I’ve been lucky enough to have some pretty amazing travel experiences. I’ve danced the samba at Carnival in Rio, watched a Mamma and baby Brown Bear fish for salmon in Alaska and watched the lava spill from an active volcano in Hawaii.
But nothing compares to the magic of Antarctica.
And I mean nothing.
It is a place in the world like none other and it’s impossible to do it justice with words or pictures. The moment you wake up, open the cabin curtains and find yourself surrounded by snow-capped mountains, bright blue water and icebergs, some bigger than your house, a feeling of wonder fills you.
After a brief zodiac ride, you’re ashore and surrounded by penguins. And I use don’t use the term “surrounded” lightly. You need to keep a distance of five metres from wildlife. However, the penguins don’t follow rules and will often come right up to you, even have a little peck at your pants or shoes.
On land, it’s almost impossible to gauge the scale of the landscape surrounding you.
Here are my 10 tips for Antarctic visitors
♡ Try to find a quiet space on each landing and take five minutes to soak in all the beauty that surrounds you.
♡ Try to take photos that include people or the ship to give some perspective on the scale of the mountains.
♡ If you’re someone who is happy just to take photos on their phone, invest in gloves that work with touch screens (I got some from a Kathmandu shop). ♡ Fleece neck warmers are an absolute must to combat the bitterly cold winds when you’re cruising around in zodiacs. ♡ Be flexible - landing sites vary from cruise to cruise and are entirely weather dependent so you never know exactly where you’ll visit.
♡ Long boots and waterproof pants are essential as most landings are wet, sometimes with the water calf-deep. ♡ If you wear glasses I’d highly recommend wearing contacts when you’re ashore. It’s cumbersome to remove glasses to take a photo, especially when you’re wearing a beanie and trying to remove them with thick gloves!
♡ You never know when wildlife is around so always keep your eyes on the water and shoreline. We spotted whales twice from the restaurant.
♡ As cute as penguins are, their aroma is not so cute. Try bringing Vicks and putting it under your nostrils, or perhaps spray some perfume on your neck fleece to avoid their stench.
♡ Compare lots of different companies, as the cheapest cruises aren’t always the best value. Sometimes you may pay a little more upfront but then save money in the long run with extra inclusions such as charter flights to Ushuaia, alcohol onboard and included activities such as kayaking.
I travelled aboard the stunning Silversea’s Silver Cloud, 10 nights Ushuaia round-trip in February 2019.
