10 Things to Know Before Visiting Antarctica

The most remote continent on earth isn’t owned by any government and has no permanent civilian population, but it does offer thousands of square miles of high-quality land to conduct research on. This research ranges from astrology to studying climate change and even collecting meteors, along with many other jobs and positions to support the global interest in this strange and barren continent. There are currently 70 permanent bases that house just over 1000 people during the summer months, but this drops down to a couple of hundred in the winter.

(The Beautiful and deadly continent of Antarctica)

There are two main methods of visiting Antarctica, with the first being a tour around the outer islands and the second being a stay on the mainland. Many travel companies offer trips to Antarctica, but these often involve nothing more than a cruise around some of the coast and surrounding islands. To really appreciate this place you have to stay on the mainland, as everyone who is sent there for work will be doing anyway, but before you depart, here are 10 things to know before visiting Antarctica.

1) The food can be old, and don’t ask questions about freshness

A major problem with supplying the research stations here is that they are so isolated. The largest multi-national station on the continent is called Mc Murdo station and they have some interesting things to say when it comes to food. The first is that certain products like cheese are usually past their best-before date when they arrive at the station, and they sometimes use recycled food. This involves taking people’s leftovers from things like pasta and stews, adding a load of cheese, and reheating it into a hash-type dish. Not all food is like this, but because of the delivery issues, they are known to have freshness problems with certain ingredients.

2) You can’t play with the animals

There are plenty of penguins and elephant seals around the coast, both of which are curious creatures and have been known to climb on people taking photos of them. Unfortunately, you can’t feed, pet, or interact with the wildlife in any way for their own protection. The rule is there to keep wild animals wild, and not let them see people as friendly or something to get food from. This not only helps with research and allows people to observe the animals acting naturally, but also protects them in case the “wrong” people come there looking to harm them.

3) It’s really cold

The coldest temperature on earth was recorded here at the Russian Vostok research facility on 21 July 1983. It measured −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F) and is still the coldest ever recorded temperature on Earth, but it is also an extreme example. Depending on where you are on the continent and the time of year, the lowest it often gets around the coast is normally no lower than −40 °C during the winter, but the higher elevations often see temperatures as low as -70 °C.

4)You may be stuck somewhere for a while

This one is more applicable to field researchers as the worst thing that would happen to a tourist would be having to wait an extra week or two until the next boat could make it through. The scientists that go into the field often find themselves stuck somewhere for longer than planned due to the weather, but the winter inhabitants of the continent are the most isolated. Some of the research stations are very remote and during the winter are completely cut off from re-supply or evacuation. The seas are too thick with ice for a ship to come through, and Antarctican blizzards are more than a match for the engines of any plane.

5) The Wi-Fi and phone signals are very poor/don’t exist

McMurdo is the largest station and the Wi-Fi there has been compared to that of a dial-up modem. It’s not fast enough to stream anything and the only thing people use it for is checking their emails. There is also no phone signal to the outside world and only localized networks around the camp exist, though it is still possible to get messages to the outside world through the facility’s radio communications, but this isn’t something you can just carry around.

(An aerial shot of McMurdo station, the largest multi-national research station on the continent)

6) It’s very expensive

Prices for holidays there are coming down slightly, but it is still a very expensive place to visit. A flight must first be taken to the south of Argentina, before boarding a specialized boat that is capable of traveling in extreme cold. The journey by ship is just over 3,000 miles and then you will depart into either a tent or an apartment that’s priced higher than a holiday in a Norwegian log cabin. Whichever route you take to get there it’s going to cost thousands before you even step foot onto the ice.

7) It takes a long time

The journey there by boat can take well over a week, and you can’t exactly call a taxi if you don’t like it. Flights and boats coming to and from the stations are very heavily regulated and there’s no chance that someone will let you onto the flight of your choice unless it’s an extreme emergency. Terms there for workers last from 1 to 6 months, and these are often agreed in contracts before leaving, so if you want to go there, make sure you “really” want to go there.

8) There is a minimal amount of things to do

If you are busy with your work then you should be occupied, but for a tourist, it could get boring fast. After you spend a day looking at the wildlife and having something to drink in the evening, there isn’t really anything left for tomorrow. It isn’t a holiday spot or tourist zone, and internet and entertainment are minimal, which means after a handful of places that serve food or drink, there’s not really much to keep people entertained.

9) It can be challenging to sleep

Most of the continent has 6 months of daylight during the summer and 6 months of darkness in the winter. This means that no matter the time of day, the sun can be shining brightly making it very difficult to sleep. People in the stations usually have some kind of light blocker or just put up a piece of cardboard so the sun can’t shine through. This strange period of one long never-ending day can make it very uncomfortable for those with delicate sleep patterns.

10) Not everyone can go there

Anyone can go on one of the cruises to the surrounding islands, but in order to go to one of the research stations you have to have a position of employment before you arrive. Some stations are owned by single governments and only allow their own people to go there, but the larger stations often allow visitors such as film crews and certain specialists to attend. As for a civilian visit, stepping foot onto the mainland would be difficult and require a specialist travel company, but it is possible and people have even been allowed to camp at some of the larger stations during the summer.