Icons of South America & Antarctica with Iguazu Falls

Your holiday begins as you fly from Australia to your destination.

Arrive in Rio de Janeiro and check in to the Hilton Copacabana for a two-night stay. The hotel sits directly on Copacabana Beach with views of the Atlantic and Sugarloaf Mountain. This first afternoon is at leisure – the beach promenade, the Ipanema waterfront and the hillside neighbourhood of Santa Teresa are all within reach.

Scale the Corcovado Mountain on a cog train that will wind through the lush rainforest until you arrive at the foot of the towering Christ the Redeemer statue, where you’ll be rewarded with a breathtaking panoramic view.

Today, you’ll transfer to the airport and fly to Iguazu to uncover the ‘greatest curtain of water on Earth’. Over three nights, you’ll embark on a wonderful exploration, touring both the Argentinian and Brazilian sides.

Today you’ll explore the Argentinian side of the falls during a walking tour. Starting at The Devil’s Throat, you’ll stroll along the catwalk through rainforest teeming with colourful toucans to the large balconies located on the edge of falls.

Your final Iguazu Falls tour ends with a visit to the Brazilian side. As you walk along the catwalks, lose yourself in the incredible roar of the tumbling cascades and take in incredible panoramic views of all 275 waterfalls.

Flying to Buenos Aires, your holiday continues with a one-night hotel stay.

Embark Majestic Princess in Buenos Aires for the start of the 17-night cruise south. The ship overnights in port tonight, giving a full evening in the city before sailing tomorrow. Buenos Aires’s port precinct of Puerto Madero is a short walk from the ship, with converted red-brick warehouses housing restaurants along the waterfront.

A free day in Buenos Aires before the ship sails south this afternoon. The city rewards independent exploration: the neighbourhood of Palermo has the city’s best restaurant strip; La Boca’s colourful Caminito street is a short taxi from the port; and the Recoleta Cemetery, where Eva Perón is buried, is one of the most visited sites in Argentina. Tango shows run throughout the day in San Telmo.

The first full day at sea heading south from Buenos Aires. The ship is tracking through the South Atlantic, roughly parallel to the Uruguayan and then Patagonian coastline. At this latitude the ocean is busy with birdlife – albatrosses, petrels and skuas are commonly sighted from the decks as the ship moves into colder waters. Today is a good day to attend any onboard Antarctica briefings if offered.

Another day at sea moving south towards the Strait of Magellan. The ship is crossing the Patagonian shelf, one of the Southern Hemisphere’s most productive marine environments. Southern right whales, orcas and dolphins are regularly sighted at these latitudes in January. The water temperature drops noticeably as the ship approaches 50 degrees south. Binoculars on the balcony are useful from here south.

The ship approaches the Strait of Magellan, the natural passage between mainland South America and Tierra del Fuego that Magellan navigated in 1520. The surrounding landscape changes dramatically – flat Patagonian steppe gives way to jagged snow-capped peaks and the first sightings of glaciers become possible as the ship moves through the narrowing channel. Tomorrow the ship docks at Punta Arenas.

Punta Arenas is the southernmost continental city in Chile and one of the world’s great ports of call for southern ocean expeditions. The Plaza Armas and the Braun-Menendez Palace reflect the city’s wool-boom prosperity of the late 19th century. The Monumento al Ovejero commemorates the sheep farming heritage. For those who want to go further, a short trip to the Magdalena Island penguin colony (90 minutes by boat) puts Magellan penguins in close range – the colony holds around 120,000 birds.

Ushuaia is the world’s southernmost city, set on the Beagle Channel at the foot of the Martial Mountains. It serves as the gateway to Antarctica for most expeditions and carries a strong sense of being at the edge of the known world. Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse, known informally as the Lighthouse at the End of the World, sits at the entrance to the Beagle Channel. Tierra del Fuego National Park is accessible from town and offers forest walks along the Argentine Patagonian lakeshores.

