A bit of Argentina - South Georgia - Antarctica
Feb 12, 2024, 2:09 pm
#46
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: YYC
Posts: 2,074
Thanks for taking us on a breathtaking penguin safari! Excellent, educational and entertaining TR! I thought the photos taken with your phone were great.
From what I've read if you have time and are willing to take a chance, you can book last minute trips in Ushuaia. Is that true? Are there a lot of cruise ships? Would there be much price difference? As for food, were there any vegetarian/vegan choices?
I'm not sure where you're planning to go next but I think it's going to be hard to beat this trip. But please share that trip here as well!
From what I've read if you have time and are willing to take a chance, you can book last minute trips in Ushuaia. Is that true? Are there a lot of cruise ships? Would there be much price difference? As for food, were there any vegetarian/vegan choices?
I'm not sure where you're planning to go next but I think it's going to be hard to beat this trip. But please share that trip here as well!
You can still book last minute trips to get a good deal, but you don't necessarily have to be in Ushuaia as most of the agencies have mailing lists for last minute spots. There were a couple of people who booked spots on our ship at a significant (they didn't say how much) discount about a week before the trip. Of course, it makes it easier if you're already there to jump on something in a few days. It looked like there were usually 1-3 ships departing daily from Ushuaia from my view of the docks, but that's just anecdotal and not a fact. There are many different cruise lines at different price points and capacities (the bigger the ship, generally the less expensive as they can't offer as many off-ship excursions). A decent resource for other people's experiences is a Facebook group called Antarctica Travel Group, which has a lot of admittedly brief reports, but is a great place to ask questions about the different lines and options. None of them are cheap, but it really is the trip of a lifetime - will be hard to top as you say!
There were vegetarian food offerings on the menu, but I didn't look too closely as I'm an omnivore...
Mar 23, 2024, 6:00 am
#48
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,203
I appreciated this report in that it gave me good info for USH and BA. The 'how to deal with money' links were useful. I am leaving USH today after 3 full days here. I used your restaurant recommendations - the 'family owned pub' and Garibaldi Resto. I was going to try Maria Lola Resto last night, but it didn't open until 8 and I'd just be uncomfortable for the evening, eating that late. I returned to the pub again for a beer and 1/2 pizza. Garibaldi Resto didn't have any king crab (I was looking forward to it); instead I had a rib eye and a salad. The rib eye was perfectly cooked and only one small chewy piece. Very good place. Re: English, and this is not meant to be arrogant, I was surprised as to the lack of English given the 10s of thousands of Antarctica passengers traveling through USH. I did a Beagle Canal excursion - out to see the sea lions and a variety of penguins and then two full day hikes in the TDF. Again, thanks!
Apr 10, 2024, 8:40 pm
#50
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: YYC
Posts: 2,074
If I remember correctly, the sea temperature was -2 degrees Celsius. Given that the air temperature was only about 4 degrees higher than the sea, it wasn't that bad.
Apr 11, 2024, 12:28 pm
#52
Join Date: Nov 2008
Programs: Flying Blue, Diamond Club
Posts: 782
!As you weren't cold enough you decided to extend the pain with glacier ice in your drinks afterwards...
