24 Oct Benefits of an Antarctic Fly – Cruise voyage
Benefits of an Antarctic Fly – Cruise voyage
Alex Burridge – Antarctica Travel Centre
BAe 146-200 Avro RJ85/100 on approach to King Georgie Island – South Shetland Islands Antarctica
Fly-Cruise means you avoid at least one, and often both, Drake Passage crossings.
You spend all of your time in and around the South Shetlands and the Antarctica Peninsula.
You get to fly into and out of King George Island – on the South Shetland Islands
You certainly can spend less days getting to and from Antarctica if time is a factor.
Several ships offer Fly-Cruise options for all or part of their season.
Magellan Explorer and Ocean Nova exclusively offer Fly-Cruise and due to ship size only require one plane to get all guests too and from the ship. Larger ships require two planes/flights.
Explorers House
The excitement builds as you reach King George Island
EXPLORERS HOUSE
Antarctica 21 who operate these ships have transformed an old wool warehouse to a beautiful space for guests to enjoy whilst in Punta Arenas.
There are several benefits to having this space, you can relax with a cup of coffee, review a wonderful collection of Antarctic books, dine, or get to know your travel companions as excitement over your upcoming adventure builds. Here, you can also meet our expert team and prepare for your expedition by attending briefings, reviewing checklists, trying on expedition gear, etc.
Whilst it’s not where you stay and its not hoped you’ll spend ‘extra time here’ – it is particularly useful for when there are weather related delays. Everyone can gather, relax, and keep informed; given the weather can change quite quickly having a comfortable place for everyone to gather makes a lot of sense: one moment you’re on stand-by the next it’s off to the airport and King George Island.
A short time after arriving at King George Island you’ll be sailing on-board your chosen ship in this case the Magellan Explorer
Approach to South Shetland Islands
With all Fly-Cruise cruises there is a risk that delays may occur due to poor weather either in Punta Arenas or on King George Island due to poor visibility.
That said a very high percentage of voyages operate as scheduled.
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