise direction, with plenty of opportunity to see all the Arctic’s iconic species. Other notable highlights include the remarkable kittiwake breeding colony at Diskobukta, where they nest on ledges in a narrow inland gorge, and Ahlstrandhalvøya, in the south of Svalbard, where piles of beluga skeletons lie in

this marine wilderness.

Cruising into nearby Recherchefjorden gives us a good opportunity to encounter living belugas, sometimes called canaries of the Arctic because

of their high-pitched whistles. And this, and indeed all of these experiences will take place at a time of year of almost perpetual daylight, in the land of the midnight sun.

Itinerary

Day 1: Embark in Longyearbyen. Days 2-9: Spend the next few days exploring the Arctic wilderness of Svalbard. You'll encounter phenomenal fjords, magnificent mountains & a plethora of wildlife from cetaceans, pinnipeds & birdlife to the majestic polar bear.

Day 10: Disembark in Longyearbyen.

10 days, from £6,045 (voyage only)

Departures: Jun-Aug

See pages 54-55 for dates

Embark/Disembark: Longyearbyen (on Svalbard)/ Longyearbyen

Vessels: Plancius, Ortelius & Greg Mortimer

Why book Around Spitsbergen?

The Svalbard archipelago provides the best all-round Arctic experience anywhere on the planet, with excellent odds of encounters with iconic polar species.

ཀྵ Island cruise

ཀྵ Wilderness adventure

ཀྵ Polar landscape

ཀྵ Spectacular wildlife encounters

Wildlife Highlights

ཀྵ Polar bears

ཀྵ Walruses

ཀྵ Ringed & bearded seals

ཀྵ Reindeer

ཀྵ Great seabird colonies

Activities

Zodiac excursions, island hikes, nature walks, sea kayaking

With panoramic sights, circumnavigating Spitsbergen allowed me to see everything I’d hoped for – glaciers, mountains, towering sea cliffs, pack ice, walruses, whales, Arctic fox, reindeer, seals, polar bears and seabirds. Helen Cox, Wildlife Travel Consultant

Spitsbergen, Greenland & Iceland

This ultimate European Arctic experience takes you from Spitsbergen’s ‘pointed mountains’ to Greenland’s spectacular fjords, with Iceland as the final destination.

The largest island of the Svalbard archipelago, Spitsbergen –where you begin this trip – is rightly one of the most popular Arctic destinations.

Easy to access from the UK, it has the world’s largest population of polar bears, which may be seen on land. There's a multitude of equally iconic wildlife in the shape of walruses, reindeer and thousands upon thousands of seabirds.

After cruising the west coast of Spitsbergen, you spend two days crossing the Greenland Sea while keeping an eye out for fin whales and belugas, the Arctic’s unmistakable white whales.

Though less well-travelled than Svalbard, Greenland is today acquiring a reputation for its glittering icebergs and glaciers,

vast empty spaces and fabulous wildlife.

On your arrival at Greenland's heavily fjorded east coast, you land at Myggebugten for a first glimpse of a species you won’t have seen in Svalbard – the hardy musk ox, one of the largest remaining members of the sheep and goat family.

Though owned by Denmark, Greenland is geologically part of the North American continent, and species such as the musk ox and Arctic hare betray this fact.

You carry on sailing south, taking in more spectacular, deeply cut fjords, advancing armies of glaciers and abandoned Inuit settlements. Hundreds of years ago, these tiny villages were inhabited by Greenlanders hunting bowhead whales, the only baleen whale endemic to the Arctic and sub-Arctic. In one village, we see how the hunters used vertebrae from the bowheads to build their houses.

After visiting the inhabited

town of Ittoqqortoormiut, the final leg of the journey takes us across the Denmark Strait towards Iceland, and if weather conditions allow, there will be a chance to see the famed aurora borealis, the northern lights.

The voyage ends in Reykjavik or Akureyri in Iceland – by which time you’ll have sailed several thousand kilometres in less than two weeks and had the experiences of a lifetime.

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive in Longyearbyen & board your vessel.

Day 2: Explore Spitsbergen’s west coast.

