Antarctica Diving Trip Report (Mar 2023)

[beldridg]

How much did it cost all in with flights?

A lot. Buy once, cry once.

It also really depends upon the type of cabin you get, flight class, etc.

You can get an idea of different prices for different itineraries on the Oceanwide Expeditions site.

Regards,

- brett

 

[beldridg]

I still need to look up all the airport codes, I don't recognize most of them.

I went SNA (Orange County) to DFW (Dallas) to EZE (Buenos Aires Int'l) to USH (Ushuaia). On the return I routed through JFK (New York) instead of DFW.

- brett

 

[beldridg]

People unloading the ribs have good taste in music awesome TR definitely going on the bucket list!

For sure. The expedition staff was excellent - safe but fun and definitely knowledgeable.

- brett

 

[beldridg]

Maybe I missed it, but what were the water temperatures?

It was somewhat dependent upon the site visited but varied from 33F to about 36F. Not really any thermoclines.

- brett

 

[Johnoly]

Great write up. As I was reading it I was thinking about all the logistics and backup supplies for a trip this remote. Yep, this is why they call them 'Bucket List Trips".

 

[beldridg]

Great write up. As I was reading it I was thinking about all the logistics and backup supplies for a trip this remote. Yep, this is why they call them 'Bucket List Trips".

Thanks!

And thanks for mentioning the logistics and backup supplies. It can't be overstated.

You are a LOOONG way from anything so if you don't pack something or something breaks and you don't have a spare, then you are generally SOL. There is no dive shop and the boat doesn't really have any dive equipment other than tanks & weights.

I had spares for everything. For example, for my drysuit I had the obvious (spare wrist seals, spare neck seal) but also brought two hoods, spare L/R dry gloves (along with spare rings), spare drysuit inflator (what if that breaks - you are screwed), spare drysuit exhaust, etc.

If I get a chance or if there is enough demand, I can try to publish or document everything I brought. I had lists of lists and pretty much double-checked everything.

Regards,

- brett

 

[mr_v]

Great stuff. You just cost me lots of money, Brett.

Is the trip suitable for non-divers? I am contemplating a '25 excursion.

 

[beldridg]

Great stuff. You just cost me lots of money, Brett.

Is the trip suitable for non-divers? I am contemplating a '25 excursion.

Yes, for sure.

If you subscribe the to the blog, I'll be posting updates for each location we visited. For example, the next one will be about Brown Bluff where I went ashore and saw penguins, seals, etc.

Of the approximately 180 passengers on the Hondius, only about 20 of us were diving.

Regards,

- brett

 

[beldridg]

Great write up. As I was reading it I was thinking about all the logistics and backup supplies for a trip this remote. Yep, this is why they call them 'Bucket List Trips".

I decided to take the time to document my packing list, including spares and backups. This isn't 100% complete, but probably 95+%:

Antarctica Packing List

Note: This is probably more in depth than the “casual reader” probably wants but I wanted to document what I brought to help future Antarctic trip travelers — especially those div…

wreckedinmyrevo.com

I hope it helps people in the future that might be going to Antarctica.

- brett

 

[Rearviewmirror]

Really phenomenal trip write up and what an amazing trip. I've been following Becky's photos for a while and this is definitely a jealousy inducing trip!