We’re Going to Antarctica!

And this time, you can join us on a tour to Antarctica. In December 2023, we returned to the ocean once again—together. And we are continuing to fulfil one of the dreams we were left with after returning from our second circumnavigation —going back to Antarctica! This is the ultimate challenge for any sailor and traveller. Every one of our guests surpasses themselves amid the harsh waters of the legendary Drake Passage and majestic icebergs. Here, whales slap their tails, seals bask on ice floes, and penguin colonies raise their young. Here, the polar nights are white, and the air rings delicately with a dream come true. Antarctica! Who could have imagined it would become our life? And we are happy to share this catharsis with you, our coolest friends and followers. In the 2024–25, 2025–26 and 2026–27 seasons, we are setting sail for the White Continent aboard the 37-metre, two-masted schooner Elsi . Read the details and message us on Telegram @travely_family_manager Why do you need to join this tour to Antarctica? It is the only continent that humans have not yet settled, and for that very reason its pristine wilderness has survived. Its ice has not yet melted, and unafraid wildlife lives among it—penguin colonies, sea lions and leopard seals, whales and orcas... Here, there are blue icebergs in fantastical shapes and anchorages unlike anything else. Among them are an anchorage beside a grounded vessel and one in the caldera of a dormant volcano, where warm springs rise from the seabed and you can even go for a swim. During the expedition, you will become part of the crew and discover what it means to reach the most inaccessible place on the planet shoulder to shoulder. Fascinating lectures, illuminating conversations and evening games await us. Scientists and your polar guide, Marina Klochkova, will be on board, and with them you will discover your own Antarctica through heroic stories and untouched wilderness. Read more about our team and the expeditions that have made us unique and mega-experienced here >> The crew of the sailing schooner Elsi Andrey Klochkov —captain of the sailing schooner Elsi. Marina Klochkova —expedition leader and polar guide. Lada Klochkova joined us on our first expedition as a young sailor. She was even put on a salary—deducted from her own money—with the words, “If you work hard, sweetheart” :). During our other Antarctic seasons, the young sailor stays ashore to attend school. 6 professional crew members and 17 guests. The Vessel Elsi is a 37-metre, two-masted steel expedition sailing schooner. She accommodates 6 crew members and 17 guests. The vessel has 3 heads, 3 showers, and hot and cold running water. Every cabin has sockets for charging your gadgets. There is a large saloon where all the guests can gather at once to savour the chef’s culinary masterpieces, play games, attend lectures, chat and celebrate :). Accommodation is in two-, three- and four-berth cabins. In previous seasons, Elsi successfully completed 19 expeditions to Antarctica via the Drake Passage. A berth in a cabin costs from €11,000. The price includes: accommodation, exquisite meals prepared by the finest cook in the polar regions, the services of a professional crew, all fees (fuel, port, etc.), permits to visit national parks and protected areas, excursions, lectures and sightseeing—plus colourful stories about everything you see. Schooner Elsi (now Ruach Love) Tour to Antarctica: Stages The tour to Antarctica aboard the schooner Elsi in the 2026–27 season will last 17 days. Throughout the voyage, we will take care of all of the following: your full board and safety; all fees, including fuel, port, customs and national park fees; You can look forward to excursions in our company, sightseeing—plus colourful stories about everything you see. On 6 December, we will leave Ushuaia, enter the Beagle Channel and cross the Drake Passage , then call at King George Island (Waterloo Island), home to the northernmost Russian Antarctic station, Bellingshausen . Next door to Bellingshausen, the Chilean polar station has an airfield from which you can fly to and from Antarctica if you are travelling on one of the other vessels in the flotilla (message our manager on Telegram for details: @travely_family_manager ) What is there around Bellingshausen Station? the world’s southernmost continuously operating church—Holy Trinity Church, built from Altai cedar in 2004. a large elephant seal colony, which we will definitely visit penguins—chinstrap and subantarctic polar station saloon polar souvenirs a genuine polar explorers’ banya After Bellingshausen Station, weather permitting, we will visit Deception Island—the flooded caldera of an active volcano, where hot springs rise and a huge population of chinstrap penguins (the “policeman” penguins) lives. We