Welcome to the Sunshine Travelers podcast. Today we're diving into one of the most awe -inspiring destinations on Earth, Antarctica. Known as the final frontier for explorers, this icy wonderland offers a truly unparalleled experience. Imagine standing amidst towering glaciers, spotting playful penguins and majestic whales, and witnessing the raw, untouched beauty of nature in its purest form. An Antarctic cruise isn't just a trip. It's an adventure of a lifetime. In this episode, we'll share why a journey to the seventh continent should be at the top of your bucket list, what makes it so magical, and how you can make this dream destination a reality. Get ready to discover the allure of Antarctica, where every moment is nothing short of extraordinary. I'm Scott. And I'm Melissa.
I'm Melissa. And we're the Sunshine Travelers.
we're the Sunshine Travelers. Our passion is travel and sharing our experiences with those who enjoy it as much as we do, or those who want to learn more about travel, or even those who just want to live vicariously through our travel stories. No matter where you follow along that journey, get ready to hear about our first -hand experiences as we visit some of the most interesting and amazing places on Earth.
In February of 2026, Melissa and I are leading a group trip on Atlas Ocean Voyages to Antarctica, the seventh continent. This may have never made it to your bucket list for some of you, but for me, it started out as being part of a bucket list item to visit all seven continents. However, today you will hear from a guest whom we interviewed back in episode 10 about her experience taking a cruise to this majestic place. that so few have had the opportunity to explore. Don't worry, you don't have to be a hardened explorer to visit Antarctica, but it will definitely awaken your sense of adventure. Join us as we hear firsthand from someone who has taken this trip and recounts it as being like nothing else on the face of the earth. Well, today we have the pleasure of speaking with a close friend of ours about her trip to Antarctica. This is on our bucket list of places to go, and we want to learn more from someone that has actually done this trip. Please join me in welcoming to the show our dear friend, Kathy Sandlin. Hi, Scott. Kathy and her husband, David, used to live across the street from Melissa and I. Well, I think one of the things that really interested us in you and David was all of your travel stories, because you guys are absolutely world travelers.
We're working on the Century Club. Have you heard of the Century Club?
No, please, please.
It's spending time in 100 different countries in the world.
world. Oh, my gosh. Melissa's riding over there. She's adding more things to our bucket list.
my gosh.
So David used to do a lot of traveling with his company. And I started out my first career as a flight attendant. I did a lot of traveling when we were young. I got probably a third of my 100 countries done when I was flying.
done when I was flying. And then afterwards, we've gone a lot of places. And so Antarctica came because it's the seventh continent. And it hadn't been. to the seventh continent and if you're going to be part of the century club you have to have all seven continents and actually madagascar is the eighth so well there's yet another thing on my bucket list i do already have the seven continents on my bucket list but i i did not have this century club so one of my friends star introduced me to it and i think i'm about
there's yet another thing on my bucket list i do already have the seven continents on my bucket list but i i did not have this century club so one
of my friends star introduced me to it and i think i'm about 13 countries away.
Oh, wow. So we're getting Belize and Iceland this year.
getting Belize and Iceland this year. So and Namibia. So I got three coming this year.
So we were going to ask you if it would be easier for you to name the places that you haven't been or the ones you have. So I'm guessing haven't been. So out of, so you said the three for this year. So then what do you think your next, what, 10, I guess, would you have the next 10 to make that Century Club be then?
I guess, would
Well, we haven't been to any of the Scandinavians. David's been to Norway, but we haven't been to Finland or Sweden. We're going to do a tour, a cruising tour, a National Geographic thing. It goes to all of them. It starts, I think, in Copenhagen and goes up and ends up in St. Petersburg. Well, we won't go to St. Petersburg, obviously.
So then you could check off. Yeah,
it ends somewhere else now. They stopped going to Russia. So I don't remember where it ends off. And that's going to be a country if we don't get into better. That was a place I wanted to go. I've never been to Russia.
We'll all keep our fingers crossed that one day that government will fall and we'll all be able to travel back inside those borders again.
all keep
that one day that
government will fall and we'll all be able to travel back inside those borders again.
So let's talk a little bit about Antarctica. So you mentioned you knew that you needed, so that was your seventh continent and to do the Century Club. So tell us a little bit about when you went and then why at that particular time, why did you choose Antarctica then?
