Antarctica

A trip to the last great wilderness

February 16 - 28, 2023

The Inaugural Walking Softer Leadership Summit will commence with a trip to the world's southernmost continent, Antarctica. We will sail in comfort and style on the expedition-ready Island Sky. During this immersive experience, 104 guests will both witness and learn about the real-time impacts of our changing climate. With this voyage, Walking Softer aims to inspire action to conserve and rewild our planet through the re-imagining of how we live and how we lead.

Trip Highlights

  • Walking Softer programming throughout: keynote speakers, scientific lectures, panel discussions, breakout sessions, workshops, and curated networking for each guest to learn and connect with each other
  • Sail for 8 or 11 nights on the elegant and comfortable Island Sky
  • Polar Latitude’s 15 person Expedition Team will be joining us with expertise in all things Antarctica
  • Fine-dining cuisine
  • Antarctica's rich and diverse wildlife makes it one of the most pristine and wild places to visit on earth. And February is peak whale-watching season!
  • Zodiac cruising amidst immense glaciers and towering icebergs
  • Stops at active scientific bases and historical sites
  • Citizen Science Programs in partnership with research facilities like NASA and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography – the data we collect will contribute to a better understanding of Antarctica’s unique ecology and changing climate
  • Kayaking opportunities
View Trip Logistics

Adventure Schedule

FEBRUARY 16

Arrival in Argentina

  • Arrive in Buenos Aires
  • Hotel check-in, explore the city
  • Kick-off Happy Hour drinks and appetizers at the hotel

FEBRUARY 17

Travel to Ushuaia & Set Sail

  • Group flight – Buenos Aires to Ushuaia
  • Afternoon ship embarkation – meet the Expedition Team and the ship's officers, safety and orientation briefing, followed by the Captain's Welcome Dinner
  • Set sail! Travel down the Beagle Channel, passing Magellanic penguin, rock cormorant, and sea lion colonies, enter the open ocean of the Drake Passage

FEBRUARY 18-19

Drake Passage Crossing

  • The infamous 48-hour Drake Passage crossing. While some crossings will encounter turbulent seas, the captains are experienced and well equipped to change course regularly for the smoothest path. Grab your binoculars to identify the albatrosses, prions, and petrels that follow the ship as we cross the Antarctica Convergence into colder waters and noticeably cooler temperatures

FEBRUARY 20-25

Exploring Antarctica

Our days in Antarctica will feature two daily ‘off ship’ excursions and landings exploring rugged coastlines, picturesque bays, and famed harbors, with stops at penguin rookeries, seal wallows, bird colonies, and whale feeding areas as well as sites of historic and scientific interest. Opportunities for camping, kayaking, and hiking excursions, plus an optional polar plunge for the brave!

FEBRUARY 25-28

Return Option 1

We leave this magical place and make our way north, once again crossing the famed Drake Passage. The sail north will allow us time to decompress and integrate the life-changing memories made.

  • Feb 28: Morning arrival in Ushuaia, disembark ship
  • Same day flight from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires. Overnight flights back to the U.S. (departing EZE no earlier than 8 p.m. on Feb 28)

FEBRUARY 25-26

Return Option 2

  • Fly from King George Island, Antarctica to Buenos Aires, changing planes in Punta Arenas, Chile
  • Stay one night in Buenos Aires and fly back to the U.S. anytime on Feb 26
  • This option has limited space and is weather dependent. If the flight from King George Island can't depart due to weather, all guests will need to return on Return Option 1

About Walking Softer

Our vision is an inclusive, biodiverse world where all life thrives.

With eight billion people on the planet all desiring and deserving to live a decent life, we must reinvent how we live. We’re currently trapped in an endless cycle of hyper-consumerism with a consume, trash, repeat mentality.

This short-sided mindset must be challenged. How we make things like food, clothes, and consumer goods must evolve to be more sustainable. The same is true for transportation, construction, and energy production — it is all ripe for reinvention. This necessary shift is also the biggest economic opportunity the world has ever known.

We are on a mission to inform, inspire, and support change-makers to take bold and immediate action in the conservation and regeneration of our planet.

Let’s move!

Questions? Email antarctica@walkingsofter.org.