The Drake Passage – the body of water between Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands – is widely regarded as the world’s most challenging stretch of open ocean. Conditions vary enormously: the Drake can be glassy calm (the ‘Drake Lake’) or a sustained Force 8 swell (the ‘Drake Shake’). Either way, the ship is heading south at roughly 60 degrees south, and the first Antarctic sightings are possible by late afternoon. The colour of the water changes noticeably here – from deep blue to a greener, colder tone as the Antarctic Convergence is crossed.

The ship enters the Antarctic Peninsula. The first icebergs typically appear well before landfall – blue-white tabular bergs calved from the ice shelves, some hundreds of metres long. The northern tip of the peninsula around the South Shetland Islands is the most accessible part of Antarctica and home to some of the largest penguin rookeries on the continent: Adélie, chinstrap and gentoo penguins. The onboard naturalist (where available) will begin briefings on what to watch for as the ship moves south.

The ship moves deeper into the peninsula today, with conditions often at their most dramatic in this section. The Gerlache Strait and Lemaire Channel — a two-kilometre-wide passage between sheer cliffs of ice and rock – are among the most photographed sights in Antarctica. Humpback whales feeding in the channel are a regular sighting at this time of year. Research stations (Argentine, Chilean and British) are visible on the eastern shore, some occupied year-round.

The third day in Antarctic waters is often the most settled as passengers find their rhythm for scanning the horizon. Leopard seals are a common sighting at this stage, resting on ice floes and occasionally observed hunting penguins at the floe edge. Crabeater seals — the most numerous large mammal on earth after humans – rest on pack ice in loose groups. The light in Antarctica at this time of year is extraordinary: the summer sun barely sets, giving long golden hours of low-angle light that transforms the ice.

The final day in Antarctic waters as the ship begins its northward turn. The light and ice conditions are often different on the exit – mist, low cloud and ice blink (the white reflection of pack ice on the underside of clouds) are common in the southern section. Wandering albatrosses, with wingspans of up to 3.5 metres, shadow the ship as it moves north towards the Drake. Many passengers find the exit more emotional than the entry – the realisation that they are leaving one of the few untouched places on earth.

The return crossing of the Drake Passage, heading north from the Antarctic Convergence back towards Tierra del Fuego. The ship is at roughly 60 degrees south and the sub-Antarctic islands of South Georgia lie to the east (not on the itinerary, but visible on navigation charts). The black-browed albatrosses that followed the ship south now peel away as the ship crosses back into warmer waters. Many passengers spend this day reviewing their photographs and attending any onboard wrap-up sessions.

Port Stanley is the capital of the Falkland Islands, a British Overseas Territory that fought a brief but significant war with Argentina in 1982. The town retains a strongly British character – red phone boxes, a cathedral, and a pub called the Narrows. The surrounding landscape is extraordinary for wildlife: rockhopper and Magellanic penguins breed within walking distance of the town, and Carcass Island offers black-browed albatross colonies for those taking excursions.

The first of two sea days heading north through the South Atlantic towards Uruguay. The ship is tracking along the outer edge of the Patagonian shelf – the same waters as the southbound transit, but now sailing towards warmer temperatures and the broad South American coastline. Southern right whales are sometimes seen in these waters in late summer as they begin their northward migration towards Brazilian breeding grounds.

The final sea day before Montevideo. The ship is approaching the broad estuary of the Río de la Plata, the widest river estuary in the world, where the Uruguay and Paraná rivers meet the South Atlantic. The water colour changes from deep ocean blue to a lighter, muddier tone as the ship enters the estuary. Dolphins are common in the estuary approaches. Tonight the lights of Uruguay become visible on the northern horizon.

Montevideo is the smallest and arguably most liveable capital in South America. The Ciudad Vieja (Old Town) is a compact grid of colonial and art deco buildings, many undergoing restoration. The Mercado del Puerto is the city’s most famous landmark – a 19th-century iron market hall where parilladas (mixed grills) are prepared on open charcoal fires. The city is also the home of Uruguay’s distinctive tannat wine, which pairs well with the local asado tradition.

Your holiday complete, today you’ll disembark your ship and head to the airport for your flight home.

Land back in Australia