Travel to Antarctica: travel seasonality, travel itineraries, Arctic travel reviews.

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Journey to the most southern continent planets, the great, terrible and glorious Antarctica, is the cherished dream of many. Fortunately, those times have sunk into oblivion when visiting this continent was available only to professional polar explorers and members scientific expeditions. AT modern world demand creates supply, and when it comes to tourism, this economic principle is doubly true. Well-established life of polar explorers in Antarctica and sustainable transport connection with the "big land" make it possible to successfully receive tourists in the vastness of the icy continent: settle in polar bases, entertain with excursions on motorized sledges and helicopters, ice diving and ski trips, and even take them to the holy of holies of the Earth - the cursed and sung by so many travelers the South Pole. In terms of comfort, travel to Antarctica is practically in no way inferior to “warm” cruises, and in terms of richness of impressions they are many times superior.

Journey to Antarctica

Types of travel to Antarctica

Journeys to Antarctica are very diverse both in terms of travel method and duration. In general, since the continent is surrounded on all sides by the ocean, and there are no buildings on the land itself, apart from polar stations and seasonal camps, a cruise here is the head of everything. On board an expedition ship converted for tourism needs, tourists will have to travel from the extreme southern city Argentina Ushuaia through the Drake Passage to the Falkland and South Shetland Islands and beyond, skirting the Antarctic Peninsula. The travel program is extremely rich: there is little lazy contemplation of icebergs and glaciers, the main focus is on landings on the mainland, excursions on “zodiac” boats and spending the night under the amazing Antarctic sky.

Traveling to Antarctica can be shortened. The Drake Passage, which separates South America from Antarctica, is overcome in this case by air, which reduces travel time by as much as four days. However, this is not The best way get enough of Antarctic impressions: the roaring strait, named after the pirate of Her Majesty, is able to give many unforgettable minutes.

Trips to the hard-to-reach and fantastically picturesque East Antarctica are held only once or twice a year. Departure point - New Zealand, tour duration - about a month. On the way, tourists are waiting for the majestic landscapes of giant ice shelves, kilometer-long icebergs and eternally restless, crystal clear ocean waters.

Drake Passage

Seasonality of travel

When planning a trip to Antarctica, remember that in the southern hemisphere, summer and winter are exactly the opposite of Russian ones. Antarctic tours are held in the warm season, when the air temperature allows you to spend a lot of time outdoors: in the absence of a major tourist accommodation, this is a determining factor here. Among other things, in Antarctica, the polar night lasts half a year, the polar day lasts half a year, respectively, only the second is available to tourists.

The season for traveling to Antarctica aboard an expedition ship runs from November to March, when solar activity is at its highest and temperatures are comfortable. On the Antarctic islands and the coast of the continent, the air warms up to -10...+5 °C. Journeys deep into Antarctica take place in December and January, when the air temperature is maximum: not lower than -20 ° C in the interior.

No sooner had I laid it out than the questions started pouring in. And, almost everyone is interested in the same thing (we present the question in Dud's tone): "How much did it cost?"

Well, if you're interested, let me tell you - after all, I live on one-two-thirds of my salary, and I have nothing to hide.

Brief digression: In this post, I'll be talking about my understanding of the Antarctic tourism industry in general, as well as a specific operator I've traveled with, Poseidon Expeditions. Some of the things I write about here were told to me by Poseidon employees, whom I have no reason not to trust, but still they are interested in putting their company in the best light. To some, it may even seem that this post is advertising. To my great regret, this is not the case (but, dear Poseidon staff, if you are reading this, it is not too late for me to pay for it!)

So, the price of my excursion was $13,085.00 per person(yes, it's in US dollars). True, it's not quite as much as I paid.

When initially looking for a cruise, I had a fairly specific date frame - at work we have a week off around Christmas and New Year, so it was important to go at that time. And all my searches for these numbers showed different travel agencies selling the same trip from Poseidon Expeditions. At the same time, some guys in Russia, Russia Discovery, had prices much lower than the rest, so I decided to book through them.

True, they soon wrote to me that they had mistakenly sent prices for last year cruise, but this time everything is more expensive (the difference was somewhere in 3-4 thousand dollars per person!) As an apology, Russia Discovery offered me a five percent discount.

