Antarctica/Excursions/tips

[deise17311]

Anyone back from the Antarctica trip that can share any great excursions or insight for our upcoming trip...while it is still some time off, I want to get feedback from those that just returned...thanks !!!

[r&rd]

You will absolutely love this amazing journey.

We did a mix of private and ship sponsored shore excursions. My absolute favorites were Volunteer Point in the Faulklands and Punto Tombo in Puerto Madryn. I was hesitant at first to book either of these due to the fact that both are 2-2 1/2 hours from port. Volunteer Point is 2 hours off road! But the penguins were incredible. I am so happy we made the decisions to take those tours - you can never see enough penguins! The habitats are vastly different.

In Montevideo we arranged a private tour through Tours by Locals that was both a city tour and a wine tour. We didn't want to have to choose between the two with the ship excursions. The winery was lovely and we were glad we only did the wine tasting and not the lunch since they brought us platters of meats, cheeses and breads to have with the wines.

In Ushuaia we did the park tour and catamaran. We saw a lot of seals and birds. Nothing special but well worth getting off the ship after so many days at sea.

We did the 3 day Iguazu Falls tour before the sailing which was well worth it. The falls are spectacular.

At the end of the cruise we opted for a private tour of Buenos Aires, again with Tours by Locals. We were picked up at the ship, given a lovely 8 hour tour and then dropped off at the airport. Others from the ship did the ship bus tour with lunch at an estancia and then to the airport. It just depends on what you want to see or do.

Everything was well organized, and certainly well worth it! Enjoy your trip!
Renee

[deise17311]

Originally Posted by r&rd

You will absolutely love this amazing journey.

We did a mix of private and ship sponsored shore excursions. My absolute favorites were Volunteer Point in the Faulklands and Punto Tombo in Puerto Madryn. I was hesitant at first to book either of these due to the fact that both are 2-2 1/2 hours from port. Volunteer Point is 2 hours off road! But the penguins were incredible. I am so happy we made the decisions to take those tours - you can never see enough penguins! The habitats are vastly different.

In Montevideo we arranged a private tour through Tours by Locals that was both a city tour and a wine tour. We didn't want to have to choose between the two with the ship excursions. The winery was lovely and we were glad we only did the wine tasting and not the lunch since they brought us platters of meats, cheeses and breads to have with the wines.

In Ushuaia we did the park tour and catamaran. We saw a lot of seals and birds. Nothing special but well worth getting off the ship after so many days at sea.

We did the 3 day Iguazu Falls tour before the sailing which was well worth it. The falls are spectacular.

At the end of the cruise we opted for a private tour of Buenos Aires, again with Tours by Locals. We were picked up at the ship, given a lovely 8 hour tour and then dropped off at the airport. Others from the ship did the ship bus tour with lunch at an estancia and then to the airport. It just depends on what you want to see or do.

Everything was well organized, and certainly well worth it! Enjoy your trip!
Renee

Renee,

Thank you so much for your response...I will look into the tour company and certainly will do the penguins!!

We are really excited!!

Dwight