ANTARCTICA NEW! ANTARCTICA + PATAGONIA, ARGENTINA TO SOUTH GEORGIA GO DEEP ABOARD OUR POLAR FLEET SOLAR ECLIPSE PATH IN 2021 PLUS FREE AIR 2021-2023 VOYAGES | EXPEDITIONS.COM Hanusse Bay, Antarctica 66.56° S, 67.29° W Realizing that out here in pure wildness, curiosity is mutual. That’s the exhilaration of discovery. TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 Going Where Awesome Is 4 The Perfect Platform 8 Freedom to Explore 10 Our Expedition Team 12 Undersea Discoveries 16 National Geographic Photographers 18 Antarctica: The White Continent 20 Itinerary: Journey to Antarctica 22 Itinerary: Antarctica & Patagonia: Legendary Ice & Epic Fjords NEW 26 Antarctica, South Georgia & the Falklands 28 Itinerary: South Georgia & the Falklands 30 Itinerary: Antarctica, South Georgia & the Falklands 32 Itinerary: Wild Coasts of Argentina, South Georgia & the Falklands NEW 34 Epic Antarctica: The Peninsula to the Ross Sea & Beyond 36 Itinerary: Epic Antarctica 38 Explore More: Optional Extensions 40 Life Aboard 42 Dining Aboard 44 National Geographic Explorer 46 National Geographic Endurance/National Geographic Resolution 48 Offers, Terms & Conditions ICE FEVER: IT’S A THING 2 GOING WHERE AWESOME IS EDIFYING. EXHILARATING. AND DEEPLY MOVING. The Antarctic ice sheet is the most distinctive feature of Earth as seen from space—every astronaut’s account mentions it. And the ice is what makes every Antarctic explorer vow to return. There’s a whole glossary of ice words to learn—macro-scale terms like fast ice, leads, and growlers, to more granular terms like brash and bergy The single best whale encounter bits. Ice is visually stunning, and nearly kaleidoscopic in I’ve ever had. Over the course its diversity of form. But what’s exhilarating to discover is “ of two rounds of Zodiac cruises a group of very friendly the ice’s voice. Sitting in a stilled kayak, listening to the humpbacks circled our Zodiac subtle sibilance of thousand-year-old gases releasing in a clear display of curiosity. It was a highlight of the trip for from a bobbing field of floating bergy bits is like eaves- many of the guests that were dropping on Earth’s whispered secrets. Once you’ve nearby including myself.” experienced it, you’ll never forget it. — ERIC GUTH Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor WWW.EXPEDITIONS.COM 3 ULTIMATE POLAR EXPEDITION SHIPS EXPLORING ANTARCTICA SHOULD BE A PINNACLE EVENT IN a traveler’s life. We’re committed to doing whatever it takes to make your experience the most memorable ever—and our expedition ships are key. Top-tier Ice Class vessels, each is purpose-designed and built, incorporating 55+ years of polar experience, for exploring the ice in comfort and safety. The captains of the Lindblad-National Geographic The captains of the Lindblad-National fleet are extraordinary mariners, with decades of ice Geographic fleet are extraordinary mariners. For example, Leif Skog, Lindblad navigation expertise. Our expedition teams are hand-picked VP of Marine Operations and Master of the for their knowledge of polar natural history and their ice National Geographic Explorer, has been navigating vessels in Antarctica nearly skills. Equipped with state-of-the-art tools, our ships are every season since 1979 on over 200 polar unparalleled bases for explorations. And the logistics on voyages. As past Chairman of the IAATO Marine Committee (Int’l Assn. of Antarctica each are superb, designed to swiftly and efficiently get you Tour Operators), he was a primary architect off ship on your choice of thrilling daily forays. of the IAATO Emergency Contingency Plan for all vessels operating in Antarctica. NEW TWIN SHIPS: National Geographic Endurance and National Geographic Resolution. 4 THE PERFECT PLATFORM National Geographic Explorer 5 6 After breakfast, we zipped to shore at Brown Bluff, “ a fascinating geologic area where we found hundreds of penguins. This is a colony which supported 100,000 pairs of Adélie penguins earlier in the season, but is now reaching the season’s end. There were a handful of Adélie chicks and many gentoo chicks testing the waters and exercising their wings. The beach shallows were kiddy pools filled with fluffy chicks sticking their heads into the water, wading in, and being pushed around by small incoming waves. We enjoyed watching their antics for a couple of hours, as well as finding a solitary fur seal, and taking a hike onto the edge of a glacier.” — EMILY MOUNT Naturalist aboard National Geographic Explorer 7 EXPLORE YOUR WAY EACH DAY OUR ANTARCTIC ITINERARIES ARE CRAFTED BY EXPLORERS, and every itinerary point features opportunities to head out and discover, in one dynamic way or another. The freedom of choice means opportunities to choose how active you’ll be, whether kayaking among bergy bits, hiking up a ridge to a vista overlooking a cove, or instead taking a short stroll along the shore where penguins are gathered. Our seamless shore-landing