Days 3-4: At sea.

Day 5: Arrive Greenland.

Days 6-7: Excursions to see Arctic hares, great northern divers & musk ox.

Days 8-9: Antarctic Havn for musk ox & Scoresbysund for an Inuit settlement.

Day 10: Zodiac cruise near Røde.

Day 11: Icebergs & landing at Sydkap for Arctic hares.

Day 12: Visit Ittoqqortoormiit.

Day 13: At sea.

Day 14: Disembark Reykjavík.

14 days, from £7,685 (voyage only)

Departures: Jun-Sep

See pages 54-55 for dates

Embark/Disembark:

Longyearbyen (Spitsbergen)/ Reykjavik/Akureyri (Iceland)

Vessels: Greg Mortimer, Sylvia Earle, Plancius & Ortelius

Why book Spitsbergen, Greenland & Iceland?

For an epic voyage that takes you to three iconic Arctic islands in search of the charismatic wildlife that inhabits this frozen region.

ཀྵ Fjords & glaciers

ཀྵ Arctic wildlife

ཀྵ Inuit settlements

ཀྵ Northern lights (September)

Seeing the northern lights swirling and dancing in the clear Arctic sky is one of my most favourite and unforgettable travel memories. An atmospheric phenomenon, it’s hard to describe the magical feeling of witnessing the aurora borealis.

Lauren Boyd, Product Manager

Wildlife Highlights

ཀྵ Polar bears

ཀྵ Musk ox

ཀྵ Arctic hares

ཀྵ Walruses

ཀྵ Variety of seabirds

Activities

Tundra walks, Zodiac cruises, visiting indigenous communities

Greenland Akureyri sales@wildlifeworldwide.com 01962 302055 wildlifeworldwide.com 39

Antarctica & the Southern Ocean

Reaching the Antarctic Peninsula is an adventure in itself. Most trips depart from the southern tip of South America and cross the 800-kilometre Drake Passage until they arrive at the South Shetland Islands and then the Antarctic Peninsula itself, a long finger of land that snakes out from the main body of the continent. Here you’ll encounter huge icebergs and other floating sea ice, vast glaciers and towering sea cliffs, as well as the marine mammals and seabirds which are the primary attraction for many visitors.

Wildlife Calendar

Penguins Cetaceans Pinnipeds Birdlife

Nov Beginning of the breeding season. Only chance to visit emperor penguin colony.

Dec Penguin rookeries grow, with chicks starting to hatch across the Antarctic.

Jan Opportunities to see and photograph multiple species across the Antarctic region.

Feb & Mar Chicks of macaroni, gentoo and chinstrap penguins congregate on South Georgia.

Where to go

Most of our voyages head down the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, taking in the Gerlache Strait, Paradise Bay and the Lemaire Channel. The South Shetland Islands, including the flooded caldera of Deception Island, are other likely destinations, as is Elephant Island, the location where Sir Ernest Shackleton abandoned the crew of Endurance before famously sailing to South Georgia in a boat just six metres long. He eventually returned to rescue all his men without a single loss of life.

For emperor penguins (which can only be seen on a specially scheduled voyage), we must visit Snow Hill Island in the ice-bound Weddell Sea.

Wildlife

Penguins are one of the biggest draws of visiting Antarctica. Adelie, chinstrap and gentoo penguins are all numerous and easily seen, while emperor penguins – the largest species in this seabird family – are only likely to be encountered if you sign onto the Weddell Sea special.

Where you find penguins, there are also leopard seals, one of the top predators of Antarctica. Females, the bigger of the two sexes, can grow to nearly four metres long

A variety of cetaceans start arriving in the Antarctic after their annual migration.

More cetaceans arrive from the north, with humpback sightings being the most frequent.

Watch cetaceans as they feed on krill in the fertile waters of the Southern Ocean.

Southern right, fin, minke, humpback and blue whales can all be seen at this time.

and weigh 600 kilogrammes, and their massive front flippers help propel them through the water at 40 kilometres an hour. They feed on a wide variety of prey, including other seals, penguins, fish, cephalopods and krill, which makes up nearly half their diet.

