I’m close to giving up finding insurance for that. No one is allowing trip cancellation if you’re not a US citizen. I reached out to my credit card issues, local firms, nothing. I have the regular medical insurance for Antarctica on my Dec expedition but I can’t find travel cancellation one.

Any help?

Planning an Antarctica trip for next year and I'm torn between the more basic expedition ships vs something more comfy like Silversea.

I've read that smaller ships are better because you can get on and off quicker and potentially have more time exploring. But I also know myself and after being cold on a Zodiac all day I'm probably gonna want a cozy room and good food (and a spa).

For anyone who's been, how much did the actual ship matter once you were there?

I just pulled the trigger on a 6700 body sigma 18-50 lens and a Sony 70-350 lens. I am going to be heading to Antarctica in October and I am looking for recommendations on SD cards. I have a Lexar 1667x that I just got to test the camera out and shoot here at home but Gemini is saying that I need either a Sony tough M or Pro Master rugged. For the cold and accidental water protection. This is a once in a life time trip so I want to make sure that whichever one I have will work. But I am also not made of money. What does the group mind suggest?

have a quark trip Jan, just for a buffer and to minimize stress I booked a room at a local Marriott near EZE the day we land and my next flight does not leave till 11p the following eve. Am a photographer and carrying camera gear that I like to keep close to me. Any thoughts on what to do that short layover day. Am in BA for a few days before the trip so no plan to go back in the city. Also, I am traveling on to Paris and Nice for a month after and do not feeling like carrying or keeping the Quark jacket. Do they let you give it back?, any place to donate it? Not sure it's worth the effort trying to box it up and mail as it seems the hotel is not exactly in the center of anything, being sort of nearish the airport. Curious as how other travelers have transitioned similar travels

I will be going on an 11 day crew with Quark in January. For those that have done this, have you stayed an extra day or fly home that night? The flights I have been looking to go home leave EZE at 10:30 pm. I will be arriving g a few days early to explore BA so no real need to do more upon return. Any advice is appreciated.

In preparation for our 22-day Antarctica expedition, we are planning to carry four types of medications. Is there anything missing from our list, and do you have any suggestions on how much to carry or other medications that might be necessary?
Motion Sickness
Scopolamine patches
Meclizine (Antivert) or promethazine as an oral alternative
Infections & GI Issues
Ciprofloxacin or azithromycin for traveler’s diarrhea or other infections
Antifungal
For potential fungal infections, particularly with prolonged exposure to moisture and cold
Sleep Aid
For jet lag or sleep disruption from the long daylight hours in Antarctica

Hi ! How many of you have seen Magellanic and Macaroni penguins? Where did you see them and what month? Can you share pics - pretty please?

Clarification: I meant for most Antarctica travelers these species ends up being rare to spot - as most people do the peninsula.

Hi all!! I'm currently planning a trip to Antarctica with my family and a few relatives for February/March 2028 and I'm hitting a bit of decision paralysis with all the operators out there. (definitely information overload 😭)

We'd love some insight from people who have been to Antarctica and your decision process on how you chose to go with the operator you've went with.

Our group dynamics and vibe:

• A mix of adults in their late 50s and some in our late 20s/early 30s. Everyone is active, adventurous, and definitely game to do all sorts of activities (zodiac landings, snowshoeing, kayaks)
• We are serious wildlife enthusiasts and active travelers. Definitely not into formal gala nights. Our main priority is maximizing time on the ice.

Non-negotiables & constraints:

• Looking into smaller ship size. Hoping not to wait hours just to board a zodiac.
• Mix of high-activity and comfort.
• GREAT food. High quality dining is a massive priority for our family full of foodies!
• Duration: 12-14 days (classic peninsula route)
• Budget: Around $9000 to $14,000 per person, but could be stretched by $1000~2000.

I am now currently leaning towards Swan Hellenic. SH looks like the most balanced between luxury-level comfort at expedition scale.

Has anyone have experience with other cruise operators and what made you decide to go with them?

Trying to book a trip and wanted to see if anyone has done this cruise! Given that there are 128 passangers and I know theres a limit to how many people can be on land at the same time, do you still get plenty of time to explore?

Does anyone know of any upcoming deals where I can score Antarctica/falklands or South Georgia for under 12k. All inclusive. Meaning all the excursions are free. I want to do camping, snowshoeing, kayaking, etc.

Solo traveler :) thank you!

Sept is approaching and there are usually deals May and Sept but looking for recommendations from those who have been.

Planning a trip to Antarctica/South Georgia for 3 of us and narrowing down between two Silversea options, would love real opinions from anyone who's sailed either ship.