The "new" price was $13,085.00, and since I booked for two, the total was $26,190.00. After giving me a discount, it turned out to be $24,880.50, but the agency immediately asked for two percent on top of this amount "for the conversion of currency into dollars." At the same time, my willingness to pay already in dollars did not help, and in the end I paid $25,378.00 for two.

For this money, we were given a separate cabin for two, with a separate sofa, all amenities and a large window (but without a balcony). The price included three (sometimes, and a half) meals a day, but you had to pay extra for alcohol. In the end, we were offered, at our discretion, to leave a tip to the staff, somewhere in the amount of $200 per passenger.

Flights to Ushuaia, visas to Argentina and other expenses were not included in the package, so I think, taking into account all this, the cost was closer to $30,000.

I was very pleased with the trip - by pure chance, we came across the Poseidon, which goes to Antarctica on a small ship, the Sea Spirit (in the title photo for this post). I didn't know this before, but fewer passengers on board, the better, as according to Antarctic tourism rules, the operator is not allowed to disembark more than a hundred passengers at a time. Vessels that carry 200, 300, or more passengers are forced to disembark in "shifts," meaning not everyone is able to disembark each time.

We had 117 tourists on board, of which 17 desperate people paid additional service- kayaking in Antarctic waters. During each disembarkation, they had the opportunity to row near the shore while the rest of the passengers disembarked and photographed the penguins.

As soon as the first 17 people from the land party froze and returned to the ship, the kayakers were allowed to land on land and also take pictures of living creatures. Thus, all participants in the trip had the opportunity to make each landing, which would be difficult on a larger vessel.

In short, I was pleased with Poseidon and the ship, although of course the mere thought of how much it all cost makes my head spin a little. This trip became the second most expensive expense in 38 years of life.

By the way, Poseidon's prices are going up next year! Here is what the situation looks like for the same cruise in the winter of 2018-2019:

As you can see, here you can save money if you are ready to live three of us in one cabin - however, it is spacious enough for this. But if you want to pay much less, you can book a tour a month earlier, in November - December 2018. Here the prices are immediately much lower:

Generally, new year cruise always the most expensive - because of the winter holidays, demand increases greatly. But, as they explained to me, this is your best chance not to be in the company of rich pensioners. For example, on our excursion there were a lot of people aged 20 to 40, while the youngest passenger on the next swim was about 50 years old.

And, don't forget about the weather: we were told that the Drake Passage is calmer in the New Year area, while a couple of weeks before our expedition the situation looked like this:

On the other hand, if you are not afraid of pensioners, seasickness, and extra neighbors, then you can safely take tickets for next November, and you will pay half the price of me! I understand that you can always ask for a discount from the Poseidons and their travel agencies. After all, trying is not torture.

But you can go with other operators. For example, there are options where you are dropped by plane on the south side of the Drake Passage, so you can avoid a couple of days of pitching in each direction. But such excursions usually cost a couple of thousand dollars more.

Here is a breakdown of the minimum prices per night by different directions(multiply by 10 to get the total cost of the tour).

Also, there are rumors that if you have a lot of time and little money, you can fly to Ushuaia and sit there waiting for an unsold tour. The last places on such ships are allegedly sold at serious discounts. We have even seen agencies in the city advertising "Last minute Antarctic cruises".

However, as far as I understand, the most significant discounts are given on more expensive tickets, but for cheap discounts are relatively small. At the same time, living in Ushuaia is not cheap at all - this is really the end of the world, where everything is designed for extreme tourists. But, they say that some lucky ones managed to snatch off an excursion to the southern continent for $4,000.

The main question after all this, of course, is the trip worth that kind of money? .. For example, for the $ 30,000 that I laid out, it was not bad to drive together to my beloved Japan as many as five or six times!

"What?!" he was indignant, "Five hundred bucks? Yes, for that kind of money in Amsterdam, you know how many times I can ..."

I'm certainly not the kind of person who can afford this every year (I still live on one-two-thirds of my salary), but I have no regrets about spending some of my modest savings on this unique trip. ...

Tours to Antarctica: seasonality of travel, travel routes, reviews of tours to Antarctica.

