NEW POLAR REGIONS VESSEL AND INTRODUCTORY OFFER

New expedition Vessel, the MV Plancius, starts her career in Antarctica early next year and then heads north for the Arctic 2010 Summer season. To celebrate the arrival of the Plancius, Trips Worldwide are offering large discounts for all 2010 Plancius Antarctic cruises.

M/v “Plancius” was built in 1976 as an oceanographic research vessel for the Royal Dutch Navy and was named “Hr. Ms. Tydeman”. The ship sailed for the Dutch Navy until June 2004 when it was purchased by an Expedition company and is being completely rebuilt as a Polar regions passenger vessel. The “Plancius” can accommodate 110 passengers in 53 passenger cabins. M/v “Plancius” will be comfortable and tastefully decorated, but is not a luxurious vessel.

ANTARCTIC PENINSULA ITINERARY:

DAY ONE
Fly from Heathrow (via Madrid) to Buenos Aires. Transfer into the city for 1 night at the Art Hotel

DAY (B)
Transfer to airport and fly to Ushuaia. Transfer into Ushuaia for 1 night at Hotel Albatross.

DAY THREE (FB on Plancius throughout the cruise)
In the afternoon, we embark in Ushuaia and sail through the Beagle Channel.

DAY FOUR
During these two days we will sail across the Drake Passage. When we cross the Antarctic Convergence, we arrive in the circum-Antarctic up welling zone. In this area we may meet Wandering Albatrosses, Grey Headed Albatrosses, Black-browed Albatrosses, Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses, Cape Pigeons, Southern Fulmars, Wilson's Storm Petrels, Blue Petrels and Antarctic Petrels.

DAYS FIVE - TEN
A typical itinerary in the Polar Circle and Antarctic Peninsula could be as follows. This is a sample only, the final itinerary will be determined by the Expedition Leader on board. We may start our first day in Antarctica with a landing at Hannah Point, where we will find a nice variety of Gentoo Penguins, Chinstraps and southern Giant Petrels, as well as Elephant Seals hauling out on the beach. At Deception Island, we will try to land at Baily Head home to a colony of ten thousands of Chinstrap Penguins. Deception itself is a sub ducted crater, which opens into the sea, creating a natural harbour for the ship. Here we find hot springs, an abandoned whaling station, thousands of Cape Pigeons and many Dominican Gulls, Brown and South Polar Skuas and Antarctic Terns. Wilson's Storm Petrels and Black-bellied Storm Petrels nest in the ruins of the whaling station in Whalers Bay.

Good walkers may hike from Baily Head over the ridge of the crater into Whalers Bay, while our ship braves its entrance into the crater through the spectacular Neptune's Bellow into the ring of Deception Island. On our way further South we will sail to Orne Islands with large colonies of Chinstrap Penguins and a beautiful view across the Gerlache Strait or to Cuverville Island, a small precipitous island, nestled between the mountains of the Antarctic Peninsula and Danco Island. It contains a large colony of Gentoo Penguins and breeding pairs of Brown Skuas. In Neko Harbour and Paradise Bay with its myriad icebergs and deep cut fjords, we have the opportunity to set foot on the Antarctic Continent. We shall have the opportunity for zodiac cruising between the icebergs in the inner parts of the fjords.

We sail through the spectacular Lemaire Channel to Petermann Island offering Adelie Penguins and Blue-eyed Shags. We also try to land at Pleneau Island with Elephant Seals and fair chances to encounter Humpback, Minke and Fin Whales. We head south along the Argentine Islands to Crystal Sound, south of the polar circle. The landscape is very impressive with very high mountains and huge glaciers. At the Fish Islands we land at one of the southernmost Adelie Penguin and Blue-eyed Shag colonies in the Antarctic Peninsula. A base visit will also be provided, to give you an insight about the life of modern Antarcticans working on the White Continent. At Detaille Island, south of the Polar Circle, in Crystal Sound we reach probably our farthest south. Sailing north again through Neumayer Channel and Gerlache Strait, we arrive at the Melchior Islands with a very beautiful landscape and again possibilities for zodiac cruising among the icebergs, where we may encounter Leopard Seals, Crabeater Seals and whales.

DAYS ELEVEN & TWELVE
In the Drake Passage we have again a chance of seeing many seabirds.

DAY THIRTEEN (B/D)
We arrive in the morning and disembark in Ushuaia. Transfer to the airport and fly to Buenos Aires. Transfer into the city and check into the Art Hotel. We have included a dinner this evening at one of BA’s best tango shows.

DAY FOURTEEN (B)
Transfer to the airport and fly overnight from Buenos Aires (via Madrid) back to the UK.

Price per person (based on 2 people sharing services and accommodation): £4995pp, price includes:

- International flights with Iberia

- Transfers

- Meals as indicated

- Accommodation including a 7 day Antarctic cruise

We also have heavily discounted rates for the “Falklands, South Georgia, Antarctic Peninsula” trip and “Polar Circle – Antarctic Peninsula”.  Please ask for a price and itinerary for these and also for 2010 Arctic trips on the Plancius.