Richseen Private Journeys · Antarctica

Polar & Antarctica by Private Jet

The Last Frontier · Patagonia · Antarctica · Torres del Paine · South Pole
12–16 Days · Southern Hemisphere
From USD 95,000+ per person
"Antarctica from the air — the continent that covers 14 million square kilometres, contains 70% of the Earth's fresh water, and whose silence at the South Pole is the most absolute available anywhere on the planet."
The Journey

Antarctica,
The Last Continent

Antarctica is the last continent — the 14-million-square-kilometre ice sheet that covers the South Pole, contains 70% of the Earth's fresh water, and whose interior has never been permanently inhabited by any human civilisation. The continent is protected by the 1959 Antarctic Treaty whose signatory nations have agreed that it shall be used for peaceful purposes only, that environmental protection is paramount, and that scientific cooperation is the framework within which all human activity there must occur. The Antarctic Peninsula — the finger of land that extends northward toward the tip of South America and whose proximity to Tierra del Fuego makes it the most accessible portion of the continent — provides the gateway for the private expedition whose purpose is to experience the landscape, the ice, and the wildlife in conditions that the commercial expedition infrastructure cannot fully replicate.

The Polar and Antarctica expedition by private jet is structured around the specific logistical challenge that Antarctica presents: the continent is not serviced by commercial aviation's scheduled network; the gateway from South America is either the Drake Passage crossing by ship (48 hours each way in seas that produce the most challenging open-water conditions accessible to passenger vessels) or the direct flight to King George Island or the Union Glacier base from Punta Arenas, Chile (2.5 hours by charter aircraft). The private jet circuit — Santiago to Torres del Paine to Punta Arenas, and the charter flight south — eliminates the commercial routing compromise and allows the Patagonian programme (which constitutes the most dramatic non-polar landscape available anywhere in South America) to be completed at the pace that the Torres del Paine experience requires before the Antarctic transit.

This 12-to-16-day itinerary combines the Patagonian lodge programme (Explora Patagonia above the Torres del Paine National Park; Awasi Patagonia in the Torres del Paine sector; or The Singular Patagonia on the Last Hope Sound fjord) with the Antarctica fly-in expedition via Union Glacier Camp — the most logistically sophisticated single luxury travel operation in the southern hemisphere, whose access to the interior Antarctic continent provides experiences that the Peninsula's cruise-ship programme cannot approach. The private jet connects the journey's segments in the conditions that the weather windows and the expedition logistics require rather than the commercial schedule permits.

Signature Moments

Six Encounters
with Antarctica

The Torres del Paine at dawn, the Drake Passage crossed by air in 2.5 hours, and the Antarctic interior whose silence is the most absolute available anywhere on Earth.