Well, we went in January, and it's because it's summer down there. And you don't want to be there in the winter. It's brutal in the winter, the wind and everything else. And I was prepared for the passage between Ushuaia, which is in Argentina, and the peninsula of Antarctica to be a brutal crossing. The Drake Passage.
Drake Passage.
That is the Drake Passage. And to our surprise, we went to bed that night. Right as we were leaving Ushuaia, we left about 8 .39 o 'clock. We were exhausted. We climbed into bed. The next morning we woke up, David got up and he threw the drapes open and the water was like a mirror. It was glass. It was so calm. And there were birds flying everywhere. And we putted along to the peninsula in water like that. And it was like the captain had been doing those crossings for 25 years. And he said he had never done a crossing like that. And then when we went back from the peninsula back to, we went toward the Cape Horn and then went over to Yeshuaia. And it was only about 10 feet. The water was only about 10 foot waves, 10 to 15 feet that night. We didn't roll out of the bed or anything. I mean, it just, we had unbelievable weather.
Wow. Because, yeah, I was going to say people that I've heard that. Oh,
yeah, I
it's brutal.
It's brutal. I was prepared for it. I had my Ambien and I had some straps that I could strap myself in the bed.
Yes, because that's, wow, that's intense.
It was. It was just incredible. We just had a glorious, glorious trip. So,
Kathy, was this part of another trip that you were doing, or this was specifically to go down to Antarctica? No,
it was specifically you fly from Atlanta to Buenos Aires, and then you spend a day and a night in Buenos Aires, and then the next morning. You get up and they have transportation, air transportation from the, it's part of the tour, excuse me, from the Buenos Aires airport to Ushuaia.
Buenos Aires airport to Ushuaia. And then you get to Ushuaia probably about 10, 1030 in the morning and they have a tour all set up where you go into the national park and, you know, you spend the day doing all kinds of things. they're getting the boat ready because the boat has just gotten in. Because the airplane that you flew in is going to load up with the people that have come back. So they do back -to -back cruises. And we really didn't see anybody that was there because they had come in the night before.
really didn't see anybody that was there because they had come in the night before. So we boarded, we ate dinner on a restaurant, on a boat, and then... We boarded the ship around eight o 'clock at night and had an ICAP and went to bed. We did this in 2017, January 6th through the 19th of 2017. And we chose National Geographic because at that time they were the only tour that was using an icebreaker. And we wanted that experience of going into the ice, cutting into the ice. There were other ships there, but they weren't icebreakers. Now there's a whole bunch of companies that go down there and they've all got icebreakers. Everybody's got a new ship.
I tend to think Titanic when you talk about going through the ice, but.
Well, it's this very, very reinforced. And it's an ice shelf. It's actually water on the bottom. So you're just, it's a flat sheet of ice that's an ice shelf and the boat just goes into it. a little ways and then they put the game plate down and you walk out on the ice and it's it's really cool it's another world and antarctica is like being on a different world it really is that is awesome so tell us a little bit about so that was your first day your first night you get on the ship go to bed so tell us a little bit about and then how many days what how many days was the cruise overall
is awesome so tell us a little bit about so that was your first day your first night you get on the ship go to bed so tell us a little bit about and then how many days what
get on the ship go
how many days was the cruise overall
And we flew down. So, so it was the eighth to,
I think it was 10. It seems like it was 10 days, but it might've been, it might've been nine days. It seems like we came back on the 19th. So we docked on the 18th because we got on, we got on the airplane the morning and then the 19th flew back to Buenos Aires and then got on an airplane that night and flew back.
Okay.
So I would say that it's. It's nine or 10 days. Nine or 10 days.
Nine or 10 days. Okay. So tell us what a typical day then would have been like, or maybe some of the biggest highlight days for you. Every day was a highlight day.
Every day was a highlight day. Every day was something different. There were three types of penguins down there. There were Gentoo penguins were the first ones that we saw. We saw leopard crabs. I mean, leopard seals. eating crabs, eating penguins. We saw, oh, we saw emperor penguins. We saw the Gentoos. We saw Adeli penguins. We saw orca, a big pod of orca whales that were, they were hitting an iceberg. There were penguins sitting on an iceberg and they would, there would be two on one side and two on the other. And they would hit, the ones on one side would hit the iceberg and the penguins would start sliding down to the other side. Oh, wow. And then those on the other side would hit it and eventually they slid off the iceberg and they were eaten. It was terrible. Oh,
gosh. Nature at its best.
