Hurtigruten is offering exploration sailings with the option to pitch tents and camp overnight on the White Continent. Guests opting for this adventure get a glimpse of how it might have been for explorers such as Roald Amundsen and Earnest Shackleton. The package is priced at approximately $500 per person.
The company is also offering special pricing for its Jan. 20 Weddell Sea sailing and four Classic Expedition departures – upwards of 25 percent off regular fares. This is a savings of $4,000 to $9,000 per couple.
Accompanied by two experienced expedition guides for every 15 participants, guests will participate in the set up of the two-person tents and will be supplied with all cold-weather needs. The guides will be doing activities dependent on the situations – short walks, talks, listening to the polar sounds, offering hot drinks and a cold drink toast, wake-up calls for the White Continent sunrise and more. Developed in collaboration with the Norwegian Polar Institute, the company abides by IAATO guidelines – all meals are still on board the MS Fram. Although offered on every departure, the final decision regarding which sailings as well as locations of the camping option are determined by weather and land conditions.
Hurtigruten offers five different Antarctica itineraries aboard the well-designed expedition ship, MS Fram, with starting prices from $5,327 to $10,321:
- 10-day “Classic Expedition” focuses solely on Antarctica, sailing through the Drake Passage to landings guests can visit the remote landscape and wildlife of The White Continent;
- 13-day “Polar Circle Expedition,” similar to the 10-day experience, spends its extra days traveling as far south as the Antarctic Circle;
- 13-day “Weddell Sea Expedition” follows the path forged by British Captain James Weddell, who reached 74 degrees latitude in 1823 - a first for explorations;
- 17-day “Christmas Expedition” celebrates the season with traditional carols, festive meals, Santa Claus visits and a New Year's gala and includes the Falklands and South Georgia;
- 19-day “In the Realm of the Great Explorers” explores the areas visited by Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, and takes in the sub-Arctic eco-system of the Falkland Islands, and South Georgia.
For more information, visit www.hurtigruten.us.