I couldn’t have asked for my first Antarctica trip to have gone so well.
And it could have quickly gone wrong.
I’ve put this blog post together to help you plan your first Antarctica cruise and give you an idea of what to expect.
Antarctica is a challenging destination to get right, especially on your first trip.
There are many types of Antarctica trips; these range in price, duration, route, ship size, and excursion offerings.
I don’t want you to make the mistakes I made when I went to Antarctica for the first time.
For example, knowing what to pack? Antarctica is like no other continent, and you must expect the unexpected when faced with the elements.
Even the time of year you visit Antarctica can drastically affect your trip experience.
Explaining Antarctica and the areas you will most probably visit
A large majority of Antarctica expeditions that depart from Ushuaia, Argentina, will visit the Antarctic Peninsula.
This is the closest land mass of Antarctica and the most straightforward to reach after crossing the Drakes Passage.
You will mostly explore this part of Antarctica, which includes a large selection of islands, and you will also have the chance to land on the Antarctica mainland.
You can find expeditions that go further and deeper, such as crossing the Antarctic Circle.
You can also find Antarctica expeditions that visit the Falklands and South Georgia.
Another mammoth expedition is taking one that crosses the Ross Sea or the Weddell Sea.
Fly cruises are also becoming more popular for those who want to skip the Drakes Passage.
The idea is you fly from Punta Arenas in Chile and pick up the cruise in Antarctica so you can skip the Drakes Passage entirely and get straight to the heart of the action.
Opting for this not only means there will be fewer passengers on the cruise due to the capacity of the aircraft, but you will most likely get your own room on the ship because there are fewer people.
When you take into account the additional costs of the flight and lower capacity on the ship, this is expensive compared to other cruise options.
There are loads of different options; the most affordable option will be exploring the Antarctic Peninsula.
Why I’m happy I booked my first trip with a travel agent to Antarctica
I’m relatively independent in my travel booking decisions and happy to DIY book my trips and adventures.
However, with Antarctica, this is a different beast and price tag.
Going with a travel agent to Antarctica unlocks a whole wealth of skills and knowledge, and they also have that added guarantee of looking after you if things go wrong.
They can also offer good value, especially if you’re up for a last-minute solo deal like myself.
Working with a travel agent to perfect your Antarctica trip is a smashing idea.
Using a travel agent to handle my booking was the best advice I received, and what I highly recommend you do, to guarantee a successful first trip.
Travel agents send thousands of passengers to Antarctica every year, and they’re armed with a wealth of knowledge of what works and what doesn’t.
Antarctica is one of the lesser-explored regions on the planet, and somewhere you’ll probably only visit once in your life, so getting it right is important.
Everyone travels differently, and getting advice to tailor your dream trip to your needs is what a travel agent can offer.
I booked my Antarctica Cruise Oceanwide Basecamp 13-day trip on MV Plancius with Adventure Life, and they took great care of me the whole way.
This was a trip of a lifetime, so it was crucial to get it right.
Cheapest trip to Antarctica isn’t usually the best value
(Kayaking in Antarctica was included in my Basecamp package, which can usually be a costly bonus in addition to your Antarctica cruise).
This one took me by surprise.
Normally, the cheapest deal is always the best value, but not when it comes to Antarctica.
Let me explain.
Like budget airlines, you have the low price you first see, but it slowly adds up once you request all the add-ons.
This is the case when booking cheap Antarctica deals, too.
Most Antarctica cruises will only include the base fare and no added extras.
I was fortunate in my case, as I booked myself onto the Oceanwide Basecamp Plancius trip, which included unlimited activities (weather permitting) and rental gear all in the total price.
These were the activities on offer:
– Kayaking
– Snowshoeing
– Mountaineering
– Zodiac rides and landings
– Basecamp overnight
– Photography workshop
– Educational seminars.
Many of these activities would be an extra charge on other Antarctica Expedition Cruises, something you might not have factored into the total cost.
When you see the price of the Oceanwide Plancius Basecamp Expedition, you can really see how much of a great value the trip is. This is especially important if you are after an active adventure cruise and want to do as much as possible while in Antarctica.