That's the life down there. It sure is. And then every day there was open. A cafeteria style, like a fix -it -yourself lunch that you could just walk around and pick out from the table this thing,
thing, whatever you wanted to eat for lunch. And that was there every day. And then dinner would be a seated at a table type dinner. Very, very good food. They did a great job with that. And then there was open bar. And then there was some kind of program every night, some different program. We had naturalists on board that had specialties. And we visited Port Lockroy is not working anymore, but they had everything there that you could go in and see how they lived there in the 1950s in this station. Wow. And you can imagine,
you can imagine, yeah, in the 50s, just getting to a place as remote. I just can't,
I can't imagine the brutal cold. It's just, it was cold and it was summertime. It was the middle of the summer. It was like July. You didn't have the technology that you have today to keep warm and stuff like that.
the technology that you have today to keep warm and stuff like that. I can't imagine.
No, I can't either. But I saw it and it's amazing. You know, you get the history, you get the flora and fauna, you get what's happening to it. You get the ecological point of it. It's melting so fast. And the difference between the North Pole and the South Pole is that the North Pole is water that's surrounded by land. So it'll never change. I mean, the fact that there's not a whole lot of ice at the North Pole anymore, it comes in the wintertime, but it melts, is different from the South Pole. The South Pole is land that is surrounded by water. And right now there's 60 feet or more of ice. You know, that's just 60 feet is a lot, but it's melting from underneath.
So we were chatting a little bit earlier. You mentioned a couple of, so you went out in the Zodiacs to get obviously closer to some things. You did some kayaking. You did a polar plunge. So tell us a little bit about those like daily excursion type things. They had something,
They had something, we were moving along and we were moving along every day. And because of our crossing being as fast as it was. So every day we were going to a new place in the peninsula. So we would see something new. You just didn't hang around in the same place. Kind of like you did in the Galapagos. You move from place to place.
So some days we would be in a place where the kayaking was the thing to do.
days we would be in a place where the kayaking was the thing to do. So we would spend the morning or the afternoon kayaking. The diver, somebody, his name was Paul. And he dove every day. under in in Antarctica and took movies and showed them that night and we saw all of the different kinds of animals and that were living in the Antarctic waters because it was 30 .4 degrees the water was it's cold wow and but the polar plunge was the next to the last day and So the days in between, we were just one day we went to Port Lockroy. One day we did kayaking. Three days we went to different rookeries for the penguins. And we saw different types of penguins in different places where they live one day. And we'd do something in the morning and then we'd do something in the afternoon. But they're moving all the time. While we're eating lunch, they're moving. And so we got... a pretty good idea of what the whole peninsula will look like.
So again, very similar to what we talked about for the Galapagos too, right? You're doing something and then they're moving on. And so it's a great way, obviously for Antarctica, it's the only way, but to see so much, to cover so much ground too.
cover so much ground too. It's incredible. And one day we, because we were on an icebreaker and the hull is reinforced steel. There's lots of ice shelves all over the coastline of Antarctica. Some of the places we were actually on the land. But most of the places that we were going to, if we weren't climbing rocks or being on the land, we were on an ice shelf. And he took the boat and he actually rammed into the ice shelf and then put the gangplank down. And we had all of our... crazy warm gear on and we're out on this ice shelf and it's really cold. But we walked around and it was really cool. It was very interesting.
Yeah, we're going to want to ask you more about that in just a little bit about what do you pack for a trip to Antarctica?
And so how long would you stay out? I mean, how long can you endure that even with all the gear on?
Probably, probably like the... The excursions were about four hours, four hours in the morning and four hours in the afternoon.
Okay. Wow. That's long then. Yeah.
Yeah. I mean, it just depended on where we were because if you were going in the Zodiac, you were in the Galabagos, you're going someplace and you're swimming. Or hiking. Or hiking. And in Antarctica, it's mostly hiking. One time we did the kayaking and the Zodiac would go from the ship to the land or to the ice shelf. And then we would walk.
And sometimes we would do tours out on the Zodiac as well for various reasons, like maybe the snorkeling conditions weren't good that day. You know, or we were in a place where we couldn't go on land because there was a few places that people weren't allowed to go on land. So we would just go out on the Zodiac and they would take us on a tour to see things from the Zodiac.
