Going somewhere truly unusual is becoming increasingly difficult as more and more destinations are opening their doors for business. But I think it’s safe to say that the Antarctic will probably never emerge as a mainstream holiday spot!
However, according to igougo the French Antarctic islands allow a small dribble of tourists each year and might be your best opportunity of getting a flavour of Antarctic life.
Officially owned by several countries the islands have no airports and are arrived at by voyage on a scientific ship, which departs from Reunion Island four times a year. The ship only accepts 14 visitors on each trip with the rest of the ships passengers made up of scientists, support personnel and relatives of those who have family members living on the islands. It’s safe to say that you’re not going to get a luxury cruise but what you do get is the opportunity to see locations rarely visited by human beings and which harbour a rich diversity of wildlife that includes various species of penguin, seals, whales, orca, albatross and breathtaking scenery to boot.
From beginning to end the round trip totals 29 days and is broken up by hops from Reunion to Crozet onto Kerguelen, Saint Paul (which is uninhabited), Amsterdam and then back to Reunion.
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