Antarctica: The Seventh Continent

Antarctica is the ultimate trip, the seventh continent, a place of impossible scale and silence, penguins by the thousand, whales, seals, and icebergs the size of buildings. It is the bucket-list journey, and one I plan through the expedition specialists I trust. Here is what to know.

How you get there

Almost every trip is an expedition cruise departing from Ushuaia, at the tip of Argentina, crossing the legendary Drake Passage (about two days each way) to the Antarctic Peninsula. Prefer to skip the crossing? Fly-cruise options fly you over the Drake to meet the ship. Small ships mean more landings by Zodiac.

What you will see

Daily Zodiac landings put you among penguin colonies, whales, and seals, surrounded by staggering ice and mountains. Some voyages add South Georgia and the Falklands for even more wildlife, or offer kayaking and camping on the ice.

When to go

The season is the austral summer, roughly November through March. Early season brings pristine snow and courting penguins; later brings penguin chicks and the best whale watching.

Why plan Antarctica with me

This is a serious, once-in-a-lifetime investment, and the ship, the cabin, and the itinerary matter enormously. The best expedition voyages book a year or more ahead. I arrange it end to end through my trusted partners, and given the journey, it is worth reading whether business class is worth it for the flights to South America.