I haven't had a chance to get my new collection of Antartica photography properly up on my website yet, but I wanted to hurry up and get this review up for my good friend Himanshu over at BucketListGroupTravel.com. 🙂

Writing this review for Bucket List’s Antarctica Trip is going to be easy, because I've decided I'm just going to answer the questions that I have been asked repeatedly by my friends and family. I have started to notice that, well, when people find out you are going to/have gone to Antarctica, it’s always basically the same five questions they always ask!

So here we go:

If you sit down and do even the smallest amount of research about traveling to Antarctica, the very first thing you are bound to notice—straightaway— is that it isn’t going to be a cheap trip. Sorry, there’s just no way around this.

And while there will always be fancier versions on offer, as well as some cheaper, budget alternatives, I want to caution you on choosing the latter.

Bucket List’s offering falls somewhere in between, but if you go with one of the larger (cheaper) cruise ship-type vessels, the creature comforts might be more to your liking, but it’s going to come at a different kind of cost.

Antarctica has a law stating that no more than 100 tourists from a single ship can disembark onto the mainland at any given time. Therefore, if your budget cruise ship has more than 100 passengers (which it undoubtedly will), this means that not only will you get to leave the ship a maximum of only ONCE per day, but your excursions will also be quite short, as they will have to take all of you out in separate shifts of small groups. Then you’ll be forced to return to the boat and sit all day while everyone else aboard takes their turn at an excursion.

Bleh. 🙄

It was important to me that I get to explore and photograph Antarctica as much as possible, which is probably the #1 reason I chose Bucket List’s extremely small vessel of less than 100 passengers. 89, to be exact. This meant we all went out on our land/ice expeditions together, multiple times a day.

Almost every truly epic trip I’ve ever taken has come at some sort of cost. Trekking on Mount Everest, it was the altitude sickness and the poisonous, undrinkable water. For Antarctica, it’s the unavoidable two-day process of having to cross the most dangerous and turbulent waters in the entire world.

Personally, I found the passage to be much milder than expected. I was picturing something like the harrowing storm scenes in White Squall (with massive waves crashing down on our boat from above on all sides, lol 😝) but this was far from the case, and I was lucky enough to never get sick or even queasy.

However, there were many folks aboard who did get sick— very sick— and I suspect their accounts of the trip would read quite differently! If you already know you have a weak constitution for handling such seafaring journeys, then unfortunately, despite what I said above about the downside of limited land excursions on a larger, cruise ship-like boat, a larger ship might be the better choice for you.

While it has its indisputable perks, a small boat like ours (The Ushuaia) also comes with the downside that you are going to feel the jostling and turbulence of Drake’s Passage much more acutely than if you were traveling on a bigger ship.

The short answer is unequivocally YES!

There have been group trips in the past that I will admit were an odd/forced fit for someone like myself — a guy traveling alone with the express purpose of focusing exclusively on professional photography — but this was NOT one of those times!

This was a group of likeminded adventures, photographers, and nature enthusiast from all over the world, coming together to achieve a lifelong dream of experiencing the world’s most remote and untouched continent. These were mostly educated, affluent, and well-seasoned travelers interested in learning about Antarctica and treating it with respect and reverence it deserves. And despite the huge number of drastically different and unique cultures aboard The Ushuaia (we counted people from a total of 29 different countries!) there was rarely any drama or unpleasantness.

I was delighted by how many other solo travelers there were aboard our ship, and a bit surprised to find there were not only several other gay folks, but even a few other recovering alcoholics as well! The itinerary is definitely designed to be lighthearted and fun, but if you’re looking for a debaucherous “booze cruise,” this isn’t it. (Much to my relief! Lol)

There were daily lectures given during our down time (especially during Drake’s Passage) by entertaining and educated staff members. You don’t have to attend them if you don’t want to, but like I said, this was mostly a group of educated individuals who were passionately interested in such things. 🤓

Picture a group of people who get ecstatic about whale sightings (and we were often surrounded by whales on all sides, so exciting!) and overjoyed about watching penguin families work, play, and swim in their natural habitat. Also—not gonna lie— I was a bit nervous that the boat would be populated mostly by elderly folks who notoriously have the time and money to pursue such things, but I was shocked to discover how many young people there were on board! (Hot nerds, mostly! 😂 My favorite!)

The trip EXCEEDED my expectations, as did the number of other professional photographers on board and their dedication to the craft. This was not a group of obnoxious, wannabe “influencer” types, constantly hogging a view with some insipid v-log attempt, but serious photography professionals with serious photography equipment. You can visit RyanCovingtonStudio.com to see some of what I came away with, as well as tips for making the most out of your photography efforts while in Antarctica…

But I will mention two quick things here:

First, don’t bother bringing your camera drone, they aren’t allowed in Antarctica. But more importantly, for everything ELSE, there was no weight limit whatsoever for luggage aboard The Ushuaia, so pack as much camera gear and lenses as your heart desires! You’ll have a chance to use it ALL, and you’ll be very glad that you brought as much as humanly possible.

One final word of advice— pick your travel dates carefully. We were blessed with ten consecutive days of sunshine and photo-perfect days, but needless to say, this was just rare, serendipitous, luck and not indicative of all expeditions to Antarctica. Still, choosing the right time of year can help you hedge your bets.

I experienced Antarctica in the late spring/early summer, from August 1st-11th.

Sadly, this is the most frequent question I get asked about Antarctica (mostly from my fellow Americans, *sigh), and I always try to answer it as diplomatically as possible:

No, I did not get any good shots of polar bears. Or any shots at all, for that matter, because the only way to do so would have been for me to BRING A POLAR BEAR WITH ME on our boat. 😝

There are no polar bears in Antarctica.

But hell. Like I said, there was no weight limit for luggage on our ship, so maybe next time I’ll come prepared. 😉