Epic Antarctica - Falklands, South Georgia & Antarctic Circle Crossing (Ocean Diamond - Quark Expeditions) Checking in for the internal flights Buenos Aires to and from Ushuaia was chaotic. Despite arriving well in advance check ins opened with barely enough time to make the flights. Once at Ushuaia outward and return all Quark arrangements were clear and efficient. Hotel Albatross in Ushuaia was very good. Onboard Ocean Diamond the hotel service was excellent. The Quark team were excellent. The photographic, historical, geological, ornithological and wildlife lectures were of the highest quality in terms of technical content, detail and delivery. The daily briefings and recaps were informative and entertaining. The zodiak cruises, landings, hikes, paddling and other activities were excellent: fascinating; informative; exciting; well managed; safe; well supervised; well guided. The experienced Quark staff ensured that we saw at close quarters all the wildlife that could be expected for this trip: all penguin species except the Emperor; nesting albatross; elephant, fur, Weddell, leopard seals; orca; humpback and fin whales; guillemots, skewers, etc. The weather was kind to us so we were able to visit nearly all the planned destinations on this expedition skilfully scheduled by the ship's captain and the Quark Expedition Leader to ensure interesting activities each day. The scenery throughout was stunning, especially in the earie light of the midnight sun below the Antarctic Circle. I enjoyed the paddling, not booked in advance, which turned out to be an unexpected highlight getting really close to the wildlife. In conclusion the expedition exceeded my expectations!
The trip to South Georgia and Antarctica with was the best experience I had on my journey so far. The rooms on board the Ocean Diamond are big and comfy. The food was awesome and the landings worked very fast and organized so we could spend more time on shore.
from start till end this trip was amazing!
Everything went smoothly, from the pre-tour info, to information at the hotel and the logistics of the domestic flights and checking in on the boat. It felt very safe, especially for a woman travelling alone.
The crew on board was excellent! I loved the way every guide had his own ‘field of expertise’ which covered everything you wanted to know (and things you didn’t know you wanted to know ;-)).
The Staff was extremely helpful, happy, smiling and overall serviceminded. It was a pleasure!
Overall the program on board made sure that you almost didn’t have an idle moment, which for me was amazing! And the logistics of getting nearly 200 passengers into zodiacs 10 at the time, went so incredible easy, they crew are really professional and know how to make your experience the best possible.
I can highly recommend this trip to anyone who wants to explore the magic of Antarctica.