• Hot tours all over the world

Legendary Antarctica like a magnet attracts avid travelers who have traveled the entire planet. The southernmost continent of the Earth, covered by a multi-kilometer cap eternal ice, in the center of which is the lower "navel" of the planet conquered just a hundred years ago - the South Pole, the direction is not cheap. A long and expensive flight to the lower reaches of the Earth - Ushuaia, Punta Arenas, Cape Town or New Zealand - is added to the rather big cost of actually traveling in Antarctica - it is from here that Antarctic cruises start and planes take off, delivering travelers to the icy continent. However, if you just want to see its shores from a cruise ship and take pictures of the penguins, it is not necessary to declare yourself bankrupt. But to follow in the footsteps of Amundsen and Scott and reach the South Pole, you will have to acquire a solid bank account.

"Sparing" (both financially and physically) tours to Antarctica - Antarctica cruises from Ushuaia through the Drake Passage to the South Shetland Islands and along the Antarctic Peninsula.

When to go

The timing of the tour to Antarctica directly depends on what and how you want to see. As a rule, travel to Antarctica takes place from November to March, at the height of the local warm season. (Remember, this is the southern hemisphere, and the seasons are just the opposite of Russian.) During these five months, when the air temperature is quite comfortable, cruises are held in the South Shetland Islands and along the coast of West Antarctica, departing from Ushuaia, and tours also start from by flight: by plane it is proposed to get to the same South Shetland Islands, and then continue the journey according to the standard cruise program.

The season of "deep" Antarctic tours is only December - January. This is the peak of summer in the southern hemisphere and, given the ever-increasing sub-zero temperatures as you move inland, the only possible time of year for skiing, hiking and conquering the South Pole. But even at the top of the Antarctic summer, the temperature near the pole is no higher than -20 °C.

An Antarctic cruise is the journey of a lifetime!

Tour options in Antarctica

"Sparing" (both financially and physically) tours to Antarctica - Antarctica cruises from Ushuaia through the Drake Passage to the South Shetland Islands and along the Antarctic Peninsula. Lasting from a week to two, these trips are the most comfortable way to see the landscapes of the icy continent, get acquainted with its flora and fauna and, perhaps, try your hand at active activities: kayaking among icebergs, climbing glaciers and under-ice diving.

No less convenient, but more expensive tours to Antarctica - with a flight from Punta Arenas through the Drake Passage and landing in the South Shetland Islands. The travel program changes only in terms of crossing the strait - on board not a sea vessel, but an aircraft - in the future, the same route awaits travelers: transfer to an expedition ship and a cruise along the coast with landings on the continent.

A tourist product "for understanding" (as well as wealthy) tourists - cruises in East Antarctica with departure from New Zealand. Only a couple of departures are carried out per year, in January - February, when the corresponding areas of the ocean are ice-free. As a reward, travelers get breathtaking views of ice shelves, icy bays and icebergs.

Didn't want to write practical advice on how to travel in different countries- A lot has been written before me. However, I decided to make an exception for Antarctica. Why? Because there is little information, and travel is expensive and inaccessible for many. Perhaps the information I have gathered will help someone.

Places(city of departure and modes of transport)

Commercial tours to Antarctica are carried out from several countries:

1. Argentina

The ships depart from the city of Ushuaia, located in the very south of the country, on Tierra del Fuego. There are no commercial air flights.

The journey to Antarctica of 490 nautical miles takes 1.5-2 days by ship.

You can get to Ushuaia from the capital of Argentina, Buenoy Aires, by plane (3.5 hours, 260 USD, fly daily, twice a day) or by bus (36 hours with a connection in Rio Galegos, 200 USD, departure daily). Better by plane: the difference in cost is negligible, the time savings are enormous. In addition, the Atlantic coast of Argentina is not the most interesting place for travel - in Argentina they travel through Patagonia, along the Andes. Of course, no one canceled hitchhiking either, but, they say, it’s not very good here.

2. Chile

The ships depart from the city of Punta Arenas, located in the very south of Chile. there are commercial flights by air with a stay in Antarctica of several hours, one night or several days.

The journey to Antarctica, a little over 500 nautical miles, takes 2 days by ship, and a little more than an hour by plane.

You can get to Punta Arenas from the capital of Chile, Santiago de Chile, by plane or bus, or from Buena Aires by plane or bus (via Ushuaia).

