- Explore the quaint British town of Stanley in the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
- See the incredible wildlife— more than 30 species of breeding birds, including four species of penguin—of South Georgia, often called the Galapagos of the Poles
- Follow in the wake of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s perilous voyage to South Georgia and visit his gravesite
- Cross the Antarctic Circle and celebrate with a toast
- Enjoy helicopter flightseeing from Ultramarine for a unique perspective of the Antarctic Peninsula
- Crossing of the Antarctic CircleTravel on a small expedition vessel
- Accompanied by extremely qualified Expedition Staff

Epic Antarctica: Falklands, South Georgia & Antarctic Circle Crossing via Buenos Aires
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- Epic Antarctica: Falklands, South Georgia & Antarctic Circle Crossing via Buenos Aires
- The use of a local guide means our customers will be well informed about local traditions, and cultural and social sensitivities.
- This trip brings income and opportunity to the destination community through the inclusion of locally-owned hotels and restaurants, the emphasis on eating locally produced food and support of other local enterprise.
- We use fairly small, family run and locally staffed establishments which ensures that we are benefiting local communities.
- Our activity also benefits the rural village of Copey, which is nestled in the highlands of the Central Mountain Range. By passing through this area, seeing how the locals live and work and having lunch in a typical home, we are encouraging cultural exchange and providing valuable avenues of income here.
- There is an option for clients to directly support local schools by packing a gift of educational supplies when we visit Copey area on this tour.
- This is a small group tour, meaning that we have a low impact on the environments and communities we visit and are able to ensure that we do not disrupt or lead to the displacement of local people.
- Our local operator is very involved in supporting community projects. On International Tourism Day in 2019 they took part in cleaning a beach at Guacalillo. They collected a total 150 Kg of waste and all the plastic lids collected were donated to the Fundación Proparques, for a project developing walkways to improve accessibility for people with mobility problems in the country's protected wild areas.
- In 2017 Exodus Travels introduced the Inspiration Project, where we’ve worked with our partners to take more than 6,000 children in 30 countries on a day of adventure and exploration. Each inspirational day out is designed to introduce young minds to the wonders of our world and their place in it. From visiting cultural heritage sites to natural wonders, each trip has been packed with firsts – their first time leaving their own village, their first time seeing the sea, their first time visiting a busy city. We continue to operate these days out to inspire children to protect and preserve the world as they grow up.
- Read about our commitment to nature protection and restoration here, including our rewilding commitment for every customer who travels.
- By travelling in a small group, led by a local guide, we ‘tread lightly’ to minimise our impact on local resources and the environment.
- Being a wildlife-based tour, we are very conscious of our effects on the environment and how we can reduce negative impact and aid conservation. We visit national and private parks, including the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve, one of the first community-managed reserves in the country. Our entrance fees also directly support conservation efforts in the areas we visit.
- Our local operator has a policy of Animal Welfare that requests suppliers to comply with the minimum conditions of animal welfare.
- Our local operator has been awarded by the Costa Rican Tourism Board for their sustainable tourism practice & dedication to improving sustainability standards. This means that efforts are made to rationally use water and electricity, provide adequate waste management, and positively impact communities, among many other actions.
- Most of the accommodation and restaurants we visit on this trip use locally sourced food such as fruit which is always sourced locally and abundant. Esquinas lodge have their own policy whereby they produce their own organic vegetables and fruit, marmalade, juices, mayonnaise, bread, chocolate and seasoning.
- Vegetarian options are available if notice is given which include a variety of fresh fruit, vegetables, and rice.
- To reduce our carbon emissions, we use a shared coach at the beginning of the tour to transport clients from San José to Tortuguero rather than an internal flight. During the trip, we travel responsibly using appropriate methods of transport; therefore, depending on group size, a minibus/coach will be used.
- Our trips adhere to ABTA’s industry-leading animal welfare guidelines to ensure the best possible practices with regard to working animals and wildlife viewing. Our animal welfare policy can be found here.
- We work with our partners on the ground to proactively eliminate or reduce waste, for example eliminating all single-use plastic water bottles and instead providing refills for re-usable bottles.
- Read about our climate action here, including our carbon reduction and compensation commitments.
- An example of eco-friendly accommodation on this trip is the Esquinas Rainforest Lodge, a model project combining conservation, environmental research and community development in a rural area. The plot is surrounded by approximately 3,000 hectares of untouched rainforest which acts as a carbon sink and the lodge itself is 100 % carbon neutral, meaning it will take action to remove as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they produce.
Reviews
Add your own reviewEpic Antarctica - Falklands, South Georgia & Antarctic Circle Crossing (Ocean Diamond - Quark Expeditions)
Checking in for the internal flights Buenos Aires to and from Ushuaia was chaotic. Despite arriving well in advance check ins opened with barely enough time to make the flights. Once at Ushuaia outward and return all Quark arrangements were clear and efficient. Hotel Albatross in Ushuaia was very good. Onboard Ocean Diamond the hotel service was excellent. The Quark team were excellent. The photographic, historical, geological, ornithological and wildlife lectures were of the highest quality in terms of technical content, detail and delivery. The daily briefings and recaps were informative and entertaining. The zodiak cruises, landings, hikes, paddling and other activities were excellent: fascinating; informative; exciting; well managed; safe; well supervised; well guided. The experienced Quark staff ensured that we saw at close quarters all the wildlife that could be expected for this trip: all penguin species except the Emperor; nesting albatross; elephant, fur, Weddell, leopard seals; orca; humpback and fin whales; guillemots, skewers, etc. The weather was kind to us so we were able to visit nearly all the planned destinations on this expedition skilfully scheduled by the ship’s captain and the Quark Expedition Leader to ensure interesting activities each day. The scenery throughout was stunning, especially in the earie light of the midnight sun below the Antarctic Circle. I enjoyed the paddling, not booked in advance, which turned out to be an unexpected highlight getting really close to the wildlife. In conclusion the expedition exceeded my expectations!
Most Inspirational Moment
In general, seeing all the wildlife reclaiming their habitat and allowing us to walk amongst them without fear after the near genocide that our kind had inflicted on them, e.g. standing on high ground overlooking the massive colony of King penguins in St. Andrew's Bay on South Georgia was quite overwhelming. The first of many such experiences on the trip. Paddling in silence amongst the ice bergs and up close to wildlife.
Thoughts on Group Leader
The Quark Expedition Leader was excellent. His experience and constant monitoring of the weather conditions meant that the programme could be adjusted to ensure safe activities everyday. This would not have been possible without the the captain's advice and cooperation so a dream team!
Advice for Potential Travellers
The Quark supplied footwear and clothing was of excellent quality and suitability. As it was my first trip with Quark, I was cautious about quality so I brought my own, which meant that my luggage was over the 15 kg limit for the internal flight and so had to pay excess baggage on one of the flights. I will trust Quark supplied footwear and clothing in future.
Suggestions
The only glitch in the trip was that I didn't receive confirmation and details of my return transit and hotel in my final joining instructions from Exodus. I queried this but didn't receive confirmation prior to departure. As I don't like uncertainty about my travel arrangements, I booked and paid for my own accommodation with transfer while I had internet connectivity onboard. By the time I received a reply form Exodus these arrangements were already in place.
Would you like to include flights with your booking?
- ATOL protected
- Competitive flight prices
- Full refunds in the event of FCDO cancellations or major disruption at your UK departure airport
- Specialist support to rearrange flights and transfers
- Regional flights available from many UK airports
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