Bucket List Destinations - January - Antarctica

Liz Penn on 23 October 2020
As one of the last places on the planet to be ‘discovered’ by man just 200 years ago and with such a high ecological profile, it’s hardly surprising that Antarctica makes it onto so many people’s bucket lists – mine included. However, our increasing awareness of the climate crisis is enough to give people pause for thought about travelling here. In 1991, the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) was established “to advocate and promote the practice of safe and environmentally responsible Antarctic travel”. There is a strong belief among partners of this association that the education received by those taking part in expedition cruises and the advocacy created far outweighs the carbon footprint of the trip.

With this in mind, my first recommendation is to choose a tour operator who has signed up to IAATO to ensure your visit follows best practice. To prevent over-tourism, only 50-100 people are permitted on land at a time, and the number of ships per site per day are capped. Ships carrying over 500 passengers are unable to dock at all, so a second recommendation would be to choose smaller vessels to give you the best experience and time on shore. Expect educational and expedition style cruises – some are at the luxury end of the scale but others allow cabin-sharing to split the cost – I can advise on what’s right for you.

What to expect on board can vary hugely depending on the company, as with all cruises. The things you will find in common is this is much more about the educational element, so you will learn about your surroundings and may even get involved with science projects – this is one of those times when the more you put in, the more you will get out. Depending on the type of trip you may well need a decent level of fitness as optional activities include kayaking or even camping overnight!

So now you know who you’re going with and what to expect; when should you go? According to Tudor Morgan, Director of Expedition Operations at Hurtigruten, the best time of year to go is late December or early January as by then the penguin chicks will be born – go any earlier and it’s a lot cleaner but it’s just the eggs! Into January you can also expect to see a large number of whales, especially Humpbacks. One of the projects you might get involved in is photographing their tails, which act like human fingerprints, allowing scientists to track and monitor them. Of course, with such an unique environment you can’t predict what you might see on your own cruise but it will be guaranteed to be an incredibly gratifying and humbling experience.

If you’d like help in planning your cruise as well as more on how to get there and options to extend your stay at the bottom of the world then just get in touch!