ANTARCTICa TRAVEL GUIDE

Free Travel Guide for Expedition Cruise and Deep Field Expeditions to Antarctica

To get your electronic copy of the guide or arrange a free consultation with a true expert contact us at hello@islandsandicetravel.com 

“Antarctica is a wild remote wilderness that touches everyone who visits leaving lasting memories and an abiding respect for nature.  Visiting Antarctica is a profound experience for scientists, tradespeople, mariners and tourists alike.  It’s the only place on earth dedicated to peace, science and human exploration, setting an example for us all on how we can cooperate and collaborate for the benefit of all humankind.”  David Sinclair

David Sinclair, Founder and General Manager of Islands & Ice Travel has prepared a detailed destination guide for Antarctica to help people eager to visit Antarctica to navigate the various options. The guide leverages David’s two decades of experience visiting Antarctica as an Expedition Leader, Naturalist, Zodiac Driver and Expedition Host since 2007. 

Over the past two decades David has guided groups in the Falklands Islands, South Georgia, Antarctic Peninsula, Ross Sea, Commonwealth Bay, the New Zealand sub-Antarctic islands and Macquarie Island. He has spent time in all five major Antarctic gateway cities (Hobart, Ushuaia, Punta Arenas, Christchurch and Cape Town) and has scouted, curated and hosted deep field expeditions to Dronning Maud Land (including the first ever tourism visits to Astrid and Lazarev Emperor Penguin colonies and Lake Untersee). David has also travelled to the South Pole twice. David’s ship-board and polar expedition experience extends to the Arctic where he has served as a guide and expedition leader in Greenland, Svalbard and the Canadian Arctic, skied across Greenland and climbed the two highest peaks in Greenland. David holds a BSc/Llb and practised law between 1998-2024 (managing dual careers) and is an award winning nature photographer. 

The Guide includes a brief history of Antarctica and sections covering Antarctic governance, Antarctic gateway cities, Antarctic wildlife, the various regions accessible by tourists including the sub-Antarctic islands, tips on how to choose and plan your choice of expedition, packing and reading lists and some tips on how to give back when you return home, supporting science and conservation.

Two excerpts from the guide follow to give you sample of some of the things you might not consider when considering the options and booking your trip:

Excerpts rom Chapter 7 of the Guide, ‘How to Choose Your Expedition‘

Which trip do I choose?

There are over 50 vessels operating in Antarctic waters during the austral summer and countless agencies around the world offering a range of vessels and itineraries.  How do you choose between so many options?  There are a lot of variables to consider and each one will vary in importance depending on your budget and what you want to see and do. 

Key variables for choosing an expedition cruise include: Itinerary, Time of Year, Passenger Numbers, Activities, Vessel Comfort and Amenities, Expedition Ethos & Price.  Before we look at each of these variables, a note about online reviews, social media, influencers and travel agents.

Online reviews

Online reviews can be helpful but should be taken with a grain of salt for the following reasons:

1. Many passengers will swear the ship and operator they sailed with is simply the best despite having sailed with no other or very few other operators, their ability to compare ships and experiences is limited.  This is, in part, because it’s quite difficult to have anything but an incredible experience in Antarctica.  Antarctica will take you breath away and often the multi-talented and friendly expedition teams will win you over with their knowledge and enthusiasm, it can be the best job in the world!  Even passengers who have been a few times have experienced one or two operators or vessels and have little basis for comparison.

2. There may be some terrible reviews.  Again, a grain of salt is required.  Antarctica is an unforgiving place and things can and will go wrong and trips will get truncated or cancelled.    Often passengers are in no position to make or understand difficult decisions, nor are they expected to be.  Any signs that crew or guests are not being treated well and respectfully or of a lack of transparency in managing a crisis can be red flags.  The vast majority of voyages proceed incident free but will inevitably involve changes of itinerary as ice, wildlife, weather and the presence of other vessels dictate flexibility.

A company’s responses to online reviews can also be insightful, are they considered and helpful or are they robotic, self-serving, non-existent or tone deaf.

Social Media, Online Forums (for e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Reddit)

Facebook groups and online forums also need to be treated with caution.  They can be good sources of information, however, in recent years a number of Facebook groups have started up to support people sharing their Antarctic experiences and images. The goal of some of these groups/forums is to channel your interest in to bookings to earn commissions. Transparency is key.  

