ANTARCTICA
Date: December 21, 2022 – January 3, 2023
Tour Operator: Intrepid Adventures
Getting There
We got to Ushuaia, Argentina 4 days early, so it was just a quick walk to the dock! See our previous article about our time in Ushuaia for some ideas on how to spend your time there and well as where to stay.
We highly recommend arriving at least a full day early: If your flight is delayed you do not want to miss your entire trip! Plus, there is plenty to do in Ushuaia!
Our exact trip was the 2022-23 14 day – Journey to the Antarctic Circle (Christmas & New Year), but these vary every year by date, route, and duration. Note that one of those days is spent in Ushuaia at a Hotel (I think they want the extra day to fix any potential flight issues).
From Ushuaia, we boarded the ship at 3:30PM and it was a 2.5 day journey through the Drake Passage. We had a rogue wave hit the first night and flood several cabins. But is was otherwise a “calm passage.” It was not bad, but we spent a lot of time in the cabin due to the rocking.
One thing that is not really stressed enough is your entire trip is up in the air due to the weather. Every day we had a briefing about the next day’s wind/waves (please green…ok I’ll take blue….no pink….no red) and your entire route revolves around the forecast.
Ships Log
The weather in North Antarctica was going to be bad, so we sailed far, far south and stayed there. For 72 hours we were the most southern vessel in the world and were so far south there were no navigation charts. Then we began to head back north along the coast before returning across the Drake Passage.
One cool thing about Intrepid is they give you a log of the whole trip. The days/places really run together and this helps you piece your trip back together.
Activities
Polar Plunge
68°16’S, 66°57’W
Neny Fjord
This was the most southern polar plunge the Captain or the Expedition Team knew up. The water temperature officially was 33°F.
We donned our sunscreen, flip-flops, inner tube, and took the plunge off the side of the ship. Watch our video of the trip to get the full experience. Julie was game from the beginning, but Chance was skeptical.
The crew did such a good job blasting music and making it fun jumping in was an easy decision…until you hit the water. Then, your mind just goes numb.
Do it! You did not come all the way down here not to.
Antarctic Camping
Stonington Island
Camping must be reserved ahead of time. If you want to camp, reserve it as soon as you book your trip! Some people may get scared off at the last minute and open some slots, so look for the sign up sheet by the reservation desk after they announce openings.
You will be given a sleeping bag, a bevy (a wind/water protector that goes outside your sleeping bag), and many stern warnings about how cold it will be. Chance slept fine (the whole camp heard him sleeping fine), but Julie did not sleep at all. Both of us were cold.
You will not be taken back to the boat if you are cold, only for emergencies (“What you think is an emergency may not be what we, the Expedition Team, think is an emergency.”)
But all night we were treated to the sounds of the glaciers calving.
Do it! You did not come all the way down here not to.
Shore Excursions
Daily
(Conditions Permitting)
Twice a day you will have the opportunity to go ashore. You may visit old research bases, penguin colonies, or amazing views. Sometimes it will just be within a hundred yards of shore, other times you can get a pretty good hike up to overlook with may be half a mile.
Polar BBQ
68°10’S, 67°20’W
At Sea
The crew put on an amazing BBQ on the back deck. This was right when we began our turn back north and was a great farewell to South Antarctica.
Try the ice Cream!
Zodiak Exploring
Daily
(Conditions Permitting)
We were surprised how small of waves could cancel an excursion, until you watch the expedition team board the scout boats. Waves that look innocent next to the Ocean Endeavor are a different beast when a small zodiac is bouncing up and down the gangway.
Ideally, each morning and afternoon you will get an hour to an hour and half zodiac ride while the other half of the boat is on land. They rotate so sometimes you are zodiac first and others you are land first.
Trip Video
Tips
U.S. Currency Was Used Aboard
There was no need to use any cash as everything (including tips) was put on your room tab and you settled up with a credit card the last day. The credit charge was out of Miami, so should reduce credit card issues.
Internet…Existed
That’s about all we can say. We planned our purchase 30 minutes of internet ($20) for day 8 (Julie) and 9 (Chance). During that time we each basically got the email backlog downloaded. If you are trying to navigate webpages your are going to have a bad time. Sending and receiving iMessages and email will eventually work. I even got a couple pictures out over iMessage.
Laundry Deals!
We ran out of time to get our laundry done before we left Ushuaia. Laundry is expensive onboard. However, wait for the laundry deal of a bag for $35 later in the trip.
Be on Deck!
During passages of the Channels/Straits get on deck are especially eventful. You also can’t see wildlife from your room!
11, or 14 Days for the trip?
This is tough to judge and comes down to your preference and weather. You spend 4 days in the Drake Passage, 1 day at the Hotel before you leave, and disembarkation day. So that is 6 “wasted” days.” We had good weather: only 2 days worth of activities were cancelled. We were going stir crazy near the end and think 11 days would have been perfect. However, bad weather could have really left you with very few days of activities.
We Do Not Recommend Kayaking
We were signed up for it and bummed it was full before we booked the trip. You can “standby” for open spots day kayaking so we did this. There really are so few times to get on land, if we paid for Kayaking we would regret it. We would recommend standing by for day kayaking and hope you get drawn for it once. We were never drawn, but do not regret it.