How Much Does It Cost to Go to Antarctica? Cost Explained
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Such land programs run the gamut from a couple of thousand dollars to several thousand dollars. For instance, Viking has a four-night Easter Island pre-Antarctic cruise from $3,499 per person, and a post five-night Gateway to Patagonia from $3,999 per person. Pricing usually includes hotels, many meals, guided tours and regional flights.
What Travelers Say About Their Antarctica Trips
Luxury ships may have even more exclusive and costly cabin categories available, offering upscale amenities such as heated bathroom floors, in-room WiFi, entertainment systems or even butler and room service. Your choice of vessel—specifically its size, level of comfort, and its operator—is certainly one of the most important considerations in terms of your desired cruise experience, and also one of key determinants in the overall price you’ll pay. Just remember that many argue the time savings (2 hours versus 2 days) and avoidance of getting seasick afforded by flying more than justify the added investment.
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Antarctica travel FAQs
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Given the high cost and remote nature of an Antarctica trip, not to mention the wildly unpredictable weather conditions—which can often lead to travel delays and sometimes cancellations—good (cruise) travel insurance is a must. Be sure to check your policy also includes sufficient cover for all the adventure activities you will be participating in, as well as the country where your cruise will depart from. Cruises for a season become available to book two years in advance, so there is a wide window of opportunity to purchase a polar voyage. But how far in advance should you book, and is there any benefit to leaving it to the last minute?
In-depth Antarctica & Patagonia Expedition Southbound
Larger ships have economies of scale and can present a good value. But also consider that only 100 guests are allowed ashore at one time in Antarctica. So, a larger Antarctica ship might present more time in the Zodiac or more time waiting and less time ashore. Just unveiled in early 2022, Viking Octantis is fast-growing Viking's first-ever expedition cruise ship, and it boasts some unusual features that make it one of the best cruise ships for exploring Antarctica.
What is the time zone in Antarctica?
I’m stating the obvious when I say that luxury Antarctic cruise ships are, well, more luxurious. Luxury ships tend to be larger, which allows them to offer a wider range of amenities. Yoga and meditation classes, spas, swimming pools, fitness centers, multiple dining rooms with private seating, fine wines and champagne, movie theaters, 24-hour butler service, and free wifi are the norm. I even read about one that offers two seven-seat helicopters and a seven-seat submarine for eye-popping exploration of the Antarctic.
The standard of your ship accommodations can have a significant impact on the cost of your Antarctica cruise, with the highest category cabins sometimes costing three times that of the lowest category cabins on the same ship. Itineraries from Oceania on the other hand can last anywhere between three and a half to five weeks depending on if you just visit East Antarctica’s Commonwealth Bay or embark on an epic expedition across the Ross Sea. With the Antarctic cruising season during the austral summer being so short, you might be forgiven for assuming a flat cruise rate applies irrespective of when you travel. When you travel can affect the cost of your Antarctica cruise by anywhere between 10% – 25%. This question is something we thought long and hard about before deciding to run our own ship in Antarctica.
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Already expensive, such high-grade fuels can cost considerably more in such remote areas where supply is scarce and demand high, making refueling prohibitively expensive for larger vessels. To put it in historical context, Antarctic tourism began in 1966 when Swedish-American adventurer and entrepreneur Lars-Eric Lindblad chartered an Argentinean Navy supply ship and took a few dozen intrepid travelers to the Antarctic Peninsula. The industry progressed slowly, with a minor spike in the early '90s when ex-Soviet ice-class vessels such as Akademik Vavilov and Shokalskiy entered the market. These sturdy, utilitarian ships are now being overtaken by a whole new genre of luxury expedition yachts, purpose-built for polar exploration. Finally, although most ships offer complimentary shore excursions, some offer special outings for a fee. So, if it's really important to go kayaking or snowshoeing, find a cruise that offers these activities complimentarily, or expect to fork over some extra dollars.
