Who wants to go to Antarctica? If you’re reading this, I hope you have raised your hand. Antarctica is one of the most spectacular destinations that we have visited, not only on our tour of South America, but in all of our world travels, together and independently. If you want to see more from our trip, you can check out our post, Incredible Antarctica. If you’re here because you’re already inspired to go, I’m going to share with you some great tips to try to reach the southernmost continent as cheaply as possible.
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How Do People Get There?
To get to Antarctica the 3 most common options are:
- You can sail from South America, with most cruises leaving from Ushuaia, Argentina, and a few leaving from the Chilean Fjords.
- You can opt for more time on the continent and less time just waiting for seasickness to happen to you, by flying in and out of the continent. You will still be met by a ship which will ferry you around the different landing sights. There is a drawback to this method, as weather can be temperamental and if it is too bad to fly out you might be stranded for an extra day or two.
- Sail from Australia or New Zealand and include the South Georgia and Faulkland Islands to your itinerary. This is a much more expensive option, and will be at least 20 days at sea.
For the sake of this blog, we will stick to discussing methods 1 and 2, but the same tricks can be applied to Australia/New Zealand.
Decide When To Go
Antarctica has a window of November to March that is the best time to visit. When making your decision, here are some things to consider.
November Pros: Less ships, higher likelihood of last minute deals, slightly lower prices, untouched landscapes. November Cons: It will be colder and more areas are likely to be iced in, preventing you from making some landings. You might see less wildlife since some migrating animals are still working their way back south.
December/January/Early February Pros: The sea ice will be mostly melted allowing the ship to access more of the peninsula. You will find some days to be quite warm. Research stations will likely be open. You should have the potential to see all true antarctic wildlife as well as those who migrate south for the summer. December/January/Early February Cons: Prices are higher and there is less likelihood of last minute deals. More ships sail, which could impact potential landing site availability.
Late February/March Pros: You are in the back end of the season where you might find more low price deals. If weather stays warm, you should have access to nearly all desired landing sites. Late February/March Cons: The landscape will have been visited by many people at this time and that combined with the melting snow will cause many landing sites to be very muddy and much less picturesque. Some research stations may begin closing down for the season.
Plan Ahead
If you are a planner and Antarctica has long been on your bucket list, you can start by looking for early bird deals. An additional benefit is you can often find triple cabins which run much less per person. If you want to find an early bird deal but don’t know where to start, I recommend looking at the list of 46 companies in good standing with the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (more about them later), and look at ships that hold 200 or less passengers. If you have chosen your departure point, know when you want to go, and have 18-24 months to spare, then you can find some amazing early bird specials. As an added perk, you’ll have plenty of time to shop for the best airfare. As an example, you might be able to find and lock in a 2020 excursion right now, in late 2018, for around $5000 per person.
Get Those Last Minute Deals
Last minute deals used to mean you had to compile a list of every cruise company and spend hours on end calling each day to find out if any new deals were being offered, or show up at the port and start knocking on doors. Thankfully, due to the magic of the internet and the newer marketplace of backpackers and others willing to snatch up those unsold cabins just before setting sail, there are many agencies that now offer the service of matching travelers with the best deals at the last minute.
When I say last minute, I mean anything from about 10 days out to the day before setting sail. We were on the e-mailing list, WhatsApp Group Chat, and had spoken on the phone to the our contact, Sarah, at Freestyle Adventure Travel. We knew when to expect the new set of deals to come out and were ready with our credit card number and passport information to reserve our spot as soon as one came available.
How Do Last Minute Deals Work?
There are companies who act like travel agencies that specialize in matching last minute passengers with Antarctic cruises. The best ones are located locally in Ushuaia or the port you want to depart from, and have a good working relationship with the cruise companies. I signed up for notifications from 3 companies, and noticed consistently that any information that came out was at least 3-5 hours earlier from Freestyle Adventure Travel than the other two. That is why I chose to work with Sarah at Freestyle. I highly recommend their team and felt cared for through the process.
Once a cruise line decides they want to offer cabins at a reduced price, they notify their last minute vendors and they are then free to offer those spots to you. It will be a first come, first served process, so if you are serious, you need to have your credit card info and scanned images of your passport ready to email back to them to hold your spot.
