Antarctica/Geographic Expeditions

[claassenam]

This is a two part question. First, has anyone been to Antarctica? When/how did you go?

Secondly, has anyone here used the travel company Geographic Expeditions? I've been getting their catalogs for a while now, the company and its numerous tours sound so intriguing to me. Yet, I don't like going on group tours and the customized private tours are always priced way above what I've found elsewhere. I just got some information on their icebreaker expedition cruises to Antarctica, and they are very intriguing.

Just something to add to the "must see" list, I suppose...



Message Edited by claassenam on 04-30-200705:32 PM

[cruisinred]

I've not been to Antarctica but do receive the GeoEx catalogues. Their Asia expeditition are like works of art....really beautiful illustrations. Some of their expeditions to places like Bhutan and Tibet are led by Prof. Thurman (Uma Thurman's dad and a professor of Buddhism at Columbia Univ.) But that's a bit off topic. I did get the Antarctica catalog too, and the expeditions look quite intriguing...

I don't know if its against the rules to mention another travel forum, but on Fodors recently their was a VERY extensive trip report written by someone who took an Antarctica trip with the company GeoEx uses. I can try to find the link for you, if you'd like.

[omegaet]

claassenam....everyyear or so,we discuss a trip to Antarctica...we look at Lindblad Expeditions and their voyages aboard the National Geographic Endeavour and we comment on the possibilities of the adventure! Then we spend an evening with some good friends who made the trip several years ago and ask them to share their spectacular photos taken during their crossings (two days down and two days back) of the Drake Passage (they swear 10'+ waves were breaking across the bow.....we ask them to relive their four days of misery associated with the worst cases of seasickness they have ever experienced (near death is their description) and this coupleis experienced at open water cruising. We ask them if the experience was worth it....they nod, but hasten to emphasize they would never, never consider crossing that body of water again.



We then decide to move Antarctica further down our list of places to visit before we die!