3. New Zealand

I don't have detailed information.

According to information from the Australians, the way to Antarctica from New Zealand is much more expensive and longer than from South America and takes 7 days by ship.

Haven't heard of commercial flights. However, in my opinion, in any case, it is better to travel by ship - for the same money you can see an order of magnitude more. Saving time? Nonsense. If there is no time, it is better to postpone the visit until the next time. Antarctica is not for show, there are sooooo many interesting things here.

4. Australia

According to information from the Australians, departure to Antarctica from Australia is carried out through New Zealand(see item 3).

Haven't heard of commercial flights.

Time(navigation period)

Travel to Antarctica takes place in the summer (for the southern hemisphere) time, and more precisely from November to March inclusive. For example, in this 2010, the first ship from Ushuaia departed on November 3rd. However, everyone (guides, tour operators, ship crew) says that the climate is warming very quickly, so perhaps soon tourist season will stretch.

The best time is the end of December - January. At this time, most clear days, the sky opens up and the landscape is transformed simply fantastically. Also, this is the warmest time. Although in mid-November the temperature was positive, several degrees above zero.

Price(various cost options for "getting" to the continent)

1. Commercial tours from Moscow

The simplest and, accordingly, the most expensive option. The cheapest packages I've seen are $8,000-$10,000 all-inclusive. See Yandex.

2. Commercial tours (cruises) from South America

From Ushuaia alone, 25 ships depart per season, 100-130 people on board. The cost of a nine-day trip "Classic Antarctica" ranges from $4,000 to $10,000, depending on the class of the cabin.

My experience: there is no need to pay more. I mean, if you take an expensive cabin, you pay an extra 1000-4000 dollars just for the right to sleep in a more comfortable cabin, because. everything else - excursions, food, lectures - is common and the same for everyone on board. And there are so many activities that you can hardly find yourself in the cabin. Besides, even in my "cheap" cabin there were good "three stars" and a porthole.

most low price can be found by buying a tour directly at the port (for example, in Ushuaia), arriving at the very beginning of the season ( last numbers October - the first of November) a day or two before departure (last day price). Prepayment for a month does not affect the cost, so it makes no sense to come in mid-early October. Buying six months in advance, you can also get a discount - talk to the operators (see the list of operators in the application).

Here is my cost:

1. Tour "Classic Antarctica" (9 nights, 2 people in a cabin) - $ 3,249

2. Flight Moscow-B. Aires-Moscow - 1,800 dollars.

3. Flight B. Aires-Ushuya-B. Aires - $320

TOTAL: $5,369.

3. Work on cruise ships

The following "authorities" are related to the ship

Vessel owner - usually does not carry out current activities

Vessel operator – leases from the owner and conducts all current activities

The captain and crew of the ship are employees themselves, hired by the operator or owner

Regarding the work, you need to contact the operator of the vessel, as a rule, this is a large tourist operator. In my case, Gap Adventures. They employ all service personnel from the expedition leader to waiters and cleaners. Possible positions:

- "scientific staff" (biologist, zoologist, geographer, etc.)

Service staff (cleaner, waiter, cook)

Zodiac Driver (landing boat)

Others (photographer, translator)

My experience: I sent letters to a couple of dozen operators, received several polite refusals and a couple of offers to buy a commercial trip. Local people in Ushuaia say that there is a chance of finding a job, but it is not great and most likely the time will be wasted.

4. Scientific expeditions

Russia is still sending scientific expeditions to Antarctica. In particular, this is done by the St. Petersburg Institute of the Arctic and Antarctic. So there is a department that deals with expeditions - look for contacts yourself. However, keep in mind that the expedition can take several months - only a one-way trip lasts a month and a half.

My experience: I almost agreed, but the expedition left before I arrived in St. Petersburg, where it started

5. Volunteer organizations

One American woman told me about her experience. She contacted the whale protection organization (contact in the attachment), went through several interviews in absentia and was invited on board, but at the last moment she refused. She said that she doesn’t like whales that much and is not ready to spend so much time and effort on them for the sake of Antarctica. As a result, I paid $6,000 for a commercial tour and was satisfied.

However, her example shows that this is a working option.

My experience: I didn’t try, because it needs to be done much in advance.