And that's pretty much what we were doing when we were seeing the penguins. Because they were on land and they knew where the penguin rookies were. One penguin rookery had north of 40 ,000. penguins on it i mean it was just all up and down the hill it's a lot of penguins not 40 000 well it's nesting it's it's nesting season and actually most of the eggs had hatched so there were just little babies but they were at different places in their lifespan you know the babies were some of them were you know this big and some of them were that big and some of them were that big
a lot of penguins not 40 000 well
it's nesting it's it's nesting season and actually most of the eggs had hatched so there were just little babies but they were at different places in their lifespan you know the babies were some of them were you know this big and some of them were that big and some of them were that big Yeah, it was really very interesting. What would you say is the most memorable part of that trip that you took?
would you say is the most memorable part of that trip that you took?
Oh, my goodness. There were so many things. Probably when we were cruising through the Luminaire Channel. They do it from about 3 .30 in the afternoon. We start at the beginning of it. And it's all the way through the sunset and the colors and it's just snow everywhere, ice everywhere. And the water was so still and it was like mirrors. Everything was just mirrored in the water and it was beautiful. And every once in a while, a bird would fly by or there would be penguins on an ice floe or something. And that was really beautiful. That whole afternoon and evening. And they ended up setting a bar out because it was just everybody was outside. No one was inside. It was just gorgeous.
That sounds peaceful. How many people roughly were on the cruise with you?
Well, I think it carries 248 and it was full. Okay. So there was 248 passengers and probably a crew of 100. Wow.
That's a pretty big ship. I think I've been reading recently some travel bloggers who have done this trip to Antarctica. And one of the things they're talking about is evidently they're introducing some new restrictions. So they would only allow 100 people on land at a time now instead of the full ship.
they would
the full ship.
The Zodiacs would go in different directions. Okay. So there would be 250 people, but they're covering a big amount of space and you're walking from one end to the other. So I don't remember it being terribly crowded. Yeah.
There was an afternoon when we were taken to the side of the beach where there were a bunch of elephant seals that were sleeping. Huge, huge elephant seals. And everybody was there for that. Everybody wanted to see it. We had to be very careful because they never woke up. I mean, it's kind of interesting how the animals, they know that they're not going to be hurt. Nobody's ever hurt them. So they're not afraid of people.
Yeah, that's exactly the way it was in the Galapagos.
That's exactly right.
You know, the animals weren't afraid of people. You could tell they had a healthy respect for other animals in that food chain. But really didn't, they weren't scared of the people. Like when we were in the water snorkeling, they would just come straight up to you.
The lions, the sea lions.
The sea lions, the penguins, all of them, you know, just come straight up to your mast. Like, you know, what is this thing?
the penguins, all of them, you know, just come straight
know, what is
Goofy. goofy animal in my water here.
Kathy, was there anything that you just didn't expect that surprised you?
Oh, the crossing. I didn't expect that crossing. That was just like an answer to prayers that I had because I get seasick. And I just knew that that crossing was just going to be horrendous. And to wake up to nothing, that just amazed me. And then just The whole geography of Antarctica, just everything about it, the mountains and the ice and the snow. And it just, it's incredible.
You just have to see it for yourself.
It's hard to describe to somebody. It's like being on another land. It doesn't look like anything else in the world. And I've been around the world. It doesn't look like anything else.
And it sounds like that surprised your passing also. surprised the captain too. It did.
did. Oh, he said he'd never seen anything like it in 25 years. He was an awesome captain too.
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Yeah. I mean, we still got to get that sixth continent in of Australia this year. And even fifth for me.
And even fifth for me.
Yeah. So we've got to get Asia for you and then Australia for both of us. So it's going to be quite a challenge to fit all of that in this year. We're dreaming it and got to make it happen. Yes, that's right.
So the other thing is when you hear from somebody like Kathy, who says, and she's like working on, you know, she's been all seven continents. She's working on a hundred countries. And she says, this is like no other place that you have been. And every day was something magical. Then that really made me pay attention. Right. Because she was just like, you can't go. and see the animals that you see there in a zoo, like, you know, kind of like going on a safari or something like that. But just the fact that she said it's just like nothing else that she've ever experienced.