There’s only one species that sits above leopard seals in the Antarctic food chain, and that’s the orca or killer whale, which in this part of the world has evolved to hunt minke whales and both elephant and Weddell seals.

Antarctica is also the bread basket for many of the world’s whales which migrate down from their breeding and calving grounds to fatten up. The waters here are rich in krill, the primary diet of blue, fin, sei, humpback and Antarctic minke whales, and you should have good encounters with at least some of these mighty creatures of the deep at some point on your voyage.

Last but not least, there are the seabirds – the journey across the Drake Passage should give sightings of albatrosses among other birds, while petrels and prions are also commonly sighted. With luck, you’ll see the wandering albatross, the species widely considered to have the longest wingspan of any bird on the planet.

Leopard seals seen around the Peninsula and southern elephant seals on South Georgia.

Antarctic fur seals give birth on South Georgia, and Weddell seals are seen on the Peninsula.

Adult male fur seals and elephant seals return to sea, leaving females and pups.

Best time to see leopard seal along the Peninsula; remaining southern elephant seals on South Georgia begin to moult.

What to Expect

Young wandering albatross begin to stretch their wings before their first flight.

Wandering, greyheaded and blackbrowed albatrosses around South Georgia.

Many bird species have chicks on South Georgia and albatross species incubate their eggs.

Many chicks start to fledge, leaving albatross species to raise young through the winter.

Our voyages to Antarctica all take place aboard ships specially adapted or constructed for cruising the polar regions. No comfort is spared while you're on your ship, and the state-of-the-art, 90-metre long Magellan Explorer includes a library, gym and sauna.

Generally, you can expect to go on excursions from the ship in the morning and the afternoon, returning for lunch. These are in Zodiac dinghies, and can involve a landing or simply cruising on the water searching for whales, and other wildlife.

Usually, at least one trip ashore will be to an international scientific base, where researchers can tell you about their work. Some of the bases have museums that tell the story of Antarctic science or exploration.

When to go

All Antarctic trips take place during the Southern Hemisphere summer and early autumn – so, November through to March. They can run any time during that period, except for ‘Emperor Penguins of the Weddell Sea’, which only takes place in November, because it’s the best time to see the emperors at their breeding colony on Snow Hill Island.

The Antarctic Circle

South Pole

Antarctic Peninsula Ross Ice Shelf

Amery Ice Shelf

Weddell Sea

Festival of Wildlife Falklands & South Georgia

Join us for 2025’s Festival of Wildlife to experience the incredible wealth of wildlife that resides in the sub-Antarctic islands of The Falklands and South Georgia.

Here, amidst breathtaking scenery, we find a range and density of marine mammals and birds to rival anything on the planet. Travelling on board the superb Magellan Explorer and in the company of an expert Festival Team, this 16-night Wildlife Worldwide exclusive voyage promises to be the trip of a lifetime.

Leaving Punta Arenas, we set sail for The Falklands, sailing first through the Magellan Straits before crossing the open waters of the Southern Ocean. Arriving in The Falkland Islands, we encounter our first penguins, with no fewer than five species possible, alongside colonies of black-browed albatross, curious striated caracaras, endemic flightless steamer ducks and stunning long-tailed meadowlarks. Less showy, but equally fascinating, snowy

sheathbills can often be seen scavenging along the shoreline and will be unlike anything you have seen before!

We leave The Falklands and begin the 1,500-kilometre crossing to South Georgia. Travelling through these remote waters, we have a range of pelagic bird species for company, including several albatross species, with the added excitement of whale and dolphin sightings. When not on deck, we have a programme of talks and workshops to enjoy.

Arriving in South Georgia, we find a rugged landscape filled with wildlife. King penguin colonies numbering half a million strong sit alongside thousands of enormous southern elephant and feisty fur seals. Inquisitive leopard seals patrol the shallows hoping to snatch an unsuspecting penguin, all under the watchful eye of brown skuas and giant petrels, which are quick to profiteer from the plunder. Amongst stands of tussock grass, the world’s largest flying bird, the wandering albatross

nests, engaging in elaborate courtship displays with mates they could conceivably partner with for over 60 years.

