Antarctic Circle Christmas Expedition Micro Cruise by Air
Spending Christmas Day here is not a concession to your calendar; it is choosing the most extraordinary place on earth to spend it.
With 36 guests, six Senior Polar Guides and four Zodiacs in the water at once, all guests explore the Peninsula at its most alive together, with time and space to take it in.
In this dazzling spectacle, the season itself feels like nature’s own festival. With Christmas in the air, penguin colonies bustle as gentoo, chinstrap, and Adélie chicks take their first wobbly steps. Crabeater and Weddell seals lounge on drifting ice while leopard seals prowl nearby shores. Humpback and minke whales arrive in greater numbers, drawn to the season’s sparkling krill blooms.
The expedition follows the same route as every Antarctic Circle by Air departure: a Patagonian asado on arrival before the charter flight from Puerto Natales to King George Island. The aim is seven full days on the Peninsula, with a push south toward 66°33'S on every voyage.
Enter a realm few have reached and join an elite circle of Antarctic explorers.
Journey to the edge where ice and wildlife converge in pristine wilderness.
The charter flight from Puerto Natales removes the Drake Passage crossing, placing all 36 guests directly on the Peninsula with more time on the ice. Weather and conditions permitting, this departure aims to place guests on the Antarctic Peninsula for Christmas Day.
Where we go is shaped by conditions and opportunity. Our objectives include the South Shetland Islands and Deception Island. We may navigate south through the Gerlache Strait, the Neumayer Channel, and the Lemaire Channel, aiming for wildlife-rich sites at Paradise Bay and Cuverville Island, where gentoo penguins and Antarctic shags nest against a backdrop that has no equivalent elsewhere.
The summer solstice brings perpetual daylight to the Peninsula: golden light at midnight, penguin colonies at the height of their nesting season, humpback whales in channels that carry no crowds. Blue glaciers shimmer in the evening alpenglow, and pack ice drifts through glittering channels as Antarctica returns to life and light.
In this frozen, awakening world, nature leads — and we follow, quietly and respectfully.
Check-in between 15:00 and 17:00.
Pre-Antarctic briefings from the expedition team, followed by a Patagonian asado at the Weskar Lodge club house marking the official start of your expedition.
From day two, we are ready to depart as soon as conditions allow. The charter flight to King George Island takes 2.5 hours. The timing is determined by the Captain based on the safest available weather window.
If the flight window does not open on day two, the expedition continues at Weskar Lodge. The lodge, Torres del Paine, and Puerto Natales itself are a destination. The longer voyage duration is specifically designed to provide a wider operational window for the crossing.
Seven full days on the Peninsula. Where we go is shaped by conditions and opportunity, not a fixed timetable.
The range covers the South Shetland Islands including Deception Island. The Gerlache Strait, Wilhelmina Bay, Lemaire Channel, Paradise Bay, and Cuverville Island: the core of the Peninsula's most extraordinary geography. When the ice opens south, we push toward the Antarctic Circle at 66°33'S.
Into Antarctica’s hidden places
South of the Circle, the landscape changes. Locked bergs in frozen channels. A silence with a different weight. In the right conditions, guests go ashore onto the sea ice itself, walking among icebergs that have not moved in weeks. This is where Ross Seals and Emperor Penguins live. Neither is guaranteed, and in fact very uncommon to encounter; however, both are possible here and almost nowhere else on this itinerary.
With only 36 guests, there are no crowds. Our expert guides respond to conditions as they develop whether that's extending a landing, spending longer at a remarkable wildlife encounter, or adapting the plan to make the most of every opportunity. On a Expedition Micro Cruise, this flexibility is the norm, not the exception.
Exploring Antarctica's raw and untouched beauty
We often sail into the heart of the Antarctic Peninsula through the scenic Gerlache Strait, flanked by jagged peaks.
We aim to explore Antarctica’s wildest corners. Possible locations include: Cierva Cove, Trinity Island, Mikkelsen Harbour, Hydrurga Rocks, Hughes Bay, Wilhelmina Bay, Cuverville Island, Errera Channel, Neko Harbour, Paradise Bay, Almirante Brown Station, Dallman Bay, Melchior Islands, Neumayer Channel, Port Lockroy, Lemaire Channel, Port Charcot, Petermann Island, Argentina Islands (Wordie House), Crystal Sound, Detaille Island, Lallemand Fjord, The Gullet, Marguerite Bay, Half Moon Island, Yankee Harbour, Whalers Bay, Baily Head, Deception Island.
Aureum holds at Maxwell Bay until the return flight window opens. When it does, the crossing back takes 2.5 hours.
If the flight window shifts, the expedition continues. There is no shortage of Antarctica to explore. Every additional day on the Peninsula is unplanned time in one of the most extraordinary places on earth.