Yeah, we talked about this the other day, is that while there's nothing like a safari, I mean, being there in the animal's natural habitat and stuff like that, you just can't replace that. However, all of those animals that we saw we said you could see it on the Disney wild safari right you can see all those animals alive up close personal on the on the Disney safari so you know Kilimanjaro safari I think it's called right but It's not this. It's definitely not the same. And please don't. Oh, yeah, yeah,
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. No. Yeah.
Please don't take me as saying that you could go to Disney World or go to the Kilimanjaro Safari. And that would be the same as going to Kenya or to South Africa or Zimbabwe or somewhere like that and going on a safari.
Yeah, absolutely. 100 percent not. Right. Because that experience. And if you missed that, we had like, you know, three or four episodes where we talked about that in detail. And so, you know, we'd encourage you to go listen to that. But the fact that you can't see those whales and you can't experience and see what you see and be in such a remote place as going and being in Antarctica.
And she talked about 40 ,000 penguins at that one rookery. I mean, you're lucky if you're going to see 10 penguins of a type at some zoo somewhere. But 40 ,000 all in one place, that's amazing.
Well, and the other thing I'd say, too, is that, yeah, sometimes like we're fortunate enough, you know, the Jacksonville Zoo has penguins. And sometimes you can see them in aquariums. And we've swam with the penguins in the Galapagos Islands. We've seen them in Cape Town. But here, the fact that she talked about, it's like three different kinds that you get to see. And then also the huge colonies. And if you go January, February, March, like you're going to see them. you know, in chick stage and they're starting to become adolescents and see them in, you know, different stages of development and, you know, just getting to spend time doing that.
But she also talked about the adventures and activities that you get to do while going on this cruise to Antarctica. So things like, you know, kayaking in the frozen ocean, right? In the frozen waters of the ocean, potentially kayaking where you're going to see, you know, some of these the sea life, including possibly whales, right? That's just something that you can't do. I understand kayaking's not for everyone, but you'll also have the opportunity to do the same thing or similar things on the Zodiac. So those little rubber boats that they take you off the ship to the land on. And then I don't know that we'll get to walk on ice shelves, but... I'm sure there's a great possibility of that being true, but we definitely are looking forward to the polar plunge.
Yes. I asked God, I was like, Oh, you're going to do that? And he said, absolutely. I mean, I just think that's one of those things where like, I don't know, you have to do it. I mean, you don't have to do it, but for me, that's something that to say that you've, that have done that. Yeah. Just the uniqueness. Well, that would definitely be a true polar plunge.
Yeah. Just the uniqueness. Well, that would definitely be a true polar plunge. For everybody who's wondering and thinking about this, they do tie something around you. So if you got out there and like you just totally froze up, you know, in the water and you couldn't move, they're not going to let you just stay out there. They have that rope and they're going to get you back in.
Yeah. And you get back in really, really quickly. I can imagine it's kind of like the plunge I did in Arizona. I like it's so cold at that point.
Yeah.
Yeah, but just having the opportunity to do that, like step foot on Antarctica, go out on the Zodiac Safaris. But then also the fact that you're there with gods, right, who can tell you all about like everything that you're seeing, you know, the animals and then just, you know, the formations and just everything.
I loved hearing her talk about the scenery as well. So she talked about going through that Luminaire channel. and the mirror -like waters reflecting all the icebergs and the snow, and just talked about how peaceful and awe -inspiring that was. And so I look forward to those experiences as well.
Yeah, the scenery, I think it's just supposed to be so, you know, spectacular and dramatic and just otherworldly, I guess, is that's the other way that I've, you know, heard it described too, just because you're just not going to see that anywhere else. So Scott, let's talk specifically about the trip that we have planned for February of 2026. So I want to point out, it's not this February.
It's not this year.
not this year. So it's February of 2026. And that is just because these trips now, they're getting booked up in advance. But then we also wanted to give you an opportunity to prepare for that and be able to plan for that way far in advance.
Yeah, I've had so many people be like, oh, I don't know that I could do it that soon. It's like that soon. It's a year from now. And they're like, oh, yeah, 2026. It's like, yeah. So it's not, you know, 30 days from now. If you're listening to this episode here this first week of January, it's actually a year and 30 days from now.
