Antarctica without a boat?
 

I saw a recent post by mystic321 whose itinerary looked like it included a stay at the Chilian Base Station in Antarctica. Can one fly into Antarctica and then stay at the base station and not be on a boat at all? We have read about the fly/cruise option, but not the fly/stay option. Could anyone give me a link to info on this? How recommendations of cruises that do not include a boat across the Drake Passage (barf-city I understand--is this true?) We are interested in an active tour that has some comfort amenities but isn't luxury priced. Is there such a thing as a deal or discount on this type of thing? Thanks to anyone who can help us plan a trip to the ultimate "down under".
Sally in Seattle

As far as I know Tourists are not allowed to stay at the Chilean base in Antartica.

Hi Sally!

I exchanged posts with mistic321 earlier this year when she was planning her trip (we're considering Antarctica for early 2009 - should be some good deals since the Explorer incident!).......here is a link to the company she's using and the tour she is on (well I think it's the tour she's on)

http://victory-cruises.com/fly_antarctica.html

It does seem to include one (or possibly two) nights at Frei Base.

Re your question about the Drake being barf city - when we took the Mare Australis last year from Ushuaia to Punta Arenas (rounding Cape Horn) the crew said when you cross the Drake Passage everyone "gives it up to the Drake" - I said "everyone, including the crew?" and they said "everyone"!!!

Liz from Australia board

I never came across an option that did not include staying on a boat, but then, I was not looking for one either.

I don't think stays are allowed on research stations either. (They certainly would not have the facilities for long-term visitors as most are really basic. Besides, visitors would probably be a disruption to their work.) Then again, things change and I guess it would not be out of the realm of possibility for some country to offer this option.

Most ships that make landings include a brief visit to a research station if they have secured a permit in advance. But that doesn't necessarily mean you get to visit with the scientists or go into the stations. In our case (Almirante Brown), the scientists had only just arrived the day before and were too busy getting settled to spend time with visitors.

As for flying over - there are some excursions from SA to Antarctica that I have read about in various posts, but they are more or less day trips. Antarctic weather is so notoriously fickle that whether any flights get to fly back and forth when scheduled is luck of the draw. And, there is no guarantee the flight will be smooth if the plane does take off.

Drake Passage has a reputation for being extremely rough (we had 30 ft waves and were traveling in a 48 pax, 1700 GRT ship - expedition staff and ship's crew rated it as "not bad"), but it can also be the "Drake Lake" - someone recently posted on CruiseCritic that they were lucky with calm conditions both times they crossed the Drake. Mother Nature cannot be predicted and the only thing you can do is go prepared. We used the patch and had no problems in 30 ft waves.

As for an active tour - what do you mean ... just landings, or options to kayak and maybe camp out one night? Some of the expedition style ships offer the latter options, but not all. Most that make landings will take you on zodiac cruises, make landings, and you get to explore the landing area within guidelines specified by the expedition leader. (Long walks, hikes.)

Comfort amenities - I guess that depends on what you want ... we wanted a clean, comfortable room with private facilities on a safe, ice rated ship with an experienced crew. That's what we got with Quark's Prof Molchanov - no 800 thread linens, no pools, no hairdressers, no gyms, no lounge shows. They weren't important to us and we didn't search for a vessel that offered such amenities.

Luxury pricing - I guess that is a personal issue too and depends on one's budget. The smaller the ship, the higher the price (as much as $15,000/person and perhaps even more on ships with luxury amenities - can be cheaper for cabins with shared facilities). I understand it can be considerably cheaper on mid-size ships (up to 400 pax or so) where you land in groups of no more than 100, so you have to wait your turn, but at least you land. Even less expensive on a mega ship that just "sails-by" and is not ice rated.

Deals/discounts are probably a thing of the past in this day of heavy interest in Antarctic cruising. Ships tend to book up way in advance (we put our deposit down 17 months in advance and a year before the trip there was only 1 cabin left). Time of year does make a small difference in the price - November and March (I think) are cheaper. Also, the length of itinerary will be a factor (10 days is minimum, I think).

I'd start by going to the IAATO website and checking out member operators and then researching their websites. We narrowed our selection to Lindblad and Quark, and ultimately went with Quark because we wanted to go in January and we wanted to sail the itinerary that included the Falklands and South Georgia. (Lindblad did this itinerary in March, I think).

If you're interested in an expedition-style trip, feel free to browse through my lengthy report at: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=531528 (I have the same review here, but I direct you to CruiseCritic because I tend to find more "cruising" information there than I do here.)

Hey, Liz! Thanks for the link to that tour, but pretty short and a long time in Punta Arenas to wait for it. Interesting story about the Drake! Also thanks to you, eenusa, for your long and informative post. I will look up those things you recommended. We don't have any date in mind yet, just fact finding. Good to know the book-ahead info!!! Like you, we don't require nor do we want luxury ammenities, just a comfy bed and private facilities, and a good educational program. We are looking at the fly-cruise options because of the 30 ft. swells being "not bad"!! IMHO 30 ft. swells are in the "quite bad" catagory! But I imagine they were quite exciting, too. Thanks again!
SnRSeattle

Yes, the crew and the passengers disagreed about the 30 ft swells not being bad. That said, if you search the CruiseCritic board (probably S America), you'll find a post or two talking about the flights to Antarctica not being a piece of cake either. Weather rules in southern latitudes.

Interesting point (and not one I really have thought about, so good to make us aware) about the flights not being easy on the motion sickness, either (though they HAVE to be better than the Drake since they only last a couple of hours!) But we are aware that we are thinking of going to a difficult place, weather-wise (and everything else, I imagine.)
Sally in Seattle where it snowed yesterday, but raining today

Hi, Sally - did Antarctica a year ago last February. It is an amazing experience. Both our crossings were excellent. There are some great posts at www.flyertalk.com. Go to the "Travel & Dining" forum and scroll down to Antarctica. You will then have to go to "Display Options" for archived posts. I went on the Clipper Adventurer and was extremely happy with the ship and crew.

I am the World's worse sailor and our whole boat was well on the Drake's crossing and back. I don't think there is an airstrip near the Chilian base in Antarctica but I could be wrong. The worst sea conditions we encountered were the ones going from the Ship to shore in Punta Arenas - didn't think we would make it and it was freezing too. Antarctica is the most wonderful destination I have ever done and the memories will stay with me forever. I would not care how I went to Antarctica as long as I got there if I got the chance to go again and I would go again if I could. Staying down there would be great as well so if you can Sally then go for it you lucky devil.