After sailing through the rest of the Chilean fjords, taking in views of several impressive glaciers, we rounded the southern tip of South America and docked outside of Ushaia, Argentina. There our ship provided the necessary documents to the Argentinan government to continue our voyage. From there we started our long journey through the notorious Drake Passage. We attended an onboard itinerary briefing for the next day, and were given an idea of what to expect on this section of the trip. The waves were forecast to be pretty high for our journey down to Antarctica, mostly due to how early it was in the season. I hadn't done much research before the trip regarding this section, although I knew many people dreaded it. Once I found out what kind of waves we could be expected, I started to get a little anxious. I hadn't brought any sea sickness medications with me, but the ship offered prescription strength pills at no cost for anyone who was interested. We decided to pick some up and take them before bed as we would be entering the passage that night. Wow.. those pills gave us iron stomachs. The waves did indeed get high during our trip through the passage, but the combination of the seasickness meds, the large size of the ship, and the advanced stabilization tech onboard, what I had come to dread the night before actually became pretty fun. It was actually kind of relaxing rocking back and forth for the day and a half or so it took to reach our destination. During this time we watched lectures, played cards, read, wandered around deck, hung out in the sauna, and attended a mandatory lecture regarding how to behave once we were able to go on land in Antarctica. I ended up forgoing the seasickness med on the first part of the journey back through the drake passage several days later, and it made me realize how much they helped! I definitely recommend using seasickness meds during this part of the trip as long as it's an option for you.
Adventure Life is always an excellent choice when planning complicated, extreme, or exotic vacations or expeditions. They provide friendly professional services and advice and are enthusiastic and encouraging in helping us to prepare and thoroughly enjoy our trip. They handle all the details which greatly reduces the stress of planning a difficult trip. I'm very impressed with Adventure Life and definitely recommend them to friends and family.
Scott Trochim
2 days ago
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
4 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
5 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.