01
Antarctica — The Continent That Contains 70% of Earth's Fresh Water
Antarctica as the experience that no other destination approximates — the continent whose 14 million square kilometres of ice sheet contain the world's largest single freshwater reserve, whose interior plateau at 2,835 metres above sea level produces wind speeds of up to 320 kilometres per hour, and whose silence at the South Pole (where there is no wind, no wildlife, no geological sound, and no human infrastructure beyond the Amundsen-Scott Station) is the most absolute available anywhere on Earth. The expedition whose purpose is to be present in this specific environment — to see the tabular icebergs whose scale makes aircraft appear small; to observe the emperor penguin colonies whose behavioural adaptation to the Antarctic winter is the most extreme in the animal kingdom; and to understand the planet from the perspective that only this continent provides.
02
Torres del Paine — The Patagonian Granite Towers at Dawn
The Torres del Paine — the three granite towers of the Cordillera Paine whose specific geological formation (the resistant igneous intrusion that remained standing as the surrounding softer rock eroded over 12 million years) produces the most dramatically immediate mountain silhouette in South America at sunrise, when the towers catch the first light above the Mirador Las Torres. The Patagonian landscape whose combination of the granite peaks, the turquoise lakes coloured by glacial flour, the Perito Moreno glacier advancing into Lake Argentino, and the endemic wildlife (the guanaco, the puma, the Andean condor) makes it the most visually complete single natural environment accessible from South America's gateway cities.
03
Union Glacier Camp — The Interior Antarctica Gateway
Union Glacier Camp on the Heritage Range — the blue-ice runway at 79°45'S whose natural ice surface allows wheeled aircraft to land in the conditions that make fly-in Antarctica access possible without the Drake Passage crossing. The camp's position in the interior Antarctic continent (not the Peninsula) provides access to the Ellsworth Mountains, the Vinson Massif (Antarctica's highest peak at 4,892 metres), the Heritage Range peaks, and the interior icefield whose scale — visible in every direction to the horizon with no terrain break — makes the Antarctic scale most immediately comprehensible. The most logistically demanding luxury expedition operation in the southern hemisphere.
04
Perito Moreno Glacier — The Advancing Ice Wall Visible from the Shore
The Perito Moreno Glacier in Los Glaciares National Park — the 250-square-kilometre glacier advancing into Lake Argentino at 2 metres per day, one of the few glaciers in the world that is not retreating but maintaining or advancing, and whose periodic rupture events (when the ice dam that the advancing glacier forms against the Peninsula Brown releases) produce the most immediately dramatic single natural event accessible to visitors in Patagonia. The viewing platforms across the lake; the trekking programme on the glacier surface; and the private boat that approaches the calving face at the distance whose scale the hull's relationship to the ice wall makes most immediately comprehensible.
05
Explora Patagonia — The Lodge Above the Park's Most Dramatic View
Explora Patagonia above the Torres del Paine National Park — the all-inclusive lodge whose programme of daily guided excursions (the Mirador Las Torres at dawn, the Valley of the French with the Cuernos del Paine glacier face, the Grey Lake kayak approach to the Grey Glacier, and the puma tracking programme on the park's western shore) constitutes the most comprehensive single exploration of Torres del Paine available from a luxury base. The lodge's position above the Salto Chico waterfall and the Pehoé Lake in the park's interior places the programme's most demanding routes within driving distance while maintaining the architectural and culinary quality that makes the Explora a destination rather than a staging point.
06
The Drake Passage Crossed by Air — 2.5 Hours Instead of 48
The flight from Punta Arenas to King George Island or Union Glacier — the 2.5-hour crossing of the Drake Passage by charter aircraft whose specific value is most legible from the alternative: the 48-hour ship crossing of the world's most challenging open-water sea passage, where the convergence of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Southern Oceans produces the swells and wind conditions that make the Drake the reference sea crossing for maritime endurance. The private jet circuit that positions the Punta Arenas departure as the natural conclusion of the Patagonian programme; and the charter aircraft to Antarctica as the single transit whose efficiency transforms the expedition's overall quality from admirable to exceptional.
Key Highlights

What Makes This Journey

01 🧊
Antarctica — The Interior Continent, Not Just the Peninsula
The Antarctica fly-in expedition to Union Glacier Camp — the interior Antarctic continent at 79°45'S, accessed by charter aircraft from Punta Arenas in 2.5 hours, providing access to the Ellsworth Mountains, the Vinson Massif, and the interior icefield whose scale in every direction to the horizon makes the continental perspective most immediate. The experience that the Peninsula cruise-ship programme cannot provide: the interior silence, the mountain ascent programme, and the specific quality of the Antarctic light at this latitude in the austral summer season.
02 🏔️
Torres del Paine — Patagonia's Most Complete Landscape
Four days in Torres del Paine National Park with the Explora, Awasi, or The Singular Patagonia as the base — the Mirador Las Torres at dawn, the Perito Moreno Glacier calving face by boat, the puma tracking programme, the Grey Glacier kayak approach, and the guanaco and condor wildlife of the southern steppe. The Patagonian landscape whose combination of granite, ice, turquoise lake, and endemic wildlife makes it the most visually complete natural environment in South America, and the necessary first chapter of the expedition whose Antarctic conclusion makes the context most comprehensible.
03 ✈️
Private Jet Circuit — Santiago to Patagonia to Antarctica
The private jet circuit that transforms the southern hemisphere expedition — Santiago to Punta Natales (Patagonia, 3 hours by air versus 20 hours by road); Punta Natales to Punta Arenas (45 minutes); and the charter flight from Punta Arenas to Union Glacier (2.5 hours direct). The routing that eliminates the commercial network's constraint on the Patagonian programme's pace and makes the Antarctic transit accessible from the expedition's natural conclusion point in the far south rather than requiring a return to Santiago for connection.
Sample Itinerary

Key Segments & Movements

The Patagonian season runs October to April; the Antarctic fly-in season operates November to January when the daylight is continuous at the Union Glacier latitude. The private jet routing is Santiago → Punta Natales → Punta Arenas, then the charter aircraft to Antarctica. The Antarctic weather window is 48–72 hours in advance; the private jet circuit is confirmed around the charter flight's weather confirmation. Total duration: 12–16 days.

Every Richseen Polar expedition is individually arranged. The Antarctica fly-in to Union Glacier requires booking 12 months or more in advance. Weather dependency is inherent to the Antarctic programme; the Patagonian lodge stays provide the flexible buffer that accommodates the weather window. The private jet routing is confirmed at the time of booking.