6. military vessels

My hostel neighbor in Buenos Aires told me the following. When he was in Punta Arenas, he met a guy there who agreed with the Chilean Navy (navy) "for 50 dollars" and they took him on board. I don't know the details, but it works.

Conclusion:

If you have at least a little money, but no time, or you are not a fan of scientific expeditions, go to Ushuaia and buy a tour at the “last day price”;

How to get to Antarctica

There are two ways to get to Antarctica: on a tour package or as part of an expedition, becoming a professional polar explorer. Nizhny Novgorod traveler Nail MUKHAMADIEV, having chosen the second option, visited Antarctica three times.

Issue price

Becoming an Antarctic tourist is easy. Cold safari among southern ice offer numerous travel companies. The choice of paid expeditions is large: “ Classic Cruise to Antarctica”, “Visiting Emperor Penguins”, “Luxury Antarctica”. Hydrographic vessels are chartered for cruises ice class(most often Russian), for a while becoming recreational.

The best time for such cruises is January, the height of the Antarctic summer. Most often, the program includes inspection of coastal stations and penguin colonies. This is enough to satisfy the curiosity of tourists. Most extreme lovers are from the USA and Western Europe. They were everywhere, they saw everything, and Antarctica for them is the last undiscovered continent, terra incognita.

You can get to the southern mainland in different ways: from the Argentinean Ushuaia, the Chilean Punta Arenas, the South African Cape Town, the Australian Sydney. Pleasure is not cheap, but the options are different. There are one-, two-day trips to Antarctica. Longer cruises cost from $3,200 to tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the program and service. For example, for Russians, the “Antarctic Dream” for 11 days will cost $5,800. Air travel Moscow - Buenos Aires - Ushuaia and back ($ 2000) and ground infrastructure services are additionally paid. The most expensive forced marches deep into the continent. A seven-day tour with a flight to the South Pole will cost $40,000 per person. The route for 25 days with the passage of the last 111 km to the South Pole on skis will cost $ 54,000. For the lucky ones, souvenir shops open at the pole selling badges, T-shirts, and stamps. In total, there are about a dozen attractions in Antarctica available to non-professional polar explorers.

What attracts the South Pole

There are many unique things in Antarctica, says Nail Mukhamadiev.

First. This is the coldest continent, on which 90% of all land ice is concentrated, as well as 80% of the world's fresh water reserves. Only 4% of Antarctica is ice-free. Its reserves are enough to cover the entire land with a layer 160 m thick. Antarctic icebergs are striking in size. In the spring of 2008, an ice block with an area of ​​570 square meters broke away from the Wilkins shelf. km, which is about half of Moscow.

Second. Antarctica is the most high continent Earth. Due to powerful glaciers, the average height of the mainland's surface above sea level (2.3 km) is the highest among other parts of the land.

Third. Near Antarctica special status A: It doesn't belong to anyone. There are no authorities, borders and even fences.

Fourth. There is a version that the legendary Atlantis was located on the site of the current Antarctica.

Fifth. There are hypotheses that this lifeless territory, which was part of the giant Gondwana pro-continent millions of years ago, is the cradle of human civilization.

But Nail Mukhamadiev hardly believes in the fourth and fifth versions.

The only thing that is known for sure is that so far no person can call Antarctica their homeland.

Closed club"

“It is more difficult to get to Antarctica as part of an expedition. If we take into account that the candidates for the expedition members are selected at the St. Petersburg Institute of the Arctic and Antarctic, the direct organizer of the trip, then I was lucky that I, a non-resident, came to court, - says Nail Mukhamadiev. “My friend Vyacheslav from Nizhny Novgorod, a highly qualified welder, whose profession is so in demand in Antarctica, even with my recommendation, could not get into the expedition on the first attempt.”

The Russian community in Antarctica is not the most representative, despite the fact that five Russian stations are currently operating there: Bellingshausen, Novolazarevskaya, Vostok, Mirny and Progress. Mirny's team consisted of 37 people, and at five of our stations there were about a hundred. The largest American landing. The number of personnel of their stations in the season reaches several thousand people. They say that even branches of American banks operate on the sixth continent. Cleaners are also sent there. In general, almost all countries are represented in Antarctica. Chileans are not forbidden to take their families for the winter.

