A couple of years ago, travelling to Antarctica would’ve been much more exotic than it is these days. In recent years, tourism has increased to over 100k people a year and thus visiting the white continent has become more accessible in terms of offerings. (Not really in terms of price or being disability-friendly, though.)

Antarctica is unlike any other place in terms of tourism.

You can’t just go there by yourself and go carelessly frolicking with the penguins.

Visiting Antarctica means signing up for a very social big group experience. With lots and lots and lots of rules.

Tourism in Antarctica is the most highly regulated I’ve ever experienced, which is really a wonderful thing. Having gone to places where I’ve seen the way some people treat nature and historic sites, I wish every place was as diligent and strict about enjoying the wonders of the world without damaging them. The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO, check out their website) is the organization that makes sure that tourism is done in line with the Antarctic Treaty and guidelines on how we can visit Antarctica in a responsible way.

The goal is to minimize human impact on the fragile ecosystem, while still allowing people to experience the beauty of such a foreign place, and making sure that it remains as pristine as possible for future and current generations.

So, when booking, make sure that the operator is a member of IAATO, to ensure that they follow these guidelines and your trip is as sustainable as possible.

On my trip, we saw people who disrespected the regulations, and that sucks, so please make sure you choose a reputable way to travel.

There is no way to travel to Antarctica without some environmental impact, but trying to make it as small as possible was definitely my goal.

Antarctica is generally visited by ship. There are some other offerings, like touching the South Pole and then going back home, or just flying over the continent in a “flight cruise” type situation, but for most people, getting onto a ship with a number of passengers between 100 and several thousand is the way they will visit.

And the number of passengers matters. There are two numbers that are most important when travelling to Antarctica: 100 and 500.

This is the maximum number of passengers allowed on a ship before it falls into the “cruise-only” category. Ships with more than 500 passengers are not allowed to land on the continent at all. Those are probably the cheapest option to Antarctica, but probably not the type of trip most people have in mind when they think of visiting Continent No. 7.

Generally, the trips most people want to take are the ones with less than 500 passengers. Those are the Expedition trips. However, there is a big thing to note:

Antarctica Requires Health Privilege

If you can’t get out of a zodiac or can’t walk on unstable rocky ground without touching anything, you’ll have trouble. There will be hiking poles available, but the ground is very uneven and slippery. And the operators will have you fill out a health assessment form before you go, to make sure you can handle the conditions.

So, while a lot of people like to complain about big cruise ships carrying thousands of passengers, if you were a person with physical limitations, would you really want to book an Expedition ship and share a boat with people that can go on land while you have to stay on board? I’d rather share my trip with people that can experience the same things as me.

The Antarctic Treaty states that landing sites are restricted to 100 visitors, some small sites even fewer, and landings are typically allowed for 3-4 hours total. This means that if you’re travelling with a larger ship, the time will be split into multiple groups, meaning less time spent ashore per passenger. How the groups are organized varies greatly. Some give you Zodiac rides as alternatives, others make you wait on the ship.

If you want to maximize your time on land, you’ll want to make sure you choose a vessel with around 100 passengers. There are two ways to do that—wait and save longer and spend the very big bucks, or instead of a more luxurious ship, opt for one of the refurbished research vessels that offer trips as well. I would highly recommend checking how many passengers your ship is carrying before you decide on the trip to take. This is not the type of information you want to be surprised by.

So, signing up for an Expedition. What does that mean exactly?

Expeditions cannot be planned like other trip types where you have a fixed itinerary. Everything is weather dependent, and the captain and expedition leader (EL) will decide day by day what is possible. This means that flexibility is key when travelling to Antarctica, and you should be prepared for plans to change at any time. Sometimes, a landing might be cancelled due to bad weather. A site that was on the list might be inaccessible due to ice conditions, etc.

The method of getting to Antarctica is another factor to consider. Most trips depart from Ushuaia, Argentina, which is the southernmost city in the world. From there, it’s typically a 2-3-day sail across the Drake Passage to reach the Antarctic Peninsula. The Drake Passage is known as one of the roughest stretches of water in the world (yay).

There are also fly cruise options available, where you can fly from Punta Arenas, Chile to King George Island in Antarctica. Some fly one way, some fly both ways. Flying can save you time and potentially reduce the risk of seasickness, but it tends to be even more weather dependent, as flights can be delayed or cancelled due to poor weather conditions.

Once ashore, the regulations right now do not permit you to put anything on the ground that was not previously disinfected and inspected. The main reason is to contain the spread of avian flu, which unfortunately has reached Antarctica a few years ago through migrating birds. Regulations since then have been stricter than before.

When doing an expedition trip, you’ll have basically 1 staff member per guest and the ships are specialized to the conditions. Antarctica is extremely remote. Health care is hard to obtain (Apparently it is easier to evacuate a person from space than Antarctic winter, it’s still very hard in much milder summer), the weather is unpredictable and the seas to get there can get very rough. All of these factors make trips to Antarctica pricy by nature, so it’s best to budget way ahead of time if you want to go and make sure the trip you book is exactly what you want.

Antarctica should not be a last-minute trip or one you go on unprepared. Make sure that you know exactly what trip you want to be on and try to go on that trip instead of one with compromises. This is most likely a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Make sure you get what you want out of it.

My trip was a photography expedition. If you want to learn more about it, check out my travel diary.