Antarctica Travel Forum

We would like to take our children to Antartica in January 2008. They are ages 8,10 & 12 and very interested in animal science. Has anybody taken children before or is this just a really bad idea?

It's the trip of a lifetime, and usually no hardship entailed, as you'll most likely be on a comfortable cruise vessel, with daily walks ashore to explore, maybe a bit of walking in snow, but it's not difficult. The kids will love the wildlife, seeing as that is already interesting to them -- penguins, various seabirds, albatross, and marine mammals galore. It's one of the world's least explored destinations (although you will see a bunch of cruise ships there, but they try to schedule themselves so they are not all in one destination at once, and there are rules about this). Well worth the experience! I've been there about 5 times, and would go back in a heartbeat.

Forgot to mention -- if you are from Down Under(?), are you contemplating the Antarctic voyage from there, across the Southern Ocean? Or from the Chilean/Argentine side, across the Drake Passage? It makes a lot of difference, because the trip down to ANT from Aus/NZ can be 4-5 days in rough seas, each way to get there, whereas the trip from Ushuaia, Argentina, is about 40 hours -- still a bit seasick-provoking, but more tolerable.

If you can afford to take 3 kids to Antarctica go for it. It would depend on the policy of the tour operator you are travelling with - they may have a minimum age requirement, I would check before you tell the kids in case you have to break their little hearts.

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/9a182/9/8/

Hi,

I thing it is the best to reache in the Web for offers to go to the Antarctic - and plan your trip well in advance. I was riding my motorcycle around SA, ended up in Ushuaia for new years. When I was thing about what to do next I talked to my landlord in the small Hostel I was staying. By the way very friendly people down there. I was staying in the Tango B&B, the owner lived long time in the States so we had nice chatting in English. He also payed lots of instruments and teaches dacing - I guess it looked like Tango... He told me that best way to learn about going to the Antactica is asking fo an itinerary from an argentinean TA - they know the marked better then a european Agent. He gave me the mail-address of his doughter, which is currently working in a Travel Agency in Buenos Aires. When she was living in Ushuaia she organized the tours there. If you want to go to the Antarctic is is maybe worth to give her a try too. Her name is Paola de Luca and you can reach her under paola@argentinago.com - send her greating from me, she will know how THOMAS is. By the way, I didn't go to the Antarctic but finally I got someone whom I can trust when returning to Argentina.

Best regards
Thomas

Not a bad idea, at all. I'd highly recommend Aurora Travel, Sydney. They've had children on their voyages before. Their staff are great, ships are smaller (56 people maximum) and they are very well organised. Your children would love it. Aurora's ship, Polar Pioneer, has triple share cabins, so the children could have their own room, with parents in a twin share next door. Check my Antarctic page for pictures of the ship, if you like. With a larger 'Cruise liner' you are not guaranteed to get on a landing, but with Aurora, you are.

What a wonderful adventure for your children. Wanna adopt me? I've been 8 times. There's a saying...'You first go to Antarctica for the penguins...you go back for the ice.' Some of the smaller ships don't accept children under certain ages. It doesn't seem to be a matter of safety as much as overall comfort. There is very little in the way of childrens' programs aboard most of the vessels in that part of the world. Plan to carry things for the children to do. Of course, the ships and charterers all differ, so check ahead. The larger ships (Marco Polo) etc can carry up to 400+ passengers, and may have facilities aboard for kids. The difficulty is that there is a limit of 100 ashore at a time...this means perhaps an hr over, an hour there, an hour back...three+- hours for one group before another group can make a landing. That really restricts where you can go and how many landings you can make in any given cruise. The small ships 100+- passengers are far more flexible about where they can go and how often you'll get ashore. You'll get a much more complete visit on a smaller ship. The reply from the woman about sailing from Australia/New Zealand vs from Ushuaia is also very valid. The former voyages have the real chance of many rough sea days generally; that's a lot of sea time for the kids though the seas themselves are entertainment of a sort and the kids would probably love it if they weren't seasick. And some of the landings are apt to be more historically interesting. The cruises out of Ushuaia normally go to the Peninsula and include some geologically interesting spots as well as probably a few more penguin stops. Ushuaia is also the port for ships going to the Falklands and South Georgia which is the absolute plum for viewing animals and birds. They also go to key spots on the Peninsula. Have a wonderful time. None of you will ever forget it.
Joan