Exploring Antarctica: My Trip to the White Continent
(By Elizabeth Tuico) Antarctica, the world’s most remote continent, exists for science and peace. It took four years of planning delayed by two false starts to achieve my goal of an Antarctic continental landing. In November 2024, I traveled to Ushuaia, Argentina via Buenos Aires to board a vessel heading towards the Antarctic peninsula.
Curious about traveling to Antarctica as a tourist? Below is my overview on the Viking Octantis operated by Viking Expeditions Voyages:
Day 1: Arrived in Buenos Aires
Day 2: Flew via charter flight to Ushuaia, Argentina – the most southern city in the world – to board the Viking Octantis
Day 3: Crossed the Drake Passage, one of the most turbulent straights on the planet.
Day 4: Fournier Bay in the Antarctic peninsula region
Day 5: Damoy Point (too windy for landings and zodiac cruises)
Day 6: Brown Station – continental landing on the Antarctic peninsula
Day 7: Portal Point – first sea ice landing for Viking Expeditions
Day 8: Astrolabe Island
Day 9: Elephant Point / Livingston Island (part of the South Shetland Islands)
Day 10: Crossed the Drake Passage (again)
Day 11: Rounded Cape Horn
Day 12: Returned to Ushuaia – toured Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego in Patagonia before flying back to the U.S.
I traveled over 12,000 miles roundtrip from my home in Washington, D.C. to Antarctica. The journey was weird and wonderful; I often felt like an extra on a movie set. Weather and seas can be unpredictable, so Antarctic itineraries remain flexible. Along with carrying up to 350 passengers aboard, Octantis also serves as a research ship. Viking employs two full-time scientists who conduct experiments in a well-appointed lab, launch weather balloons, and operate drones.
Antarctica is not a country.
The Antarctic Treaty provides governance for the continent. In 1959, 12 nations including Argentina, United Kingdom, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the U.S. signed the treaty. This international partnership allows signatory nations to conduct non-military related research within the Antarctic Peninsula. The treaty also bans prospecting for minerals.
Founded in 1991 by seven private tour operators, the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) manages tourism in the region. During my trip, the Viking expedition team remained in constant communication with the other tourist vessels in the area. IAATO rules include allowing only two landings a day at each tourist destination.
Fun facts about Antarctica
Antarctica is a desert that also is the coldest, windiest, and driest continent on Earth.
There are no native people or polar bears in Antarctica.
About five million penguins call Antarctica home.
About 10,000 scientists work in Antarctica during the summer months of November to early March.
During the 2023-2024 season, the Antarctic region hosted 80,251 land visitors.
Viking excursions
I shared a cabin with a friend, and we signed up for the excursions together three weeks before the trip began. On the Viking Octantis Antarctic expedition cruises, there are four excursion options: cruises and landings via zodiac (a small inflatable boat large enough for 8-10 passengers), zipping around on the special operations boat, kayaking, and submarines (which are an extra charge). Viking outlined a basic itinerary, which we ended up not following due to weather conditions. The times initially selected for each excursion changed as well.
Day 1: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Fees included air and hotel arrangements for me and friend JB. We live in different cities, so Viking prepared separate itineraries. After a night flight from the U.S., I arrived in Buenos Aires early on a Saturday morning. Viking representatives were easy to spot at the airport, and an appointed shuttle bus took me to the InterContinental Buenos Aires hotel.
JB arranged a greatest hits tour of Buenos Aires for the afternoon with Signature Tours, a local company. A Signature leader guided the group through three prominent locations within Buenos Aires: May Square, La Boca, and Recoleta. Later that evening, we enjoyed an excellent meal at a bistro walking distance from the hotel.
Day 2: Fly to Ushuaia, Argentina to board the expedition ship.
We woke up at 3 am to travel to the airport to board our charter flight to Ushuaia, the most southern city in the world. Located on the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, Ushuaia really feels like the end of the world. With a population of about 100,000 residents, the city’s remote beauty reflects the towering Martial Mountains and the Beagle Channel, the body of water that leads to the Drake Passage.
After collecting our luggage, our group boarded a shuttle bus for our destination, the Viking Octantis expedition ship. After a brief stop to admire Ushuaia’s harbor, we climbed aboard the ship. (Viking staff accompanied the group from the hotel until we reached the ship, including the charter flight.)
Three days after I left my home, the voyage to my final continent began.
Day 3: Drake Passage
This very turbulent body of water is the main reason tourists do not go to Antarctica. The straight between Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica, the Drake Passage incorporates the Pacific, Atlantic and Southern Ocean. With no land mass to create resistance, all three oceans converge, creating high wind patterns along with eight-to-25-foot waves.
