Arctica and Antarctica

Travel to Arctique and Antarctica

The Ultimate Alaskan Journey

Chances are you'll only go once, so you won't see it all. Here Grant Sims, the former editor of Alaska Magazine and author of Leaving Alaska, picks some destinations not to be missed:

Brooks Range: Fly to Bettles, above the Arctic Circle. Much of Alaska is too soggy to hike during the peak travel months of May through September, so the best overland trips combine hiking with rafting or canoeing. The sunny, southern Brooks Range offers gentle terrain and rivers that are tamer than many in other parts of the state.

Kachemak Bay: Hike in the Kenai Mountains, fish in the bay's abundant waters, and birdwatch. The Cook Inlet has the second highest tide in the world. Stay at the beautiful Kachemak Bay Wilderness Lodge, which features the usual stunning views and not-so-usual, delicious gourmet food.

Prince William Sound: The area has entirely recovered from the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster. Spend your days touring the sound in a sailboat, whale watching, hiking through old-growth coast rain forests and sea kayaking in glacial bays and fjords. Rent a trip with Alaska Wilderness Sailing Safari Outfitters.

Northern landscape. Photo by Elena.

Exploring the Last Frontiers

Walk on glaciers, see the penguins – and don't forget a heavy sweater

The earth's polar caps are seemingly forbidding expanses of uncharted, pristine land. But there is a way to drink in their icy beauty without suffering the indignities of dog-sledding or snowshoeing: Take a cruise.

Operators now run tours to both poles, ususally hiring a naturalist to come along to help tourists identify the myriad wildlife the poles have to offer. Days are spent zooming between glaciers on motorized rubber “Zodiac” rafts observing hundreds of species of birds, penguins (south), polar bears (north), whales, dolphins, and seals. Evenings tend to be devoted to lectures.

The weather isn't as bad as you might think, especially at the South Pole. Ron Naveen, editor of  a newsletter about Antarctica and a frequent visitor, says he wears just a heavy sweater most of the summer. Some adventurous travelers have even taken an invigorating, if brief, plunge into the icy waters. But Naveen notes, that the weather is extremely unpredictable and tends to be stormy.

Only specially designed ships make the hourney. Antarctic travel requires extremely heavy boats with ice-breaking capacities. These boats require many tons of motor fuel. This is both expensive and, unfurtunately, bad for the environment.

The empahsis  in polar cruises is more on ruggedness than luxury. The cost, nonetheless, remains high – up to 10,000 for a one-week journey. The growing number of visitors to Antarctica is both a good and a bad thing. Antarctica is an extremely fragile ecosystem. It is very difficult to vist the are with little or no impact. On the other hand, the more people that see the place, the more people that will want to help protect it.