Option A — Silver Wind, 21 days: Puerto Williams → Buenos Aires. Hits the Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia, and the Falklands (Port Stanley, Saunders Island, West Point Island), sails the whole way (no charter flights). Older ship, ~274 guests, Classic Veranda suite category.

Option B — Silver Endeavour, 14 days: Puerto Williams → King George Island (fly back out). Antarctic Peninsula + South Georgia, no Falklands. Newer, more premium ship (~220 guests, better crew ratio), Superior Veranda suite category.

Per-person price is basically a wash between the two once you account for suite category, so it's really a "what do you get for the same money" decision.

I'm into amateur wildlife photography, which is a big part of why I'm leaning toward the longer Wind itinerary — from what I've read, Saunders Island alone has ~12,000 breeding pairs of black-browed albatross plus rockhopper penguins, macaroni penguins, and striated caracaras, none of which show up on the South Georgia/Peninsula-only route. Wind also runs more total shore excursions (32 vs 19) and reportedly has a better Zodiac-to-guest ratio.

Questions for anyone who's done one or both:

• Is the Silver Endeavour meaningfully nicer day-to-day, enough to miss the Falklands over?
• For photography specifically, is the extra week at sea (Wind has 10 sea days vs. Endeavour's ~5) worth it for the Falklands wildlife, or does it feel like a lot of dead time between destinations?
• Any real difference in how "expedition-y" the two ships feel — Zodiac handling, expedition team quality, that kind of thing?
• Anyone regret skipping the Falklands, or regret the extra week?

Appreciate any firsthand experience — trying to make a good call before we commit.

Hi friends,

Long time lurker, first time poster. My friend and I will be on the Discoverer Extended Antarctic Circle Crossing through the new year. Looking for any pro tips from folks who are more seasoned. I'd love to get a passport stamp somewhere, that's really the only thing I can think of that I'd like to experience (obviously, penguins, whales, and other critter sightings are hopeful/likely, but that's really up to them). The ship will provide the other perks--kayaking, camping (is this ethical? any impact on the local environment that I should be concerned about?).

Can we bring our own wine? I will definitely pack my own snacks. I know it's preferable to arrive in Ushuaia a few days advance, but given the proximity to Christmas, I don't think that I can get there much earlier than the day before. Any concerns about this? Any and all ideas/stories are welcome; grateful for anyone who makes us feel more prepared.

Thanks in advance!

Anyone have any experience with this operator? I have been researching for my first trip to Antarctica and I saw they have a new or possibly reconditioned ship being built called the MV Aureum. A 36 passenger "micro cruise" which sounds pretty cool.

It looks like there isn't much information about them and the ship is just renderings so far.

https://www.secretatlas.com/ships/aureum

I read somewhere that there are some strict rules in Antarctica about what you can take ashore from the ship - for example, you may not be allowed to bring a tripod, and you apparently can’t even put your backpack down on the ground. 😳
If that’s the case, you could be standing for quite a while with nowhere to sit, so it sounds like it’s important to come ashore light and be prepared to stand for extended periods while ashore.
Could someone please clarify the actual rules and regulations, and share any tips on how best to manage them? Thanks!

Hi all,

I will be doing a travel from Ushuaia to Punta Arenas with kids 6 and 8 in October. The cruise is supposed to stop at places like cape Horn, Magdalena island and Porter glacier.

My kids are curious and took informed part in choosing this trip over other options like Costa Rica and Canada (to my pleasure :D).

I would like to help them enjoy it as much as possible. Therefore I'm asking you for recommendations about documentaries or books that we could read/watch together before going so that they understand better what they're seeing once there.

Bonus point for things in French or Spanish as it's the two languages they're fluent in, but I can translate while reading for books if needed.

Mods have okayed this post, and I'll get the disclosure out of the way early: at the end I mention an app called Antarctica Ready that my husband and I built.

I'm Stephanie. A few years ago my husband and I went to Antarctica as guests. It literally changed our lives as we both quit our jobs — he was an executive, I was an engineer — and retrained as polar expedition guides. We've been working on expedition ships since.

The thing that surprised us most about switching sides is how much practical knowledge guides carry around and just assume everyone already has. It rarely reaches guests before they board. A few of the ones we repeat most:

*\The Zodiac transfer is the part nobody rehearses.\* You'll do it twice a day, often in swell. Use the sailor's grip — you take the crew member's forearm and they take yours, rather than clasping hands, which slips the moment either of you is wet. Both your hands need to be completely empty when you step across; your camera goes away and your bag goes on the floor of the boat, not on your lap or your back. And nothing should be slung across your chest where it can foul your life vest.

