The Ultimate Guide to Antarctica
One of the main draws for avid travelers to visit Antarctica is that it checks the 7th continent off their bucket list. If you’ve been to 6 continents already, why NOT hit your final one? But to visit this polar region at the end of the earth solely for that purpose is a miss. Antarctica is SO much more.
Antarctica is gigantic floating glaciers as tall as skyscrapers, getting chased by a colony of fluffy penguins, the (nasty) smell of a whale's breath as it opens its mouth right next to your zodiac, the clearest night sky you'll see in your lifetime, and ultimately… Antarctica is just remote AF. It almost feels like you’re in space.
A visit to the 7th continent is one of those rare life experiences that truly changes you. Antarctica is a fantastic destination for solo female travelers, because you’ll feel incredibly safe as part of a larger tour group, you’re guaranteed to meet LOTS of people on the ship, there are so many fun activities to keep you busy, and you can often save on costs by sharing a cabin with another solo female traveler. I traveled solo to Antarctica and had an absolute BLAST!
If it's not already, put it at the top of your ‘places to see before you die' travel bucket list!
Antarctica is a rare life experience and a perfect destination for solo female travelers!
Antarctica Travel Guide Highlights:
When to visit
Getting there
Choosing a tour
What to see and do
Budgeting
General expectations
When to visit Antarctica
Most destinations have high and low seasons, meaning certain months may be more or less popular for travelers based on weather (i.e., Bali is much less busy from October-April during its rainy season). In Antarctica, the winter weather is SO harsh that the continent basically closes down to tourists entirely. Expeditions and cruise ships will ONLY run tourism trips between November-March, which is summer down there. Additionally, the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) limits the number of annual visitors to the continent to preserve its natural habitat from human disruption. This means that while Antarctica tourism has grown substantially, the ability to land one of those coveted high-season spots is a bit challenging. It's near impossible to plan a last-minute trip to Antarctica! Most bookings are made 6+ months in advance, and MANY people book their Antarctica travel YEARS in advance!
Within the November-March timeframe, there are benefits to visiting during the different months:
November: Since November is technically still Spring, the amount of pure white snow is idealistic with ice fields as far as you can see and lots of penguins!
December: The start of Summer with a lot of sunny days, Humpback Whales migrating back from tropical regions, and baby penguin hatchings!
January: Warmer days with high temperatures up to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, thawing ice that enables further journeys inland towards the polar circle, and more whales
February: Many whale spottings, growing penguin chicks, and molting adult penguins!
March: PRIME whale spottings, baby penguins gaining curiosity of human visitors, but melted snow with more exposure of rocks
Argentine research hut with mountaineers in the background!
Breaching humpback whale
As you can imagine, visiting in December-January will be pricier and result in more tourists, while seeing Antarctica in March can feel like you're alone on another planet! In summary, there are pros and cons depending on when you go… just GO.
Getting to Antarctica
Nearly ALL tourists in Antarctica arrive by boat. Alternatively, you can take a 2-hour chartered flight (for a VERY pretty penny; think thousands of dollars one-way), but when you arrive, you'll still want to get yourself on a ship so that you can explore the islands and penguin colonies only accessible by water. The majority of boats depart from Ushuaia, Argentina. Ushuaia is in a region called Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire), located all the way at the southern tip of South America. Ushuaia is a cute town with loads of activities, including Tierra del Fuego National Park and various day trips to nearby islands with penguins. A small number of ships depart from New Zealand instead, but that is more suitable for someone looking for a VERY long adventure inclusive of exploring New Zealand; we're talking weeks to months at sea.
Assuming you embark from Ushuaia, the trip to Antarctica takes roughly ~2-3 days. It travels through the Drake Passage, famous for having some of the roughest waters in the entire world, as it's where the Pacific and Atlantic oceans meet. Pro tip: Visit a doctor before your trip to get anti-nausea patches and prescription pills! Voyaging through the Drake Passage isn't ALWAYS a turbulent experience though, it just depends on the weather! On my journey, we experienced a “Drake Lake" on the way there and a "Drake Shake" on the way back — the waves got up to a whopping 40-feet, and the boat was tipping 90+ degrees back and forth!! Don't let this sway you away from going, though; it's part of the whole experience!!