Ship passengers encounter either Drake’s Lake or Drake’s Shake. However, Drake’s Lake can involve 12-foot waves and make passengers seasick. Ironically, our captain remarked that we enjoyed a peaceful Drake Passage crossing. It took 36 hours to cross the straight, which included two nights and one full day. The ship often rocked and rolled despite utilizing its stabilizers. (I hung on to the sides of the bed for two hours one night.)
Our first full day on Octantis featured safety briefings and trying on expedition gear. Viking passengers must wear waterproof clothing provided by the ship. The crew fitted every passenger with boots, pants, and coats. (Note: Americans will find the clothing to be smaller than U.S. sizes.) Staff then vacuumed our hats, scarfs, and gloves for extraneous fibers that could fall to the ground. Keeping Antarctica pristine and free from debris, no matter how small, is paramount.
Gear appeared in our cabin including a black Heely Hansen primaloft insulated coat and a stiff, bright red waterproof outer coat. JB and I both ordered medium coats and pants, which were radically varied sizes. However, we exchanged items and were ready for our excursions.
Day 4: Fournier Bay, Antarctic peninsula region
After four days of traveling, we finally saw Antarctica at Fournier Bay. Words cannot describe the beauty and the majesty of the white continent. The skies were sunny and clear with a temperature of 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Located on Anvers Island in the Palmer Archipelago, Fournier Bay is often the first stop of Antarctic cruises.
The time arrived for our first expedition, a zodiac cruise around Fournier Bay. It took 20 minutes to put all the gear on the first time: waterproof pants, boots, inner coat, outer coat, and a harness life preserver. We traveled down to the lowest level of the ship to board the zodiac by groups. The uncomfortable red coat had a small pocket on the sleeve for your ship ID card. Crew members scanned our cards before boarding the zodiac and upon our return.
The sun shone brightly as our 10-passenger zodiac glided around the bay. We stopped to admire two orca whales for over 15 minutes, then we sped over to an iceberg to gaze at 30 Gentoo penguins. Each outing lasts about an hour.
Day 5: Too windy for excursions
The original itinerary featured landing at Damoy Point, but fierce winds kept us on the ship. Our expedition leader did not want to take the risk. Instead, the captain navigated through a breathtaking glacier canyon. JB and I put the Viking app to effective use and enjoyed the ship’s art audio tour. (Viking maintains impressive art collection on its vessels.) We also played scrabble and swam in the ship’s two pools.
The chief scientist launched a weather balloon in collaboration with NOAA and the U.S. National Weather Service. Octantis serves as an official launch station, one of the 102 stations currently in operation. Octantis and its sister ship Polaris are the world's first commercial ships classified as weather vessels. The weather balloons consist of a special biodegradable latex filled with helium. A radiosonde transmitter and sensor unit broadcast wind, temperature, humidity, and pressure data to Octantis in real time. Flight times span about two hours as the balloon reaches an altitude of 30 km.
A glorious sunset capped off this indoor day. We did not endure 24-hours of sunlight since it was late November, the end of spring in Antarctica. The sun set around 2 am and rose at 5 am. Black out curtains in the cabins helped us sleep.
Day 6: Brown Station / continental landing
Brown Station was not on the itinerary, and we were lucky to land there. It is an active Argentine Antarctic base and scientific research station named after Admiral William Brown, the father of the Argentine Navy. Due to our early season arrival, scientists had not yet moved into the station for the summer.
Brown Antarctic Base opened in April 1951 and operated continuously until 1984. On April 12, 1984, the base doctor burned the camp down after refusing orders to stay for the winter. USS Hero rescued the staff and took them to nearby Palmer Station. Argentina eventually rebuilt the base for summer-only research.
Once again, we put on all the gear and carefully boarded the zodiac for our landing. The zodiac driver took us as close to shore as possible and then we waded onto land. Viking staff provided ski poles and off we went for 45 minutes to explore the small base. I achieved my long-time goal of setting foot on the continent of Antarctica, plus I enjoyed more quality time with Gentoo penguins. (Visitors must stay a safe distance away from all wildlife.) We returned to the zodiac which was floating offshore. Since there are no piers or docks at the landing sites, waterproof pants and boots are a necessity.
Our zodiac driver hit a large patch of ice that jammed the engine, and another Viking zodiac freed our boat. Upon returning to Octantis, the crew hosed down our boots to eliminate any contaminants. (This process occurred every time we returned from a landing: spray down and then walking through a sudsy conveyer belt.)
Special drying closets in each cabin dries the outdoor gear quickly. On this day, turnaround time mattered because we booked an afternoon reservation on the special operations boat, or SOB.
