Antarctica: What it’s like to holiday at the South Pole

For most of us, the thought of visiting – or even settling – at the South Pole every time the thermometer exceeds 40 degrees may seem extreme, but…others beat us to it. In fact, during the summer months, the distant Antarctic attracts many like-minded people – so many that in the eyes of experts it reminds them of… Athens – since last year alone the South Pole regions attracted no less than 105,000 visitors, recording a spectacular 40% increase from their peak tourist season before the pandemic, the 2019-2020 season.

Antarctica: What it’s like to holiday at the South Pole

The vast majority arrived on cruise ships that departed from South American ports and docked around the peninsula’s most popular spots – Neko Harbour, Whalers Bay and Cuverville Island inhabited by Jeddoo penguins – while specially designed landing strips brought scores of visitors from around the world to experience the wild beauty of the icy continent.

The… space Echo Camp

Fortunately, those who want to avoid the… crowds can enjoy an exclusive holiday in the area, as long as they dig a little deeper into their pockets. White Dessert’s luxurious Echo Camp with its striking futuristic aesthetic consists of just six ellipsoidal ‘sky pods’ and a central unit with a lounge, restaurant and bathrooms for delightfully hot showers on the icy ground, with the overall design drawing inspiration from a depiction of the near-space landscape seen from above by great astronauts such as Buzz Aldrin.

Atka Bay is home to one of the largest colonies of emperor penguins on the planet. Photo.
So Echo takes the form of an intergalactic station with clean lines, high-end furnishings, cashmere blankets and a $320,000 sculpture by Anthony James. But it’s the floor-to-ceiling windows of the bedrooms that enchant the guest, as the granite mountain peaks against the deep blue horizon are as breathtaking as they break the pulsating monotony.

Activities around the White Desert camp bring the 12 VIP guests closer to the extreme elements of the landscape. Away from the massive groups of 200, they include rock climbing and hiking in nearby nunatak mountains, endurance skiing trips and expert-led excursions into nearly inaccessible valleys. Depending on weather conditions (in this remote corner of the globe, nature always has the upper hand), White Desert’s Basler BT-67 planes, equipped with special skis, take guests on day trips to even more remote and pristine locations. Of extreme interest are excursions to Atka Bay, home to one of the largest colonies of emperor penguins on the planet, and (for an additional fee) expeditions to the rarely visited Geographic South Pole that include an overnight stay at Dixie’s Camp, an extremely remote base very close to the International Space Station!

Flights are operated by the company’s privately chartered aircraft from Cape Town and take approximately 5 hours. As for the budget – in a corner of the globe where transportation costs make a can of soda cost $36 – it’s about what you’d expect. A week at Echo is $71,500 per person – a group of 12 can book the entire camp for $780,000 – and includes everything. And when we say everything, we mean true fine dining, champagne picnics on ice, plenty of therapeutic massage sessions, and of course all of the above-mentioned tours, which aren’t just limited to Penguin Island.

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