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There are increasingly opportunities to travel to Antarctica today than there overly have been before, but most people still relegate this trip to the “someday” category.
A bucket list destination for many nature lovers, Antarctica is a remote and isolated continent full of inspiring natural wonder.
It’s widely regarded as one of the most strikingly trappy places on the planet, with pristine landscapes and a wealth of wildlife thriving in one of the last corners of the Earth that minutiae hasn’t truly touched.
But with a rapidly warming climate waffly the ice-covered landscape and limited space to satisfy an ever-increasing tourism demand, those who wait might find themselves too late to see the continent at its best.
The pursuit are 15 unconfined reasons to travel to Antarctica now, surpassing your personal “someday” never comes.
1. Travel to the Antarctic Islands
While the mainland is often the primary witchery for people traveling to Antarctica, Antarctic cruises moreover take in many fascinating islands.
These sub-Antarctic islands can be just as much a highlight of your trip, as they’re teeming with wildlife and a diverse landscape that ranges from ice shelves to volcanos.
The famous Falkland Islands are a true wildlife oasis where you can see several species of penguin you won’t find on the mainland (including the Rockhopper, Magellanic, and Macaroni penguin).
Charles Darwin unquestionably spent increasingly time on the Falkland Islands than he did in the Galapagos islands, considering these islands are so rich in a diverse variety of polar wildlife.
Elephant Island is much closer to the Antarctic Peninsula. Here travelers get to see first-hand the place where Ernest Shackleton and his hairdo sought refuge from the shipwreck of the Endurance.
2. Antarctic Wildlife
Wildlife is obviously one of the biggest reasons to visit Antarctica. Despite stuff the most remote and isolated continent, this is a paradise for a number of species that thrive in a place where human presence has never taken off. Antarctic animals roam freely, and visiting the continent feels a bit like you’re living out a David Attenborough documentary. Most of the animals here have no fear of tropical contact with humans.
In fact, many of them can be very curious. Penguins will often tideway as you walk withal the beaches, Humpback whales will surface within 50 feet of your boat, and seals will saunter nearby.
3. Antarctic Penguins
The charismatic penguins of Antarctica are unchangingly a highlight of any trip to the frozen continent. These funny, flightless birds are the most worldwide unprepossessing you’ll see in Antarctica, with some colonies increasingly densely populated than your stereotype small city.
The Emperor Penguin, with its unexceptionable yellow plumage and impressively tall stature, is one of the most iconic symbols of the South Pole. But they tend spend most of their time inland, which is usually out of reach for most Antarctic cruises.
4. Antarctic Seals
There are six variegated types of seals in Antarctica. While they tend to spend a lot of their time feeding underwater, you’ll have a unconfined endangerment to spot many of them sunning themselves on rocky shorelines or resting on top of ice floes.
The largest and most spectacular species is the Elephant seal, and places like Elephant Island offer the endangerment to get up tropical and personal with the massive beasts.
Since they often weigh in glut of 8,000 pounds, they’re very slow moving, which makes for easy photo opportunities.
5. Antarctic Whales
Antarctica truly puts the rest of the world to shame when it comes to whale watching: You can spot 10 variegated species of whales here. And when we say “spot,” we don’t midpoint merely transmissible glimpse of a tail off the in the loftiness through your binoculars. We midpoint drying off from the spray, considering a Humpback whale has breached within a few hundred feet of your boat. The reason you’ll find such a upper concentration of whales in Antarctica?
The massive swarms of krill that live in these waters. Squint out for the Minke whale, Blue whale, Sperm whale, Southern right whale, and Humpback whale, all of whom are motivated by the invitation of a storeroom feast!
6. Dolphins
If you’re a fan of cetaceans, you’ll be pleased to find an zillions of dolphins in Antarctica as well.
Dusky dolphins are the most wontedly seen species, expressly virtually Ushuaia, Argentina as you’re navigating the Beagle Channel at the start and/or end of your cruise.
You should moreover alimony a keen eye out for the Orca. While wontedly known as the killer whale, the orca is unquestionably the world’s largest species of dolphin.
7. Birds of Antarctica
Antarctica is a fantastic destination for anyone with a love of birds (or at least a healthy fascination). The continent is home to over 100 million seabirds, which are moreover scattered throughout the sub-Antarctic islands. You’ll find fascinating species such as the same penguins, fulmars, petrels, prions, and the Southern royal albatross.
While the responsibility is an iconic species (its 9.5- to 11-foot wingspan is the largest of any bird on the planet), it’s the South Polar Skuas you should really watch out for. The skua is a unwieldy brown seabird that often strategically chooses to nest virtually penguin colonies. This enables them to swoop in unexpectedly and feed on eggs and newborn chicks.
