June 16, 2004 -- Have you ever looked at a picture of the earth with the South Pole at the bottom and the North Pole at the top? Frommer's will leave it that way, and refer to Antarctica as being at the "bottom" of the world. It's been difficult to get there in the past, and expensive in terms of money and life, but now the journey is within financial reach, at least.
G. A. P. Adventures, that admirable Canadian-based adventure tour operator, has just purchased the Explorer, built by Lars Eric Lindblad back in 1969 for Antarctic cruising, and beloved as "The Little Red Ship." It carries only 100 passengers, is 73 meters in length (about 210 feet) and is captained by Uli Demel, regarded as a master of navigation in those parts. You use one of its 10 heavy duty Zodiacs to skim around in and get to shore in difficult places.
G.A.P. Adventures will be running seven of its ten-day Classic Antarctica tours from late November this year through March 1 next year (2004/2005), with prices starting at $2,365 (US dollars, but $3,220 CDN) per person. In addition, they will operate four other trips that take in the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and/or a Polar Circle routing. Antarctica, in addition to being famous as the most inhospitable climate on earth, has spectacular scenery and a lot of wildlife, including humpback and minke whales, Orcas whales, and a large variety of penguin and seal species.
Contact the organizers at www.gapadventures.com or www.gap.ca or phone them at 800/465-5600.
Choose Your Ship
You can also travel to Antarctica with other organizers, include Montana-based Adventure Life, which will book you on trips lasting from ten to 19 days, the minimum prices on those ranging from $3574 to $6430 (US dollars), and ranging upwards. Altogether, the firm has 14 ships in its repertory, ranging from five smaller research vessels (capacity 46 to 54) through "luxury expedition ships" (capacity 106 to 160). In between, they have three ice breakers/research ships (capacity 105 to 118) and four expedition cruise ships (capacity 107 to 124).
You can depart on January 10, 2005 for a ten-day trip on the 105-passenger Polar Star goes to the Antarctic Peninsula from Ushuaia, Argentina, the city that calls itself "the end of the world." (Not all categories of cabin were available on this ten-day trip at time of writing.) A 19-day journey to the Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia and the Falkland Islands, on the same vessel disembarks on February 28.
The Polar Star is an ice breaker/research ship, built in Finland, and use by the Swedish Maritime Administration as an icebreaker, was converted to passenger use in 2000 and renamed. Among her amenities are 45 cabins and six suites (all units have outside-facing views and private baths), a shop, library, bar, fitness facility and dining room, as well as a big bridge with an open-bridge policy, and a large observation lounge/lecture hall with seating for all passengers.
Contact the organizers at www.adventure-life.com or phone 800/344-6118 or 406/541-2677.