I Dream of Antarctica
A Going Westbound Travel Guide
I have been home from my Antarctica trip for almost a month, but I will tell you a secret:
I haven’t left. I am still there in my dreams. I close my eyes and see visions dancing in my head - not of sugar-plums, but of penguin-plumps. I can easily imagine them bumbling along, flippers outstretched behind them for balance, politely waiting for other penguins to pass as they meet on the highways worn into the rock and snow by their little webbed toes.
Antarctica is the purest state of nature imaginable. An entire continent, owned by no one; touched by human feet that likely only number in the thousands; air completely devoid of pollution. Where I walked, has anyone else walked? Am I the first human seen by a particular seal? I will never know for sure, but in a place like Antarctica, it is entirely possible.
The animals have no fear of humans, having seen so few, and we were cautioned not to let them bump into us accidentally, like they might another penguin. On Antarctica, I was clearly reminded of facts we try hard to ignore: we survive at the whim of nature, because we are part of nature, and we are animals, too.
Thousands of miles away from hospitals, grocery stores, and neighborhoods, Antarctica reminded me of how fragile our hold on life truly is.
Against this background, however, I had a bubbling resurgence of hope for addressing climate change that - if and when humans limit their darkness - Mother Nature reaches her peak glory. Effortlessly. Effervescently. It is good to know that one place on Earth still remains pure, unadulterated, & vibrant. It is good to know that there are still places where animals do not run from us in fear.
And so, without further ado, let’s get into my favorite trip of all time!
Getting to Antarctica / Why I am Tired of Flying
Once I was back in Tennessee from New Mexico (you can read more about that trip here), I spent a few days recovering from my extensive bout of altitude sickness, and then I began preparing in earnest for my trip to Antarctica. There were still a few cold-weather things I needed to buy, and I had a one-suitcase allowance with a total weight limit of 44lbs to contend with - you can imagine all the packing and repacking that went on, trying to fit all that bulky winter gear!
If there is anything this year has taught me, it is how little control we have over *anything*, and that flexibility is the key to a happy life. My flights for this trip really underscored this point.
The “gateways” to Antarctica are in either Chile or Argentina; my group tour would start in Ushuaia, Argentina (pronounced OO-shwhy-uh), where we would board a 5-day cruise to Antarctica, and then we would fly from Antarctica to Punta Arenas, Chile. Both places are at the very tip of South America.
Long story short, my departure date for Ushuaia overlapped with the big snowstorm that hit the Southeast on January 10. Luckily, I saw the weather alerts on January 8th - we got over 5 inches of snow, enough to shut Tennessee down for a week! - and moved my flight one day ahead to January 9th. This meant I had one less day to shop & pack, so I had to kick preparations into high gear, to say the least!
I had some additional flight challenges on my way down to Ushuaia, and ended up spending the night in Buenos Aires, but I made it to Ushuaia right on time in the end. I was a little nervous because that cruise ship was going to leave, whether I was on it or not!
Antarctica, Here I Come!
After that, this trip was smooth sailing (except through the Drake Passage 🤣). I booked my tour with Legit Trips, which I would highly recommend. Their tours are geared toward solo travelers, so they pair you with a roommate to avoid the “solo supplement” that most tour companies charge (basically a fee for being single, as well as an unwelcome reminder that maybe you will just die alone, after all 😅). I was paired with an amazing roommate, along with a fantastic trip leader & other guests. We all vibed from the beginning and had the best time together.
I spent my first afternoon touring El Fin del Mundo (“the end of the world”), as Ushuaia is called, with my roomie, Helen (love ya, girlie!). On Monday, part of the group (including myself) went to the Tierra del Fuego National Park for a half-day guided tour, which was breathtaking. I think I irritated our poor tour guide with all the photos I was taking because she kept telling me to hurry up. 😂
Tuesday morning, we all did some souvenir shopping and packed our suitcases. After lunch, we headed to Ushuaia’s port to board the Ocean Nova, operated by Antarctica21. We were so excited - it was finally happening, and we were on our way to see icebergs and penguins!