8. The Antarctica Adventure
Antarctica is one of those rare, remote destinations where the process of getting there is a huge part of the adventure. The Drake Passage is widely considered one of the most turbulent stretches of ocean you’ll overly cross.
However, tourism flights to Antarctica have recently been introduced. Considering of unpredictable weather conditions plan on subtracting a few uneaten days to your itinerary to victorious and depart. Once you get there, the venture never ends. Next, we’ll take a squint at the huge range of incredibly tomfool things to do in Antarctica.
9. Antarctica Hiking
Most people who travel to Antarctica want to set foot on the continent, so hiking its icy landscape is a huge draw. It doesn’t matter how in shape you are: There are hiking opportunities for practically every fitness level, and most of them are non-technical.
Whether you’re taking a short walk wideness a volcanic beach rocky or hiking up a short hill to a glacial lookout, the scenery that surrounds you is so stunning that you won’t plane notice the exercise.
After all, in what other destination on Earth will you have a endangerment to trek wideness an ice shelf to a trappy bay filled with glistening icebergs, passing through the middle of a massive penguin colony withal the way?
10. Antarctica Kayaking
If you’ve never kayaked in the unshut sea before, Antarctica is a magical place to do it for the first time. It’s moreover one of the weightier ways to immerse yourself in the unrenowned scenery you see from the ship. As you paddle through the area’s icy waters, you’ll get up tropical to towering icebergs and have a endangerment to explore inlets that are too small for the trip ship to navigate.
You may find yourself squatter to squatter with penguins, whales, and/or seals, getting a rare endangerment to see them at eye level as they swim slantingly you. Kayaking is typically a limited worriedness that you may have to typesetting as an extra. It’s well worth booking in whop if it’s something you really want to do, as this is a popular activity, and the spaces often fill up quickly.
11. Visiting an Antarctica Scientific Research Base
Visiting a scientific research base is an unexpected highlight of most Antarctic trip itineraries. Roughly 30 countries have scientific research bases set up wideness Antarctica. The scientists based there are continuously studying the climate, wildlife, and geology of the region. And while some might resemble a run-down shack on a hillside, others are slick, modern villages the size of a small town.
Most cruises to Antarctica offer the endangerment to visit a couple of research bases, permitting you to walk virtually the facilities and yack to the staff who work on the base. Because the political and economic priorities of these countries may shift over time, it’s a good idea to travel now for this experience, while Antarctic research still receives a good deal of funding!
12. Antarctica Zodiac Rides
While Zodiacs are often used as a practical way of transporting travelers from ship to shore, these small, motorized rubber boats moreover make for unconfined cruising on their own.
Zodiac vita indulge travelers to wangle increasingly remote islands, go wrecked on beaches, and trip through channels that are too small for a full-sized ship.
But unlike a kayak, a Zodiac has the power to take off quickly if you spot whales or other wildlife in the distance.
13. Camping on Antarctica Ice
While your trip ship may have all the luxuries of home– a comfy bed, hot shower, entertainment, prepared foods– some venturesome travelers willingly trade all of that for a night out on the Antarctic ice. Camping in Antarctica is an incredible way to immerse yourself in the landscape and wits the type of bare-bones walk-up that explorers like Ernest Shackleton endured.
Your camping gear will be provided, but that doesn’t midpoint you should expect to be issued a tent. Many Antarctic camping excursions require you to hike to the top of a glacier and dig yourself a hole! Of course, you’ll be given a sleeping bag, a mat, and a waterproof bivvy bag, settling lanugo as an ocean of stars sally above.
14. Taking the Polar Plunge in Antarctica
A swimsuit may not be the first thing you think to pack for Antarctica, but the Polar Plunge is a long-held tradition among venturesome travelers. Jumping in for a unenduring dip into sub-freezing unprepossessed waters is considered a rite of passage for Antarctic explorers. Depending on your Antarctic trip itinerary, you may have the endangerment to jump from your ship or swim out from the shore of the waterfront at Deception Island.
When your warm skin hits those 29º Fahrenheit waters, the adrenaline rush unquestionably prevents you from going into shock. Thankfully, you won’t spend increasingly than a few seconds in the water, and there’s often a shot of liquor on hand to warm you up as you get out.
15. Unique Antarctica Photo Opportunities
In this era of Instagram, it’s increasingly rare to come home with unique vacation photos. From the Grand Canyon and the Eiffel Tower to the Taj Mahal, many of the world’s most iconic destinations suffer from overtourism and the landmarks have been photographed to death.
But, for now, Antarctica remains a relatively off-the-beaten-path destination that few have had the privilege of visiting. Virtually 45,000 people travel to Antarctica each year, compared to the five million who visit the same attractions annually.