Antarctica - Antartica Feb 09

Starting to plan a trip to Antartica fof Feb 09

Should I fly into Santiago or Buenos Aries?

then which carrier to Patagonia?

Which tour agencies are recommended?

All Help would be appreciated

I would take Lan over Aerolinas. More dependable IMHO....

Hello OP,

I'm not sure whether you're taking a tour group or not....

The boats to Antarctica leave from Ushuia, Argentina. I got to USH as part of a group tour from Santiago.

I suppose you can hop on a boat from USH but I wouldn't know how.

Perhaps if you told me more of what you want, it'll be easier to help you. There's a ton of FTers who've gone to Antarctica.

David

I would take Lan over Aerolinas. More dependable IMHO....

I second that, Aerolinas is a joke and a nightmare. We almost missed our boat in USH because of them and apparently there were 2 people that did miss our boat due to their incompetence. As to the original poster, it depends on what you're planning on doing there as well. We went with Aurora Expeditions, a company out of Australia because they were one of the few that specialized in mountain climbing. Whoever you go with, make sure they are an IAATO tour company.

LAN from Santiago, LAN Argentina from AEP (Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, Buenos Aires.)

Try to book a day or two in USH before you board - it is really worth it. Check out the park, the old prison railway, the funky town and eat some centolla (sen-TOY-uh, or king crab) at Tía Elvira.

As to cruise companies, Quark is probably the absolute top. You pay more, you see more, you do more. Some of the better ships are smaller (top +/- 100) Russian oceanographic research vessels.

If you set your search parameters back a year or two, you will find some reports and all in this Forum.

You may be too late to plan for a February '09 departure.

I suggest Lindblad/National Geographic (http://www.expeditions.com/) as an operator. They were the first to visit Antarctica. Lindblad Cove (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrQ6_Q-y8IM) is named after the founder.

When I left the National Geographic Endeavour (http://www.expeditions.com/Ships67.asp?Expedition=128&Destination=283) in the Arctic earlier this year, I instructed the captain to take her south to meet us in USH for our December trip. I'm please to note that the Endeavour is headed there even now. ;)

Just returned from Quark trip in the Arctic - excellent operator, seamless takeover from Peregrine (see my 06 trip report in this forum).

Also, I think you can still get on a trip for 2009.