Four nights under the granite towers of Torres del Paine, then a photography voyage down the Antarctic Peninsula: fly over the Drake, sail back across it.
Tap any point for the day it belongs to. The three larger gold dots are the trip's anchors: Laguna Amarga at sunrise, the charter landing on King George Island, and the Lemaire Channel, which is a hope rather than a promise, since the expedition team sets the route day by day.
Each day carries a locator map (tap to jump to the full map), its theme, and an energy read. A gold pill marks a clock someone else sets (a flight, Aurora's check-in); everything else is a suggested shape, not a schedule. The whole trip runs on UTC−3: Santiago, Magallanes and Argentina all sit there in January. Sun times are calculated, not looked up, and the ship may keep its own clock.
United to Houston, then the overnight to Santiago.
The long leg south. The departure time is United's published schedule for the winter season; how many days a week it flies in January 2027 is still unconfirmed, so check it before building the rest of the chain on it.
Santiago to the park in one push.
Clear immigration and the agricultural check, collect the bags and check them again for the southern flight. The onward leg is a separate ticket, so nothing carries your luggage through for you.
A midday flight south to Puerto Natales, then the lodge transfer into the park, about 1.5–2 hours. 11:50 is the earliest departure worth considering, three hours after the Santiago landing, not a flight that exists yet.
The towers side, at first light.
The towers catching first light across the lagoon, and a reflection if the water is still. This is the one to protect: if the wind takes it, Saturday is the retry.
The guanaco herds on the open steppe by Lago Sarmiento. The lodge's own excursion menu should replace this slot once it's in hand.
The Pehoé side: falling water, then still water.
Salto Grande, then the flat trail on to the Mirador Cuernos viewpoint, wind permitting. The trail is shut when it blows hard, which in Patagonia is not a rare event.
Lago Pehoé with the Cuernos behind it, on the way back to the lodge. The evening light is better, but sunset is near ten and the lodge is an hour and a half away, so staying for it means a midnight return before a possible 06:10 retry. Take it in the afternoon unless Saturday's sunrise is already safe.
The first ice of the trip, or a second chance at the towers.
If Thursday's sunrise was blown out, a repeat of Laguna Amarga: this is the day held open for exactly that. Otherwise the long drive to Lago Grey for icebergs on the beach, if the lake has any that week; that is a daytime outing, not a dawn one.
Out of the park, and a night held in reserve.
The lodge transfer to Punta Arenas, and a buffer night before Aurora's check-in, because the Antarctic charter can't be caught up later.
Voyage day 1, on land.
Check in by two, voyage briefing in the evening. If the weather window is good, the charter can leave today instead of tomorrow, so be packed to the charter limits before you walk in.
Under two hours in the air instead of two days at sea.
About an hour and forty-five minutes on the BAe 146, then a Zodiac out to the ship. The flight has no published clock; Aurora calls it on the weather, and can hold for up to 72 hours. If there's no flight by 06:00 on voyage day 4, the voyage is canceled for credit. This row is timed to the island's sunset because the charter has no clock of its own.
Seven days of ice, on the ship's clock.
Seven days on the Peninsula and the South Shetlands. Landings or Zodiac cruises twice a day, some at sunrise and sunset, with fewer guests per Zodiac so there's room to shoot, and photography workshops in between. The expedition team picks the sites day by day; the Lemaire Channel and a continental landing are the hopes, not promises. On the list for the long lens: humpback and minke whales, gentoo chicks, leopard, crabeater and Weddell seals.
North across the Drake.
A last morning landing in the South Shetlands, then two days north across the Drake. Albatross and petrels off the stern, and Cape Horn if time allows.
Up the Beagle Channel and north.
Off the ship around eight, after the run up the Beagle Channel.
An afternoon flight to Buenos Aires, direct to Ezeiza if there is one. It's a separate ticket from the United flights home, and Argentine airline strikes are a real risk, which is one more reason the Saturday is free.
A free day in Buenos Aires.
Nothing planned yet. United's Ezeiza flight doesn't run on Saturdays, so the day is open, and it doubles as a buffer against a late Friday.
The overnight home.
The overnight to Houston and the connection home.
— written after the trip.
Compiled Sep 26, 2026. Schedules and sites change; the voyage route is decided day by day on board. Sources: Aurora, Through the Lens · Aurora contingency plans · Hotel Las Torres · Mirador Cuernos · UA847 · SCL–PNT