Influencers & Content Creators

Influencers typically receive free trips in exchange for creating content and they often create attractive and compelling content.  Most influencers do not have deep experience in Antarctica or across the various ships and operators so are not equipped to help you navigate the options.  They are simply trying to sell and earn a commission and/or boost their own engagement and profile or that of the business they are collaborating with.  Sometimes influencers promote opportunities to travel with the influencer.  The reality is the expedition team and crew are the experts and will do all the heavy lifting on any trip you book.

Travel Agents

Travel agents earn their keep by qualifying for commissions on sales.  Some Antarctic operators may pay better commissions or provide better perks for travel agents than others so be aware agents may be motivated to promote a particular operator, vessel or itinerary over others.  That said, travel agents work very hard building relationships, knowledge, experience and trust (which is, in large part, what you are paying for by using an agent).  A good agent will seek the best deal and trip for you even if that means a smaller commission for the agent.  Be aware you are not likely to get a cheaper deal if you go direct to the operator after checking prices with a travel agent.  The travel agent’s commission is not paid by you, rather the commission is paid by the operator.  

Dodgy websites and dodgy Instagram ads

There are a number of websites and social media accounts seeking to cash in on Antarctic tourism.  There are often tell-tale signs that they have their own interests and not yours at heart and apparently have no clue about Antarctica.  Keep an eye out for AI imagery (like mid-summer Auroras – images taken in the Arctic and unbelievable discounts.    

Questions to ask yourself before you decide

Before making a decision ask yourself the following questions and consider the variables below to help you make a decision:

1. What do you want out of this trip?  Is it adventure, is it luxury, is it to go to a particular location or to pursue a special interest (e.g., kayaking, diving, photography, skiing, bird watching, scenic flights, history, a specific species etc). 

2. How do you like to travel?  Are you someone who will be glued to the ships rail the entire time and want to maximise every minute outside and just need a place to rest your head on sea days or do you appreciate fine cuisine, fine wine and butler service on the journey? 

3. How long do you have (voyage duration can vary from 8 or 9 nights up to 28+ nights)?  The shorter fly/cruise trips are well suited to Americans who have shorter annual leave allowances than their Australian or European counterparts.

4. What is your budget?  Prices can range from slightly south of US$10,000 to over US$100,000 per person (higher prices tend to be for luxury suites on luxury ships) and even seven figure sums for a luxury super yacht charter.  

5. Do you wish to avoid spending time at sea?  If yes, then maybe the deep field options or the fly cruise option is better.  Keep in mind most people manage just fine and live to tell the tale.  Every vessel will have a doctor on board with whom you can consult prior to heading into open ocean, although it’s a far better idea to have a plan well before you board a vessel.

The answers to these questions and consideration of the variables that follow will help you narrow the options and hone in on the right choice for you.

Vessel Stability, Comfort and Amenities

Most people booking their first expedition cruise will be blissfully unaware of some of the points of difference between vessels. There are a range of factors to consider: stability, manoeuvrability, ice-class, cabin location and operational efficiency. 

Vessel Stability

Stability is a common and key consideration for many. The Drake Passage and Southern Ocean have fearsome reputations. You could experience anything from the ‘Drake Shake’ to the ‘Drake Lake’, there’s simply no way of knowing until you get a reliable forecast (typically no more than 24 hours prior to departure). 

There are a range of factors that affect stability of a vessel including sea state, swell direction of swell, stabilisation mechanisms and the relationship between the vessel’s centre of gravity and centre of buoyancy. There’s no easy way to rank the relative stability of ships visiting Antarctica. The main thing to know is some of the smaller vessels can be less stable. One positive development in recent years is the newer vessels can make the crossings faster and with better weather forecasting it’s easier to avoid extreme conditions. 

With sea-sickness, prevention is most definitely better than cure. If it’s any comfort, literally hundreds of thousands of people have survived the crossing of the Drake Passage in the past few decades. Keep hydrated, don’t drink alcohol, lie down and take your medication before it gets rough. 37 

Cabins that are lower down and around mid-ship are generally the most stable. Cabins lower down are generally cheaper too. 

Ice Class & Polar Code

Vessels sailing to Antarctica are all required to meet the Polar Code. In a nutshell this is IMO’s International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (Polar Code) is mandatory under both the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). The Polar Code covers the full range of design, construction, equipment, operational, training, search and rescue and environmental protection matters relevant to ships operating in the inhospitable waters surrounding the polar regions. The Polar Code entered into force on 1 January 2017. All vessels sailing to Antarctica should be Polar Code compliant. 

