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Antarctic Tourist Activity Descriptions - Southern Explorations

ABOUT ANTARCTICA TRAVELING TO ANTARCTICA ANTARCTICA TRAVEL SEASONS

WHEN TO VISIT ANTARCTICA
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ANTARCTIC ITINERARY CATEGORIES ANTARCTIC TOURIST ACTIVITIES ANTARCTICA CRUISE FAQ RECOMMENDED ANTARCTICA READING

Snowy Sheathbills

The whole aim of adventure travel to Antarctica is to observe the wildlife at close range and experience the vast solitude of this unique landscape. Activities during each of our Antarctica tours vary from ship to ship and company to company. In general, most vessels have established daily routines on and off the ship that maximize the views of wildlife and stunning vistas as described below. To discuss the details of our Antarctica tours, please call.

Once the ship arrives at the Antarctic Peninsula, the goal is to leave the vessel each day for a minimum of two Antarctica tours, weather permitting. This often involves a Landing on the peninsula to reach the start of the excursion, such as observing a penguin colony, visiting a historic site or taking a scenic walk. For landings, passengers are transported to shore via a zodiac (a rubber inflatable boat). Depending on the terrain, time constraints and vulnerability of the area’s wildlife, these excursions will be more or less “guided.” The expert, trained guides will always be available to answer your questions and offer any needed assistance. For purposes of safety, boundaries are sometimes set, though passengers are free to roam within these limits. For walks, a guide generally leads the way. Another common activity is a Zodiac Cruise, piloted by a guide. Although capable of carrying more passengers, the boats rarely transport more than ten passengers at a time to ensure the best viewing opportunities for all. If possible, the Zodiacs cruise by stunning icebergs and large glaciers, often through brash ice and growlers that float on the surface. Seals may be seen on ice floes or in the water. Some fortunate travelers will also observe whales during their Antarctica tours. Landings and cruises can last anywhere from one to four hours. The duration of these activities is dictated by a number of different factors, including weather, safety and how navigable the ice allows the water to be.

Antarctica Activity Descriptions

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Shipboard Activities

Whichever trip and ship you choose for your travel to Antarctica all offer an onboard lecture series. Guides, and sometimes guest lecturers, address a range of topics including Antarctica wildlife, the continent’s history and the geology of the region. Attending these presentations allows passengers to derive the most out of their Antarctica tours, to fully appreciate what they are seeing and experiencing.
Many ships have an open bridge policy. This means you will be free to visit the bridge to see how the captain and the crew navigate the ship through the icy waters of Antarctica. On clear days, some ships run a dedicated wildlife watch or bird watch hour on the bridge.
Ship libraries contain beautiful photographic reference books pertaining to the area as well as fiction for the enjoyment of the guests. There is of course also a bar onboard all ships where passengers may mingle and exchange stories of the day’s adventures. Staff often organizes a photo competition or slide show to which everyone is invited to contribute. Bringing your laptop or portable hard drive along allows you to organize those hundreds of digital images on the fly. Evening movies and story time in the bar are commonly offered on most ships too. Time stands still on this vast continent, but during your Antarctica tours, you will find time flies!

Special Activities on Sea and Shore

Some visitors who travel to Antarctica wish to experience even more thrills. For them, we offer additional activities that some but not all ships offer, including camping, diving, hiking, kayaking, mountaineering and cross-country skiing, activities made all the more thrilling because the setting is Antarctica.

Camping

Antarctica is a continent of ethereal amenities found nowhere else. Silence is one. And there is no more profound way to experience the solitude of Antarctica than at night surrounded by constellations unfamiliar to most visitors where stars seem close enough to touch and voices above a whisper seem strangely out of place.
As unlikely as it seems, camping is our most popular optional activity on Antarctica excursions, attracting seasoned campers as well as first-time outdoor enthusiasts, all drawn to this once-in-a-lifetime, perhaps only our lifetime, serene Antarctic experience. All necessary gear is provided for a safe, comfortable Antarctic camping trip appropriate to weather conditions, including tents, sleeping bags and mats. Campers are welcome to bring their own gear for this Antarctica travel if their bags are rated to -10°C / 14°F and sleeping mats are insulated.
Our camping Antarctica tours are offered on a space available basis in accordance with on-land travel restrictions set by the Antarctic Treaty System. These Antarctic camping expeditions are scheduled according to the tides, so you arrive on shore swiftly and glide away on the receding waters. The setting for some expeditions, depending on the Antarctic cruise itinerary, is on ice, an otherworldly experience in itself. Camping in Antarctica is strictly controlled. We adhere to the highest of environmental standards including portable toilets and the transporting of all supplies and refuse, according to the same Leave no Trace policy we apply to all Southern Explorations tours.