Though sometimes separated by only a few kilometres, every

landing in this remarkable part of the world offers a different experience, and with our expert team of naturalists, photographers, and artists, we aim to provide the complete wildlife experience.

Itinerary

Day 1: Board the Magellan Explorer, depart Punta Arenas.

Day 2: At sea.

Day 3: Excursions in the Falklands Islands.

Day 4: Port Stanley & leave for South Georgia.

Days 5-6: At sea.

Day 7: Eslehul Bay.

Day 8: Grytviken & Fortuna Bay.

Day 9: Gold Harbour & Cooper Bay.

Day 10: St Andrews Bay & Ocean Harbour.

Day 11: Prion Island & Salisbury Palin.

Days 12-14: At sea.

Day 15: Bleaker Island, Falkland Islands.

Day 16: At sea.

Day 17: Arrive Punta Arenas.

17 days, from £9,995 (voyage only)

Departure date: 13 Oct 2025

Embark/Disembark: Punta

Arenas/Punta Arenas

Vessel: Magellan Explorer

Festival Team: Mark

Carwardine, Nick Garbutt, Sean Weekly, Nick Mackman, Jonathan Truss, Chris Breen & Dan Free

Why book Festival of Wildlife Falklands & South Georgia?

Travel in the company of an expert Festival Team of naturalists, photographers and artists on this Wildlife Worldwide exclusive charter to arguably the most impressive wildlife destination on the planet.

Wildlife Highlights

ཀྵ Experience huge king penguin colonies

ཀྵ The drama of beach master elephant seals defending their harems

ཀྵ Incredible birdlife, including six species of albatross

Activities

Landings, Zodiac trips and expert-led photography, art & sculpture workshops

The Falklands & South Georgia should be on every wildlife enthusiasts' bucket list. Nowhere in the world will you experience such huge concentrations of wildlife in such a spectacular setting.

Dan Free, Wildlife Worldwide General Manager

Chile

Punta Arenas

Stanley

Falkland Islands

South Georgia

Classic Antarctica

The Antarctic Peninsula is the most readily accessible area of the White Continent with some of the best wildlife and scenery. Our Antarctic Peninsula voyages include as much wildlife viewing as possible while allowing you plenty of time to enjoy the breathtaking scenery, glaciers, blue and white icebergs, and towering mountains.

Your journey begins and ends in the southernmost town in the world - Ushuaia, in Tierra del Fuego - which nestles between the spectacular snowcapped mountains of the Andes and the Beagle Channel. The first stage of the voyage is across the infamous Drake Passage, accompanied by whales, dolphins, albatrosses and other seabirds.

Your first stop is the Shetland Islands, where you visit enormous penguin rookeries, land on beaches ruled by Antarctic fur seals and observe wallowing elephant seals. One

of the many highlights here is sailing into the flooded caldera of Deception Island where the brave can take a dip in the warm thermal waters inside.

Next, you move on to the Antarctic Peninsula, where you have plenty of time to experience the special magic of this aweinspiring wilderness. You visit enormous gentoo, chinstrap, and Adelie penguin rookeries and see blue-eyed shags, kelp gulls, Cape petrels, snowy sheathbills and many other birds. You're also likely to see Weddell, crabeater and leopard seals, while orcas, humpback and minke whales are often encountered at close range depending on ice and weather conditions.

In fact, there are more cetaceans here than almost anywhere else in the world. From deck you may notice you’re being accompanied by a school of boisterous hourglass dolphins, following a pod of orca as they hunt among the ice floes or watching humpback whales breaching in

front of a wilderness of icebergs.

Itineraries vary, but some visit Paradise Harbour, filled with a mind-boggling array of icebergs; the Neumayer and Lemaire Channels, with its towering rock

faces and spectacular glaciers; Port Lockroy, with its thriving colonies of penguins; and Petermann Island, with Adelie and gentoo penguins, skuas and blue-eyed shags.

