Tour to Antarctica

Norma's Tour to Antarctica Travel company & areas visited Ship Wildlife & highlights Tips and advice Disappointments Rating

Which company did you go with, and where?

I booked my trip with Peregrine Adventures from an advertisement.

They provided great service. All guides were experienced and helpful. All crew were polite and friendly. I felt very safe at all times. The guides were very knowledgable about the area and wildlife and made the trip fanatastic.

We left from Ushuaia - great fishing village with national park nearby for day trips - wish I had stayed longer here. I went on a day trip - it was great.

Once on the ship, we sailed across the Drake passage to Antarctica - it was rough on way there but calm on the way back. You need to take sea sickness medication.

The ship was the Akademik Sergey Vavilov - it had a great Russian crew.

I shared a cabin with one person. There was plenty of storage room and we had our own shower/toilet area.

You had to be good at stairs as it's the only way to get around the ship.

The dining room food and service were great - lots of variety. We got hot breakfast plus cereal and fruit; hot lunch; and dinnner with soup, salad, meat, sweets, fruit. All food was great.

The medical service for sea sickness was wonderful.

Seals, birds, penguins, whales - most very close - got some great photos.

Landing on Antartic - have the photo to prove it. Visiting Chile base and seeing the way they live there. The isloation and beauty of the area with the different colours of the icebergs and watching the ice peel away and fall into the water. The sunsets where not to be missed.

We had zodiac landings and trips 2-3 times daily - not much free time as talks on wildlife were given 2-3 times daily.

Take spare batteries for your camera. Get patches for sea sickness off the internet.

What was the most useful item that you took with?

Warm thick socks to keep my feet warm.

Article: Antarctica clothing »

I was sea sick at the beginning and needed the doctor. I took medication but it was not as effective as the patches. I wished I wasn't as I missed a few talks and outings as a result. But everything was great ... no regrets.

I used Aerolineas Argentinas who was always late leaving and they had poor service on the plane.

I would return again using a different airline and staying 5 days in Ushuaia and do more day trips.

A perfect 10, except for 2 days of sea sickness on Drake passage - 40 knot winds.

If you can manage stairs, go - it is an experience that will stay with you forever and remind you of nature's awesome beauty.