| The Drake Passage is the stretch of water you | | | | from Sydney or Melbourne in Australia on a |
| cross when going by boat from the southern tip | | | | Qantas Boeing 747-400. |
| of South America at Cape Horn to the South | | | | The whole trip lasts about 12 hours in total and |
| Shetland islands of Antarctica and it has a | | | | you will spend four hours over the Antarctic. The |
| reputation as one of the most turbulent seas in | | | | visibility is good because the captain plans the |
| the world. | | | | route according to weather reports received on |
| The crossing has earned the nickname of "the | | | | the morning of the flight and the scenery is |
| Drake rock and roll" with Antarctica travelers for | | | | magnificent. |
| the simple reason that when the weather is bad | | | | There are talks by Antarctica experts on board |
| you will be doing a lot of rocking and rolling on the | | | | and videos screened to give the passengers an |
| waves. Some passengers have reported cruise | | | | informative overview of the white continent. A |
| ships canting over at angles of more than 50 | | | | camera mounted in the cockpit gives passengers |
| degrees on their trip across the passage. | | | | an unobstructed view of what the pilot is seeing |
| It does happen that the Drake Passage is calm | | | | at all times. |
| and then the crossing is a pleasure but the | | | | Short Stay Flights |
| chances of that happening on both the outward | | | | If a flyover is not enough for you and you want |
| and return journey are reasonably slim so if you | | | | to feel the ice under your feet and experience |
| are using a cruise boat to get to Antarctica be | | | | the Antarctic cold first hand then a short stay |
| prepared for some turbulence. But there is an | | | | flight will be the answer for you. |
| alternative... | | | | These depart from Punta Arenas in Chile and the |
| You can fly to Antarctica and avoid the dreaded | | | | airline makes use of light aircraft like the |
| crossing altogether. There are two options | | | | Beechcraft King Air which carries ten passengers |
| available to you at the moment for Antarctica | | | | and the Dash-7 with a carrying capacity of 44. |
| flights. | | | | Decide between a full day trip and spending a |
| Sightseeing Flyovers | | | | night and two days in Antarctica landing at the |
| The first one doesn't land and you get to do a | | | | Frei Base airport after flying for approximately |
| sightseeing flyover of the Antarctic continent at | | | | three and a half hours. |
| 10 000 feet above sea level. The flight departs | | | | |