Antarctica

Ice Ice Baby

Cruising through ice flow in a small zodiac boat is one of the highlights of any Antarctica voyage. The icebergs are magnificent up close. Don’t forget to grab a small piece of glacier ice for your whiskey on-board the ship later

Penguin play time

By the time you’re done with your antarctica trip you’ll see more penguins up close then you can imagine. You can typically see a minimum of three species (gentoo, chinstrap, and adele), even on the shortest of voyages. If you want to see king or emperor penguins, generally you need to book longer cruises that go elsewhere besides the antarctic peninsula.

Polar Plunge

Yep, it’s just what is sounds like. “The plunge” typically involves jumping off the lowest deck of your boat into the frigid antarctic waters. You’ll likely be tethered for safety as the shockingly cold water could cause potential health issues.

Wildlife central

Antarctica is home to more than penguins. You’ll have the chance to see leopard and elephant seals, several species of whales, rare dolphins, and giant seabirds such as the skua, petrel and albatross.

South Pole Selfie

If you have the money and the time you can reach the least visited tourist attraction on the least visited continent in the world. Not many facebook check-ins here! The best way to access this point is via helicopter but many tour operators also offer ski expeditions. Price range is between $50,000 to $60,000.

Cross the antarctic circle

You know you want to. It’s one of the 5 major circles of latitude on all maps of the earth. You’ll have to shell out some extra cash and time for a cruise that reaches 66.5628° S, 0.0000° W.

Penguin Post Office

Port Lockery used to be the British Base but is now a full time post office and museum. Send yourself a postcard stamped from Antarctica and also get your passport stamped (typically handled by your cruise operator)

Starry Night

Antarctica is completely uninhabited save for 4,000 or so scientists who live there part time. This makes for a sky completely unspoiled by light pollution. Gaze up and relish in awesomeness of a clear sky full of stars.

Drink at the Southernmost bar

Drink onsite distilled vodka at the Ukraine base and southernmost bar in the world. Not all cruises make this stop so check the itinerary in advance.  http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-bar-at-vernadsky-research-base

The Drake Shake

The most treacherous body of water on the planet. Crossing the Drake Passage represents a minimum 4 days of your cruise and is serious bragging rights. If you’re lucky it will be calm (Drake Lake) but with all that current squeezed into such a small zone you’re likely to get some shake either heading in or out of the antarctic peninsula.