A Complex Choice
People take a look at our pictures and say: "Cool! I want to do that!" That's the easy part. A visitor to Antarctica is presented with an array of choices to make based on desires, time available, budget, and physical condition.
Destination
There are no tourists at the south pole. Yes, a couple of groups of adventurers or movie makers have hired planes, packed in Antarctic survival gear, and gone there, but they are the exception, that's going far beyond tourism. If you insist on going to the South Pole, get a doctorate in a related discipline and start applying for grants.
The majority of Antarctic tourism visits the Antarctic Peninsula, as we did, because it is closest to a usable port (Ushuaia) and lies at the northernmost latitudes. There are some tour operators, such as Polar Cruises out of New Zealand, that run longer cruises in the Ross sea area using a Russian icebreaker, and make landings on the continent proper, but you are also talking about much more expensive expeditions.
The size of the ship is an important consideration. Larger ships are more stable and have more luxurious accommodations, but guidelines often limit landings to no more than 100 tourists ashore at one time. Larger ships will need to limit time ashore and take longer to allow all the passengers a chance at a landing. The largest cruise ships simply cruise the areas allowing viewing from on deck, but make no landings. On the other hand they have hot tubs and midnight buffets.
Our choice, dictated by a desire to set foot on Antarctica and not just watch it through the window, was to sign up for a tour offered by General Tours under the title "Land of the Penguins" as an acceptable compromise between cost and destinations. We were assisted in this by our able travel counselor at Vacations To Go.
Timing
This one is easier: you go in the summer. Southern hemisphere summer, that is: February, March. The days are long (sunset around 10 pm) and the temperatures are a balmy 40 degrees F. The pack ice has opened up, and your ship can get through. Also, this is the only time the trips are offered.
Physical Condition
If
you want to walk on Antarctica, you have to be able to do more than
walk. Visualize yourself doing the following:
- Donning high rubber boots, waterproof clothes, and a personal flotation device.
- Going down a steep staircase on the side of the ship.
- Timing your step from the ship to a bobbing rubber boat.
- Stepping down into the boat and sitting on the edge.
- At the landing, moving to the front of the boat, swiveling around and standing up in the surf and wading ashore.
-
Walking up to a mile on a terrain of fist-sized rocks.
(Optional: you could wander around the landing site or stretch out
on a bed of fist-sized rocks.) - Slipping on penguin droppings.
- Wading back out to the boat, sitting on the side and swinging your legs in.
- Standing up in the bobbing boat with support from the crew member.
- Stepping up onto the side of the boat, then quickly stepping over onto the bottom of the ladder as it goes by.
- Climbing back up onto the ship.
- Scrubbing the penguin poop from your boot soles.
We are not athletic, agile or in the best of shape, but we did it. Some of our fellow passengers needed quite a bit of help getting in and out of the boats. You will have helping hands along the way, but if you simply can't do all of the above you should consider a large ship cruise with no landings. You'll be more comfortable, and save quite a bit of money.
Getting to the Ship
Our tour from General Tours included "all airport transfers." Normally we just shrug and think of that as a simple courtesy, but if you book your own air transport, leave time and money for those transfers. Here is a typical routing:
- Check in at your local airport for an international flight. Your luggage can only be checked as far as Buenos Aires (EZE), not all the way to Ushuaia (USH)
- Go through customs at Buenos Aires International airport.
- Take a one hour shuttle ride across Buenos Aires to the regional airport (AEP)
- Check in, then pay the $20 airport tax. You may also have an excess baggage charge if you have more than 33 lbs.
- Collect your baggage in Ushuaia and take a cab to the pier.
It gets more complicated if you have a hotel stay along the way. Our advice: go ahead and pay for the transfers. It's so very reassuring to come out of customs and see a guide holding up a panel with your name on it.