Among all the variety of travel options offered by travel agencies to distant countries, travel to Antarctica is one of the most exotic. Walking on the four-meter ice of Lake Vanda, contemplating the silent landscape adorned with the planet's tallest volcano, Erebus, or watching the mating games of penguins, are few.
The cost of such tours, of course, is not too humane, but the number of those wishing to visit the southernmost and coldest continent of the planet is only increasing every year.
Choosing a tour
There are several options for getting to the forever ice continent, and they differ in both time and cost:
- The most "affordable" excursions involve boarding a cruise ship in Ushuaia, Chile, and passing through the Drake Passage along the Antarctic Peninsula. Such a trip will take about 7-12 days, and its price depends on the type of vessel and the time spent on the cruise.
- From the Chilean Punta Arenas Drake Passage you can fly by plane and, after landing in the South Shetland Islands, transfer to an expedition ship. The cruise will include landings in Antarctica.
- The most expensive travel to Antarctica is offered by travel companies from New Zealand. Their program includes a cruise along the eastern part of the southern continent.
Polar stations in Antarctica, which constantly carry out research work, also serve as bases for receiving tourists. The most famous stationary Amundsen-Scott is located directly at the South Pole.
Union Glacier Station is a tent base that operates during the warmer months. The main attraction of the station is the runway on the blue ice.
And about the weather
The only time of the year when you can take a trip to Antarctica is summer. In the Southern Hemisphere, it occurs between November and March. The air temperature in the interior of the continent during these months does not drop below –30 ° С, and on the coast there is "only" - 10 ° С.
The main condition for a comfortable stay at the South Pole is high-quality multilayer clothing, including shoes equipped with anti-slip spikes and a windbreaker. By the way, many companies organizing tours to Antarctica give their customers excellent winter jackets, "Alaska", allowing them to endure even the fierce frost.
