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Why I Hated My Antarctica Holiday

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Why I Hated My Antarctica Holiday - Luxury Travel Hacks

Updated May 2019

Antarctica, the 7th continent! I have no doubt it is on lots of people’s bucket lists. Am I right? Is an Antarctica holiday on yours? I am assuming it is otherwise you would not be reading this. However, before investing thousands of dollars have a quick squiz at this article on why I hated Antarctica. It could help you in your decision making to visiting Antarctica.

Wanting to save money on your Antarctic Journey? Check out Last Minute Antarctica Cruises – Everything You Need To Know

Table of Contents

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Interested in Heading to Antarctica?

An Antarctica Holiday - Why is it so Bad?

Smooth Sailing

Why I Hated Antarctica - Smooth Sailing - The Traveller's Guide By #ljojlo

Everyone wants to experience the Drake Passage! I heard tales of how rough it can be, how everyone is sea sick and to me, it sounded like a real adventure. What did we get, you ask? Something, known as the Drake Lake. Flat, calm, next to no wind and smooth sailing the entire way to and back from Antarctica. Talk about a disappointing Drake Passage experience. Maybe if we had headed over to South Georgia we would have had more luck.

Sunshine

Why I Hated Antarctica - Sunshine - The Traveller's Guide By #ljojlo

Sunshine, bloody sunshine everywhere while in Antarctica. I am so lucky I had sunscreen and sunnies on hand for other travels. I can tell you I would have been burnt to a crisp if I had not had these. No one wants the sunshine in Antarctica; you are supposed to be a cold continent…..shame on you.

The Crowds

I am sure you have heard that only 100 people can be on Antarctica at one particular point at one time. I thought beauty no crowds here plenty of space it is going to be amazing! BUT, no one mentioned the PENGUINS in Antarctica. You would not believe how many there are, they are literally everywhere and to make matters worse there are rules. You must give way to penguins, GIVE WAY I tell you! Sometimes when they are running down their penguin highways, yes they have highways, they decide to stop right in front of you. At this moment you must stop and wait for them to move. Talk about invading your personal space and wasting your time.

Disruption of Peace

Why I Hated Antarctica - Disruption Of The Peace - The Traveller's Guide By #ljojlo

You are taking a leisurely walk around the ship on the promenade deck when BOOM, a whale annoyingly pops up spraying water. In more extreme cases breaching may occur, and obviously, this is disturbing you from your walk. Also, a random piece of ice may fall from a glacier causing a cracking sound followed by a boom. Totally not what I signed up for when cruising in Antarctica.

Atrocious Activities

I mean no one would ever in their right mind want to kayak in Antarctica, would they? Not only do whales disturb the peace, penguins again can get in your way and then God forbid there are the obnoxious seals. These animals may either wreck your photos by lazing around on icebergs or worst still again disrupt peace like the whales by popping up whenever they god damn fell like. And then there is the ice, a thin layer of ice on top of the water that is there every now and again that slows the movement of your paddle. I mean how inconvenient! Oh, and you know how I mentioned about the sun! Well, when that reflects off the waters and gets in your eyes there really is nothing more to say. Avoid kayaking in Antarctica at all costs; you won’t enjoy it.

Scenery, I’ve Seen Better

White, white and a bit more white! If I wanted to see so much white, I could have hung out in Lapland, Finland, couldn’t I? I believe that is a white place and also much easier to travel to than Antarctica. I mean it gets boring seeing snow, ice, enormous glaciers, monstrous mountains, gigantic icebergs because they are all white. No colour at all and therefore making Antarctica is a bland and boring place to visit. Ok, ok to be fair there is a little bit of blue too but again….boring colour.

And Then There is The Ship

Enjoyed the #Garibaldi #fjord today from the comforts of our #zodiac that magically appeared out of the #MSMidnatsol, @hurtigruten

A post shared by Traveller's Guide By #ljojlo (@ljojlo_trvlblog) on

**Not overly cheap bu OH SO WORTH IT!

Why would anyone want to go on a ship to Antarctica? The food is second class with hordes of seafood, cheeses, meat, vegetables, fruit, bread, cakes, biscuits, pasta and sauces. And by that list, you can see there is clearly not enough of it. There are lectures, lectures I tell you! I didn’t sign up to go to lectures and learn about penguins, whales, research and anything related to Antarctica. Why in gods name would I want to know anything like that? Oh, and the staff! Always annoying you as they politely fill up your water glass for you, clean your room daily and are always smiling. Haven’t they heard this is the worst place in the world? There should be no smiling.

However, if you do want to look at cruises that may go to this horrible place, check out Hurtigruten cruises to Antarctica, their staff are always smiling!

