Expeditions to Antarctica are available not only to scientists and researchers, but also to tourists who are financially secure and have a thirst for adventure.
Expedition tour to Antarctica
To become an Antarctic tourist, you need to go on one of the cruises on an ice-class hydrographic vessel, which serves as a pleasure boat for a while.
Safety on such tours is above all: travelers are required to purchase insurance (it assumes that those who are injured on the ship will be able to evacuate by boarding a helicopter). In addition, they are instructed and a training alert (passengers will have to equip themselves and be accommodated in lifeboats).
You can get to Antarctica from Cape Town, Ushuaia, Punta Arenas (taking this Chilean city as the starting point, tourists will be able to bypass the Drake Passage if they rely on air travel), Sydney … And the best time for cruise expeditions is considered to be the “warm” months - November -March.
If we talk about prices, then for a short cruise, travelers will pay about $ 5,000, and the cost of a long tour can reach $ 15,000. An unusual solution can be the conquest of Antarctica on mountain skiing (such a pleasure will cost everyone at least $ 20,000).
Cruise "Visit the Emperor Penguins"
The 14-day tour assumes the arrival of travelers in Ushuaia. Day 2 of the tour will begin with an acquaintance with the flora and fauna of the Terra del Fuego National Park, and continue with a landing on the icebreaker "Kapitan Khlebnikov".
Crossing the Drake Passage on the 3-4th day, those who wish will be invited to attend lectures that will allow them to learn more about king penguins and attend master classes conducted by professional photographers. Standing on the bridge or on the open deck will be able to see seabirds, in particular albatrosses.
On the 5th day, tourists will meet with giant icebergs, as well as lectures on the topic: "How was the continent discovered and explored?"
On days 6-9, travelers will visit Snow Hill Island, where king penguins live. After the helicopter flight, the sightseers will walk on foot along the kilometer-long ice to the penguin nesting sites.
On the 10-11th days of the trip, the icebreaker will head to the Antarctic Peninsula (visiting penguin colonies) and the South Shetland Islands (there are stations in 12 countries where scientific research is carried out). Weather permitting, visitors will be allowed to observe the behavior of seabirds and penguins.
On days 12-13, the icebreaker will head for Ushuaia through the Drake Passage. During this time, the ship will give lectures related to the future and Antarctica.
On the last, 14th day, tourists will be invited to dine on board the Kapitan Khlebnikov in a solemn atmosphere.
Non-standard cruises to Antarctica
To be in Antarctica, you can contact the AARI and agree on getting a passenger seat on the next expedition, however, such a one-way cruise will take as long as 1.5 months.
If you wish, you can find a job on a cruise ship by submitting your CV in advance. Possible vacancies can be translators, drivers of rubber motor boats "Zodiac" (in addition to rescue and expeditionary purposes, these boats have several more - they disembark tourists on the Antarctic coast and send them on sightseeing trips), accompanying guides, service personnel in the form waiters, cleaners, cooks.
What do they do during sightseeing landings?
During excursion landings, you can visit bases engaged in research activities and find out how scientists who work in Antarctica for months live. Those who wish may be invited to go to the whalers' haven. Extremals will be able to “saddle” a snowmobile, driving it along the icy slopes, go diving (diving under the ice of ice shelves), arrange kayaking.