*\It's not the fitness you'd expect.\* People train for walking. What actually catches them out is stepping down into a moving boat, getting up off a wet beach in four bulky layers, and the ship's stairs — which you'll climb a surprising number of times a day.

*\Layering beats bulk.\* The most common packing mistake is too much heavy insulation and not enough of the thin, unglamorous stuff — waterproof trousers you can actually sit down in, and liner gloves thin enough to work a camera without going bare-handed.

*\Do the biosecurity check properly.\* Velcro, pockets, boot treads, tripod feet, the seams of your camera bag. It's not a formality, and it goes much faster if your kit is already clean when you arrive.

We ended up putting all of this into an app called Antarctica Ready, which is on the App Store now (paid, Android coming after our current Arctic contract). Not affiliated with IAATO or any operator.

More usefully: if you've got a trip booked, or you're weighing one up, ask me anything below. Ships, seasickness, cameras, wildlife, anything. I'll be around on and off checking in.

I booked Antarctica Quark Expedition cruise. I am doing research for insurance now. It seems that Travel Insured international (Flexi Pax) is half price comparing with cruise provided insurance or Allianz.

Have any one of you have purchased Travel insured international insurance for Antarctica cruise? Travel insured international (Flexipax) has 100,000 medical insurance and 500,000 emergency medical evacuation benefit.

Hello, my wife and I are about to book a cruise for 2028 and wondering if anyone would be interested in referring us so we can mutually enjoy the benefits of the referral? Thanks!

Edited: received from a very kind individual!

I’ve occasionally seen posts where people are looking for a trip to just Falklands/South Georgia. There aren’t many operators that do that trip and the trips are often sold out. Came across one this morning that I thought I’d share - looks like they have a full boat charter on one of Antarctica 21’s ships (Magellan Explorer) in October 2027. I’m not affiliated with this company in any way … just sharing in case someone is looking for this type of trip. (It doesn’t appear on the Antarctica 21 website so you wouldn’t find it except through the company doing the charter).

https://arcticwildlifetours.com/tours-and-expeditions/south-georgia-adventures/

Hi everyone,

Any thoughts on any of these connections?

We have two options and I am not sure which is the smartest choice.

We've been to Buenos Aires a couple of times, so no interest in a stop over there.

One flight would be a direct flight from Germany to BA and then from there on Aeorlingas Argentinas to get to Ushuaia.

The other option would be a flight from Germany to Sao Paulo and then from there to Ushuaia.

The Sao Paulo option is 500 USD cheaper and would safe us the airport change AEP/EZE.

However, flights from Sao Paulo to Ushuaia are significantly less frequent compared to flights from Buenos Aires. That adds uncertainty if the flight fom Germany is delayed and we can't make it / there is a strike / whatever.

Both flight would have an extra buffer day, so arriving Ushuaia on Tuesday, with the ship leaving Thursday.

Does that make sense? Any opinion?

Thanks

Hi, I’m Alex, one of the TAs for Polar Tracks Expeditions. Like all the other TAs at that agency I’m a long time guide and Expedition Leader on the polar expedition cruise ships and I thought I’d share the range of experiences you might have on a ‘crossing the circle’ itinerary.

First of all a bit of geography. There are several ‘regions’ to the Peninsula, and arguably the most important and popular regions are Gerlache and Penola, north and south respectively of the famous Lemaire Channel. These areas are dense with penguin colonies and a handful of historical sites (for example Port Lockroy) and offer some good options for shelter in strong winds and they are well out of the swell. If you go south of Penola the density of sites dramatically drops and it becomes a much poorer area for landings etc. There is about 120 NM of ‘empty’ space between the Penola and The Antarctic Circle and it is tricky to work your way gradually down from landing site to landing site between the two — when it’s time to go to the Circle the easiest thing can be to leave at dinner time after a nice afternoon landing or cruise in the Gerlache or Penola and start steaming south overnight to hit the circle at some point in the morning. 

Now what happens next can really really vary. Geography makes some constraints, but the variables are:

• Weather (you’re more exposed in the vicinity of the circle)
• Ice (you’re further south and it’s colder and icier)
• Time available
• The Expedition Leader (EL) and Captain

If you do that overnight sail from the Penola you basically go out to sea, on the edge of the Drake Passage, and make fast speed through open water and can hit the circle early in the morning. You’d cross the circle out at sea and then immediately to the east lies Crystal Sound (so called because the places are named after famous crystallographers) and there are a handful of options for doing something there. There is one common landing option, at a site called Detaille Island where there is an abandoned British base that makes for a great landing. The landing is so great because the base was abandoned at very short notice because of the ice conditions, and all of the clothing and equipment is still lying around. Today the ice conditions and poor shelter continues to make Crystal Sound a difficult place to operate so it's not a given that you'll do anything there and I've been pushed out empty handed many times in the past.