will call at Yankee Harbour and Half Moon Island This is a sheltered harbour with a shingle beach. It is home to colonies of gentoo penguins and elephant seals, and you may encounter fur seals. Seen from above, Half Moon Island resembles half a moon. Hence the name. Off Greenwich Island Trinity Island Here, we cruise in a Zodiac—a large inflatable boat—between enormous icebergs and arches in the rocks rising out of the water. Enterprise anchorage We moor alongside the Governor, a whaling ship that partially sank in 1915, and set off to look for whales. If we are lucky, we will witness one of the most astonishing spectacles in nature—bubble-net feeding, when several whales burst from the water at once, engulfing krill trapped in a net of bubbles. From above, these bubbles look like a perfect spiral. Paradise Harbour Paradise Bay Probably the most beautiful anchorage on the Antarctic Peninsula. Here, we head out to see the blue face of a glacier moraine, climb the mast and... go swimming! Paradise Bay. Antarctic Peninsula, yacht Lady Mary, 2019 Orne Harbour. Cuverville Island A tour to Antarctica would be incomplete without meeting colonies of gentoo penguins and blue-eyed shags. You can climb the hill and watch whales and seals. From the very top, there is a panoramic view of the neighbouring group of islands and icebergs. Weather permitting, the bravest among us will set off on a mini-hike up this mountain. Cuverville Island is a rocky island whose bay is choked with icebergs It is home to a colony of gentoo penguins, also known as Antarctic penguins. Seals rest on ice floes in the waters of the bay. We are bound to come across a crabeater seal or a Weddell seal, or perhaps even a leopard seal. In the neighbouring bay, we will admire an enormous glacier. Blocks of ice break away from it and crash into the water with a deafening crack, throwing up a towering wave. Cuverville—photo by Kirill Umrikhin The tour to Antarctica comes to a magical conclusion with the Lemaire Channel. The Yalour Islands The Lemaire Channel separates Booth Island from the mainland of the Antarctic Peninsula. It is considered the most beautiful channel in these parts. At its narrowest point, sheer 500-metre cliffs squeeze the passage to a width of just 300 metres. Passing through the channel is one of the highlights of an Antarctic cruise. Orcas and humpback whales often swim in here. The Yalour Islands —rocky islets near Akademik Vernadsky Station. One of the few places on the Antarctic Peninsula with a colony of Adélie penguins—the very penguins that inspired the characters of Lolo the Penguin and his family. The islet is surrounded by icebergs and ice floes. As always, seals lounge about on them like loaves of bread. Port Lockroy Station On about the thirteenth day of the journey, we will send postcards from Port Lockroy Station. A hundred years ago, the port was a whaling base. It later became a British research station, and in 1996 it was turned into a museum housing the southernmost post office in the world. During the Second World War, it was even a base for the secret anti-Hitler Operation Tabarin! But shhh... don’t tell anyone :). Important: the itinerary and landing sites may change depending on weather conditions. The captain decides whether or not to call at any given anchorage. Dates and Figures A tour to Antarctica for one person (a berth in a cabin aboard one of the other schooners), all-inclusive, costs from €11,500 to €12,900. This is the best offer for an expedition of this calibre, with a flight across the Drake Passage. Children aged 8 to 17 travelling with an adult receive a 15% discount. Departure is from Tierra del Fuego (the city of Ushuaia , Argentina). In the 2026–27 season, you can join us aboard the schooner Elsi for Antarctica from 6 to 22 December and complete your own “hero’s journey” with two crossings of the Drake Passage. Gentoo penguins You can also take a tour to Antarctica aboard other sailing vessels in our fleet, starting in late October. For details, message our manager on Telegram: @travely_family_manager or join our groups on VK and Telegram Photo by Kirill Umrikhin At the end of March, we usually sailed to the Patagonian fjords . These are wild, narrow channels and inlets in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago. One of the most beautiful places on the planet, they are accessible only from the water. No paths or roads lead there, and large vessels cannot enter most of the fjords. These secret shores are strewn with large mussels and inhabited by unafraid wild guanacos, foxes and the king of the Cordillera—the condor. But while we find out whether we can work within the restrictions Chile has imposed on voyages into this wild and veeeery southern paradise, get inspired—watch the video from the Fuegian fjords on our YouTube channel .