Days 1–2
Santiago — Cultural Orientation · Wine · Vitacura
Arrive at Santiago International Airport with private transfer to the Four Seasons or Mandarin Oriental in Providencia. Day 1: the Vitacura district — the Lastarria and Barrio Italia for the most concentrated gallery, restaurant, and design culture in Santiago; the Mercado Central for the Chilean seafood whose freshness the market's morning hours make most directly accessible; and the Cerro Santa Lucía for the city panorama. Day 2: the Casablanca Valley (90 minutes west) for the white wine tastings — the sauvignon blanc and chardonnay whose coastal fog conditions make the Chilean coastal valley the most distinctive single white wine region in South America; and the private jet preparation briefing for the Patagonian departure the following morning.
Santiago — Four Seasons / Mandarin Oriental
Days 3–6
Torres del Paine — Mirador · Glacier · Puma · Grey Lake
Private jet from Santiago to Punta Natales (3 hours; 90-minute alternative for propeller aircraft to the Punta Natales airstrip). Transfer to the lodge. Day 3: arrival and orientation — the Pehoé Lake view from the Explora's terrace, the programme briefing, and the first evening walk to the Salto Chico waterfall. Day 4: the Mirador Las Torres at dawn — the 4-hour return trek whose ascent through the lenga beech forest to the moraine lake below the three granite towers produces the most immediately rewarding single mountain walk in Torres del Paine. Day 5: the Perito Moreno Glacier by private vehicle to El Calafate and the boat approach to the calving face. Day 6: the puma tracking programme on the western shore — the guide's knowledge of the park's resident puma territories and the recent sighting data whose combination makes the encounter most probable.
Explora Patagonia / Awasi Patagonia
Days 7–10
Antarctica — Punta Arenas · Union Glacier · Interior Continent
Private jet from Punta Natales to Punta Arenas (45 minutes); the expedition briefing and gear check at the ALE (Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions) base. Charter aircraft from Punta Arenas to Union Glacier (2.5 hours over the Drake Passage and the Antarctic coastline). Arrival at Union Glacier Camp: the blue-ice runway landing, the camp orientation, and the first Antarctic walk in conditions of 24-hour daylight. Days 8–9: the Ellsworth Mountains programme — ski touring or ski mountaineering in the Heritage Range; the Vinson Massif base camp visit; and the interior icefield walk where the scale and the silence are most immediately confronting. Day 10: the return charter to Punta Arenas (weather-dependent; the Patagonian lodges provide the return buffer if the weather window extends).
Union Glacier Camp, Antarctica
Days 11–13
Patagonia Return — The Singular · Last Hope Sound · Recovery
Return to Patagonia from Punta Arenas — private car or aircraft north to Puerto Natales for the post-Antarctic decompression at The Singular Patagonia on the Last Hope Sound fjord. The Singular's industrial building conversion (the former frigorífico — the meatpacking plant that processed the region's lamb and beef for export from 1915 to 1971) provides the most architecturally distinctive single post-expedition address in Patagonia: the machinery of the original plant preserved in the hotel's public spaces, the fjord views from the rooms whose industrial windows frame the Last Hope Sound, and the restaurant whose Chilean Patagonian cuisine makes the return from the continent most specifically regional.
The Singular Patagonia
Days 14–16
Departure — Punta Arenas or Santiago Return
Final Patagonian days at the pace the recovery from the Antarctic expedition requires — the Torres del Paine viewpoint from the Last Hope Sound road; the Mylodon Cave (the 30-metre-high cavern where the remains of the Giant Ground Sloth were discovered in 1895 in conditions of such exceptional preservation that the Argentine explorer Francisco Moreno initially believed the animal might still be alive); and the private jet from Punta Natales or Punta Arenas to Santiago for international connections. The expedition documentation — the photography, the Union Glacier expedition certification, and the geographic coordinates whose record makes the Antarctic journey most precisely legible as the southernmost single experience available to private travellers — prepared by the Richseen concierge for the return.
Punta Arenas / Santiago International Airport
Luxury Stays

