Getting in and visas for Antarctica

By plane

Aircraft and pilots need to be capable of landing on ice, snow, or gravel runways, as there are no paved runways. Landings are generally restricted to the daylight season (Summer months from October to March). Winter landings have been performed at Williams Field but low temperatures mean that aircraft cannot stay on the ice longer than an hour or so as their skis may freeze to the ice runway. Travel is normally by military aircraft, as part of the cargo. Passengers should anticipate carrying all their own luggage and may need to assist with freight as well. Major landing fields include:

• Williams Field - Serves McMurdo Station and Scott Base.
• Pegasus Blue-Ice Runway - Serves McMurdo Station and Scott Base.
• Annual Sea-Ice Runway - Serves McMurdo Station and Scott Base.

Adventure Network [3] offers flights several times a year (in December/January only) from Punta Arenas, Chile to the South Pole for a chilly US$35,000 per person. Commercial overflights to Antarctica are limited. Croydon Travel [4] offers a few flights each year out of Sydney and Melbourne, Australia on a Qantas Airline 747. They take about 4 hours to reach East Antarctica, spend 4 hours flying as close as 2000 feet over the ice, then take 4 hours to return. Passengers in most seating classes rotate their position in the row halfway into the flight, to give everyone a window or one-over-from-window seat for half of the time. Rates range from $5199 for first class, to $1399 for partially-obstructed-view economy class, or $899 for non-rotating center-section seats with window access depending on the courtesy of better-seated travelers. Keep in mind that these flights involve substantial risk: a successful search-and-rescue mission would be all but impossible in the event of a crash, which is what happened to one Air New Zealand flight in 1979. Due to a combination of low flying altitude and a navigational error, they hit Mount Erebus on Ross Island and all 257 people aboard were killed.

By boat

In the Antarctic summer, several companies offer excursions on ice strengthened vessels to Antarctica. Ice strengthened (not quite as tough as icebreakers) boats are preferred since icebreakers are round on the bottom -- a configuration that amplifies the already massive wave action in the Drake passage. The ships typically offer a couple of excursions to the continent (usually the Antarctic peninsula) or Antarctic islands (e.g., Deception Island, Aitcho Island) each day over the course of a week. The views are phenomenal, the penguins are friendly (well, some of them are), and the experience is one that is unparalleled! When traveling by boat, be aware that smaller ships (typically carrying 50-100 passengers) can go where the big ships can't, getting you up closer to Antarctica's nature and wildlife. Larger vessels (carrying as many as 1200 people) are less prone to rough seas but have more limited landing options. Many vessels include naturalist guided hikes, zodiac excursions and sea kayaking right from the ship, perfect for active, casual travelers. You'll need warm clothing: boots, hoods, glove, water repellent pants, parka and warm underwear. Most of these items can be bought or hired in Ushaia, but sometimes - in the high season - it is not always easy to get the right sizes. So bring whatever you can from your own stock. It must also be remembered that cruise operators typically only allow 100 people on land at any one time. Consequently if you are in a boat with more than 200 people the chances are you will only spend a couple of hours at most per day off ship. Generally the smaller ships will try to ensure 2 different locations per day around Antarctica, although this is of course dependent on the weather and you may expect a 60% success rate on landing people for any given visit. Companies offering cruises to Antarctica include:

• Adventure Associates, [5].
• AdventureSmith Antarctica Cruises, [6].
• Aurora Expeditions, [7].
• Cheesemans Ecology Safaris, [8]. Offers a trip nearly every year that includes three days in the Falklands, a week on South Georgia, and eight days on the Antarctic Peninsula. Their trips are expensive but are some of the best for maximizing onshore time. They have also done Ross Sea trips in past years.
• Gap Adventures, [9]. Operates trips on their ship: the 'Explorer' also known as The Little Red Ship. The maximum number of passenger is 106 and the trip is enriched by lectures by staff and naturalists.
• Journeys International, [10]. Provides small ship exploration cruises to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, South Shetlands, the Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctic Circle and the Weddell and Ross Seas.
• Lindblad Expeditions, [11]. Offers multiple trips to the Antarctic Peninsula and longer trips which include the Falklands, South Georgia, and the South Orkneys aboard the National Geographic Endeavour.
• Mountain Travel Sobek.
• Polar Cruises, [12]. A small company offering trips on most of the ships cruising Antarctica. They have been on all the ships and traveled to Antarctica many times. Great insights into Antarctica cruises and travel.
• Quark Expeditions, [13]. Offers everything from month-long semi-circumnavigation trips to week-long explorations of the Antarctic peninsula, on former Russian ice-breakers and expedition ships.
• Ocean Expeditions , [14] Sailing yacht ‘Australis’ offers an intimate experience of Antarctica.
• Geographic Expeditions, [15]. GeoEx specializes in small group adventure travel. Tours offer a variety of destinations such as Ross Sea, South Georgia Islands an penguin rookeries.

Most cruise ships depart from the following ports:

• Ushuaia in Argentina.
• Punta Arenas in Chile.
• Bluff in New Zealand.
• Hobart in Australia.

Antarctic Stations

Coastal stations include

• McMurdo (77 51 S, 166 40 E) (USA)
• Palmer (64 42 S, 64 00 W) (USA)
• Arctowski (Poland)
• St. Kliment Ohridski, [16] (Livingston Island) (62 38 29 S, 60 21 53 W) (Bulgaria)
• Port Lockroy (UK)
• Baia Terranova (I)
• Mawson (67 36 S, 62 52 E) (Australia)
• Davis (68 35 S, 77 58 E) (Australia)
• Casey (66 17 S, 110 32 E) (Australia)