How Bad is The Drake Passage? Tips from Someone Who’s Crossed 6 Times

If you’re thinking of crossing off your bucketlist trip to Antarctica, you’re probably wondering just how bad it is to also cross the infamous Drake Passage. As of now, I have crossed the Drake Passage to and from Antarctica six times, so let me go ahead and give you an idea and some tips!

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What is the Drake Passage?

The Drake Passage is the area of sea that separates the southernmost tip of South America with Antarctica. It’s the shortest distance to Antarctica from any other land mass, and where the most touristic trips cross in order to get there.

Why are People Afraid of it?

In short, the Drake Passage is infamous for having insanely large swells that cause ships to rock side to side constantly, and quite drastically. It’s pretty terrifying to watch, and at some points it also feels very scary.

From the feedback that I’ve heard, most people are afraid of being constantly sea sick as opposed to the ship sinking or something.

How Dangerous is Crossing the Drake Passage?

In my opinion, the most dangerous thing about Crossing the Drake Passage is the liklihood of falling and getting injured, or something falling and hitting you and then getting injured.

On my most recent crossing of the Drake Passage, we had one girl fall out of a chair at dinner, and another fall in the shower. I also was awoken by one of my cabin chairs flying into the side of the bed and hitting my leg at the edge of it.

Sadly I have to disclose that there was a voyage returning at the same time as us that hit a “rougue wave” and one person actually did die from it. No one is completely positive of the exact cause, but it is thought that the massive wave broke their cabin window (along with several others) causing several things to hit the passenger, and perhaps even causing them to slam into objects as well. Our deepest condolences are with them, their family, and the other guests and crew of the ship.

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How Many Days Does it Take to Cross the Drake Passage?

If you’re lucky, you will only have around two days of crossing the Drake Passage (there and back). During those two days there are usually lectures onboard, but most people choose to take the drowsy seasickness medication and attempt sleeping through it.

Our MyLifesATravelTribe Group Trips to Antarctica always include activities and support to keep everyone calm, entertained, and well during these intense days at sea!

What is the Drake Shake?

The term “Drake Shake” refers to when the Drake Passage is rough. I didn’t even know there was another option until my second expedition! You should always be prepared for a Drake Shake, but be sure to manifest the Drake Lake!

What is the Drake Lake?

As you can probably guess, the “Drake Lake” refers to when the passage is calm. This is what I expereinced the whole two days of my second expedition, and I was actually shocked when I saw land at the end of the day because I was like “Wait…when is the Drake Passage??”

Again, be sure to manifest the “Drake Lake” as much as possible! Although spoiler alert: it’s not that common!

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How High do the Waves Get?

According to the Expedition Teams on all of my voyages, the highest waves I have personally encountered were around 30-40 feet. 

I remember one time being in the Bridge (where the Captain and crew are) and seeing the wall of water smash down on the bow of the boat, and thinking we were for sure going to sink.

Another time I had waves splashing against my balcony window, and my cabin was on the 7th floor of the ship.

Will You Get Sick on the Drake Passage?

I have gotten sick at least once during each of my voyages, but usually because I didn’t take the seasickness meds in time, or I took ones that didn’t work.

Once I took the medicine though I was fine, albeit annoyingly drowsy, however that works out well if you want to try to sleep through it.

Just FYI there are doctors onboard who provide both seasickness prevention meds and also meds if you become sick. In general though, don’t worry too much about it…everyone usually gets sick at some point, and it always passes, and they always say seeing Antarctica was worth it!

How to Avoid Getting Sick

Don’t try to be a badass and not take anything for seasickness prevention. I attempted this on my first voyage and immediately started puking once we hit the Drake.

If you don’t like the idea of taking meds or being drowsy, you can attempt seasickness bands. They’ve worked for some of my guests, but I personally wouldn’t rely solely on them.

Scopamine Patches are those little dots people put behind their ears, and they usually work for me. You need to make sure they are prescription strength with the active ingredient of scopamine though! You can order those online here if you’d like.

A few people did report side effecs of the patch though, like dry mouth and blurred vision. Also DO NOT touch your eyes after touching it!

Dramamine and any other type of pill like it is probably my top recommendation to be absolutely sure you don’t get seasick. I don’t like taking them because they make me sleepy, but again, unless you’re hosting a group of dozens of people like I am, it’s totally fine to just sleep as much as possible!

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How do You Attend Meals and Use the Bathroom During the Drake Passage?

Attempting to do anything during the Drake Passage is extremely entertaining to watch, but not always entertaining to feel.

At meals, you’re constantly catching silverware or glasses from sliding off the table, and it doesn’t exactly make you have an appetite. Like I said earlier, I’ve witnessed one of my guests legitimately falling out of her chair and onto the floor!

The reason why her chair didn’t fall over, is because the dining room chairs are legitimately chained down to the floor.

Using the bathroom is also difficult. Most people don’t even attempt to shower, including me. Not only is it dangerous, but imagine holding on to a railing while the water sprays back and forth and all over the place! Definitely hold on, including when you’re on the toilet!

Also! Beware of bathroom doors slamming shut! Try to remember to shut the door in case a swell hits and it slams on your hand or something!

Is There a Time of Year You Can Avoid the Drake Passage?

Nope. The weather in and near Antarctica is highly unpredictable. We had a guest watching the wave reports for weeks thinking the swells were going to be small, and they still changed last minute to twice the size.

My tip is to not even attempt looking at the weather or swell forecasts, because it will only freak you out. Just make sure you have your seasickness prevention meds ready, that you take them BEFORE you get on the boat and every 12 hours, and that you remember to HOLD ON!

What is there to do During the Drake Passage?

You’ve probably done some math and realized that the Drake Passage takes up about four of your days on the Antarctica expedition. So you’re probably thinking WTF are you supposed to do while getting rocked around at sea?

As I mentioned earlier, the expedition team offers daily lectures and some activities. They even attempted yoga classes on my last voyage, which was a true test of balance!

Most people usually just sleep or watch movies/lectures on their TVs in their cabins. You re-emerge for meals, then usually go right back to sleep.

Then there’s my Travel Tribe…who can usually be found at the bar most of the day and night, or in the sauna, or on the dance floor. Because why not party your way through the Drake Passage?

Is There Any Other Way to Get to Antarctica?

Yup, if you have a spare $30k or so, you can opt to fly over the Drake Passage instead of sail through it! But in my opinion, not only is sailing the Drake Passage something that’s part of the overall expedition experience, but also only four days that you likely won’t even think was so bad a week later.

What Are the Chances of the Ship Sinking?

The chances of one of the Antarctica expedition ships sinking on the Drake Passage is extremely slim. I’ve personally never heard of it. These ships were built purposely to withstand treacherous waters like the Drake, and so far they’ve proven to do so.

Has Anyone Ever Died on the Drake Passage?

Sadly, the first time I heard about someone dying on the Drake Passage was this last year, and it happened on a ship that was sailing at the same time as ours.

The incident is said to have happened by a “rogue wave” (which “people” are saying is a random wave much bigger than the others) but it is unclear if the passenger was in one of the rooms that was hit by the wave. The same ship also was returning early across the Drake Passage after one of their zodiacs exploded and broke someone’s leg, which required surgery.

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xx, Alyssa