Honestly, this trip is fantastic value for money.
In fact, the only additional charges we had to pay were for the gratuities, Wi-Fi package, and drinks from the bar.
They also had a small gift shop onboard and you will need some cash for the Penguin Post Office in Port Lockroy too – although they do take card payment in British Pounds.
Apart from these things, all meals, snacks, water, and hot drinks were included in the total price.
I had such a fantastic adventure with Oceanwide.
While it might not initially seem like the cheapest Antarctica cruise, it’s excellent value for money once you consider what you get included.
This is why I’m so happy that my first trip to Antarctica was without limitations. Everything was covered, and I could focus on having an incredible time – and wow, I honestly did!
You can travel Solo to Antarctica and last minute, too
(Having BBQ with other solo travellers I made friends with on my Antarctica cruise)
If you want to travel solo to Antarctica, many expedition cruise operators will require a solo supplement.
My advice is to mention to your travel agent that you wish to travel solo to Antarctica and are happy to share.
They might already have another solo client making a booking who is also happy to share.
The beauty of a travel agent is they can make your two bookings together.
How great is that?
This way, you can get around the solo supplement charge you would usually have to pay if you opted to book directly.
Also, if you’re flexible, this might be a great way to bag a last-minute discount deal.
Travel agents have a good overview of what rooms they can sell, and they might have a solo bed available for a great last-minute deal.
The best advice is to talk to a travel agent and see what availability they have.
-Best time to visit Antarctica – January
If you look at prices, you will soon learn that the shoulder season is the most affordable time to visit Antarctica.
The big reason is that the weather can be terrible and unpredictable.
The trade-off is that many activities risk being cancelled or routes are limited once you reach Antarctica.
I recommend planning your visit in January, which is usually the best time to see Antarctica weather-wise.
Antarctica, located south of the Equator, experiences its peak summer when Europe is in the depths of winter.
December and February are the next best options, but you’re entering unpredictable weather territory after that.
The time of year is one of the main reasons that affects the price of an Antarctica cruise.
I went to Antarctica in December, the second-best time to visit, and spent Christmas and New Year’s Eve there, which was a wonderful experience.
I was fortunate with the weather. Only one moody day on the whole trip affected what we could do.
We still did landings and a zodiac safari that day, so I managed to make the most of my journey and wasn’t affected by the weather.
The coldest Antarctica got on my trip was -3°C, and that was at night while camping outside on base camp.
During the day, when the sun was out, the weather was lovely – it hardly even felt cold – apart from when we were whizzing around with the sea breeze on the zodiacs.
The chances of poor weather is the risk you take when booking months surrounding January – and hence is why it’s reflected in the price. I hope it all makes sense now.
The importance of getting to Ushuaia, Argentina early
Three days early to Ushuaia, Argentina? Is this necessary? Yes!
So many things can go wrong with getting to the starting point before you’ve even stepped foot on your expedition ship heading to Antarctica. It’s best to arrive early.
Ushuaia, Argentina, is considered the end of the world. It’s the gateway port to starting your adventure to Antarctica.
However, it’s not easy to get to; it can be a bit of a fingers-crossed, touch-wood affair.
But arriving a few days early guarantees a greater chance of having some buffer space if things go wrong.
After all, why risk missing the trip of a lifetime to Antarctica just because you didn’t want to arrive a few days earlier?
Ushaia has been known to have flight-cancelling weather conditions and even airline and airport strikes.
Your Antarctica expedition ship will not wait for you; it must depart on time, so arriving early is so important.
I met a passenger on my Antarctica cruise who was supposed to depart on their cruise five days prior. However, due to bad weather, his domestic flight was cancelled.
I flew from London Heathrow, in the UK, to Miami with American Airlines and then to Buenos Aires.
Then, for domestic flights within Argentina, you need to switch to a different airport to continue your journey. I took a flight with Aerolineas Argentinas to reach Ushuaia.
Arriving in Ushuaia with a few days spare allowed me to adjust to the time zone, rest, and pick up some last-minute supplies from around town.
