Best Antarctica route

[luvn2cruzzz]

Trying to decide on which cruise/cruise line to take to Antarctica. Would love some help on the must see areas.

[dileep]

Do you want a big ship drive by or a small ship with landings?

There are plenty of experiences reported on this board.

I would recommend a small ship cruise that includes South Georgia Islands.

[PerfectlyPerth]

Yep its too broad a question to answer without more information from you.

 

Are you after:

Sites of historical significance ?

Sites of geological significance ?

Sites of penguin/seal colonies ?

Sites that are just generally stunning to look at ?

 

What budget ?

What length of time can you be away for ?

Sedate expedition cruising or adventure expedition cruising or scenic drive bys ?

[kaisatsu]

Your interests would also influence the time of year. Different parts of the season have different wildlife, different scenery, and different access to landing sites based on ice conditions.

[BORDER REIVER]

We started out in the same situation as you....wanting to go, but not knowing how, when or where. I've asked many questions on various travel forums and researched the internet thoroughly and now I've got much more idea of how it all works out.

Early on, we pretty well decided that Hurtigruten would be the best option cost-wise, as we cannot afford to to a 2nd or 3rd visit....too many other places to visit.

Someone kindly advised that I look at the Hurtigruten Fram expedition blog. I've trawled through a few years of expedition blogs there and plotted all the various expedition routes on Google Earth....just to see more or less (and with Antarctica, that's all it can be) where each one goes. We'd like to see South Georgia, but not bothered about the Falklands, but there's too many days at sea that could be very rough, and I'm NOT a good sailor.....so that's out.

Last years Weddell Sea expedition looked really good, and it spent a good bit of time on the West side of the peninsular (which is good), but it doesn't usually do that, I don't think.

Of the rest, the one that really appeals the most, is the Antarctic Circle expedition.....the reports, photographs and You-tube videos usually show this trip to be pretty amazing....good enough to brave the return trips across the Drake Passage for.

This has taken me months of research, but it's been worthwhile looking at previous visitor's experiences, as well as actually seeing the routes on a sattellite view of the region and it's helped us to come to a decision.

3 years to go still, but plenty of time to sort out everything else

[TXTraveler2007]

This has taken me months of research, but it's been worthwhile looking at previous visitor's experiences, as well as actually seeing the routes on a sattellite view of the region and it's helped us to come to a decision.

3 years to go still, but plenty of time to sort out everything else

 

Could you e-mail or post your tracking of the routes of the region? We traveled on the Fram 2010/2011 with the Shakelton's Christmas Cruise, and it was wonderful. I posted a review on here. We did enjoy the longer cruise that included the Falklands, S. Georgia and a tiny bit of the Weddell Sea with a very small part of the tip of Antarctica. We want to return, and your research would be a big help in choosing our next cruise. BLStrouth at sbcglobal dot net, if you can send it. Thanks for the thought anyway. TXTraveler :D

[vbmom87]

We started out in the same situation as you....wanting to go, but not knowing how, when or where. I've asked many questions on various travel forums and researched the internet thoroughly and now I've got much more idea of how it all works out.

Early on, we pretty well decided that Hurtigruten would be the best option cost-wise, as we cannot afford to to a 2nd or 3rd visit....too many other places to visit.

Someone kindly advised that I look at the Hurtigruten Fram expedition blog. I've trawled through a few years of expedition blogs there and plotted all the various expedition routes on Google Earth....just to see more or less (and with Antarctica, that's all it can be) where each one goes. We'd like to see South Georgia, but not bothered about the Falklands, but there's too many days at sea that could be very rough, and I'm NOT a good sailor.....so that's out.

Last years Weddell Sea expedition looked really good, and it spent a good bit of time on the West side of the peninsular (which is good), but it doesn't usually do that, I don't think.

Of the rest, the one that really appeals the most, is the Antarctic Circle expedition.....the reports, photographs and You-tube videos usually show this trip to be pretty amazing....good enough to brave the return trips across the Drake Passage for.

This has taken me months of research, but it's been worthwhile looking at previous visitor's experiences, as well as actually seeing the routes on a sattellite view of the region and it's helped us to come to a decision.

3 years to go still, but plenty of time to sort out everything else

 

Would you mind sharing some of the blogs/websites you were reading to help with your decision?

 

I am just beginning to think about a cruise to the Antarctic, and need all the help I can get.

 

Can anyone recommend a good book to get started? I, too, just don't know where to begin in trying to decide on the "best" cruise for us. We are mid-60s, not too athletic, but do enjoy easy strolls/hikes. Scenery is our priority followed by wildlife. We could probably be gone 2-3 weeks. We like the idea of smaller ships, but do have to be concerned about motion sickness, so probably not something too small. As far as budget, I don't know what to expect for this kind of cruise. In general, we are thrifty and book cheap cabins. However, we are willing to pay for the experience if it is worth it.

[tupper10]

If we had it to do all over again we would. You must understand that picking a cruise of this type by route alone may lead to a great deal of disappointment because your route depends on weather and if the ship can't do the landing it will go someplace else. There is a web site that gives you info on all the different ships that go so just google Antarctic cruises because I am not allowed to post the name here. I would recommend doing an expedition ship that has zodiac landings and going in late January early February which is the middle of summer. You will see the baby penguins (not the eggs) at this time. We saw whales (multiple types), seals, thousands of penguins, birds, and the most spectacular scenery of my life. There were people in their 80's on our cruise. You can do as much hiking/walking as you like when you get off the zodiac. On our cruise there was always a person leading a hike and one person by the shore giving a lecture of some sort. I would not be concerned about the activity level. We took one of the least expensive rooms since you really are there only to sleep. Pick whatever small ship you can afford - with the least expensive room and the longest trip you can take. I would recommend spending an overnight in Buenos Aires just to rest after the long flight. It is also a beautiful and interesting city to see and it is warm. Have fun planning - we would go again in a minute especially now that we have all of our clothes! Have a great time.