Itinerary

Day 1: Board your ship & leave Ushuaia.

Days 2-3: Cross the Drake Passage.

Days 4-8: First explore the South Shetland Islands, including Deception Island. Next journey through the Gerlache coastline of the Antarctic Peninsula, in search of whales, seals & penguins.

Days 9-10: Head north on the Drake Passage.

Day 11: Arrive Ushuaia.

11 days, from £8,365 (voyage only)

Departures: Oct-Feb

See pages 54-55 for dates

Embark/Disembark: Ushuaia/ Ushuaia

Vessels: Sylvia Earle, Plancius, Ortelius, Ocean Adventurer & Greg Mortimer

Why book Classic Antarctica?

For a chance to savour the extraordinary world of Antarctica and its unique wildlife populations.

ཀྵ Polar wilderness

ཀྵ Once-in-a-lifetime experience

ཀྵ Close wildlife encounters

Wildlife Highlights

ཀྵ Gentoo & chinstrap penguins

ཀྵ Humpback, minke & fin whales

ཀྵ Orcas

ཀྵ Giant southern petrels & other seabirds

Activities

Bird & whale watching, Zodiac cruises, sea kayaking, camping, exploring old whaling stations

I still get goosebumps thinking about waking up and seeing the Antarctic Peninsula for the first time. A gang of gentoo penguins were jumping from the ice and I knew this trip would be epic. I was not disappointed.

Chris Osborn, Wildlife Travel Consultant

South Shetland Islands

Deception Island

Antarctic Peninsula

Great Antarctic Voyage

This is the ultimate voyage to the southern polar region, taking in the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, the Antarctic Peninsula and the Drake Passage. It’s the Antarctic adventure to end all Antarctic adventures.

Home to great colonies of sub-Antarctic penguins such as Magellanics and southern rockhoppers, the Falkland Islands is your first destination. You spend two days here watching birds such as giant petrel, Falkland's steamer duck and black-browed albatross. As you sail from island to island, you’re accompanied by bowriding Peale’s and Commerson’s dolphins, with their intriguing markings.

Your next destination, South Georgia, has some of the greatest concentrations of wildlife on the planet, perhaps best demonstrated by Salisbury Plain, home to an estimated half a million king penguins during the breeding season.

Southern elephant seal bulls

face off against each other in sustained and bloody battles for dominance, and the world’s largest flying bird, the wandering albatross, nests here, too.

Continuing to the Antarctic Peninsula, the two-day crossing provides plenty of time to watch for humpbacks, blue whales and albatrosses riding the waves in their epic journeys around the pole. If weather and sea conditions permit, there will be a stop at the remote and jawdroppingly scenic South Orkney Islands.

Upon reaching the Antarctic Peninsula, a 1,300-kilometre talon of land sticking out from the continent, you spend four days exploring its rugged west coast. The summer snow melt provides breeding grounds for various birds, including the diminutive chinstrap, gentoo penguins, and numerous other seabirds.

Sailing from the peninsula, you arrive at Elephant Island, the location made famous by Sir Ernest Shackleton. It was here

he left the crew of the Endurance after his ship had sunk to sail with five other men across the Southern Ocean to South Georgia.

Passage there are yet more opportunities to view a variety of petrels, prions and albatrosses, either from the outer deck or the warmth of the bridge. With luck an array of cetaceans are also possible.

Returning across the Drake

Itinerary

Day 1: Embark in Ushuaia.

Day 2: At sea, towards the Falkland Islands.

Days 3-4: The Falkland Islands.

Days 5-6: At sea, towards South Georgia.

Days 7-10: Explore South Georgia.

Day 11: At sea, towards the Antarctic Peninsula.

Day 12: South Orkney Islands.

Days 13-16: Explore the Antarctic Peninsula.

Days 17-18: Drake Passage.

Day 19: Disembark in Ushuaia.

19 days, from £12,865 (voyage only)

Departures: Oct - Feb

See pages 54-55 for dates

Embark/Disembark: Ushuaia/ Ushuaia

Vessels: Plancius, Ortelius, Ocean Adventurer, Magellan Explorer, Sylvia Earle & Greg Mortimer

Why book Great Antarctic Voyage?