Ushuaia also has loads to do, and almost everyone is gearing up for Antarctica and in a good mood. It’s a fun place to be and explore.
The size of the ship does matter and makes a big difference to your Antarctica trip
(Travelling with a smaller expedition ship meant we could access and do much more!)
This was also a fact that I was unaware of before travelling to Antarctica.
Your expedition ship’s size makes a difference from your Antarctica trip.
Oceanwide MV Placuis on my base camp expedition had 150 passengers and crew.
The perfect size and number of passengers for an Antarctica trip are needed.
Why, do you ask?
Our crew held a briefing and explained how Antarctica landings work. Learning why choosing the best expedition ship is so important was eye-opening.
Antarctica doesn’t have a sole governing body but works as an Antarctic Treaty supported by a collection of nations.
Most of the continent’s inhabitants are scientists conducting research.
An expedition cruise like Oceanwide can only operate in Antarctica if it is a member of the IAATO; the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators.
This ensures everyone follows responsible tourism practices in Antarctica.
In fact, each passenger pays IAATO a daily fee of $8 to ensure its continued operation and to offer some structure to tourism in Antarctica.
Did you know that cruise ships carrying more than 500 passengers are not allowed to land in Antarctica?
These large vessels can only sail in Antarctic waters, but they cannot disembark their guests onshore.
One massive advantage of travelling to Antarctica on a smaller expedition vessel under 500 passengers is the opportunity to make landings.
The smaller the capacity, the more landing time your expedition ship can conduct.
Every morning, every member of IAATO is allowed to book a landing spot on the portal for around four hours, either in the morning or the evening.
It’s done on an honesty system, and ships in the same area talk to each other to make landings work.
That means your expedition leader has to log in to the IAATO portal early in the morning and book a four-hour slot.
Each landing is permitted for 200 passengers at maximum. This means that if you travel on an expedition ship with 400 passengers, you must rotate your passengers every 2 hours for each slot.
For example, 450 would be three rotations of an hour and twenty minutes to allow all the passengers equal time to make a landing.
This was when I learned that travelling on Oceanwide Plancius with only 150 passengers onboard was an excellent hidden bonus that I was unaware of.
We could maximise our time by using all four hours on every landing and spending the most time on landings on our base camp trip.
We did just that and made the most of every landing on our base camp trip.
Each day we were in Antarctica, we did a landing and a zodiac safari trip, as we had enough zodiacs so that everyone could enjoy the expedition without the need to rotate passengers.
This was definitely a bonus of travelling with a small ship like Oceanwide Plancius.
We did so much with the bit of time we had, making the most of the trip, that’s for sure.
However, the one downside of travelling on a smaller vessel is the more challenging crossing of the Drakes Passage.
This is the price you pay, but it is well worth it, in my experience. If you can survive the two or three days on the Drake, the reward will be worth it.
The Internet is expensive in Antarctica; best to go offline.
(Spend your cruise offline and enjoy reading in the onboard Library!)
With my loaded Amazon Kindle Paperwhite, I was prepared to go offline for two weeks without connection to the outside world.
One thing that surprised me was that they do have internet access in Antarctica.
But you have to purchase an internet package.
Internet data onboard Oceanwide Plancius was around $120 for 250 Mb, so I opted to send the two-week expedition to Antarctica offline.
I can happily live without the Internet for two weeks for those prices. It’s a hidden blessing, as I should spend more time offline and focus on the expedition ahead.
Why is the Internet so expensive? It concerns satellite connectivity, the standard for any maritime cruise when you’re away from land and at sea.
Even in Antarctica’s remoteness, you can still connect to the Internet via the satellite feed, but this will cost you a pretty penny for the privilege.
I managed to find an affordable workaround to communicate back home.
I purchased a satellite ship email account for $20, which allowed me to send unlimited KB text emails throughout the cruise.
Before departure, I created a list of my friends and family’s email accounts so I could contact them using my temporary ship email account.
Then, a few times throughout the day, your emails will ping over once a satellite feed has been secured, and then emails will arrive in your ship inbox in the same fashion.
