Planning for Antarctica

The planning for Antarctica has begun. We will most likely be going through Argentina so we can plan a couple of stops in that country. There are several popular places to visit in Argentina. There is Buenos Aires, which many claim is the finest city in South America. There is the Lakes District near the Andes. Patagoinia is a wilderness area that attracts me. Let's not forget Mendoza, a world class wine region focusing on Malbec and Cabernet wines. There is also the Iguazu Falls at the Brazilian border, one of the most spectacular falls on the planet. A short hop over to Uraguay and you can relax on a world class beach facing a warm Atlantic Ocean. Did I mention that Argentina is a big country? It only means time and money. That forces you to make priorities.

Priorities, priorities . . . . Ok, the first priority is not even Argentina. It is Antarctica. So first we need to pick a boat, and then Argentina will follow.

Crusing to Antarctica seems like a bold move. You have to be dedicated to set foot on the "White Continent". It is far away and costs a small fortune. There seem to be several tradeoffs. A maximum of 100 people can go ashore at one time. This is an agreement by which most tour operators abide. This is to limit human impact on the continent. That means larger ships do not offer shore trips or if they do they are operating outside of what is considered environmentally friendly. So, on larger ships you generally view Antarctica from the topside of a ship. Can you say you have been to a continent without setting foot on it? I checked the rule book. The answer is no. So, we need to go on a smaller ship. That's great except it costs more and then there is Drake Passage. I have not traveled on many ships so I don't know if I'm prone to seasickness. If you are prone to seasickness, then maybe Drake Passage on a small ship isn't a great idea. Drake Passage is a notorious rough sea. Most of the ships take 2 days to cross Drake Passage. That's a lot of time to vomit.

Let's take a look at some of the options. Here are some of the ships touring Antarctica.

ZEGRAHM & ECO EXPEDITIONS
www.zeco.com

They offer one 3 week cruise that travels several days by the Antarctica Penisula as well as The Falklands, and South Georgia. Prices start at $13,000/per person. The cruise begins on Jan. 3 and ends Jan. 24. The ship takes 158 passengers.

Lindblad/National Geographic Expeditions
www.expeditions.com

They offer both an Antarctica tour and an Antarctica/Falklands/South Georgia tour. The Antarctica tour is 15 days. The ship can accommodate 148 passengers. They do make shore excursions, but it is not clear how they work around the aggreement preventing more than 100 people on shore at a time. It includes charter flights to Ushuaia (Argentina) from Santiago (Chile) and back. It also includes a one night stay in Santiago, Chile. Prices start at about $11,000. Potentially, we could take the tour and then from Santiago go explore Argentina. Mendoza is a short distance away by air or bus. Buzz Aldrin will be on board the Jan. 7th cruise.

Polar Star Expeditions
www.polarstarexpeditions.com

Polar Star Dec. 28 - Jan. 25 $14,000 per person. They use a 100 passenger ship. It looks like a nice trip, but almost a month at sea is a bit much for us.

Quark Expeditions
www.quarkexpeditions.com

Antarctica Adventure - 11 nights including one night in Ushuaia. This is the smallest ship we would consider, 68 passengers. There is an opportunity to camp overnight on the continent. You spend a total of 5 days touring the Antarctica continent.
Dec. 30 - Jan. 10 - $10,000 per person

Classic Antarctica - 10 nights including one night in Ushuaia. Travel is on a comfortable 112 passenger ship. On this tour you spend 4 days in and around Antarctica.
Jan. 6 - Jan. 16 - $7,690 per person

Quark has the most ships and the largest choice of itineraries. We first became interested in a trip to Antarctica because of a Discovery channel program that featured one of Quark's trips. There are cheaper alternatives to the prices I have listed if you can get a bunk in a triple cabin. It is also cheaper if you travel outside the peak season of January/February. The prices quoted here are for a twin cabin in high season.

The short list is between one of the two Quark trips or the Lindblad/National Geographic trip. I am leaning towards the Antarctica Adventure tour with Quark. It is more expensive and on a smaller ship, but I like the idea of spending 5 days near the continent with a small group of people. We would ensure that sea sickness medicine is liberally applied.

The Lindblad trip looks like a high quality trip. The pricing is very reasonable considering the trip duration and also includes the charter flight to Ushuaia.

Decisions, decisions.