Ocean Nova is a (comparably) small cruise ship at 67 passengers, which was great because by the end, we all knew each other, and it was easy to quickly walk from one side of the ship to the other. It also made our excursions on the inflatable Zodiac boats really quick; we couldn’t imagine a ship of 300+ people having to coordinate excursions. Food was great and plentiful, and, most importantly, the crew was phenomenal. They were the nicest people, and they had extensive knowledge of Antarctica so they could act as true naturalist guides. Everyone in the tour group said they would rebook with Antarctica21 in a heartbeat. They just released their 2026 - 2027 pricing list and are running a sale, I believe, if you are interested! No kickbacks here, I just loved it that much.
The first day was spent sailing down the Beagle Channel into the open ocean, aka the Drake Passage. Land dropped away, and for two more days we were surrounded by sapphire-blue waters filled with whales, dolphins, seabirds, and the most amazing sunsets. The ocean was pretty rough on Day 2 for us landlubbers (although only a “3 out of 10” according to the crew; a 10 is probably where you hope the ship just goes ahead and sinks to put you out of your misery). I remember having to catch knives in mid-air that launched off the breakfast table, and setting alarms on my phone so I could take Dramamine every 6 hours (which was more like every 5.5 hours, if I am being honest, because the meds weren’t lasting a full 6, I can tell you that!). Fortunately, the seas were calmer on Day 3.
The morning of Day 4, I opened the curtains of our porthole window to see penguins swimming outside, with the sharp mountains and heavy glaciers of the South Shetland Islands in the distance. We had arrived in Antarctica!! This was one of my favorite moments of the whole trip, and it felt like I was living in a fairy tale where I had become Princess of the Penguins. 🐧
We had two excursions off the cruise ship: in the morning, we went to Half-Moon Bay with its colony of mostly chinstrap penguins, and in the afternoon, we visited Yankee Harbor, where mostly gentoo penguins live. Each excursion was roughly 3.5 hours, which sounded like a long time, except it flew by in a flash. I could have stood on these islands for days, easily. Both islands easily had thousands of penguins milling around. The seals were undergoing their annual molt, and were very sleepy, so the penguins were able to move around them without fear. Temps were very warm and sunny in the afternoon - almost 40 degrees F! - and made for gorgeous photography + exploration.
On Day 5, we packed up our suitcases, and took one last Zodiac ride to shore. We were greeted with a gruff “Welcome to Russia” (we had landed on shoreline that made up a Russian research station; should I count it as my 27th country?? 😜) and then, at some unknown point, we transitioned to the Chilean research station’s territory. There were no passport checks, no fences, just open land and nebulous demarcations.
We waited in a series of trailers, and then rode in buses to a large dirt lot, where we boarded a plane painted like a penguin to Chile. There was no security; we simply climbed the stairs and settled in for a 2.5 hour flight over oceans that had just taken us 3 days to cross.
Once we arrived at the airport in Punta Arenas, Chile, we did have to go through passport control, and we were whisked away to a hotel, where we very much enjoyed showering without the floor moving underneath us (I now know why it’s called a “grab bar”). We were there for 2 nights (1 full day), which we spent mostly souvenir shopping, walking around the town, and resting. At this point, I had started to catch a cold, so I gratefully rested in a bed fixed firmly to the earth.
Headed Home
I was sad to part ways with my tour group. I had an early morning start with a 4 am flight to return home.
I realized that, without noticing, I had hit my 10-month anniversary of quitting my job while in Antarctica. This trip was a great way to celebrate that milestone, but after arriving home (aka my parents’ house), I realized it was now time to start planning my return to the workforce. I was sad to think Antarctica is likely the final big trip of my gap year, but also so glad that I was able to do such a once-in-a-lifetime adventure! What a way to end my gap year!
If you’re wondering, I still have no idea what job I want to do, or where I want to move, but I have some inklings. I have been spending time trying to quietly get in touch with what I authentically want, and may test-run some potential places to live. I am not sure I will be employed by March 18th (my one-year anniversary), but that’s ok. I have some savings left and I have a little more time to figure it out, if necessary.
