Booking the holiday
- Book as early as you can
- Choose your ship before you make any other decisions
- Find a helpful travel agent (we found Island Holidays to be excellent)
- Find out how much it costs to upgrade to business class flights, and do it if you get a good deal
- Consider spending some time in South America while you are there
- It's well worth spending a few days in Ushuaia, especially if you can get out of the town itself into the fantastic surrounding countryside
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Booking hotels
- Book as early as you can (we didn't, and had a very poor choice of hotels in Ushuaia)
- Try to read independent reviews of potential hotels on a site such as Trip Advisor
- The Hotel Albatros in Ushuaia is directly opposite the port; we didn't stay there, but it looked pleasant enough
- The Hotel Las Hayas in Ushuaia is a fantastic 5-star hotel, but is a long way out of the town centre
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Choosing your ship
- Think carefully about whether you want to be on a big ship or a smaller ship
- The big ships are more luxurious, but you'll spend much more time ashore if you go on a smaller ship
- It's worth upgrading to a superior cabin on the small ships
- If your ship doesn't have an ice-strengthened hull, you'll be quite limited in where it can go
- We thoroughly enjoyed our time on the Grigoriy Mikheev
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What to take with you
- Your Antarctic clothing is not a good place to try to save money: make sure you buy good quality kit
- Take rubber boots so that you don't get wet feet if you step out of a Zodiac into several inches of water
- Your waterproof coat should be made of Gore-Tex
- Take lightweight clothing that can be worn in multiple layers for warmth
- Take a windproof snood
- Make sure your sunglasses are up to the job
- Take good binoculars with a wide field of view
- Take a good camera, with plenty of film or space on your memory card depending on whether you prefer film or digital
- Whichever kind of camera you take, make sure you have a good telephoto lens for pictures of far-away penguins
- Practice packing at least a couple of weeks before you travel to make sure everything fits in your luggage
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Avoiding seasickness
- If you are susceptible to seasickness, visit your doctor before you travel for advice on appropriate medication and, if necessary, a prescription
- Many seasickness medications can be bought without a prescription, but do ask the pharmacist for advice
- Make sure you take the medication before you start to feel seasick
- If you can, get out on deck in rough seas: the fresh air can be very therapeutic
- Avoid alcohol when the seas are rough
- Lying down in bed with your eyes shut can be helpful
- The ship's doctor is likely to be an expert in treating seasickness: don't hesitate to ask for help if you're in a bad way
- Remember that you may not be seasick at all: not everyone suffers, and worrying about it may just make it worse