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Your Holiday Tours in Polar Regions

Antarctic Cruises are very popular!

By: Smart Guide to World Cruise Ship

Hurtigruten (Norwegian Coastal Express) Ship - MS Nordkapp in Paradise Bay, Antarctica by PhilWolpe (Wikimedia)

The demand of people taking Antarctic cruises are increasing every year, they all go as a part of an organized expeditionary cruise. The Antarctica voyages are very popular, although Antarctica is not an easy place to get to, it is the coldest, windiest, and driest place on earth.

Antarctica Cruises - Emperor penguin by Michael Van Woert (Wikimedia) Most visitors to Antarctica arrive by ship, from the closest port, Ushuaia, in the province of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.

The seventh continent - Antarctica is the world's largest wilderness, its vast ice-covered expanses may seem inhospitable, but during the brief austral summer is the home to some of the most amazing wildlife spectacles on earth.

Millions of penguins and sea birds come here to raise their young, five species of seal crowd the beaches and ice floes,whales and dolphins thrive on the rich plankton and marine life below the surface.

Antarctic cruises are frequently guided by experts who are a mixture of seasoned seafarers, and ice or wildlife experts.

The International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators requires its members to pledge to send no more than 100 persons ashore at any one time.

Antarctica Cruises - Booth and Mount Scott, Antartica by Stan Shebs (Wikimedia) The Antarctica cruises and tourist season is four months long from November to February, there is almost constant daylight during this season, watching the wildlife and scenery is an around-the-clock opportunity. The rest of the year is dark or nearly dark and very cold, the temperature range from 20?F to 50?F (-6?C to +10?C).

Each month of the Antarctica cruises season has its own attractions:

The Larsen Ice Shelf in Antarctica viewed from NASA DC-8 by Wikimedia November & Early December is late spring / early summer, Courting season for penguins and seabirds are courting and mating. Elephant and fur seals establish their breeding territories.

Mid-December and January is Mid Summer feature hatching penguins and baby chicks, along with warmer temperatures and up to 20 hours of daylight each day.

February and March is late summer, but whale sightings are at their best and penguin chicks start to fledge. More fur seals appear in the Antarctic Peninsula.

Antartica Cruises - The blue ice covering Lake Fryxell by Joe Mastroianni National Science Foundation (Wikimedia) There is also less ice in the late summer that allow ships to explore further south, and the ships are not as booked up as earlier in the season.

Main attraction places of Antarctica: Whalers Bay on Deception Island, Half Moon Island, Yankee Harbor, Cuverville Island, Neko Harbor, Almirante Brown in Paradise Harbor, Petermann Island, Port Lockroy, Wilhelmina Bay, Antarctic Sound, Brown Bluff,Snow Hill Island and more.

Getting to Antarctica from Ushuaia is as much a part of the experience as exploring it.The body of water that separates Antarctica from South America is the Drake Passage.

Antarctic cruises have always been about exciting and breathtaking possibilities!

Source Article: Visit http://www.smart-guide-to-world-cruise-ship.com/antarctic-cruises.html for making the best of your Antarctic Cruise vacation : )

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About The Author:
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