Antarctic Diving

Diving in the ice floes of Antarctica is an extraordinary experience due to the combination of sunlight, seawater and unusual ice formations that create brilliant underwater hues. Divers can expect to encounter a fascinating array of marine wildlife, such as kelp walls, sea-snails, ice fish, shrubby horsetails, sea hedgehogs, crab, sea butterflies, jellyfish, sponges and starfish, plus a variety of fish species, enormous colonies of penguins, seals and maybe even a whale. The glaciers, gigantic icebergs and spectacular ice walls make a unique backdrop for these unforgettable excursions where no two dives are alike.
We provide a limited number of departures for travelers who wish to make scuba diving excursions part of their Antarctica cruise. These trips may be selected as part of a scheduled itinerary or added as a tour extension to precede or follow the passenger’s Antarctica expedition. Our diving excursions are overseen by experienced guides familiar with Antarctic waters and wildlife.
Excursions range from shallow ice diving near or under the ice floes (approximately 30 feet) to shore dives of approximately 30 to 60 feet. Dive locations include the Antarctic Peninsula and South Georgia as well as the krill-rich waters around the Falkland Islands that attract many species of marine life. In Antarctica you can dive with seals and penguins. By snorkeling close to the Zodiaks, divers can also try to observe these creatures from below the surface.
The unpredictability of weather, wildlife and ice conditions make each Antarctic diving expedition unique. The ice here is always in motion, offering different views of colors and marine wildlife under the surface. Although the captain and crew know their destinations well, each excursion may or may not exceed the expectations of individual divers, because of these ever-changing conditions. The ships’ dive masters do their utmost to offer the best experience with each dive.
Please note that itineraries on Antarctica cruises are always dependent on weather and ice conditions. If the pack-ice or drift-ice changes locations, the ship may need to adjust its sailing schedule accordingly, making it impossible to enter certain bays or fjords. Travelers accustomed to fixed itineraries and scheduled arrivals may find this aspect of diving in Antarctica frustrating since moving ice may cause a difference of hundreds of miles from the intended dive sites. Even with the ever-present possibility of change on these Antarctica tours, we promise you an exciting adventure.

Antarctic Kayaking

For the sea kayaker, every day in the Antarctic Peninsula holds new wonders, from close-up sightings of whales, penguins and seals to serene paddles through narrow fjords bordered by enormous icebergs. It is the ultimate paddling adventure, providing an even more exhilarating perspective than the views enjoyed from Zodiacs or on-shore Antarctica tours. Dwarfed by the immensity of the landscape, the only sounds you’ll hear are the penguins nearby, the crash of glaciers high in the mountains and the crackling of brash ice. This experience of extreme solitude is an unforgettable addition to Antarctica travel.
Antarctic sea kayaking excursions are an activity offered on small-ship expedition cruises, making every excursion unique, rather than a fully programmed tour. At the Antarctic Peninsula, you'll have the option to kayak once or twice a day as weather and water conditions permit. Kayakers are well attended by their expert guide, and the duration of each excursion is determined by the weather and paddler’s comfort.

Antarctic Mountaineering

The human history of Antarctica is one of exploration and hardship in the pursuit of fame and fortune. To trek this remote, timeless wilderness adds some extraordinary memories to one’s Antarctica travel, of muscles worked, wind whistling through the lines, handholds formed by ancient rocks, vistas of steep ice-covered slopes and occasional glissades that have for centuries briefly turned hearty explorers into kids again. Its historical timeline is of peaks conquered, virgin territory mapped, new lands discovered. During their Antarctica expeditions, some intrepid travelers take the opportunity to trace the historic steps of the region’s early explorers.

South Georgia Traverse

British explorer Ernest Shackleton’s ill-fated attempt to cross Antarctica in 1914 ended in one of the more daring of the region’s exploits. After the sinking of his ship, the Endurance, in the Weddell Sea, Shackleton and his crew set sail in lifeboats, reaching uninhabited Elephant Island just beyond the South Shetlands. Leaving twenty-two men behind, he and five men continued another 800 miles to South Georgia, arriving in King Haakon Bay on the west side of the island. To reach the whaling station in Stromness Harbor for help, he left two men behind and traversed the island on foot over glaciers and the Tridents Mountains. In good weather, Shackleton walked it in thirty-six hours without stopping.
This exciting Antarctica travel adventure option traces the South Georgia route made famous by Shackleton. The distance of the crossing is twenty-one to thirty-one miles, depending on the route, and involves traversing large, heavily-crevassed glaciers and alpine passes. While the ascents and most of the descents are gradual, the warming temperatures of recent times have turned snowfields to ice. This has made the trek a more difficult jaunt than what these early explorers experienced, making experience in crevassed alpine terrain is essential. Depending on the weather, this Antarctica tour usually takes three days with two nights of camping along the way.

Cross-country Skiing

The contemplative aspect of cross-country skiing is never more so than in Antarctica. Here the Antarctic ski experience is as sublime and intense as the Antarctic landscape itself. No matter how many extraordinary vistas a cross-country skier has known before, in the pristine Antarctica terrain, it is impossible to not keep repeating, “I can’t believe I’m here actually skiing in Antarctica!” Skis and poles for this Antarctica travel are provided, though skiers are welcome to bring their own gear.