The Ice Class of vessels visiting Antarctica varies considerably. Ice class refers to a notation assigned by a classification society or a national authority to denote the additional level of strengthening as well as other arrangements that enable a ship to navigate through sea ice. We’ll avoid going down a rabbit hole here but suffice to say tourism vessels operating in Antarctica tend to fall into three categories: 

• Nudge sea ice, proceed slowly and carefully (PC6 & PC7) 
• Fairly aggressively move sea ice. (PC 5) 
• Ice breaker – there is only one, Ponant’s Le Commandant Charcot which can pretty much go anywhere in Antarctica (PC2). 

Note no ship can move icebergs and most Masters will seek to avoid sea ice as it tends to slow a ships progress considerably impacting the overall itinerary and Zodiac operations (Zodiacs can get trapped by fast moving sea ice so expedition team always need to take great care to ensure they can steer their Zodiacs back to the mother ship when there is a lot of ice around). 

Manoeuvrability and Operational Efficiency

Most vessels will have bow and stern thrusters capable of manoeuvring the ship in high winds and some will be fitted with azipods allowing dynamic positioning that can keep the vessel in one spot without anchoring (this is good for the environment as anchoring can scar sensitive seabed environments). Good manoeuvrability can also be the difference between running an excursion and not running an excursion. If the ship cannot manoeuvre to provide a lee at the side gate or marina deck where Zodiacs load passengers then operations may be unsafe and an excursion may be cancelled. 

Some ships have sub-optimal designs for Zodiac operations. It can take an hour to mobilise and demobilise all of the Zodiacs and equipment which eats into excursion time. Experienced crane operators, sailors (who catch boats) and expedition team can make a huge difference to operational efficiency and ultimately safety (particularly where conditions worsen quickly). 

It is very difficult to determine which ships are best set up for expeditions just by looking at a picture of the vessel or reading the marketing materials. This is where expert knowledge can assist. 

Outer Deck and Bridge Access

It is a great pleasure and privilege to be allowed access to the ship’s bridge (where the navigators steer the vessel). It’s often a fascinating place and a nice quiet and warm place to view the open ocean and spot seabirds and whales. Many ships have open bridge policies, affording access to guests during the day with a few exceptions (docking, when a pilot is on board or when the Master wishes to close the bridge for any reason). Some do allow access or only allow limited access so if this is something you’re keen to experience, it might be worth asking in advance if the ship you plan to sail on has an ‘open bridge policy’. Take care to understand what this means as some ship simply offer ‘bridge tours’ for an hour or two each day. This is not the same as an ‘open bridge’. 

Outer deck access is important for bird lovers, whale watchers and photographers. Preferably there will be access in Antarctica to the bow, stern and port and starboard rails at multiple levels offering 360 degree access and different perspectives. Deck closures are at the Master’s discretion. Outer decks can be closed for safety reasons on sea days or if there is a lot of ice and snow on the outer decks making them slippery and treacherous. 

Amenities

Older retro-fitted vessels tend to have smaller basic cabins and a single dining room with fairly standard cuisine. Some of these ships had prior lives in ice-filled waters supporting science or as Baltic car ferries and often have a little ‘character’. The newer purpose built vessels have large mud-rooms (where you change into your expedition gear), day spas, large lecture theatres, multiple dining rooms and bars and some palatial suites. If luxury is your thing, then there are plenty of options in this category and the competition is fairly intense so there may be some good deals. Remember, however, that the point of going to Antarctica is to experience the harsh beauty and wilderness. You do not want to isolate yourself from this environment so much that you fail to fully experience and appreciate the place you set out to explore. Sometimes luxury can isolate you from the very environment you come to experience so again, it’s very important to ask yourself what you want from this experience. Luxury can also put an unexpected dampener on good old fashioned spontaneous fun where gathering in the only bar on board to tell tall tales, sing and dance is all part of the experience. 

Environmental Performance

Sustainability is and ought to be a serious consideration for any activity, particularly in pristine and vulnerable destinations. It is, however, beyond our knowledge and expertise to assess and compare the environmental footprint of the various vessels, itineraries and associated operations (including supply chains and waste management). 

Some operators have been known to claim they’re actively preserving or saving Antarctica when they’re simply following the rules and protocols or engaging in citizen science initiatives that many other operators support. We recommend you review information on an operator’s website with through a critical lens and try to differentiate between marketing materials and meaningful and considered actions taken to minimise environmental impact. Don’t hesitate to ask pointed questions and keep an eye out for greenwash. 

To get your electronic copy of the guide or arrange a free consultation with a true expert contact us at hello@islandsandicetravel.com 

Our signature Antarctic tours are:

Emperor Penguins & Drygalski Mountains tours and

Geographic South Pole & Emperor Penguins tours.