A comprehensive Antarctic experience with time in the Falklands, South Georgia and on the peninsula.

ཀྵ Intimate wildlife encounters

ཀྵ Breeding penguins

ཀྵ Sculpted icebergs

ཀྵ In the footsteps of history

Wildlife Highlights

ཀྵ Seven species of penguin possible

ཀྵ Leopard seals

ཀྵ Southern elephant seals

ཀྵ Wandering & many other albatross species

ཀྵ A variety of cetacean species

Activities

Ocean cruising, Zodiac trips, island landings, sea kayaking, photography

There are insufficient superlatives to describe the awe of being amongst the sheer abundance of wildlife and magnificent scenery of the Antarctic. Each stop left me utterly speechless, emotional and with far too many photos!

Helen Cox, Wildlife Travel Consultant

Antarctic Peninsula

Ushuaia

Falkland Islands

South Georgia

Emperor Penguins of the Weddell Sea

The world’s largest penguins, emperors are also the hardiest of this much-loved group of seabirds. We hope to see them at close quarters on this unique voyage.

Like other trips to Antarctica, our visit to the emperor penguins of Snow Hill Island begins with a 2-day crossing of the Drake Passage, providing opportunities for encountering a variety of cetaceans and pelagic bird species.

But while most Antarctic voyages cruise down the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula, this voyage heads to the east and the icecovered expanse of the Weddell Sea.

From Brown Bluff at the very tip of the peninsula, you'll be helicoptered to within walking distance of the penguin rookery on Snow Hill Island – as long as weather conditions allow. Some 4,000 pairs, and at the height of the breeding season, an estimated 10,000 emperors in total, live here. It's one of the greatest natural wonders of the

whole of Antarctica.

By the time of your arrival in mid-November, the chicks will be about three months old, and males and females will be taking it in turns to feed them. Of all penguins, the story of the male emperors’ stoic incubation of the eggs at the height of the Antarctic winter is the one that most astonishes, a tale that seems to defy not just the elements but all common sense.

During this period, males go hungry for up to 134 days, often enduring temperatures as low as -40˚C and losing half their body weight, until they’re relieved by the returning females soon after the chicks hatch.

And there’s plenty more to stimulate your amazement in this region of extremes. The panoramic ice-capped landscapes with hints of mint blue breaking through as the sunlight hits. The deafening silence of your surroundings as you sail along its waters. Predatory leopard seals hunting among the

brash ice, and humpback whales fattening up for the year in the Weddell Sea’s krill-rich waters are just two other likely wildlife encounters. We also tick another penguin species off our list with a visit to the chinstrap colony of

Any trip to Antarctica, is an adventure – but with emperor penguins on the agenda, this one has an extra dash of wild charisma.

Deception Island.

Itinerary

Day 1: Leave Ushuaia & pass through the Beagle Channel. Days 2-3: Drake Passage crossing.

Day 4: Arrive in the Weddell Sea.

Days 5-7: Window of opportunity to visit Snow Hill Island if conditions allow.

Day 8: Sail to Deception Island for the last landing of the voyage.

Days 9-10: Return journey across the Drake Passage. Day 11: Arrive in Ushuaia.

11 days, from £10,820 (voyage only)

Departure dates: 10 & 20 Nov 2023; 10 & 20 Nov 2024

Embark/Disembark: Ushuaia/ Ushuaia

Vessel: Ortelius

Why book Emperor Penguins of the Weddell Sea?

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit the breeding grounds of the world’s largest penguin species.

ཀྵ Ultimate wildlife experience

ཀྵ Seldom-visited location

ཀྵ Zodiac trips

ཀྵ Island excursions

Wildlife Highlights

ཀྵ Emperor penguins

ཀྵ Wandering albatrosses

ཀྵ Humpback whales

ཀྵ Weddell & other seals

Activities

Zodiac and shore-based excursions, helicopter ride, whale watching

Take the most magical adventure to remote Antarctica. As you first glimpse the emperor penguin colony, nothing prepares you for this unique and precious moment as they endlessly entertain you. This moment will stay with me forever.

