Antarctica, South Georgia and The Falklands
December 2008/January 2009

Christmas with penguins, whales, albatrosses and icebergs; this can only mean the Antarctic!

We are putting together a small group to return to the Antarctica Peninsula, South Georgia and the Falklands for Xmas 2008. This is the most popular time to travel but most ships which travel at this time only offer 10 day trips. These do not provide the variety of Penguins or scenery. In our view one of the best ways of experiencing this part of the world is take your time and do a 19 day trip - it is a trip of a lifetime - and because of the limited availability you need to be booking now or risk missing out.

We have run this trip before on a 100 passenger research ship and this time we have deliberately chosen a smaller 50 passenger research ship - it will have even better access to some of the trickier landings and an even more personal feel - our own Xmas house boat cruising the Southern Ocean and Antarctic waters! Whilst on board, there will be organised lectures on Antarctica's wildlife, geology etc etc (these are short, informative but informal and help to while away the days when we are at sea), there will be plenty of time for chilling out, doing nothing, socialising and there will of course be our photographic get togethers (very informal tutorials and discussing the group's photos from the day). The scenery and wildlife is variable - from the greenery of the Falklands and South Georgia to the fascinating icebergs and icescapes of greens, blues and whites when we cross the convergence and reach Antarctic waters. The wildlife is also spectacular, from the sea birds that follow the ship, to the vast King Penguin colony at Salisbury Plain, to the Penguins surfing up onto the beach, the Fur Seals, Gentoos, Chinstraps, Adelies, Albatross, Humpbacks and hopefully other Whales at close proximity (ie right next to the zodiacs!) Need we go on?! There are photos and a summary from our last trip at http://www.shutterspeedtravel.com/antarctica.asp - we can expect to have similar viewings this time but the trip will generate its own 'magical moments'....

The trip runs ex Ushuaia, Argentina for 19 days from December 17, 2008 to January 4, 2009. Although we are talking about a trip in December 2008, it's a small ship which for a number of reasons makes for a much better trip, but the flipside is that it will fill up quickly.

So...... we'd love you to join our group on the Professor Multanovsky for Xmas 2008. Please take a look at http://www.polarcruises.com/tour.cfm?ship_id=5&tour_id=227# to see all the details on the trip we have selected:

Just to be sure you are looking at the right trip, the prices are as follows

There’s no time to lose as there really is limited cabin availability for this spectacular expedition.’  Please contact us at julie.calvert@shutterspeedtravel.com or telephone + 44 207 357 7224 with any questions prior to booking.