Visiting Antarctica was truly a dream! It had never been a spot on my “to-visit” list or somewhere I ever thought I would venture to. That all changed when my friends Wandering Hops sent me a text one day saying “Soooo do you wanna go to Antarctica?” How could I ever say no to that opportunity?
The Logistics
We booked our trip with Poseidon Expeditions in April for over Christmas—I would recommend booking as far in advance as possible! I spent some time upping my winter clothing game and then we were off to Argentina.
In order to visit Antarctica you need to travel to either South Africa or Argentina. In Argentina expeditions leave out of the Patagonian city of Ushuaia at the bottom of South America. There are many different companies that offer trips to Antarctica, and we landed on Poseidon for a few reasons.
The size of the ship: This was the biggest advantage to traveling with Poseidon! The ship only fits ~100 guests and there is an IAATO rule that only 100 folks can be on the ground at a landing site at a time. The larger ships can only do half of the expeditions because they have to rotate in groups who can go at a time. There are also ships were you don’t even get off the boat to step on the continent. Additionally, being on a small ship meant we could traverse tighter channels and see more!
The price: No matter who you travel with, visiting Antarctica is expensive! Poseidon’s price was lower than some of the other companies, but also not the absolute cheapest.
The dates: In the end we were down to Poseidon and Quark, but Poseidon’s Christmas dates worked great for our schedule so we booked!
The Journey
As we departed Ushuaia sailing through the beautiful Beagle Channel I really wasn’t sure what to expect. I do research before trips but I hate having expectations for anything—I hate movie previews, I hate seeing photos of a place before I visit, etc. (I know how strange that is ha!). I was already in awe of the views of this pretty channel in southern Argentina, but I had no idea what lay ahead.
Upon departing the Beagle Channel, the Drake Passage awaited. Some of you may have seen the famous “Drake Shake” videos—you either get a Drake Lake when you cross this treacherous passage or you are faced with the roughest seas that exist in the world. This is because it is where the Atlantic, Pacific, and Southern seas converge, and because the currents here meet no resistance from any nearby land.
We had rough waters on the Drake Passage, both sailing to Antarctica and on the return. It was not as bad as it could have been, but it was not super comfortable. The first night entering the passage we had 16.5ft high waves and the guides compared it to “a small hurricane”. It thankfully eased up in the afternoon of our first day in the passage.
On our second day in the Drake Passage things were a bit bumpy but not too bad and we actually made it to Antarctica early! In the afternoon we arrived for our first expedition which was a huge bonus. Each of the 4 days in Antarctica they attempt 2 expeditions and everything is completely weather dependent. This early arrival meant we actually got to complete 9 out of 8 expeditions!
The Expeditions
Our 9 expeditions took place at Halfmoon Island, Palavar Point, Portal Point, Cuverville Island, Neko Harbor, Paradise Harbor, Port Charcot/Booth Island, Useful Island, and Foyn Harbor.
A typical expedition starts with layering up and then hopping on a zodiac boat to either cruise to land or if you are lucky enough to be a part of the Kayak Club, a zodiac ride to the kayaks.
Rebecca and I were kayakers and able to hit the water on 3 different expeditions. It was definitely one of the best parts of the entire trip! Being able to see everything from the water provided a different perspective and was incredibly amazing. It was also great that we didn’t feel like we were missing out on anything because after each kayak session we were able to go to the land and explore.
Some expeditions included a hike up a mountain in the thick snow, some included glacier views, and all of them included hanging out with a TON of penguins. The landscape of the continent was truly stunning!
The Wildlife
We were incredibly lucky on our journey with wildlife sightings! We saw thousands of penguins and three different types: Gentoo, Chinstrap and Adelie. We also saw a ton of them porpoising which was very cool, and even better when it happened while we were kayaking! It was hatching season for the babies so we got to see the mothers on their nests, eggs, and fathers gathering supplies for the nests.
The penguins travel via “highways” and are very indecisive. It was hilarious to watch them try to decide where to go and to watch them flail around with their little bodies. They are arguably the cutest animals I have ever seen.
Humpback Whales were the next wildlife type that we saw the most of. We saw somewhere over 40 Humpbacks, and we were lucky enough that TWO of them were breaching! We saw the Humpbacks from the ship throughout the journey and from the zodiac boats. They are such beautiful creatures and I could have watched them roll around for hours.
We also saw over 30 Orca/Killer Whales! These are not as common in the area and were definitely a treat. The Orcas got very close to our ship and provided a lot of entertainment. We even saw a pod of Orcas hunting a Humpback which is very rare (and sad).
On most of our expeditions there were several seals on the ground and surrounding rocks—we probably saw somewhere over 25 in total. They were mostly Weddell Seals and Leopard Seals. They are so funny the way they just lay around and are unbothered. From the kayak we did see some enter the water which was very cool.
The Ship
Though the ship was small, it was more spacious than I was expecting. There are 6 floors and a majority of the space are the guest cabins. There is a dining room, a lounge, a bar, a library, a gym, and an upper outdoor deck with a hot tub. The hot tub was fantastic and definitely a highlight!
The food on the ship was solid. It became a bit repetitive at times but they did a great job of meeting different dietary restrictions and cultural norms. The dining staff were all incredibly nice and ensured we never went hungry or thirsty!
While at sea there were various information sessions and briefings so were always pretty busy. I envisioned being bored, reading a ton of books, or playing a ton of games, but we really were constantly on the go.
The Highlights
The best parts of visiting Antarctica for me were:
The wildlife—As described above we were incredibly lucky and saw so many penguins, Humpback Whales, Orcas, and seals.
The polar plunge—They offer an option polar plunge so obviously I had to do it! Jumping into the Antarctic waters was absolutely freezing but such a cool, once in a lifetime experience. The water temperature was about 35 degrees.
The landscape—I was blown away by the diverse landscape of Antarctica. Seeing all of the mountains and glaciers was incredible. We saw some gorgeous sunsets off the mountains and it was truly majestic.
The icebergs—The color, size, and texture of the thousands (millions?) of icebergs that we saw were epic. There were some that were such a bright blue it looked fake. Some that flipped over right in front of us. Some that broke apart right in front of us. Some that were absolutely massive. They were incredible!
Traversing the Channels—The Errera Channel and Lemaire Channel in particular were absolutely breathtaking. These narrow slices through the land and ice were amazing to witness.
Kayaking—Getting up close and personal to the icebergs and wildlife was unforgettable!
The Return
After 4.5 days in Antarctica we headed back across the Drake Passage. On the return we had 13-16.5ft waves the entire two days. We traveled 1,795 miles on our Antarctic journey and it was a profound, once in a lifetime, majestic experience.