Paula Mason, Wildlife Travel Consultant

Weddell Sea

Antarctica

Ushuaia Antarctic Peninsula

Classic Antarctic Fly-Sail

A flight across the dramatic waters of the Drake Passage is a unique way to begin an Antarctic adventure. You can save time by flying from South America, and get your fix of Antarctica's unique fauna without the need to experience the Drake Passage crossing.

Arriving on King George Island in the South Shetland archipelago, the chilly Antarctic air fills your lungs for the first time, and you walk a short distance past two research stations to the shore before boarding a Zodiac to take you to Magellan Explorer - one of the best vessels to sail these waters.

Your voyage cruises between the South Shetland Islands and the western coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, exploring the ice-filled fjords and iceberg formations, while enjoying the seabirds, penguins, seals, and whales.

Every day there are opportunities to Zodiac cruise in search of wildlife and explore the landscape with the onboard

expert team of polar guides. When you're back onboard, there will be a series of interesting presentations and lectures. Of course, each trip is different, and the team will ensure that you get the very best experience.

The first stop on your voyage is likely to be in the Gerlache Strait, at Hydrurga Rocks – named after the leopard seal, Hydrurga leptonyx. Here a chinstrap penguin colony of some 800 animals await and there’s a good chance of seeing Weddell seals here, too.

Other locations you'll likely visit include Paradise Bay, noted for its spectacular calving icebergs, and Lemaire Channel, the 11 kilometre strait that’s just 1,600 metres wide at its narrowest. This is an unusually calm, sheltered stretch of water which provides excellent opportunities for spotting seal-hunting orcas or foraging humpback whales. At Paulet Bay, a colony of 100,000 Adelie penguins await and at Petermann Island a gentoo penguin rookery is among the

many highlights,

Some of our Fly-Sail itineraries only involve flying one way across the Drake Passage, which may be preferential for some. Our Antarctic Odyssey Fly-Sail

voyage crosses the passage on the way out, before visiting the Antarctic Peninsula, Elephant Island, South Georgia and the Falklands, where you leave the ship and return to mainland South America by plane.

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive Punta Arenas. Day 2: Fly to King George Island & board your vessel.

Days 3-6: Explore the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, including Paulet Island for its 100,000-strong Adelie penguin population, Petermann Island for both Adelie & gentoo penguins & Paradise Bay.

Day 7: Return to King George Island & return to Punta Arenas. Day 8: Depart.

8 days, from £12,495 (voyage only)

Departures: Nov-Mar

See pages 54-55 for dates

Embark/Disembark: Punta Arenas/Punta Arenas

Vessel: Magellan Explorer, a purpose-built Antarctic vessel accommodating a maximum of 76 passengers for this itinerary

Why book Classic Antarctic Fly-Sail?

To reach the great white continent as quickly and easily as possible and to eliminate the need to cross the potentially rough seas of the Drake Passage.

ཀྵ Antarctic seascapes

ཀྵ Incredible wildlife

ཀྵ Research stations

Wildlife Highlights

ཀྵ Adelie, gentoo & chinstrap penguins

ཀྵ Weddell, crabeater & leopard seals

ཀྵ Humpback whales & orcas

ཀྵ Blue-eyed shags & other seabirds

Activities

Zodiac trips, island landings, sea kayaking, photography

Until fairly recently, Antarctica has only been accessible by sailing across the Drake Passage, which has put it beyond the reach of many. But access by air is a gamechanger and will enable others to spread the gospel of this incredible ice-covered continent.

Chris Breen, Wildlife Worldwide Founder

Antarctic Circle

Antarctica

Our Polar Cruise Vessels

We offer a wide range of cruise vessels which are all built especially for the extreme conditions in the polar regions. All have exceptional crews, and some even have facilities to rival land-based hotels and spas! Contact our expert team for first-hand advice on choosing a polar vessel to meet your requirements.