Where You Rest Matters

Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia
Patagonia — 4 Nights
Explora Patagonia
Salto Chico, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
Explora Patagonia above the Salto Chico waterfall — the all-inclusive lodge whose daily guided excursion programme constitutes the most comprehensive single exploration of Torres del Paine available from a luxury base. The Mirador Las Torres at dawn; the Grey Glacier kayak approach; the puma tracking on the western shore; the Cuernos del Paine valley with the hanging glacier faces visible above the lenga beech forest. The programme designed specifically for the park's best conditions — the morning light on the towers, the afternoon wind reduction in the Valley of the French, and the tracking windows that the resident guide team's knowledge of puma territories makes most productive.
Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia
Patagonia — Alternative Option
Awasi Patagonia
Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
Awasi Patagonia — the boutique lodge whose individual guide-per-cabin model provides the most personalised Torres del Paine programme available: each cabin is assigned a dedicated guide for the duration of the stay, and the daily excursion programme is constructed entirely around the individual guest's pace, fitness, and interests rather than a shared schedule. The lodge's position in the park's southern sector; the private vehicle for each cabin group; and the guide whose specific knowledge of the park's wildlife corridors and the daily conditions makes the encounter with guanacos, condors, and pumas most reliably productive. The most intimate single Patagonian lodge experience available.
Last Hope Sound, Puerto Natales, Patagonia
Post-Antarctic Recovery — 2–3 Nights
The Singular Patagonia
Km.5 Puerto Bories, Puerto Natales, Chile
The Singular Patagonia on the Last Hope Sound — the former frigorífico (meatpacking plant, 1915–1971) converted to a hotel whose industrial building preservation in the public spaces and the fjord views from the guest rooms provide the most architecturally distinctive single post-expedition address in Patagonia. The machinery of the original plant — the boilers, the conveyor systems, and the processing equipment — displayed in the hotel's museum section whose curatorial approach makes the region's economic history legible as the context for the Patagonian landscape the expedition has been exploring. The restaurant's Chilean Patagonian cuisine; the spa; and the Last Hope Sound by private boat for the fjord exploration that the Antarctic return makes most restorative.
Exclusive Experiences

Moments Designed for You

🧊
Antarctica
Union Glacier Camp — Interior Antarctic, 2.5 Hours from Punta Arenas
The Antarctica fly-in expedition to Union Glacier Camp at 79°45'S — the charter aircraft from Punta Arenas over the Drake Passage to the blue-ice runway at the Heritage Range base. The interior Antarctic continent: the Ellsworth Mountains programme (ski touring, peak attempts, or guided icefield walks depending on the guest's experience and the expedition team's assessment); the 24-hour daylight at this latitude in November and December; and the specific silence of the interior icefield that the Peninsula cruise programme's social infrastructure cannot approach. The most logistically complex single luxury expedition operation available to private travellers in the southern hemisphere.
🏔️
Torres del Paine
Mirador Las Torres at Dawn — Puma Tracking — Grey Glacier Kayak
The Torres del Paine programme from the Explora or Awasi — the Mirador Las Torres at dawn (the 4-hour return trek whose moraine lake below the three granite towers produces the most immediately rewarding single mountain view in Patagonia); the puma tracking on the western shore (the resident guide team's knowledge of the park's puma territories makes the encounter most probable in the early morning and late afternoon periods); and the Grey Glacier kayak approach (the 2-hour paddle from the Grey Lake northern shore to within 200 metres of the glacier face whose calving events are most accessible from the water). Three experiences whose combination in four days makes the Torres del Paine programme most complete.
🐧
Antarctic Wildlife
Emperor Penguins and Weddell Seals — The Antarctic Interior Ecosystem
The Antarctic wildlife programme at Union Glacier — the Weddell seal colonies on the sea ice accessible from the camp by ski or foot; the skua and snow petrel observations at the Heritage Range nesting sites; and the possibility (weather and logistics dependent) of a flight to the Antarctic Peninsula penguin colonies accessible from the interior base. The wildlife in conditions of genuine isolation — no other visitors, no commercial vessel infrastructure, and the specific behavioural quality of animals that have no learned fear of human observers in the Antarctic interior's absence of historical hunting pressure.
✈️
Private Jet
Santiago to Patagonia to Antarctica — The Southern Circuit
The private jet circuit whose routing makes the southern hemisphere expedition coherent — Santiago to Punta Natales (3 hours, eliminating the 20-hour road journey from the Chilean capital); Punta Natales to Punta Arenas (45 minutes, positioning the Antarctic departure as the natural conclusion of the Patagonian programme); and the charter aircraft from Punta Arenas to Union Glacier (2.5 hours, crossing the Drake Passage in the conditions that make the Antarctic interior accessible without the ship transit's weather dependency). The routing whose efficiency is most visible in the contrast with the alternative: the commercial network's Santiago to Punta Natales option requires a connection through Puerto Montt and a 5-hour bus or 8-hour drive to the park entrance.
Visual Journey

Through the Lens

Begin Your Story

Craft Your
Private Journey

Every detail — from your first morning above Torres del Paine to your final steps on the Antarctic interior icefield — is composed entirely around you. Speak with your dedicated Richseen journey consultant today.

From USD 95,000+ per person

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