Secret Atlas has announced a new series of Antarctic Circle Expedition Micro Cruise by Air departures aboard Aureum
Set to depart across 2027/28 and 2028/29, the new offering takes guests aboard Aureum, Secret Atlas’ 36-guest explorer yacht.
Guests will skip the two-day Drake Passage crossing in both directions, by flying from the Secret Atlas expedition hub in Puerto Natales (Chile), to King George Island. This gives them more time on the Antarctic Peninsula rather than at sea.
Aureum is the first ship of its size to operate in Antarctica and South Georgia, as well as being the Antarctic flagship of the Expedition Micro Cruise, where polar expeditions are limited to 12 guests in the Arctic and 36 in the Antarctic.
With exciting wildlife opportunities on every Zodiac trip, guests can expect Gentoo and Adélie penguins, humpback whales, and leopard and Weddell seals.
Expedition leaders, scientists, and naturalists will also be on hand to share expert insights.
Michele D’Agostino, co-founder and CEO of Secret Atlas, said, “Crossing the Drake is a rite of passage but sailing it both ways takes four days out of a short Antarctic expedition.
“Flying gives those days back to the Peninsula. With 36 guests on board, we can use every one of them: everyone ashore at once, no queue for the Zodiacs, and a team small enough to change the plan when the ice or the wildlife asks us to.”
Secret Atlas’ Antarctic Circle Expedition Micro Cruise by Air departures aboard Aureum are now open for bookings for the 2027/28 and 2028/29 seasons.
Expeditions include the ‘Antarctic Circle Expedition Micro Cruise by Air’, leading in at £16,000 per person, or ‘Antarctic Circle Christmas Expedition Micro Cruise by Air’, with prices starting at £18,500 per person, including nine days departing on December 20th or 22nd, 2026.