Nail Mukhamadiev went on his third Antarctic expedition as a lead engineer for environmental protection measures. The presence of an ecologist at polar stations is mandatory. The main task of a specialist is to prevent fuel spills and current pollution of the territory. Since human waste can upset the unique Antarctic ecosystem, the countries represented on the sixth continent have signed a pact to comply with strict environmental regulations. For example, the regulations require that waste be taken out; not a single drop, not a single crumb should be unused. True, despite the fact that the agreement prohibits open burning of garbage, this point is not fulfilled by everyone, including Russians.

One of the tasks of an ecologist is to protect penguins from annoying human attention. Everyone strives to take a picture with the indigenous inhabitant of the mainland, and the birds get scared, lose their eggs, which threatens to reduce their population. Nail Mukhamadiev had to form small groups for photo shoots.

In nature, there are about 15 species of penguins, in Antarctica there are emperor, royal, Antarctic, Adele and others. Imperial stands out for its coloration, article, size and fame. The growth of penguins reaches 1.2 m, weight 40 kg. Representatives of this species are the southernmost inhabitants of Antarctica (for this continent, “the most southern” means “the most frost-resistant”). Penguins have cleverly adapted to life in Antarctica. Birds are able to store each other's heat, straying into “turtle” flocks, which allows them to exist in conditions where the difference in body temperature and environment is tens of degrees. Inside the flock of penguins, the temperature is maintained at +20°C, while “overboard” is up to -30°C. At the same time, the birds constantly move from the edge to the center and back, so that everyone has time to warm up.

Mukhamadiev in Antarctica had to master several more specialties. He worked as the commander of a search and rescue squad, and the commander of a squad to overcome emergencies, and the commandant of the House of Geophysicists, and the head of the hand-to-hand combat section, and even the chief judge of the Mirny Olympiad. The most important part-time job is a diesel operator. Diesel is considered the heart of the base. If the diesel stalls, the consequences can be catastrophic.

The worst thing is laziness

Nail Mukhamadiev celebrated his 55th birthday in Antarctica. The gifts were themed: mugs, thermos, envelopes with special cancellation. On holidays, red caviar and juice are laid. With booze in the winter strictly. Of course, it is far from prohibition, but a month and a half bottle of vodka per person is clearly not by Russian standards, the polar explorer believes. There was no particular suffering from forced sobriety. Three bodybuilding and hand-to-hand combat sessions a week left no time for boredom. And for the year he never violated the schedule of classes. It is worth skipping one or two workouts - laziness overcomes. This is the scariest thing in Antarctica. To survive in cold wild places, it is necessary to temper not only the body, but also the psyche.

Fishing also helped. On the sixth continent, ice fish, gobies and notothenia are excellently caught. “It used to be that I didn’t go to the canteen for weeks, because I ate only the catch. Fish is ready to eat in any form!”

Earth in the window

It's good that the road to Antarctica is long and passes through lands no less interesting than the end point. Indeed, in a journey, not only the result is important, but also the process, the polar explorer is convinced. The two-month journey of the Russian expedition ship to the southern mainland included calls to the German Bremerhaven and the South African Cape Town, where the crew replenished their fuel and provisions. When, finally, after all these difficult crossings, the greatest icy desert of the Earth appeared before the team, the traveler had a quatrain.

The ocean swell under the ice is barely visible, Our wake is not subject to breaks. 4000 m we fall to the bottom, And 14,000 km to the house.

“I especially remember the way back. For the first time in the history of the Russian exploration of Antarctica, the ship that took the winterers away from Mirny headed for the coast of Australia. I only had to dream of traveling to the Green Continent, and I regard visiting Australia as a gift of fate. I walked around Melbourne, Sydney, and then looked at the whole continent from the plane.The next scheduled landing is in Bangkok.It is quite unusual to end up in Thailand after Antarctica.And at London Heathrow Airport I managed to meet Vasily Lanov, who flew to England to celebrate his 70th birthday.

If you happen to get to Antarctica for the fourth time, it would be nice to climb Erebus, the southernmost active volcano our planet. True, it is far enough away from “Mirny”.

P.S. After reading this material, you might think that Antarctica is a resort. Alas. For polar explorers, this is isolation from big land, the same team, constant winds, cold and work ...

Elena BORMATOVA

Sources:

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