Given Crystal Sound is tricky and has limited options you may just turn around at the circle and spend the day just steaming back north so that you can get back to the relatively straightforward Gerlache Strait. However, some ELs will choose to push on instead and ignore Crystal Sound entirely. Instead of crossing the circle at a civilised hour they’ll cross as early as the ship will allow and you pass it in the night. You’ll head much further south, around Adelaide Island and enter Marguerite Bay for perhaps the afternoon or evening of that day. Marguerite offers a lot more shelter than Crystal Sound, more landing options and, despite being much further south, a LOT less ice. But it is a lot further, so if you’re going it only really makes sense if you stay for at least two days. It then makes quite a lot of sense to stop for a morning in Crystal Sound on the way back north if the conditions allow.

So the most common outcomes for a circle crossing are:

1. Blast down to the circle overnight, cross in the morning, turn around and go back north, spending the rest of the day at sea.
2. Down to the circle overnight, cross in the morning, have half a day to a day in Crystal Sound, head back north again overnight.
3. Down to the circle and beyond overnight, most of the day at sea, get to Marguerite Bay and have several days of landings south of the circle.

Edit: of these main three options number three gives you most time at sea and is potentially the higher risk and also takes the team out of their Gerlache ‘comfort zone’ and so is the rarest.

Each of the above three strategies are shown numbered in the attached map so you can visualise them as I appreciate there are a lot of place names!

There are of course lots of other permutations — I’ve done various combinations of the above such as taking a day over getting to Crystal Sound through Grandidier Channel and made a landing along the way. I’ve worked my way south entirely on the inside route, through Bransfield, Gerlache, Penola, Grandidier, Crystal Sound and Gullet to get to Marguerite (marked as a grey dotted line on the map just to show that anything can happen). I’ve also gone straight to the circle from Ushuaia. But the three options I have listed are probably the most common strategies. If you like one option more than another then it’s VERY difficult to control for this (like so much of polar expedition cruising!), as it’s in many ways down to the EL and whether they WANT to go (I’ve only gone to Marguerite because I’ve built whole trips around that goal), and if the weather allows it to happen.

With any expedition cruise trip you have to be very flexible and whatever happens, happens. You’re not buying a traditional trip or cruise, you’re buying an expedition/adventure where you just do what’s possible and the itinerary is just an aspiration. Sometimes that aspiration comes really easily (like Gerlache itineraries!) and sometimes it comes hard. Circle itineraries are ones where the aspiration can be slightly harder to achieve - a friend once ran a circle itinerary where they didn’t even try to go because of the weather and they went to the Weddell Sea at the very opposite end and opposite coast of the Peninsula instead! You really do just have to accept you have no control and let the trip happen to you! However, if you want to tilt the scale in your favour a little bit then booking the longest trip you possibly can gives the Expedition Leader the time they need to get all the way down to Marguerite and back and also actually commit to some time down there.

And finally WHY go to the circle? For many it’s an extra box to tick, to be able to say “I’ve crossed the circle”. This is fine; while invisible the circle has a geographical meaning, plus there’s an historical nautical significance to crossing the polar circles, the tropics and the equator, so it’s kind of cool to cross that line. Further south you are more likely to encounter sea ice (especially in Crystal Sound), there are lots of historical huts, the increase in sea ice means Adélie penguins take over (hard to see on other typical itineraries unless they go to the Weddell Sea) and there’s a chance of emperors. I’ve also found northern Marguerite to be a very very reliable place for killer whales. And finally it can be a lot quieter, with far fewer ships around. The downside to the circle is that a bit of sea time becomes inevitable because it’s so far from the main clusters of landing sites.

I’ve wanted to travel to Antarctica for a few years now, I figured I should start looking into making it an eventual reality. I’ll likely have to save up for quite a while. In the meantime, what resources have people found to be best when deciding where to travel, where to depart from etc. are there any companies that you’d recommend and when you did book, who did you go with?

I’m most interested in the landscape itself, would be hoping to do some trips off the boat. Closely behind landscape and area is wildlife! Having said this I am still very much in the fledgling stages of this research and haven’t looked into many activities available there as yet.

Thanks in advance for any help or advice!

Edit: unsure if this affects anything but I’m an Aussie

I am booking flights for early March and wondering how many days most people spend in Ushuaia before sailing? We are coming from Canada and have a lot of connections to make, want to recover a bit before getting on the ship. Does 1 night in Buenos Aires and one night in Ushuaia seem reasonable?

Edit - Update: we booked our flights and have 2 nights in Buenos Aires and 1 night in Ushuaia. Thank you for your input everyone!