Step 3: Decide which vessel will take you to Antarctica.
Step 4: Go to Antarctica.
For most travelers, deciding to go to Antarctica is the easy part. Narrowing down the options – which part of the season best suits what you want to experience, which ship offers the amenities you want, which itinerary offers the activities you most desire to partake in – can be a bit more time consuming, confusing, and overwhelming. Luckily for me, I already knew exactly what I wanted: I wanted ice. I wanted active. I wanted Basecamp.
What is Basecamp, you ask? “As much fun and exploration as you can pack into a single cruise.” Basecamp offers kayaking, snowshoeing, mountaineering and camping to everyone on board, as well as the whale/wildlife watching, zodiac cruising, polar plunging and general standing around in awe which accompany other cruises in the Polar Regions. For travelers seeking a more active Antarctic experience, Basecamp is key. While you’re not guaranteed to partake all the activities (you really never know when a blizzard will hit), you’re guaranteed a chance.
My own Basecamp experience did not disappoint. We cruised around in zodiacs. We saw whales. We snow-shoed. We mountaineered. We kayaked. We camped. We stood around in awe. We threw the occasional snowball and rolled down snow-covered hills like children.
We played hard every day and slept even harder every night. We had as much fun and exploration as we could have possibly had and, if given the chance, I’d do it all over again.
The response from Adventure Life to my first inquiry was prompt and promising. I worked with Jamie Broeckel, Trip Planner, via text, email, and phone calls- always extremely responsive and thorough with information and explaining the process to arrange a private tour for me to Malaysia Borneo. Within about week, the booking was complete and I made decisions because of Jamie's great customer service , friendly manner, and overall competence on behalf of the company's travel expertise. Now I have an itinerary, additional Trip Planner Assistants, several links for vital information for traveling to Maylasia, etc. Still many details for Sept. trip, but now the heavy lifting is done and I can enjoy the rest of the anticipation and research!! Thanks Jamie- you are amazing!!!!
Susan Campo
2 days ago
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
3 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.