So there you have it! Countless reasons why we hate Antarctica! I hope this clears up any misconceptions you may have about the continent and helps to solidify your decision on whether you want to visit.

I mean we hated it so much we can’t wait to one day visit again. Only, of course, to see if it has improved. I encourage you to do the same. Click below to check out the cheap** prices!

SERIOUS NOTE

Ultimate Repositioning Cruise

This is the luxury travel hack of all luxury travel hacks. I mean you don’t get more luxurious than an Antarctica holiday and why not combine it with an epic repositioning cruise. I mean this is a fantastic type of travel

Our Antarctica cruise left from the beautiful shores of Punta Arenas, Chile before exploring the incredible landscape of the Chilean Fjords, Antarctica, the Falkland Islands before finishing in Montevideo, Uruguay. Now with the costs of travel around South America being pretty horribly high, especially if you were flying this was the ultimate way to see Antarctica and get ourselves to the other side of South America all in one process. 

So, if you are thinking of visiting South America and Antarctica try and combine them with an Antarctica repositioning cruise to get the best bang for your buck. 

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Why I Hated My Antarctica Holiday - Luxury Travel Hacks
Why I Hated Antarctica - The Traveller's Guide By #ljojlo

41 thoughts on “Why I Hated My Antarctica Holiday”

  1. Haha very interesting how you almost had me at the beginning. I was like: ‘there’s no way they could’ve hated Antartica so much’. I’m glad I read your full article. Stunning photos and enjoyed the sense of humour. Thanks for sharing such a great article.

    1. #ljojlo - Lauren

      Thank you so much :-)! I am glad you liked it! It is such an amazing place that I don’t think anyone could actually hate it ha ha

  2. This is hilarious. I clicked because it’s my dream to go and I was genuinely curious about why you hated it…. and I ended up laughing my ass off and reading the entire thing out loud to my husband. Awesome post!!

    1. #ljojlo - Lauren

      Thank you so much Alice! I am glad you liked the post and I thought some people may be confused when they originally see the post and want to check it out. I hope you make it there one day 🙂

  3. I’m NEVER going to Antarctica – gross!
    How DARE those penguins. And the staff? Jerks. Who smiles anyway… Weirdos.
    Such a cute post! :-p

    1. #ljojlo - Lauren

      The penguins were the worst! They would just not get out if your way. And the staff, I know! In such a horrible place and they want to smile at you. Ha ha! Thank you ?

      1. That is just really mean and horrible. I can’t believe that you would still it is funny. Antartica is the penguins home. You just respect them and stop complaining, and enjoy it. Many people love that place and it is in danger. Wow. Shame on all of you who think it is just alright to complain and be disrepectful!

        1. Hi there,
          Thank you for your comment. I actually loved the penguins, they were my absolute favourite and we were very respectful of them. This post is a satirical piece, where we are joking.
          Thanks

  4. How brave of you to have returned and written this honest post. I hope that if you can one day return that the penguins will have learned some basic traffic manners.

  5. Haha loved this! I really want to go to Antarctica one day, but the thought of the rough waters makes me anxious.
    Hopefully I’ll overcome that though.

    1. #ljojlo - Lauren

      We were so lucky as it was so so calm! Hopefully if you do ever go you get the same conditions 🙂

  6. What, 100 people max at any one time? Noooo, I need crowds! Give me the crowds and shared space!

    I must go there one day to see if it can be anymore hatable! ;D

    1. #ljojlo - Lauren

      Great plan! Please do go there and let me know if the place has actually become a nice place to visit 😉

    1. #ljojlo - Lauren

      Certainly an experience we will never forget!! Easily the best we have ever had on our travels! Thank you for allowing people to experience such beauty!

  7. Jeez Antarctica sounds like a massive disappointment. I can tolerate the obnoxious animals, but the polite, smiling cruise staff?! Unbelievable! Hahaha love this post!

    1. #ljojlo - Lauren

      Unbelievable indeed! What ever you do don’t go with Hurtigruten! Their niceness is far to nice and accommodating ha ha

    1. WOW, what an experience that would have been. One I can’t imagine you would have forgotten. I would absolutely love to get back there one day.

    1. #ljojlo - Lauren

      No worries at all. It was all in a bit of fun and I thoroughly enjoyed writing it and visiting. Thanks for your thoughts though.

  8. I can totally relate to your experience. Some years ago I lived and worked in Antarctica and had to endure 3 months of total darkness and 3 months of total daylight, not to mention the midwinter storms and months of isolation.
    Who would want to go back there???
    I would…in a heartbeat…!!!

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