Hint: Decide ahead of time what your ceiling price is and if there are any companies you do not want to work with, so you can be prepared to make a quick decision.
Last Minute Deal Prices
This year (2018) for a Classic Antarctica 10 day November trip, the lowest price we saw for a 2 person cabin (not promising any kind of windows, etc) was around $4,800 per person. The regular prices for those cabins were likely around $7,500-$8,500, so it was a savings of 30-40%. Another example is a higher quality cabin with an unobstructed window that went for $6,195 per person and was regularly priced at over $10,000 per person. There are other itineraries that will vary in length, and last minute deals can be found there also, so we recommend calling an agency that specializes in last minute deals to talk about the options available to you.
Things to Consider When Choosing Your Cruise
- Some last minute deals are for boats that have been chartered by Chinese tourists. You will have the same quality of guides, but may have some differences in the meals provided and, of course, you might not be able to communicate very well with many of your co-travelers unless Mandarin is your second language. Despite the language barrier, these charters can be a great choice for you because the prices are usually quite reduced and they don’t tend to sell out quite as quickly.
- Please choose a company that is a part of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO). They work with the tour operator to ensure that people like you and I are able to enjoy the beauty and wonder of Antarctica without putting the wildlife and ecosystems at risk.
- It is important to choose a ship with 200 or less passengers, or you most likely will not be making physical landings on the continent due to IAATO rules.
- Especially if you are a last minute traveler, consider the required clothing and what is offered for “free” as part of your ticket. A fellow travler who I met booked her ticket with a different agency and ended up needing to buy waterproof pants and a warm jacket, as well as all alcohol she consumed on the ship. Our ticket and partnership with Freestyle Adventure Travel came with loaned pants and gloves from Freestyle, a new hat and neck buff, and very nice parka from Quark Expeditions (our AMAZING expedition company), and very good Muck Boots to wear on all landings. We also had free beer and wine with dinner every night and several other champaigne events during our cruise.
- Ask about the expertise of the expedition staff that will be leading you on your adventure. A highly trained and educated expedition team will make sure you are getting the most of your experience, and truly transform it from a cruise, to your very own research and education trip.
Total Costs
I started this post talking about how to get to Antarctica on the cheap. Cheap is, of course, subjective. You will not be making this trip for only a couple thousand dollars, and prices continue to rise as tourism to Antarctica becomes more and more popular. You can, however, pay significantly less than the other passengers on your ship.
- Cruise Ticket: $4,500-$7,000 per person last minute/early bird deals for 10-14 day cruise. ($10,000-$20,000 for 21 or more day cruises or luxury cruises)
- Flight to embarkation location: Unless you happen to live in Ushuaia, southern Chile, or Oceana, you will need to take a flight. For the backpackers in the room, buses do run to Ushuaia. If you have time, come down and explore the surrounding national parks as you wait for your deal to come. For everyone else, you will likely get about a 7-10 day warning for last minute deals. Unfortunately Aerolineas Argentina is the only option for flights to Ushuaia. They are a member of the Sky Team Alliance, so if you have frequent flyer miles with Delta, KLM, or another Sky Team airline, you may be able to book on points.
- Accomodation before/after: Ushuaia is a quickly growing community with everything from budget hostels, to AirBNB, to high end hotels. You can find a room at a moderately priced hotel for around $50/night
Final Thoughts
The Antarctic region is changing and in just a few years, the treaty of nations that currently governs the scientific research on the continent will expire. Nobody knows how this will impact tourism, accessibility, or the natural beauty of a pristine and nearly uninhabited region. We have no regrets and feel grateful we were able to visit this amazing continent while it remains so similar to the way it was found by the earliest explorers. My hope is you will find it inspiring and worth the extra effort.
We want to know about your Antarctica adventures. Please share them in the comments or on our Facebook Page. You can also see more photos from our trip at our post, Incredible Antarctica. If your travels to Antarctica include backpacking in Argentina, you may enjoy our post 8 Must Read Argentina Travel Tips.
