Falkland Islands Tour Companies

Amazing. It had been ten years since my last trip on MS Expedition with this company. It is evenbetter now. Superb staff at every level. The itinerary was always subject to the weather but there was always a plan ‘b’ or even ‘c’. Following in the footsteps of Shacleton, Tom Crean etc was brilliant made even better by the experts on board and in the field. The whole trip could not be faulted and for this full credit to all the staff.

I just returned from Spirit of Shackleton trip to the Falklands, South Georgia, and Antarctica. I expected a lot from this trip, and somehow, G Adventures far exceeded my expectations. The zodiac tours were amazing, the crew aboard the Expedition were first class, and the accommodations were very comfortable and well maintained. My only complaint are the pounds I gained eating all that wonderful food! But I'll blame myself for that one. I can't wait to book my next adventure with G.

THE trip of a lifetime, itinery exceeded expectations AND so did the weather! What was the most inspirational moment of your trip? A true expedition  cruise aboard the excellent Vavilov (better than sister ship Ioffe because of its panoramic lounge)Highlights wereThe weather... and the changing lightStanding amongst 150.000 King penguins on South Georgia plus the Macaronis, Adeles Chinstraps and Magellenics The squadrons of Albatross and other birds surrounding the shipThe awesome vastness and remoteness of AntarticaSeeing  Orca  Humpbacks Dolphins and standing amongst fur seals and Elephant seals  and their pupsThe glaciers  icebergs growlers and pack ice  The desolate remains of old whaling stations ... a poignant reminder of our past and a photographers delight      What did you think of your group leader? No exodus leader as such, Aaron the ships leader(A ONE Ocean director) was enthusiastic charming and authorative and  his team of photographers, lecturers and wildlife experts were very informative, food was plentiful if a little too American eg sweetcorn with salmon and sweet cherry soup! The pastry chef was AWESOME! Do you have any advice for potential travellers? Take a travel mug to wander about the decks with your coffee/hot chocolate, towels and shampoo and conditioner are provided, as is a bathrobe. Rooms have decent fridge and tea making facilities . There are duty free shops in Ushaia to buy booze and one person bought 2 cases of wine on board! Take loads of camera memory! A laptop too to edit photos on the sea days.Take layers ..weather very changeable. "2  pairs of gloves a good idea and high factor sunscreen due to Ozone hole and good quality sunglasses.I took a monopod and would take  a tripod again and even invest in  a GOPro for some awsome time lapse photos of penguin colonies . The binoculars for hire were good quality Bushells as was the dripak for rib tranfers to shore which can be very wet.. so some sort of camera protection is essential. The wetskins clothing and thermal boots were good quality. Keep your fingers crossed as the internal flights have low baggage allowances ... my camera gear alone weighed 15kg but fortunately my carry on was not weighed although another traveller was caught. My Hotties hand warmers were excellent and would take again. Capture pictures of you fellow travellers in their bright red outfits... they provide interest and scale to photos and look great   Is there anything else you would like to add? Spend a day or two in Buenos Aires and avoid Madrid Transfer (bad experience 2 yrs ago to Patagonia with Aerolineas Argentinas...awful plane , staff , food and delays) or Iberia and go DIRECT to BA with British Airways from Heathrow.Ushaia is a strange place ... like a ski resort. Plenty of clothes shops and restaurants. A hike to glacier(taxi to start of walk)  trip to prison  plus light lunch were all achieved and worthwhile before meeting in hotel Albatross (good spa) for late pm ships departure.... Only complaint of whole trip which I have emailed ONEOCEAN about was disembarcation morning..this was shambolic and as soon as you had stepped off the gangplank at 08.30 they really didnt want to know... we were driven 1/4 mile from the ship into a carpark where the driver disappeared without any instructions leaving  everyone on the coach. After 20 mins,  a search party with a spanish interpreter found him and it transpired  that we were all to sit on the coach until our transfer to the airport (which has no facilities of note) . We had a 18.00 flight and this was TOTALLY unreasonable ie  an unnecessary 8 hr wait ... we took our baggage off the coach and together with some South Africans hired a minibus and driver and had a lovely 5 hrs in the Tierra del Fuego national park which was beautiful before he dropped us at the Airport.  Those who had gone direct to the airport were very envious and fed up.Although Exodus advised a late PM flight on day of departure ( in case the ship was delayed arriving in Ushaia) , on talking to the ONEOCEAN boss Aaron they have only been late once in over 100 trips and this was  a delay of over a day...  so a late flight wouldnt have helped. Aerolineas however are unreliable and change /cancel flights regularly. So definately advise arriving early for ships  departure from Ushaia especially as they had an unplanned national strike on the day of our arrival and at least 15 passengers were affected .  

The trip was wonderfully organised, good mix of landings and zodiac excurions. On the sea days, it was hard to be bored in between yoga sessions, penguin lectures and the entertainment. Visiting Antarctica, The Falklands and South georgia was a humbling experience... Rolling mountains, hearing the roar of avalanche, watching whales swim past the boat, watching elephant seals inspect you as you walk past them - you have the opportunity to be right there, visiting and co-existing with penguins and seals rather than observing them from afar... What was the most inspirational moment of your trip? Hiking to a high point in South Georgia and watching this sea of king penguins intertwined with a sea of king penguin chicks was incredible!! So beautiful and such an incredible moment that you are finally here living this trip! Also, seeing a humpback whale emerge from under the boat and seeng its whole body just underneath the surface of the water was the most beautiful experience... What did you think of your group leader? Woody is incredible - very knowledgable, charismatic and has an infectious enthusiasm for everything which just makes it even more exciting!! Do you have any advice for potential travellers? Whilst it's not the cheapest of trips (it took me years of saving!) - if seeing colder climates, whales, penguins...etc. is your thing - this trip is a must and it is well worth the wait! The beauty of colder climates never ceases to amaze me - especially the colours. Dont think the peninsular is just whte, you will be amazed at the colours you see...Good camera is obviously a must! For the ocean diamond, you need a european two round pin plug. Quark give you a thick waterproof/fleece lined jacket for the zodiac excursions/landings - you don´t need to bring your own equivilant!!! Camera batteries/video camera batteries - buy spare ones - cant emphasise this enough. The cold zaps the battery's life and nothing worse than your camera dying when a penguin chick comes over to inspect your ruksack! Spare batteries - keep them somewhere warm to get the maximum out of them!!! Dry bags for inside the rucksack are a must (spray from zodiacs) and also waterproof covers for cameras - whilst its summer in that side of the world, it's still Antarctica and you can literally get 4 seasons in one day.   Is there anything else you would like to add? Don't forget your swimming costume for the polar plunge!!!