Choosing an Antarctica Cruise Ship
There's a wide range of ships that take tourists to Antarctica. There are both big cruise-style ships and tinier expedition-style ships. There are luxurious cabins and budget-friendly shared cabins. Some trip durations are 7 days, and some are 30+ days. Long story short, it's crucial to do research and pick the right tour operator for YOU because that can make or break your trip. Actually, you'll probably still have a great time, but the perfect tour will enhance your experience tenfold. The only major recommendation I'd give with choosing a vessel is to make sure your tour lasts 10 or more days. Since it takes ~2-3 days to get to Antarctica (in each direction), you will spend roughly ~5-6 days of your trip at sea; you'll want to make sure you have ample time for onshore exploration.
At the time of my trip, I was a 33-year old solo female traveler looking for lots of activities and a budget-friendly shared cabin. I selected a 12-day tour aboard Oceanwide Expedition's "Plancius" ship, an adventure-focused itinerary. Activities included ice climbing, mountaineering, sea kayaking, and polar camping, as well as twice-daily zodiac tours. Because I selected an active tour that wasn't super luxe, there were a significant number of younger 20- and 30-somethings on board. Some other ships were primarily made up of retirees. Neither is *better* than the other, but this is why it's extremely important to make sure you're investing in a tour that's right for you (even more so if you're traveling solo and hoping to make friends)!
The last important thing to note when picking a ship is that SIZE MATTERS. My ship had about ~100 passengers and felt relatively intimate. Other large cruise ships can have thousands. The IAATO only permits each ship to allow 100 passengers to disembark at any given stop, again, to reduce environmental impact. As a result, at all of our Antarctic stops, my entire boat had the option of either staying on board, doing a fun excursion or going ashore. That's not always the case, though! If you pick a huge ship, since there are still only 100 people allowed to disembark at any given spot, you run the risk of missing out and not being allowed off the boat. Considering how much cost, logistics, and excitement goes into a trip to Antarctica — avoid this scenario and book a smaller ship!
Learning how to use a mountaineering ice axe on the 7th continent!
Things to Do in Antarctica
SO MUCH. In Antarctica, just sitting on the ship looking out at the ocean is an activity! From the comfort of your cabin, you can see massive icebergs calving, whales bobbing up for air, seals, birds, etc. Each tour operator will offer different excursions (my ship allowed me to pick from activities like ice climbing, mountaineering, sea kayaking, and polar camping). There will also likely be once or twice daily zodiac tours. Think of the zodiac tours as safaris, where you jump on a small inflatable boat with ~10 people and hunt for various wildlife for a couple of hours with an expert Antarctica guide.
There are also once or twice daily landings where you get to see the continent on foot to play with penguins, explore old whaling infrastructures, etc. We even did the "Polar Plunge" on the shore of a volcanic beach at Deception Island! Warning: I've never been so cold in my life, but that plunge was still SO worth it!
Since a good amount of time is spent onboard the warm ship, my tour operator also offered many crew-led lessons on whale species, penguin mating habits, global warming impact, wildlife photography, etc. There was also plenty of time to hang out in the bar/lounge area of the ship, play games, and socialize with other passengers (aka new friends)! I found Antarctica to be a really fantastic trip for solo travel; it's a very communal atmosphere!
Antarctica Trip Cost
Let's be frank — trips to Antarctica don't come cheap. That's part of what makes them a once-in-a-lifetime experience! You're going to one of the most remote locations that exist on planet earth! There is a huge range in price points to visit the 7th continent, and the cost will largely depend on how long the duration is and how nice the cabins are.
It's pretty tough to spend less than about ~$8k USD for a trip to Antarctica, and again, I wouldn't recommend sacrificing your number of days for budget's sake. That price point likely also puts you in a shared cabin with three other people during low season (yup, adult bunk beds are a thing). Trip costs can easily be double or triple that figure if you want something more luxe or want to venture somewhere even more remote like all the way to the polar circle. For budget's sake, I'd assume this trip costs you somewhere around ~$10-15k per person, especially when factoring in costs to get to/from Ushuaia.
This is a trip worth saving months or years for — remember, I said you need to reserve your spot that far in advance anyway!
What to Expect from an Antarctica Trip
If you're the type of traveler who loves lounging on a hot beach and gourmet dinners, just know that this trip will be nothing like that. The captain wakes the entire ship up as early as 6 am, meals are fine but nothing noteworthy (you're far from land and fresh provisions), and you may spend your morning on a frigid whale watching zodiac tour. It's an unbelievable, life-changing experience that I HIGHLY recommend, but I also want to make sure you know what you're in for!
A trip to Antarctica is an ADVENTURE like no other… does it make your bucket list?
Is Antarctica on your solo travel bucket list? Let me help you plan the trip-of-a-lifetime!
