Most Important Things to know to Visit Antarctica Some day: From this Guy who’s been there twice

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1. Cruises start from Ushuaia (Argentina).
That’s the shortest travel time to Antarctica.
Takes MINIMUM 11 DAYS to go and come back.

Fun fact: Ushuaia is the southern most town on the South American continent!

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2. Costs a minimum of Rs 7–10 lakhs to travel to Antarctica, including flights to & from India.
There are, of course, more luxurious packages available, going upto Rs 25–30 lakhs.

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3. You DON’T NEED A VISA to go to Antarctica.
To enter Argentina, if you have US B1/B2 visa, you don’t need a separate visa.
Else you’ll have to apply for Argentina visa in Delhi or Mumbai.

Fun fact: you can get an Ushuaia stamp on your passport when you are in town!

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4. To get the cheapest deals, go to Ushuaia during Antarctica season (Nov to March).
GO TO THE PORT daily to get a last minute seat on a cruise leaving in the next few days.
Those can be as cheap as USD 4000–5000.

But in my experience, seats get booked out months in advance, so you need to be super lucky to get that

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5. When you choose a cruise, keep this in mind. ONLY 100 PEOPLE CAN LAND ON AN ISLAND ON ANY DAY.
So if you choose a cruise that takes less than 100 people, you’ll get to land at every island.
If you go in a ship that has 200 people, you get to land once out of 2 landings.

To me it makes most sense to go on a smaller ship and land each time!
Why else would I want to go to Antarctica!

I have heard that the big cruises offer optional packages, and if you pay a higher amount, you can land each time.
But I am not sure about that.

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6. Don’t be too worried about the cold.
The cruises are super warm. On the islands, if you are layered well, you have nothing to worry.
Wear thermals, a tee, a sweater and a warm jacket. Ear muffs, woolen socks, gloves. You are sorted.

The cruises give boots and life jackets for all landings.

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7. Ships have WiFi (at added cost ranging between USD 30–60).
So you can stay connected with family.

There are also sessions held daily by the expedition staff, and interacting with them is a super rich experience.

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8. The Drake Passage is one of the stormiest oceans in the world.
The ship spends 4 days on it (2 while going, 2 while coming back).
A lot of people get worried seeing the videos.

But don’t worry. If it’s very stormy and the boat rocks a lot, you might feel seasick.
It’s best to have a seasickness tablet, and rest it out on the days the Drake is stormy.
I have now crossed the Drake four times, and only once did I feel really sick.

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9. the best part? What you’ll  see – thousands of penguins (chinstrap,gentoo,adelie), whales, leopard seals (leopard seals, Weddell seals ), many birds.

Penguins are the cutest! You cant help but smile when you see them walk , fall, swim… anything

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10. You van’y touvh penguins. Maintain a 5m distance.

You aren’t allowed to sit in the islands, or carry any food onto the islands. The idea is to leave it exactly as it is. And introduce no foreign substance.

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11. If you have the budget, I highly highly recommend you visit Antarctica.

And if you have a higher budget (say upwards pf 14-15 lakhs) do a trip to Antarctica that includes South Georgia. SOUTH GEORGIA HAS CRAZY WILDLIFE, you’ll see king penguins as well, and it’ll be a mad , mad , experience.

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Save the post, and share it with your friends if they would like to viist Antarctica some day.

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