What’s more, expedition crew understandably earn much higher wages than the industry average because they need to be more specialized, exceptionally well trained, and experienced—IAATO expects at least 75% of expedition teams to have previous Antarctic experience. Book early.It's always sound advice to keep an eye out for early bird offers that will also help with your planning, like finding someone to look after your dog. Enticements such as two-for-one offers, all-inclusive pricing, airfare subsidies and shipboard credits can go a long way toward offsetting the cost of an expensive Antarctic cruise. Be sure to enlist the assistance of a travel agent that specializes in cruises when you’re ready to book your trip. Travel advisors are often privy to special pricing and deals on select voyages. If you actually want to get off the ship, you can find deals like the current fares offered by premier cruise line Atlas Ocean Voyages.
The shortest visit entails a two-hour flight from Punta Arenas, Chile, to King George Island, followed by a five-hour tour and a flight back to Chile, all on the same day. The latter is a 35-day cruise from New Zealand, which is beyond the scope of this article. Other than those two outliers, the most common itineraries for Antarctic cruises leaving from Ushuaia or Punta Arenas range from seven to 10 days in length. Longer itineraries that include stops at the Falkland Islands and South Georgia are also available. Now that you know how to determine your Antarctica travel cost, it’s time to find the best trip for your budget. Browse our top affordable trips using the price-range filter to find trips in your price range.
Antarctica lies to the south of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and South America, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean). Most visitors access Antarctica via ship or aircraft from an Antarctic ‘gateway city’. The five official Antarctic gateway cities are Ushuaia (Argentina), Hobart (Australia), Punta Arenas (Chile), Christchurch (New Zealand), and Cape Town (South Africa). Antarctica is so far south that most of the continent receives 24 hours of daylight during summer, and 24 hours of darkness during winter.
We've also seen discounts given by tour companies when private charters cancel their sailings at the last minute. In all cases, there's no easy way to find these deals other than by checking the cruise lines' or tour operators' websites regularly, signing up for their email newsletters and/or following them on social media for updates. Another option that can save money is to bypass the Drake Passage, which might be a good thing for some travelers, by flying to King George Island in the South Shetland Islands and meeting your ship there. (Or, in some cases, you'll sail one way and fly the other.) Swoop Antarctica and Antarctica 21 are two tour companies that operate these "express" itineraries. You’ll also have more time for landings and scenic Zodiac cruising in Antarctica if you fly two hours each way rather than spending 48 hours or longer (depending on the weather) in each direction on the Drake Passage. Plus, you might want to book bucket-list pre- or post-cruise land programs, such as a visit to the Chilean wine regions or camping out near the South Pole.
The larger your group, the greater the total cost, although the per person price may drop slightly when you consider the potential 5% discount sometimes afforded to groups of 8 or more people, or to children if you’re traveling with family. Increasingly more intrepid families are heading to Antarctica, and some ships are becoming more family-friendly both in terms of the activities provided and the cost to go. Child and teenage discounts can vary considerably, with the most generous offering 25% off young travelers under 18 and 15% for those between 18 – 21 years old. In conjunction with an early booking discount, the savings can be really quite significant. Well that depends on how far in advance you are booking your trip.
Each passenger is allowed one 15 kg (33 pounds) checked bag and one one carry-on item, which must weigh no more than 5 kg (11 pounds). The weight of the electronic equipment I must carry to do my job meant the fly-cruise option wasn’t possible for me. New small ship cruises, adventure trips, ships & the best deals at your fingertips.
These include the microscopic springtails, nematodes and tardigrades, which live amongst moss and lichen in areas which are not permanently snow-covered. The South Geographic Pole is in Antarctica, and most of the continent lies within the Antarctic Circle, at 66.5 degrees south of the Equator. When you choose to apply (and are approved) for a new credit card through our site, we may receive compensation from our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don’t cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication.
Antarctica luxury cruises will have a higher initial price, but often include items such as pre-cruise hotel overnights, round-trip charter flights to Ushuaia and ground transportation between the airport and the ship. Luxury cruises may also include complimentary amenities such as expedition parkas, alcoholic beverages, gratuities, unlimited WiFi and even all shore excursions. A budget Antarctica cruise will offer an experienced expedition crew and off-vessel activities to explore up close. Affordable cruise packages may not include internal flights, pre-cruise hotel overnights, airport transfers, or added excursions such as sea kayaking or snowshoeing. Be sure to review inclusions before you budget the full cost of your Antarctica trip.
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