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We've also seen discounts given by tour companies when private charters cancel their sailings at the last minute. There's really only one sure-fire way to travel to Antarctica on a major budget, and that's by booking a sail-by cruise. As the name implies, these itineraries don't actually make port in Antarctica but just do scenic cruising around the islands of the Palmer Archipelago. You will see icebergs and penguins (with binoculars), whales, and plenty of the local seabirds (such as gulls, skuas, petrels, shags and possibly albatross), but you won't go ashore. Here is the fun part and no, it’s not going to cost you $10,000, not even $5,000. Before you start looking for a last minute cruise, search the internet and see if any of the major travel companies have any offers.
Travel to Antarctica
If you have an average fitness level (and above) you are compatible with Antarctica travel, so you don't need to spend hours in the gym before considering booking a trip. The cost of an Antarctica cruise largely depends on the departure date, how long the cruise goes for, and the type of cabin you book on the ship but most cruises start from USD$4,500. The Antarctic refers to the region made up of south polar zones that include the seas and some outlying islands. Due to its south-polar position, the Antarctic continent is covered in ice and experiences very harsh conditions unsuitable for permanent human residency.
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A little-known fact about Antarctica is that there’s an annual marathon that takes place there and you can attend with Albatros Expeditions and their marathons team. Here is a summary table of the key features including the cost of the tours (see our full guide for estimates on the total cost of visiting Antarctica). Below, we’ll share more detailed explanations about each operator and why they are unique.
Antarctica Cruises & Tours
An itinerary with specific locations for your Antarctic cruising may or may not be specified. If details are included, they usually list Paradise Bay (our favorite from our cruise) and Elephant Island. Unlike most other Antarctic expedition companies, Heritage doesn’t regularly offer voyages to the Antarctic Peninsula. Rather, all of the organization’s month-long voyages sail from New Zealand and stop over at the Subantarctic Islands and the historic Ross Sea region. Known for its upscale and luxury voyages, Silversea is a well-known cruise company that’s recently broken into the Antarctic expedition industry.
Solo Traveller Antarctic Cruise Deals
We use points and miles for most of our flights, but we were unable to find any good points and miles options to Ushuaia due to the lack of airline coverage. You can learn more about how we ended up booking our flights here. In total, we suggest adding US$2,000 per person on top of your cruise fare if you’re going to pay cash for everything and stick to budget-friendly options. You can easily spend less if you use points and miles for your hotel and flight.
Worldwide ocean cruises
Your first leg will be from where you are coming from to Buenos Aires. There are two major players here, LAN Airlines and Aerolineas Argentinas. You want to try and fly with LAN, Aerolineas Argentinas is a complete mess. With another economic crisis in Argentina coming and inflation through the roof, there are strikes every month. Some budget cruise lines do not include clothing or gear in your fare, including your parka, snow pants, and other layers.
What’s great about G Expeditions’ Antarctica packages is that you can add kayaking and camping to your experience – ideal for those seeking some extra adventure. Intrepid will double the impact by dollar-matching all post-trip donations made to The Intrepid Foundation. There is a number to call the ship and you can purchase data for the wi-fi onboard, although the connection is intermittent and not to be relied on. Your cell phone will not work during your Antarctica cruise as the continent is still considered extremely remote and doesn't have the right telecommunication infrastructure in place.
Set out on an Oceanwide Expeditions Antarctica cruise and experience the outermost edge of human exploration. Whether you cross the Drake Passage in a small expedition ship or do a "sail by" on a larger vessel, this magical voyage will not only impress your friends, the otherworldly scenery will touch your soul. The industry progressed slowly, with a minor spike in the early '90s when ex-Soviet ice-class vessels such as Akademik Vavilov and Shokalskiy entered the market. These sturdy, utilitarian ships are now being overtaken by a whole new genre of luxury expedition yachts, purpose-built for polar exploration. While this is the shortest cruise to make my list, it is one that sails only to the Antarctica region.
None of these travelers seemed to receive a better price than us, and they did a lot more work to book their trips. The Europa only sails to Antarctica once or twice during the summer season, so snagging a place on one of these voyages isn’t always easy. But if you do manage to secure a berth, you can expect a small group expedition with plenty of Zodiac cruises, landings, and opportunities for spotting wildlife.
There are different itineraries that go to different parts of Antarctica. Since we are cheap skates and want to save our wallets the cheapest cruises are the itineraries with days. My cruise was with GAP Adventures and they have one of the newest ships in the entire Antarctica cruise ship fleet. There were rumors that in order to find the cheap Antarctica cruises you had to be in Ushuaia.
You can also search through job aggregators like Cruise Job Finder. No, there are no hotels in the traditional sense, however, there are several camps for tourists which are the next best thing, some are very close to a hotel in terms of the level of luxury. The benefit of staying at a camp is that you can explore deeper into the continent rather than returning to the ship each night to sleep. See our full guide to camps and hotels in Antarctica for more information. Albatros Expeditions is the polar expedition arm of the Denmark-based Albatros Travel conglomerate. The family-owned expedition company’s parent organization was founded by biologist Søren Rasmussen in 1986.
These cruises to Antarctica are wheelchair accessible and offer an incredible experience. In fact, you can read more about how I visited Antarctica as a wheelchair user in my other post. At the conclusion of the cruise, I was so overwhelmed that I really didn’t know what to think of the experience. It was hard to wrap my brain around school-bus size whales swimming directly beneath my cabin balcony, or standing on a rocky beach, surrounded by a couple thousand curious penguins. During the ensuing months, the surreal nature of the voyage has faded. Today I focus on how grateful I am to have been able to make this once-in-a-lifetime journey.
There may not be any stores on the Antarctic Peninsula, but that doesn't mean you can't do any shopping. Get closer to the action with, not one, but two daily excursions on land and, via Zodiacs, at sea. There are very strict rules and regulations for anyone traveling to Antarctica.
You can contact me for the list and you can contact the operators from your own home. This 22-day cruise combines some of the beauty of South America with a voyage to Antarctica. You’ll spend time cruising the Chilean Fjords, visiting interesting ports where you have a chance to get close to adorable penguins, and sailing the Antarctica Peninsula for 4 days. You book a bed in a cabin and the company puts you together with one or two strangers of the same sex. While I was willing to share with one person, I was not willing to share with two strangers.
