I’ve just returned from my third expedition to the 7th continent, and this time it was an 11 day Antarctica Peninsula itinerary. Most of the itineraries for this trip are fairly similar, but always remember; EVERYTHING is weather dependent!
The 11 Day Antarctica Peninsula is the cheapest option for going, and literally takes you to “just the tip” of the actual continent. But don’t be deterred that you’re not making a trek to the actual South Pole. Because the area around the Antarctica peninsula is absolutely stunning, and where you’ll see the most wildlife!
Yes, you will have to cross the dreaded Drake Passage, but just think of it as part of the adventure! Speaking of which, this trip is A LOT more fun with like-minded travelers! Especially when you’re disconnected for over a week!
BTW I am self-proclaimed to be known as “The Girl Who Wears Gowns in Antarctica” — I have worn full on gowns on every voyage because I was once told that “millennial women are not the target demographic for Antarctic voyages”. This is also why I wear and encourage my Travel Tribe to wear the colorful metallic snowsuits! If you happen to wear either on your trip, please tag me (@mylifesatravelmovie) so I can show some love!
You can also fill it out to get information on all of the upcoming voyages in 2024!
NOTE: This was the itinerary for an 11 Day Antarctica Peninsula Voyage on the Ocean Endeavor!
This particular itinerary listed the trip starting as day 1 in Ushuaia, which is the southernmost town of South America. All it included was a night at a hotel, but to be fair, that works out well since most people arrive a day early anyway. But, this is also a great/easy way to upsell the trip as an 11 day itinerary instead of a 10 day one like the one I did on the Ocean Victory.
Ushuaia is a pretty cool little town in my opinion! If you have extra time you can book a mini-excursion if you’d like, or just explore and enjoy the town!
Day 2 of the 11 Day Antarctica Peninsula itinerary is an absolute whirlwind of emotions! You’ll have instructions on where to drop your bags (we had to leave them at reception the night before) which get brought to the ship, then the expedition team tells you when your boarding time is.
Ours was later in the day, around 4pm, so we did some last minute crab feasting, and also shopping for alcohol.
PRO TIP: You are allowed to (inconspicuously) bring your own alcohol onboard! It’s very cheap in Ushuaia at the Anonimos super markets and it will save you a lot of money!
Usually you board by a ramp but this year they shuttled us there on a catamaran because there wasn’t enough room at the port or something.
Once you’re onboard you will hand over your passport (scary, I know), and get your room key, which is also your ID card that you need to show when you get on and off the ship. Then it’s off to your cabin to start settling in and exploring the ship for a bit!
What the ships are really like post coming soon!
Soon after you’ll hear an announcement to head to your muster station (noted on your ID card) for the safety drill and briefing. Then you get some more briefings, and eventually they let you go and you can go enjoy the views of Ushuaia before they call you for dinner! We started sailing through the Beagle Channel towards the Drake Passage during dinner.
After dinner our group had a onesie party, but if you’re not in a group, most people (well, including our group) congregate at the bar!
Yes, the Drake Passage can be really bad, and yes, a lot of people get sick, including me at least once. But it’s also true that you can get a “Drake Lake” where the passage is relatively smooth. I had the Drake Lake the entire way there on my second voyage!
During the “Drake Shake” however, waves can reach up to 40 feet high! The reason why the Drake Passage is so treacherous is because currents at its latitude meet no resistance from any landmass, which makes it an extremely powerful convergence of seas.
I’ll have a whole post about the Drake Passage coming soon, but in the mean time…
So what do you do for two days while you’re getting rocked around? My Travel Tribe group itinerary had plenty of activities, like a gift-exchange, two truths and a lie, and other fun games to distract ourselves. But many of us were either sleeping, watching movies in bed, attending lectures, eating, or…at the bar.
You will be beyond happy on day 5 of the 11 day Antarctica Peninsula itinerary when you start to see icebergs and islands! And even more excited when you hear the announcement for the first landing!
The first couple of landings are usually in the South Shetland islands. And then you typically get one actual continent landing towards the end, so be sure NOT to miss that one! On this last trip, we were lucky to get two landings on the continent, which is super rare!
There are several additional activities you can pay extra for to do on an 11 day Antarctica peninsula itinerary, but once again, they are all weather permitting. I’ve only been able to do each of them once or twice throughout my three voyages.
Here’s an overview of the additional activities in Antarctica:
In between landings you basically just eat. You have lunch, then dinner, then you can hit up the jacuzzi, sauna, and as you can probably guess…the bar.
It might seem like four days of landings isn’t enough, but trust me it is, and you will be satisfied and exhausted. Which makes the two days back across the Drake Passage a really good time to take that Dramamine and SLEEP!
I feel like days 1 and 11 are cheat days since they’re just logistical, but I still have some tips for you.
On disembarkment day they kick you off the ship early AF! So if you want to try to catch an early flight, go for it! This year they wouldn’t let me off until 8am, and somehow I still made a 9am flight (by literally running and getting Speed Racer as a taxi driver), so I wouldn’t recommend that early, but 11am or later is usually good.
I say this because otherwise you’re going to have a lot of time in Ushuaia which isn’t fun when you’re exhausted and feel like you’re still swaying from the ship. If you take a later flight, I’d suggest booking a cheap hotel or hostel to nap and chill. Otherwise the ship has a storage room you can put your luggage in and go eat or explore!
Please don’t forget! I work extremely hard to produce these free travel guides and posts! If it helped you, or you enjoyed it, PLEASE give it a share on social media, and follow me to keep up with more posts! You’re two minutes of effort truly helps keep my business running! Thank ya!
xx, Alyssa
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Would love to go on an Antarctica group trip! Please keep me in the loop! :)
Yessss! Come with us! Did you fill out the form?
I’m going to save up to (hopefully) join you in 2024! Love your energy, your stories and your blog!
I hope you can come!!
Great information thanks so much Alyssa!
Planning to go in 2024 for my 60th!
Wow. Amazing. So many questions!
How many people in total are on the ship for the drake passage trip? And what happens if someone gets sick? Is there a doctor on board. Do they go back to bring the person to a hospital? This seems so scary. I don’t think anything can prepare you for this so what happens if someone panics?
It's max 200 guests usually and probably 150 crew. There's a doctor and nurses on board, and a clinic! If there is an emergency that requires going back, they will first try to fly a small plane in, and if conditions aren't stable enough then yes, the ship will turn back. I get anxiety of being trapped places so at first I usually get a little panicky, but so much is happening that you soon forget!