From Puerto Williams to Puerto Williams · South America & Antarctica · 15 nights
This little ship has an intimate style and personal service, and following a refurbishment in 2021 now offers both expedition and classic itineraries.
Silver Wind is a lovely size; with just 274 guests, she’s a
cruise ship in miniature, and an ice-strengthened hull allows her
to offer both expedition and classic voyages. You can expect all
the facilities and space of a larger ship, with the intimacy of a
small yacht. She’s comfortable in the middle of a great ocean, but
can also slip up rivers and into tiny harbours.
Puerto Williams has the feel of a true frontier town, situated on windswept Navarino Island facing out across the Beagle Channel. It's home to a fishing port and an important Chilean naval base, and is often described as 'the world's southernmost city', although it's debatable whether it's really a city. The surrounding mountains offer a spectacular backdrop for hiking and kayaking, while to the south lies the infamous Drake Passage and, beyond that, the frozen continent of Antarctica.
Remote and virtually uninhabited, the island of South Georgia is a beautiful and fascinating place. The landscape of jagged, snowy peaks and dramatic fjords is home to an abundance of penguins and seals, as well as ghostly abandoned whaling stations and the grave of Sir Ernest Shackleton.
Named after the elephant seals that live along the coast, Elephant Island is synonymous with the early days of Antarctic exploration. It was here that Ernest Shackleton and his men were stranded for four months, and a monument to their bravery now stands on the island, often surrounded by Gentoo penguins.
Antarctica is the world’s last great wilderness, an alien landscape of snow-covered mountains, jagged icebergs and extraordinary wildlife. January is a great time to visit, with temperatures at their warmest (by Antarctic standards), long hours of daylight (great for photographers), and the chance to see penguin chicks and seal pups.
Icy and remote, the South Shetland Islands are situated about 100 miles north of the Antarctic peninsula. The archipelago is home to a scattering of research stations, along with thousands of penguins, seals and sea lions, and you can still see the remains of Ernest Shackleton’s ship the ‘Endurance’ on the south west shore of Elephant Island.
Puerto Williams has the feel of a true frontier town, situated on windswept Navarino Island facing out across the Beagle Channel. The surrounding mountains offer a spectacular backdrop for hiking and kayaking, while to the south lies the infamous Drake Passage and, beyond that, the frozen continent of Antarctica.