The final night is at Weskar Lodge: farewell dinner, the expedition settling.
After your expedition, take the opportunity to explore Puerto Natales, the gateway to Chilean Patagonia—a frontier town with genuine character, exceptional local seafood, an unhurried pace, and an atmosphere entirely its own.
From here, discover nearby Torres del Paine National Park, part of the UNESCO Torres del Paine Biosphere Reserve, renowned for its granite towers, glaciers, turquoise lakes and remarkable wildlife.
Want to stay a little longer? Every Antarctica By Air expedition includes our Peace of Mind approach, with up to three additional nights in Puerto Natales at no extra accommodation cost.
Itineraries are subject to change.
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Classic Twin
Signature Twin
Classic Single
Signature Single
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Classic Twin
Signature Twin
Classic Single
Signature Single
Vessel Type: Ice-Class Small Ship
Length: 56 m
Passenger Capacity: 36
Aureum is a purpose-designed micro expedition vessel built to deliver an intimate and highly flexible Antarctic experience, carrying just 36 guests supported by 26 crew, including six senior polar guides. With an ice-class 1C rating, Polar Code compliance, hybrid diesel-electric propulsion and active fin stabilisers, the vessel combines expedition capability with comfort and reduced environmental impact. Four Zodiacs allow guests to move efficiently between ship and shore, while open decks, a forward observation deck and the bridge lounge provide exceptional vantage points for wildlife and photography. The open-door bridge also gives guests the opportunity to follow the expedition alongside the captain and guides as routes and conditions unfold.
Life aboard Aureum is designed around relaxation and connection after days of exploration. The intimate lounge and dining room provide welcoming spaces for briefings, lectures, meals and quiet downtime, while the wellness area on the top deck features a sauna, hot tub and gym. A dedicated mudroom and disembarkation platform make the transition from ship to shore straightforward, with space to prepare and store expedition gear. With a high proportion of single cabins, comfortable shared spaces and a small-group atmosphere throughout, Aureum offers a distinctive blend of premium service, expedition capability and genuine access to the polar environment.
Inclusions
SVALBARD
• Expert Svalbard Expedition Leader
• Lectures on Svalbard
• Use of Zodiac (Dinghies) for shore landings and photography opportunities
• Polar Bear protection guides for shore landings
• Full Board (breakfast, lunch and dinner + alcoholic drinks with evening meal)
• Bedding and towels
• Highly experienced Captain and Cook
• Rubber boots for shore landings
• Transfers from airport to hotel and to vessel for embarkation + vessel to airport/hotel after disembarkation
ANTARCTICA
• Expert Antarctica Expedition Guide Team
• Lectures on Antarctica
• Use of Zodiac (Dinghies) for shore landings and photography opportunities
• Full Board (breakfast, lunch and dinner )
• Bedding and towels
• Highly experienced Captain and Cook
• Rubber boots for shore landings
Exclusions
• Flights
• Travel and cancellation insurance
• Any additional expenses such as museum entry
Small Ship Cruise
Highlights
• Christmas with the people who matter most, at the end of the world. There is no place more extraordinary to share the season. 36 guests means the ship feels like yours; the guides know every name before your flight; and Christmas Day on the Antarctic Peninsula, however conditions shape it, is unlike anything conventional can offer.• Micro enough to access. Subtle enough to stay. Together, we explore farther south, spending more time where wildlife is most active and the ice is at its most spectacular. That's what the right scale feels like on an Antarctic Circle expedition.
• Midsummer solstice timing. The December departure catches Antarctica at its most active. Penguin colonies at the nest, humpback whales in the channels, the Peninsula in full summer. The light at midnight is something most have never experienced anywhere.
• A push for the Antarctic Circle on every departure. 66°33'S. The threshold where the sea ice ecosystem begins and the light at midsummer barely fades at all. We attempt it on every voyage; how far south conditions allow varies, but the intention does not.
• Sea ice exploration. South of the Circle, the landscape changes register. Cathedral sized icebergs and frozen channels with a silence of a different weight. In the right conditions, guests go ashore onto the ice itself, walking among icebergs that have not moved in weeks, months, or years.
• Fly to Antarctica, explore for longer. A 2.5-hour charter flight between Puerto Natales and King George Island replaces the Drake Passage in both directions, giving you seven full days to explore the Antarctic Peninsula, the Gerlache Strait, the Lemaire Channel, and as far south as conditions allow.
• Wildlife of the deeper south. Gentoo, chinstrap, and Adelie penguins. Leopard, Weddell, and crabeater seals. Humpback whales in the channels. Further south: a small chance of Ross Seal and, rarer still, Emperor Penguin.
• Expert photography guidance. A dedicated photography guide is part of the guiding team on every departure, on hand to help you capture the wildlife, icescapes, and dramatic light of Antarctica.
Our Associates Include