Yeah, and I want to say that was one thing that was really important to us. You know, and Scott especially, he kept pushing. He's like, hey, we've got to get this out there, you know, more than a year in advance to give people the opportunity. And so we get it. We know that you might also be planning, you know, for what you want to do this year and that kind of thing. But this really is one of those things that you do have to, you know, book in advance and plan for just because, you know, they get booked up. And a few other things that we're going to talk about here in a second about. the size of the ship and the number of people and why specifically that was important to us as well.
Yeah. And I would say don't wait around because this boat is not huge. And we'll talk about that in a minute. It only has 198 passenger capacity. And so those rooms are going to be booked up. They don't send these ships out empty because this is a popular destination right now. And so do not hold off. Don't wait. Don't push it off. Go ahead and get your place reserved right now. All you got to do is put the deposit down at this point.
Yeah, that's true. So the trip that we're going to do is very similar to the one that Kathy described. And this was also something that was important to us. So you will travel to Buenos Aires from wherever you are. And that is where you will meet us and the rest of the group in Buenos Aires. And so that will be on your own. And then everything else after that is pretty much included. But getting there is on your own. So, you know, if you have, you know, use points and miles, however you want to do it, right, that's up to you to book that. And then there will be a chartered flight to go to Yashawa the following day. So that's one thing I wanted to I wanted to point out is when you look at the dates, like we have tried to put the dates on everything of the date that you need to write in Bueno Series. But then the cruise date, they're putting the date after. It's actually the day that you leave from Ushua. So you'll get in Buenos Aires and we'll meet everybody and have dinner and all that kind of stuff. And then the next day, it'll be that charter flight to Ushua. And when we're there, we'll go in the morning. And so during that day, we'll have the opportunity to visit Tierra del Fuego National Park. And so that is the southernmost park that is actually considered Patagonia. And, you know, part of Argentina. But the very southernmost part. So we'll have the day to spend there, see the national park. We'll have lunch. Talk a little bit about the cultural. They call that actually a cultural experience. And all that is included in the price of the cruise.
Just think about this, guys. We're offering you an opportunity to not only go to Antarctica, this amazing place, but you'll go to Buenos Aires and you'll have an opportunity to go to a part of Patagonia. Like, these are epic bucket list destinations.
Yeah, and that hotel night in Buenos Aires is included. The transportation to Ushuaia is also included, as is the tour. And so then that evening, we will board the World Voyager, the part of the fleet from Atlas Ocean Voyages, and that will be a nine -night cruise from there.
Yeah, so we're going to leave Ushuaia. We'll cross the Drake Passage and, you know, we'll keep our fingers crossed that we'll have the type of weather that Kathy had and described where, you know, they went out and it was really calm. But, you know, otherwise, look, these ships are designed to do this. They're designed to go across that passage. And so either way, it's not going to be a big deal. You just take your, you know, motion sickness medicine if you're prone to motion sickness. And then when we get to the other side, it'll all be worth it.
Yeah. And that was the other thing is that now they do have some other types of cruises and different experiences where you can fly there or you can fly back or you can fly, you know, both ways. But we wanted to keep this for ourselves and for everybody. We wanted to keep it like more of like the traditional. This is the way that it's done. It also helps keep the cost, you know, down because flying all the way to Antarctica. can get expensive as well. So that was, but that was important to us as being part of the experience, right? Whatever that Drake Passage ends up being.
right? Whatever that Drake Passage ends up being. Not to mention there's a lot of wildlife in that Drake Passage as well. And so you don't want to miss that.
So then we will spend five days exploring the Antarctica Peninsula and it'll be the types of things that we talked about. Zodiac Cruises. It'll basically be two things a day, right? The Zodiac Cruises going on land. And so that was the other reason that we wanted to find a provider, a cruise line that kept it at under 200. Because if you, you get to be more than 200 people, then it limits the number of people that can be on land at one time. I think it's a hundred in a group. Is that a hundred in a group? And so basically then they would, they split up. So like if you do on land in the morning, you'll, you know, do the Zodiac, that kind of thing. The other thing about that is then it's a smaller ship. And so they have more control over how far in they can go and where they can go. And so, you know, if the weather is not favorable, then they can go somewhere else. Whereas some of the larger ships, you may not have that opportunity. So we wanted to be able to have as much opportunity to be able to do these experiences as absolutely possible. Smaller ships, smaller number of people.