The SOB is a 14-passenger open-air boat with a protective roof operated by two expedition team members. Viking provided headsets and one team member narrated while the other piloted the boat like an episode of Miami Vice. The SOB deftly navigated icebergs throughout Paradise Harbor. I learned that the oldest ice stays at the top of a glacier, and blue icebergs are an optical illusion.
Day 7: Portal Point – Viking’s first sea ice landing
Everyone – including the captain – was giddy about Viking’s first sea ice landing. The company never executed this excursion before. Since we were the first group of the Antarctic season, the sea ice (or frozen ocean) had not melted in this region.
In groups of ten, we marched out onto a meter of frozen ocean covered by three inches of snow. It snowed lightly as our leader explained the details. We all felt like explorers.
Everyone on the ship, including the crew, enjoyed the rare opportunity to traverse the frozen ocean. The chief scientist took photos with the ship’s drone camera to commemorate this event.
Day 8: Astrolabe Island
Our next stop was Astrolabe Island, fourteen miles off Cape Ducorps in the Bransfield Strait on the Trinity Peninsula. Icy conditions prevented landings, so we boarded a zodiac for a bumpy ride around a small bay.
Gentoo penguins are the most common, and we saw hundreds of Gentoos during the trip. However, around Astrolabe Island, Chinstrap penguins scurried about along with Weddell and fur seals. Our zodiac driver navigated in and out of the ice fields during our chilly 60-minute ride.
Around the Antarctic peninsula in late spring, bush-tailed penguins (consisting of Chinstrap, Adelie, and Gentoo) are prevalent.
Day 9: Elephant Point on Livingston Island
Sadly, this was our last day in the Antarctic region. Elephant seals, who weigh up to four tons and lounge around the beaches, populate Elephant Island. A zodiac boat brought us close to the shoreline and I waded onto the beach.
The expedition staff carefully outlined a small path and warned us not to get too close to the elephant seals. Three Chinstrap penguins waddled by as we cleaned mud off our boots and labored back to the zodiac.
In the afternoon, I enjoyed the final 45-minute ride on the special operations boat. We zipped around the bay, spotting a lone Adelie penguin on an iceberg. JB and I elected not to go on the submarine, which required taking the zodiac out to the sub and transferring onto the top of the vessel. (Passengers told me they did not see much from the submarine.) Due to no availability, I did not kayak. Although kayaking looked fun from the sidelines, the participants could not go far from the group. Passengers took the zodiac out to the kayaks and shimmied into the seats. (They practiced during kayaking training, and no one fell into the icy water during my trip.)
Livingston Island is part of the South Shetlands Islands archipelago close to the Drake Passage. At 6 pm, Octantis sailed away. My four-day journey back home began.
Day 10: Drake Passage Crossing
Once again, the captain announced a smooth crossing, but the boat rocked on and off for 36 hours. The crew scheduled lectures and activities such as visiting the laboratory and getting an up-close look at the expedition “toys” – zodiacs, kayaks, submarines, special operations boats, and safety vessel. Since I knew what to expect, crossing the Drake a second time was better.
Day 11: Rounding Cape Horn
By 8 am, the weather cooperated and Octantis was close to Cape Horn, Chile, the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago. Prior to the Panama Canal opening in 1914, Cape Horn represented an important trade route marked by treacherous seas. Again, luck and calm seas allowed Octantis to go around the tip of South America.
By lunchtime, the ship entered the Beagle Channel as we headed back to Ushuaia. At 7 pm, we docked at the port of Ushuaia and prepared to leave Octantis early the next day.
Day 12: Ushuaia, Argentina and return home.
The timing and execution of all activities on this voyage was impeccable. Our 1 pm return flight to Buenos Aires provided the opportunity to tour Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego in Argentinian Patagonia. For an extra fee, Viking Expeditions organized this informative three-hour tour that ended at the regional airport.
Viking arranged a charter flight back to Ministro Pistarini International Airport (EZE), Argentina’s international airport. A few Antarctic tour companies omit this step, which is very inconvenient to passengers with international flights. Most flights from Ushuaia go to the domestic airport in Buenos Aires. It can take two hours to travel from the domestic airport to EZE.
Another issue to consider is the weather in Buenos Aires. Antarctic cruises occur during summer in South America; that means it is hot in Buenos Aires. It snowed in Patagonia in the morning while 90-degree temperatures greeted us in Buenos Aires hours later.
After navigating the maze of security and airline check in at EZE for over two hours, I boarded my night flight to Atlanta. In the end, it took 32 hours to get home after disembarking Octantis.
The magnitude of the beauty of Antarctica remained overwhelming. I encountered so much that it took time to process the experience. Antarctic travel is not easy, but worth the years of planning and anticipation. If you are at all curious, I hope that this article will motivate you to visit Antarctica.
Elizabeth Tuico owns Rebel Road Creative, a marketing and content writing consultancy.