Antarctica Travel Forum

This is a great forum---my wife and I are headed to Antarctica in Feb. 27 in 09 on the Prof. Molchanov. Is it possible to rent boots, clothes, etc. in Ushuaiai? We are also thinking about staying at the Lennox Hotel for one night. Is anyone familiar with it? This is an 11-day trip that does the peninsula. I guess its late in the season but does anyone know weather conditions (temps, etc.), and abundance of wildlife, penguins, etc.? We're booking through Expedition Trips and have heard good things about them. (Does trip insurance make sense--I've always thought it a ripoff since our med ins. covers intl. trips but this one is pricey and we're committing so far in advance). Thanks for the information and suggestions.

Get travel insurance, you never know WHAT might happen. I've had to use mine every time.

We traveled on the Orlova through Expedition Trips in December and found the agency to be very helpful answering questions and telling us what is and isn't included as part of the trip. For instance, we didn't have to worry about boots at all -- we received a boot form in our pre-trip papers (months in advance), filled them out, and had our own boots ready for us on the ship. No charge and the boots worked great. But I'm not sure if Quark, who owns the Orlova, also owns your ship, so it could work differently. Don't know about renting clothes, as we already had ski and rain gear that worked fine. You don't need sub-zero parkas that you won't wear anywhere else. We bought trip insurance (had to because of the medical evac) and don't regret doing so, although nothing happened that required us to use it. Think of how much you're spending for the entire trip, how much is non-refundable should something suddenly come up two days before you leave. As for wildlife, I understand that you should see way more whales than we did, and you will have more than enough penguin sightings for sure. In any case, you will have a great time!

You can rent anything you want in Ushuaia.....Do you really want to rent longjohns? I spent the money and got the Arctic boots for $100 and they were great! Fully waterproof, 1 pair of socks, never got cold. They are very light, but very large for packing. If you're gonna rent/borrow boots, get some foot warmer packets, it'll allow you to stay out longer.

Trip insurance...you never know. Your policy covers, intl. travel, but how about evacuation from the Antarctic Ocean...I doubt it. No one needed medical attention on our trip, but I saw how someone could break a limb VERY EASILY.

Lennox Hotel was great for one night, right on the main road. Friendly staff, nice view from breakfast area.

Won't see too many babies....as spring is approaching.

FYI: I did the M/S Explorer trip in March 2007, it might have been the "little red ship" last complete voyage to the peninsula before sinking.

Weather is brisk, but not too bad ( and I live on Maui). Dress in layers, take a few light shirts for the boat. You definitely don't wear the same clothes off & on the ship, you'd sweat to death. Keep on longjohns, easy shirt and pants and keep your camera and jacket handy. A pair of easy shoes too!

Have fun! I loved it and am heading to the Arctic this summer!

You'll have no problems renting gear in Ushuaia. We rented parkas from Ushuaia Tourism for 90 pesos for 11 days (approx 30 USD, or 22 Euros). The address is

Ushuaia Turismo
Gobenador Paz Street 865
Ushuaia
TEL: (54 2901) 436003
CELL PHONE: (54 9) 2901 616969

They also rent other gear. However, check with your agency first to see what gear is and isn't included. Also, regarding travel insurance, you will probably need to proof to your agency you have adequate medical/travel insurance for the trip. If your medical insurance is sufficent, I would leave it at that and not buy extra.

Hi:
You can rent. But my last experience with boots i never find the right size, too big. Next time i'll prefer my boots.

I see you've got responses. We bought the 'arctic boots' from muck boots and loved them. Most people wore wellingtons and also did fine. check out our Antarctica newsletters on travelpod.com under 'cliffanddoris'.