So after the cruise, you go back across the Drake Passage one more time and you will return to Ushuaia. And that's where we're going to get off the boat. And then, as Melissa said, included in that is your airfare back to Buenos Aires from Ushuaia. And then from Buenos Aires, you'll return home. You know, we did a ton of research on this before choosing which provider we wanted to use. You know, you guys heard us. We teased this for forever, right? That this was coming, this was coming. And a lot of that was just making sure that we had all these details buttoned down and figured out. And so, you know, we were able to find a provider that had a small ship. My understanding is this is a newer ship that they use. And it can get closer in to land. And that's a big deal because... the bigger ships have to stay further out. And so when you're doing the Zodiac transfer to go from the ship to land or ship to, you know, doing a cruise or whatever, that means you got to go across a lot more open water to get there. And that's where weather plays a huge part in that. And so these smaller boats can get in and can move and navigate to places where the you know, the seas aren't as rough than the larger ships. And so we just put a lot of effort and time and making sure that we had the right trip planned out.
Yeah. And I wanted to say the other thing was, is talking to some of these providers as well. So having, I had one -on -one conversations with some of them about, you know, just the experience and how it would work with a group and the different, you know, how we could book it and that kind of thing. And talking about, you know, specifically some of these experiences. And so that just took us a little bit of time to is to get everybody's schedules coordinated and have those conversations. And that was real important to us as well.
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All right. So if you are interested in joining us, if you have any inkling that, hey, I'd like to go to Antarctica, this is your opportunity. Like we said, it's over a year from now. Scott mentioned for right now, you only have to pay the deposit. and the final payment won't be due to 120 days out, or you can do payments along the way that will help you out. So if there's any inkling that you say, okay, I'd like to do this someday, we've got it all set up for you. We'll walk you through every step of the way. You get to come with us. So it's a great opportunity to make that bucket list thing a reality and actually make it happen. So cabins for the 2026 Voyage, as Scott mentioned, are already filling up. That's how far in advance you have to plan this. And so it is February 26th. That was the day that you would arrive in Buenos Aires. And we may do something a couple of days before. So we'll talk about that in just a second. But for sure, by February 26th of 2026. And then we would go to Yeshua on the 27th. And that's the day that we would leave on the cruise. So how do you get signed up? So you can go to sunshine travelers dot com slash group trip. And then. And I'll put the link in the show notes, but then you can see all the information from there. You can also email me, Melissa at sunshine travelers .com. And I can send you that and get the information that we need to get that started. But that link that I was talking about will give you a lot more details. So it will give you a day by day itinerary, all the information, the different cabins that are available, what the cost is, what all is included, and just all those details that I think are important to go look at. And I spent a lot of time. Making sure that all that was out there as well for everybody's information. And so, like I said, the only thing you have to do right now is the deposit. And then you can work toward getting that paid for.
And that'll go ahead and get your cabin saved. Because, like I said, there's not a lot of passengers on this ship. And so that means there's fewer cabins. And those cabins fill up quickly. Don't delay. Go ahead. Let's get this reserved for you right now. And we'd love to have you guys join us on this trip.
So we are also looking at an opportunity to optionally meet a day or so early in Buenos Aires. So if you're able to do that and do some sightseeing before journeying to Oshawa, this is somewhere that Scott has been that he has wanted me to go back to. So we had actually, we have a podcast episode specifically giving you lots of details about Buenos Aires and go into the Recoleta Cemetery. So that is something that we also want to put together for the people who were able to go early, a day early, and be able to do a couple of things with us. Buenos Aires is an amazing city. It's actually known as the Paris of South America. And if you're familiar with the musical Evita and the famous song, Don't Cry For Me, Argentina, you'll have the opportunity to see the backdrop for that story about Eva Perón.
So let's talk a little bit about what you would need to pack for this trip.
