If the epic stories of discovery, endurance and polar explorers like Shackleton, or the sheer magnificence of ice-capped peaks don’t grab you, the wildlife certainly will: penguins (king, gentoo and macaroni), sea lions, fur seals and enormous elephant seals cozy up to these shores. Only here on South Georgia can you observe one of the world's great wildlife spectacles: literally, 100,000 king penguins on a single beach. This is the expedition for wildlife or photography enthusiasts, or for those who have already been to Antarctica and want more.

Decades of exploring South Georgia and the Falklands has given the Lindblad staff the expertise and time needed to survey the islands' terrain for hiking routes, as well as to uncover important landing spots that we will now be able to call on with ease. You'll go by Zodiac and kayak where few have gone.

When to go? Nowhere is springtime as intense as in the southern ocean. In October, the land is fueled by sunlight and food and life here explodes in a frantic race to breed. Spring is the best time to see the raucous courtship behavior of the penguins: calling for mates and flashing and preening their bright colors. Then in March, late summer in the Antarctic region, the chicks have hatched and grown a fuzzy brown down of feathers. You can walk the beaches as thousands of king parents go about their busy lives, taking turns bringing food to their chick.

South Georgia is the ultimate destination for jaw-dropping scenery, boundless wildlife and captivating history, and it will affect the way you tell stories about travel and wildlife adventures for years to come.