I have been a little scared, if I am totally honest, because a life reset is pretty overwhelming. But, on the flip side, it is also pretty amazing - the sky is the limit, and that means I can change as much or as little as I want. I will be sure to keep you all posted on this part of the journey!
Travel Tips for Antarctica
As promised, here is advice for going to Antarctica, including some things I wish I had known in advance:
Antarctic cruises operate during summer months only - since it is in the southern hemisphere, this is roughly November to March.
You can get to Antarctica completely by air - you do not need to take a cruise, especially if you get seasick easily. We were on what is called a “positional cruise” - the company moves the ship to its seasonal location of operations (South Shetland Islands), but it takes passengers along the way to pay for fuel, etc. Positional cruises are much less money than flying both ways (think: 50% less), so this is a good way to save on what is definitely an expensive trip.
The downside of the cruise is that you are at the mercy of the weather. The Drake Passage has rough weather approximately 10 days out of every month (30% of the time!). The weather became very bad in Ushuaia one day after we set sail, and we would have been stuck in Ushuaia if we had left even one day later. Delays such as these can eliminate your excursions. For us, we had only 1 day of excursions, so we were actually at high-risk of not being able to step foot on Antarctica.
You may also get stuck in Antarctica. The flight may not always if weather is poor; it can get too windy to fly. I recommend booking extra days before and after your cruise to account for any possible delays. I suppose delayed flights could also impact your ability to get to Antarctica, if you choose to fly instead of cruise, which could again put excursions onto shore at risk.
For me, this trip was like backpacking the Grand Canyon: once you do all the work to get there, you wish you had more time to spend there. A lot of what you are paying for is to get to Antarctica; you might as well spend a little extra and stay longer to really enjoy the beauty. For example, we only had 1 day for excursions, so there wasn’t enough time to kayak along the shoreline, which I would have loved to do. Similar logic: if excursions are extra, just pay for them. You will not regret it.
Tours do periodically go on sale, so if Antarctica is out of your budget currently, subscribe to different newsletters so you can find out about them when they happen. Also, tour companies that need to fill a few last spots may also run sales to ensure the seats don’t go unfilled. I had no expectation of ever being able to afford Antarctica, but I found a trip that was truly a steal.
When budgeting, be sure to factor in the cost of cold-weather gear, binoculars, camera, and flights, which adds up faster than I thought. Take advantage of those holiday sales in the northern hemisphere.
If you bring a camera with a good zoom lens, don’t bother bringing binoculars. Binoculars are pretty useless (for me, at least) when sailing 12 foot waves, it turns out, and on land, you can just use your camera to view far-away objects. I never used my binoculars at all, and they were just dead weight.
If you are bringing a nice camera, do your research beforehand on how to take photos in Antarctica, what to do in cold weather, etc. Batteries, for example, die much faster in below-freezing temps. I used a 55 to 300 mm lens the most (thanks for letting me borrow it, Mom!), with a Nikon D3200 camera body (24 megapixels), and it did a fantastic job.
Punta Arenas may have more flight options than Ushuaia, but Ushuaia has more things to do in the immediate area. Both are in Patagonia, but you have to travel many hours outside of Punta Arenas to get to Torres del Paine National Park; Tierra del Fuego National Park is only 30 min outside of Ushuaia. We liked Ushuaia better as a destination (it also had far better souvenirs for some reason).
Accessibility: Our ship’s Zodiac boats ran continuously, so if all people wanted to do was put two feet on shore and then go back to the ship, they could. It was also possible to take a bathroom break at any time, again by just hopping on a Zodiac and riding back to the cruise ship 5 minutes away. Our ship also provided trekking poles on shore for those who need them. If you have mobility or health issues, Antarctica is completely doable for you! Talk to your tour company(ies) and see what they have to offer you.
Until Next Time!
Now I need to figure out what to do with all the photos I took, because I hit the Substack limit really quickly! I may make a photo book to keep on my coffee table :) Hope you have a great week!
Life is short, have fun!
Alicia xx