Passengers: 132

Vessel type: Luxury

Length: 104 m

Cruising speed: 10 - 12 knots

Ice class: 1A

Purpose-built for expeditions, the Greg Mortimer boasts expansive observation decks, inviting communal areas and comfortable cabins, most with their own balconies.

Passengers: 96

Vessel type: Luxury

Length: 90.7 m

Cruising speed: 14 knots

Ice class: 1A

A modern, custom-built expedition vessel, featuring a glass-enclosed observation lounge and stylish dining room. All cabins feature private balconies (except porthole cabins).

Passengers: 128

Vessel type: Expedition

Length: 101.1 m

Cruising speed: 12 knots

Ice class: 1A

A recently renovated, charming polar vessel, the Ocean Adventurer benefits from ample outdoor deck space, numerous cosy spots to socialise and an outdoor hot tub.

Passengers: 72

Vessel type: Expedition

Length: 73 m

Cruising speed: 12 knots

Ice class: 1A

A sturdy and nimble vessel boasting a glass-enclosed observation lounge, presentation room, and spacious dining room. All cabins feature a picture window.

Greg Mortimer

Ocean Adventurer

Magellan Explorer

Ocean Nova

To see a full selection of our polar vessels please visit our website and contact our expert Wildlife Team for further information.

Passengers: 108

Vessel type: Expedition

Length: 90.95 m

Cruising speed: 10.5 knots

Ice class: 1A

The ice-strengthened Ortelius is an ex-research vessel with an abundance of outdoor opendeck space and comfortable cabins.

Passengers: 108

Vessel type: Expedition Length: 89 m

Cruising speed: 10.5 knots

Ice class: 1D

The Plancius is an ex-research vessel, rebuilt in 2009 as a passenger ship, offering comfort and character. All cabins offer lower berths (excluding quad cabins).

Passengers: 12

Vessel type: Expedition Length: 41 m

Cruising speed: 11 knots

Ice class: 1C

The Sjøveien (meaning Seaway) is a traditional, charming ship. Intimate, yet classic, there are modern touches throughout, such as the wood-fired hot tub on deck.

Passengers: 132

Vessel type: Luxury Length: 104 m

Cruising speed: 10 – 12 knots

Ice class: 1A

Certified 100% climate neutral, the Sylvia Earle showcases innovative features including sealevel Zodiac platforms, a heated swimming pool and beautifully appointed cabins.

Ortelius

Sjøveien

Plancius

Sylvia Earle

Polar Voyage Calendar 2023-2025

SPITSBERGEN, GREENLAND & ICELAND

To request a detailed day-to-day itinerary, for further information on alternative cabin types and to book any of our wildlife voyages, please call our expert team on 01962 302055. All holiday prices shown are voyage only and are based on two people sharing a cabin. Flight prices are available on request.

Over 30 years’ experience of designing the finest wildlife holidays

Festival of Wildlife Falklands & South Georgia

Our Festival of Wildlife 2025 takes us on an epic voyage to the Falkland Islands and South Georgia where one of the world’s most impressive wildlife spectacles awaits. Voyage on the Magellan Explorer with a leading team of naturalists, photographers, and artists as we encounter penguins, elephant seals and so much more.

13 Oct 2025

17 days from, £9,995

Wildlife Holidays

Over 520

30 years' experience creating the finest wildlife holidays

Knowledgeable & passionate team of wildlife experts

Dedicated expert-led photography tours

Flexible tailor-made holidays

Small group wildlife trips worldwide

Committed to conservation & responsible tourism

Expert local naturalist guides

24-hour on-call service for peace of mind

100% independent

100% financial protection

Photographs courtesy of: Tom Arban, Al Bakker, Chris Breen, Helen Cox, Ruslan Eliseev, Rogelio Espinosa, Dani Free, Nick Garbutt, Therese Horntrich, Masano Kawana, Alexa Kershaw, Eduardus Lee, Elke Lindner, Mike Louagie, Ana Carla Martinez, Rodrigo Moraga, Kevin Morgans, Niklas Nilsson, Evelyn Pfeiffer, Scott Portelli, Monica Salmang, Paul Sharman