[BORDER REIVER]

Would you mind sharing some of the blogs/websites you were reading to help with your decision?

 

I am just beginning to think about a cruise to the Antarctic, and need all the help I can get.

 

Can anyone recommend a good book to get started? I, too, just don't know where to begin in trying to decide on the "best" cruise for us. We are mid-60s, not too athletic, but do enjoy easy strolls/hikes. Scenery is our priority followed by wildlife. We could probably be gone 2-3 weeks. We like the idea of smaller ships, but do have to be concerned about motion sickness, so probably not something too small. As far as budget, I don't know what to expect for this kind of cruise. In general, we are thrifty and book cheap cabins. However, we are willing to pay for the experience if it is worth it.

 

We asked various questions on this site, as well as the likes of Tripadvisor, Fodors and Lonely Planet...also reading hundreds of questions and answers from other travellers and trawling through many hours of Youtube Antarctic videos. This, research, as well as company ads made us decide that Hurtigruten was our own preferred option.

Once that was established, I read through most of the Hurtigruten expedition blogs covering the last few years and using the information given, plotted on Google Earth the places visited and the routes (as near as possible) taken for each expedition. Now I have a very good idea of roughly where each expedition goes and when and I've saved the routes as jpegs on my computer. I've just about finished plotting the current Weddell Sea Explorer and it's been an excellent route, taking in a lot of the West side of the Antarctic Peninsular as well. The expedition we're most interested in is the crossing of the Antarctic Circle and this year's one leaves in a couple of days time, so I'll plot it day by day using the blog information.

Reading trip reports, questions and answers from seasoned travellers who have been there gives a lot of insight into expedition life and there's lots of very useful tips on all aspects that will help anyone plan an Antarctic trip.

With regards to fitness, we also had concerns because of our ages (early to mid 60's when we want to go), but it seems that most reasonably fit people could cope quite well. Some people over-estimate their fitness levels and do struggle....we saw passengers from a cruise liner in Greenland crawling along a bobbing pontoon jetty on their hands and knees, despite being advised by crew not to attempt a landing....but these were people who used walking sticks while onboard ship and onshore.

 

Good Luck.

[2552phxcrzr]

I agree with Tupper10 about basing your decision on a specific route or milestone. We looked at both an Emperor Penguin safari and an "Antarctic Circle crossing" itinerary, and in the end decided we'd be happier with a less-specific itinerary so as not to be disappointed if the goal was not attained (and there have been years when they have not).

 

I don't know that I can recommend a book, but there are a lot more first-hand accounts/trip reports now than there were back in 2005 when we booked our January 2007 voyage.

 

Browse trip reports (if you search on my name, you'll find the rather long thread I posted here about our experience on a 48 pax ship; I discuss a bit how we made our decision), look at photos (mine are here: ), check out websites ... all this is to determine what your specific interests are so you can make a decision that suits you. CoolAntarctica has good info; I'll post a link, but if CC masks it, just do a search ... http://www.coolantarctica.com/Travel/antarctica_travel_home.htm

 

For us, as an example, it was to see Antarctica as pristine as possible (late Feb/March will likely have more muddy conditions on landings); to see fantastic landscapes; to see penguin chicks in all stages; to see not just the species that live in Antarctica, but more variety; and to have as many landings for as long as we could.

 

Armed with that information, we bit the bullet and saved for a 20-21 day expedition on the smallest ship we felt comfortable on (remember landings are restricted to 100 people ashore at any one time) and chose an itinerary that included the Falklands as well as South Georgia (which I think is a 'must' if one can swing it), as well as the Antarctic peninsula.

 

Was it expensive. Yes. Was it worth it ... no doubt whatsoever and we're glad we did it. We would like to go back ... in fact, I yearn to go back ... but we have to balance that with a desire to see never-been-before places. One day, though, we will go back. It's a very special part of the world.

 

One last point ... budget a couple of days in Ushuaia before your trip ... does wonders for reducing stress from travel delays with the bonus of time to explore a part of the world you may not return to again.

 

Have fun with your research; it's half the fun of a trip like this.

[SarniaLo]

mine are here: )

Have fun with your research; it's half the fun of a trip like this.

I had seen your pictures before but went again with the same pleasure, congratulations!

Thank you also for the link to CoolAntarctica, which I didn't know. Looks really interesting!

And I definitely agree with your last sentence. I was in Antarctica in Feb2009 with Hurtigruten (Polar Circle Expedition, which was just perfect on every level) and well, I got the bug... And I'm planning to go back at the end of 2013 for a trip that will include Falklands and South Georgia; all the planning is really part of the trip for me.

[vbmom87]

Thanks all for the many tips and website suggestions. I will be very busy checking it all out. Sounds like a fantastic trip!!!

[NCCruzQueen]

I returned home yesterday from my Antarctic cruise and will definitely recommend South Georgia. It is an amazing place with loads of penguins, seals, glaciers, whaling and Antarctic history. You might want to read my blog to help you along with your decision. It's still a work in progress. http://beths-world-travels.blogspot.com/

[2552phxcrzr]

Beth, thanks for the link to your blog ... I look forward to reading about your voyage ... a virtual trip to take me back to our adventure back in 2007 ... what fun.

[NCCruzQueen]

You are quite welcome, h2so4, Hope you enjoy it!