Maximise your holiday time in South America by choosing to fly across the Drake Passage to the Antarctic Peninsula, saving you four days of voyaging by sea across the ‘Drake Shake’.
The Antarctic Peninsula offers one of the last truly unique chances to voyage into remote waters and land at pristine sites amid vast colonies of penguins, seals and seabirds and perhaps spotting whales in the Antarctic Ocean dotted with vast blue icebergs.
This incredible destination is for many the holiday of a lifetime and of course you want to plan your journey carefully. You may perhaps not be a great sailor, which may have put you off considering this destination, despite your love of observing wildlife or perhaps you do not have the time for a 2-3 week voyage to Antarctica.
The choice of flying instead of sailing across the Drake Passage from the Chilean mainland to Antarctica is something that has been an option only in the last few years. This is the perfect solution for those who do not have either the time or the sea-legs for the Drake Passage crossing.
Classic Antarctica journeys include two days sailing across this stretch of sea between Ushuaia and landfall in Antarctica in each direction, and six days in which to explore the colonies of penguins, birds and seals among the bays of the Peninsula. This sea voyage is a wonderful opportunity to observe sea birds such as albatross that follow in the ship’s wake or observe whales breaching off the bow but it can also be avoided if you wish.
A fly/cruise journey still gives you a full six days exploring the Peninsula with daily shore landings on your Antarctic adventure but instead offers a comfortable 2-hour flight between Punta Arenas in southern Chile and your Antarctic vessel, avoiding the frequently rough seas of the Drake Passage and giving you four additional days to spend exploring elsewhere in Latin America during your holiday.
Equally, if your wish is to camp amid a vast colony of Emperor Penguins, then we can fly you into a comfortable base camp at the foot of a stunning Glacier to spend time observing these magnificent creatures in their icy habitat. Or perhaps you would like to walk for a short while in the footsteps of the great Antarctic explorers and fly to the South Pole via ski aircraft from our base camp.
Venture to the very bottom of the Earth to 90° south and learn more about the scientific research that takes places at the Pole. You can of course combine both a polar flight with a journey to the Emperor penguin colony by air for the ultimate in bespoke Antarctic journeys. However you wish to reach and explore the White Continent, our experts can advise you on the most comfortable and convenient way to maximise your Antarctic adventure.
By Marcela Kunova - 20th April 2017
Nicola Shepherd, founder and CEO of The Exploration Company, organises unusual trips for HNW and UHNW clients ranging from birthday parties at an Indian Maharajah's palace to reliving Sir Vivian Fuchs's 1950s expedition to the South Pole. Citywealth caught ...
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