operation, perfected over decades, gets you I’m a highly active person, so always appreciate every chance quickly ashore to share in exploring. Your freedom of choice “ to get off ship. And in the early extends to which members of our naturalist staff you choose season, when our captains can “garage” the ship in the to spend time with aboard ship. With a diverse team with frozen sea ice, everyone can broad expertise, you may choose to join your photo instructor descend directly for a once-in- a-lifetime walk, snowshoe, or at the deck rail to get tips on landscape photography, cross-country ski trek. When or stand next to an expert birder with binoculars in hand, the conditions are just right, or join one of our knowledgeable historians to learn about it’s a thrilling and incredibly memorable way to experience the golden age of Antarctic exploration in the region we’re this vast landscape. It also exploring. You can begin each day with a morning stretch shows that there is never a dull moment, or a ‘lesser’ time to go, class, or a pre-breakfast coffee at the 24/7 coffee/tea during our Antarctic season.” stations on the ship. Revisit the day at evening Recap, while — SVEN LINDBLAD, CEO & Founder, Lindblad Expeditions enjoying drinks with your traveling companions, or by relaxing solo in one of the ship’s many nooks and crannies where you can read or journal. 8 1.800.EXPEDITION (1.800.397.3348) FREEDOM TO EXPLORE 9 OUR TEAM IS ACE AT DOING WHAT IT TAKES ROALD AMUNDSEN WINNING THE RACE TO THE NORTH POLE. JEAN-BAPTISTE CHARCOT charting the Antarctic peninsula. Neither of them have anything on you—you’re a natural born Antarctic explorer, too. But sometimes even the most intrepid of adventurers need a guide—and that’s where we come in. Our team has the knowledge and passion for Antarctica that will kindle yours. They will do whatever it takes, from manning spotting scopes to search for whales; lingering on deck to shoot photos of passing petrels; to finding and exploring uncharted coves and waterways when conditions enable it. 10 DOING WHATEVER IT TAKES A Zodiac foray in search of leopard seals with a polar “expert had us searching the brash ice that the seals gravitate to. We navigated from ice floe to floe. Sure enough, there it was! We slowly approached the ice while he radioed to other Zodiacs in the area so they could see too. Will never forget that serpentine smile. (The leopard seal, not the staff.)” — BEN D., Guest aboard National Geographic Explorer 11 DISCOVER THE SELDOM-SEEN POLAR UNDERSEA BECAUSE THE UNDERSEA IS VITAL TO YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF Antarctica, we’ve committed the technology and personnel resources to offer what no other travel company in Antarctica does—an exploration of the vivid and surprising world beneath our ship. During the voyage, an undersea specialist will don special polar diving gear to explore and shoot video of the Antarctic marine environment and its otherworldly creatures. You’ll get to see this amazing world on TV screens in the warm comfort of the lounge, with our undersea specialist as your guide. You’ll see what lies beneath the ice and discover strange and wonderful lifeforms. In some cases, our specialists have photographed specimens not known to scientists. See the life lived on Antarctica’s ice, and the marine life found deep beneath the surface. 12 1.800.EXPEDITION (1.800.397.3348) UNDERSEA DISCOVERIES 13 It was the actual anniversary date of Lars-Eric Lindblad’s first expedition to “ Antarctica in 1966, and we’d all had a champagne toast in the lounge in his honor. After dinner, a few people noticed the sky becoming pink, then orange…and before I knew it, I was on the stern watching the fieriest sunset of my life—at 11:00 p.m.—the entire sky flooded with reds, pinks, yellows, and oranges across the horizon, illuminating the peaks. Even long-time naturalists like Pete Puleston and Bud Lehnhausen said they’d never seen a sunset like that in Antarctica.” — AMY H., Guest aboard National Geographic Explorer 14 15 Antarctic Peninsula 63.53° S, 56.90° W 15 GET YOUR BEST SHOTS WITH A NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHER 16 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHERS NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Endurance, and National Geographic Resolution are the only expedition ships exploring Antarctica with National NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Geographic photographers aboard on every departure. PHOTOGRAPHERS Travel with a National Geographic These photographers, many with significant careers to their photographer on any National Geographic credit, have inspired countless professional and amateur Explorer, National Geographic Endurance, and National Geographic Resolution photographers, and accompany our ships to inspire and assist voyage and benefit from their pro you. And, they are flanked by Lindblad-National Geographic knowledge and experience.