Falkland Islands – South Georgia

If you ever wished to come to the subantarctic island of South Georgia with its huge colonies of king penguins and albatross species, with its (Norwegian) whaling history (Grytviken) and Shackleton’s memorial, this LT&C-Study Tour provides a unique opportunity.Together with LT&C-Founder Peter Prokosch you will have more days then most other tours reaching out there to explore different parts of the archipelago and to study and understand, why South Georgia became an LT&C-Example. If are interested you should look at the below (recently 20% discounted) offer of LT&C-member Oceanwide Expeditions. If you register for the expedition through LT&C you will get a one-year free membership as LT&C-King Penguin and support the mission of LT&C to make tourism supporting a globally complete network of well-managed national parks and other types of protected areas.

A typical itinerary to the Falklands, South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula is illustrated below. All itineraries are for guidance only. Programs may vary depending on local ice and weather conditions, the availability of landing sites and opportunities to see wildlife. The final itinerary will be determined by the Expedition Leader on board. Flexibility is paramount for expedition cruises.

Day 1: Puerto Madryn – In the afternoon, we embark in Puerto Madryn and sail towards the Falkland Islands. Golfo Nuevo is world renowned for their visiting Southern Right whales and we have a good chance to see them as we head towards Open Ocean.

Day 2 and 3: At sea – At Sea, the ship is followed by several species of albatrosses, storm petrels, shearwaters and diving petrels.

Day 4: Falkland Islands – We spend this day in the Western parts of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas). If the weather conditions are good, we plan a landing on the rarely visited Steeple Jason Island on which the largest Black-browed albatross colony in the world is located (app. 113.000). A true expedition landing. As an alternative, we would take a walk along the Coast of Carcass Island. Here we may encounter breeding Magellanic and Gentoo penguins, but also numerous waders and passerine birds are present. On Saunders Island, we can see the majestic Black-browed albatross and their sometimes-clumsy landings near their nesting site along with breeding Imperial shags and Rock hopper penguins. King penguins, Magellanic penguins, and Gentoo penguins are also present here.

Day 5: Stanley, Falkland Islands – In Stanley, the capital of the Falklands, we can experience Falkland culture, which has some South American characteristics as well as Victorian charm, colourful houses, well-tended gardens, and English style pubs. In Stanley and the surrounding area, we can see quite a number of stranded clippers from a century ago. They bear witness to the hardships of sailors in the 19th Century. The small, but very interesting museum is well worth a visit featuring an exhibition covering the early days of settlement up to the Falklands War of 1982.

Approximately 1300 people live in the small capital in which all passengers are free to wander around on their own.

Admission fees to local attractions are not included.

 Days 6 & 7: At sea – On our way to South Georgia we will cross the Antarctic Convergence. Entering Antarctic currents, the temperature will drop considerably in the time span of only a few hours. Nutritious water is brought to the surface by the colliding water columns, which brings a multitude of seabirds near the ship: several species of albatrosses, shearwaters, petrels, prions and skuas.

Days 8 – 15: South Georgia – South Georgia – An exciting expedition with two adventure options: the normal sea voyage for “sea explorers” (with zodiac excursions and hiking options) and a land expedition for “ski explorers”.

You would be on board of the expedition vessel m/v Plantius and can find a description of the voyage on the Oceawide Expeditions web site:

If you are interested in this  LT&C study tour, you only need to express your interest to us and let us forward your name and contact to the tour operator and LT&C member Oceanwide Expeditions (email to: peter.prokosch@ltandc.org). You then will be contacted by the tour operator, who will do the booking with you on the following discounted prices (given in Euro):

Let us know your interest as soon as possible, and you are very welcome to spread the information also to others you know that may be interested in experiencing the Falklands and South Georgia and learn how tourism can support nature conservation.