It was great value to be able to connect with friends and family over Christmas and New Year’s, which, to be honest, felt like being on Windows 1995 all over again.
I used this time to write a daily email update log on how the expedition was going.
I did this once at the end of every day, which was an excellent way to reflect on what we had done.
It was also a great way to track what we got up to each day, as we did so much on our Oceanwide base camp trip.
This took me right back to 2005 when I was using travel blogging to communicate with everyone back home on my travels.
It allowed me to spend almost zero time online and focus on enjoying Antarctica offline over the holidays.
And if anything urgent arose or information needed to be shared, I had an email account that I could contact, which was handy.
Being able to send family and friends a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year email was enough for me to feel connected with them back home.
I didn’t feel like I was missing out, even though I couldn’t have possibly been any further away from everyone.
I truly feel that the offline voyage at sea is a great way to disconnect from work and life distractions and focus on the trip ahead.
In my case, it being Antarctica, I wouldn’t do it any other way.
This little bit of daily satellite email time allowed me to keep track and do a daily journal, which was nice. I haven’t done this since the earlier days of blogging.
I keep notes on my day-to-day journey like an old school captain’s log and share them with my exclusive email list to feel a little bit connected over the holidays.
With the rise in Starlink, I can only see connections in Antarctica getting better and possibly more affordable.
I’m sure it won’t be long before a more portable device is launched.
The UK Antarctica Heritage Trust has set up a solar-powered Starlink at the Penguin Post Office in Port Lockroy.
They’ve just started a blog, and we shall see what else comes from the new connectivity possibilities.
Explaining the Drake Passage – The Drake Shake!
You can fly to Antarctica, but most cruises must pass through the Drake Passage to reach the continent.
The journey through the Drake Passage can take between two and three days to complete and around the same to return.
Voyage time depends on the conditions of the passage.
If you look around YouTube, you can find loads of videos about crossing the Drake Passage, some more shocking than others.
Most passengers take sea sickness tablets or patches, which you can sort out before your cruise with the onboard doctor.
I didn’t opt for this option as I don’t get motion sickness.
I know that the Drake Passage is the main reason many people won’t go to Antarctica.
I’m not going to paint a pretty picture, as the Drakes passage can be rough, and my personal experience wasn’t the worst, but it wasn’t the best either.
It’s just part of the Antarctic experience, and once we safely crossed, we were greeted by calm and relaxing waters. It was all worth it in the end.
The rough voyage was worth the reward, something to bear in mind for your first experience.
Your Antarctica route is dependent on weather conditions
Your trip to Antarctica is dependent on weather conditions. I found this point most interesting, and it surprised me once we departed.
Our trip leader onboard the oceanwide MV Plancius informed us that any itinerary our travel agent gave us could be destroyed immediately.
The daily weather forecast determines the route.
Each day, the crew reviews the weather report to determine the safest passage and what to do for the next few days.
It makes sense. Antarctica’s weather can be unpredictable, and it’s better to move with good weather than follow a planned route that could lead to bad weather.
Even the Drake Passage weather report could mean an earlier departure from Antarctica to ensure a safer passage.
Luckily, I went in December/January, the peak time to visit weather-wise.
We had fantastic conditions throughout our expedition, which was down to the crew’s knowledge, making the best judgements each day to ensure our safety.
We only had one moody day, and activities such as kayaking were cancelled because the Water was a little bit too choppy.
However, we still went out on the zodiacs, and it was fine, just a bit cloudy.
For first-timers, consider that your route around Antarctica might be different than expected.
Take each day as it comes and thank the crew for doing an incredible job of navigating tricky waters and making safe judgements to ensure an enjoyable passage.
Thank you for reading my blog post about Antarctica
I appreciate you passing by and reading my blog post about Antarctica.
I had an amazing first trip to the continent, and this is why I want to share my experience with you.
I hope this article has helped towards your trip planning to Antarctica.
If you would like some top packing tips for Antarctica, be sure to read my 10 Things I would take blog post.
Have a fantastic journey to Antarctica!
Before you go, be sure to check out my packing tips blog post for Antarctica.
