Tours

Trips take place in the short window afforded by summer in the southern hemisphere -- December through early March -- and generally launch from the tip of South America, spending two days crossing the often-rough Drake Passage to arrive at the Antarctic peninsula. Longer itineraries can include the Falkland Islands and South Georgia Island. Cruise editor Tom Stieghorst spent two weeks in December as a guest of Abercrombie & Kent aboard the Ponant ship Le Lyrial with 164 other passengers on an Antarctic expedition.