So we actually had talked to Kathy about this. And so if you're interested in hearing what we did is we just took bits and pieces from that interview that would, would really apply to, to our trip mainly. So if you want to hear that whole interview, go back and listen to all of episode 10. And so, but we, we talked to her about this. And so that's kind of what we are, you know, basing this off. So with. Atlas Ocean Voyages, they actually are going to provide a parka and a vest. And that is included as part of your trip. They'll be yours to keep. That's something when you go, once you get signed up, you have this portal that you go register and you're able to put your sizes and stuff. And then you'll need to bring your own waterproof shell plant pants or ski pants. And then the ship will also provide boots for you to use while venturing off the ship. And the one reason that that is super important is so that you don't contaminate Antarctica. And then, you know, bring stuff and can, you know, cause problems. So that's another thing they ask for your boot size and they take care of making sure that those are safe and clean and all that stuff. Merino wool under layers to wick away moisture and provide warmth. And so just having some layers of that and those are something that you can, you know, wear over and over again. So I think we'll actually be able to, you know, pack fairly light. despite thinking, oh, we need all these heavy clothes. So you'll need a warm hat and waterproof gloves, thick wool socks. And surprisingly or not, you'll need polarized sunglasses and then SPF sun protection and lip balm to protect your skin and your eyes as well, just because of that, you know, that brightness. It's just not something that you would think of. Swimsuit for hot tub and the polar plunge. You don't have to dress up for dinners on the boat. It's smart, casual. Kathy had mentioned when we talked to her that she lived in like yoga pants and in a warm sweater. And so just really, really casual just so that you can, you know, be on the lookout for the wildlife and just be casual. And so, of course, your camera and extra batteries, memory cards. And also just keeping in mind that cold temperatures drain the battery fast on your phone, on your memory cards and all that kind of stuff. And they will provide binoculars for us. And then, of course, your passport. And then depending on where you're coming from, you may or may not need a visa. But U .S. and Canada, you will not. Just the passport.
Well, there's a couple of tips that we have come across that would make this trip the most enjoyable. And then the first one is that layering is key. So you talked a little bit about, you know, Kathy said she spent most of her time in. you know, leggings or yoga pants and a sweater. And I'm sure you're going to see that's how people dress on this particular cruise. But you're probably going to want some different layers that you can add and take away, especially when you go on land, because we're going to be there in their summertime. It's wintertime for us, but it's their summertime and you're going to have sunshine. And it could get warm as you're hiking towards a penguin rookery, and you're going to want to be able to take a few layers off potentially. Or it could be snowing that day, and you want to add more layers on. And so I think that's one of the keys to be able to adapt to the changing weather conditions. And then the second thing, Melissa mentioned this just briefly a while ago, but around packing. You know, you definitely want to pack light, but you also need it to be functional. Think about that everything that you're taking, you know, can it serve multiple purposes? Like, can you wear it multiple times with, you know, and make multiple different outfits out of it? Things like that. That way you don't have like five huge suitcases because especially with winter clothing, right? Those things are bulky and can take up a lot of room. You don't want to come, you know, wandering around with five different suitcases that you got to try to get on board. And so we may not be taking just to carry on on this trip, but it's always a great thing to strive for.
And so in our opinion, layering is always a good idea. You know, having those layers for the plane, you don't know what the, you know, it's going to be like or feel like when we're in, you know, in Buenos Aires that day. And in Ushawa, that kind of thing, too. So I think those are always helpful.
I mean, that's a good point. Think about it. In Buenos Aires, it's going to be their summer. So it could and that part of it could actually be warmer weather.
Yeah. But I just always like, you know, it's just always nice to have just to have the different layers. You know, when we were on safari, it was like you started out cold and then you would shed this layer and then you would shed the jacket and then. You know, in the afternoon, you might have to put those things back on. And it was the same, you know, we just recently returned from Scottsdale. And it certainly is that way. Even in December, you know, it's cold in the morning, hot in the afternoon, and then gets cold. So just being able to adapt to those is always a good idea.
We've talked about this before on the podcast, but don't let the trip of your dreams pass you by. Kathy told us in episode 10 that what I saw in Antarctica, you can't see everywhere else. Everything about it is different and pictures don't match seeing it with your own eyes and being there. Have you made the trip to Antarctica before? If so, we'd love to hear your experience. Email me at scott at sunshine travelers dot com and let me know how you would describe the seventh continent. We're always inspired by your travel stories. We hope you enjoyed this episode and found some inspiration to help you with your travel journeys. If you could take a moment to leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform, it would be greatly appreciated. Your five -star reviews help us get discovered by others and possibly featured on your favorite platform. Don't forget to follow or subscribe to our podcast to get notified of new episodes as they are released. You can also find us on Instagram and Facebook at Sunshine Travelers Podcast. Remember, that is travelers with one L. Most importantly, please share it with your friends to help them catch the travel bug. You never know, they may become your greatest travel companion.
