ANTARCTICA
CLIMBING AND DIVING ICEBERGS
Why go to Antarctica if you get to stand on solid ground for only a few hours? This cruise gets you some real time on—and under—the great white continent and takes you south across the Antarctic Circle, a feat only true polar explorers can brag about. You and 53 other adventurers will stay aboard the Polar Pioneer, your floating base camp, where you'll have input in planning the ship's day-to-day itinerary. Experienced drysuit divers can explore the undersides of icebergs and get a krill's-eye view of whales; hikers can summit unclimbed mountains on the western side of Antarctica and name them after their grandmothers. Other possibilities include visits to the defunct volcanic crater of Deception Island, the glaciers of Paradise Harbor, and the narrow 2,300-foot cliffs flanking Lemaire Channel. Price: $4,490
Outfitter: World Expeditions, 888-464-8735, www.worldexpeditions.net
When to Go: February
CLIMBING AND PHOTOGRAPHY JOURNEY
Hundreds of unclimbed peaks form the towering spine of the Antarctic Peninsula. Your footprints could be the first atop two of them on this 12-day journey to the frozen south. A refurbished Finnish research vessel, the Polar Pioneer, will carry 56 passengers—including a photography expert and a naturalist guide—from the tip of South America through the Beagle Channel and across the Drake Passage to the peninsula's west coast. First stop if the weather's good: the South Shetland Islands, where Zodiacs will take you ashore with climbing guide Tashi Tenzing, grandson of the famed Norgay, who'll help you navigate the crevassed terrain. As the ship makes its way south, you can scale the bluish bergs or paddle a kayak along the shore. You'll pass leopard seals and penguin rookeries, and may even have some up-close encounters when you spend a night camping ashore. Life on the ship is comfortable; you'll appreciate the onboard collection of polar literature and the porthole view from your cabin on the long cruise home.Price: $5,190-$8,390
Outfitter: Aurora Expeditions, 011-61-2-9252-1033, www.auroraexpeditions.com.au
When to Go: November-March
EMPORER PENGUINS SAFARI
For March of the Penguins fans, here's something new: A penguin specialist who helicoptered close to Snow Hill Island, in the Weddell Sea, during a 2004 Quark expedition, discovered an uncharted emperor rookery with 4,000 breeding pairs. You'll be among the first to witness the penguins on this two-week journey to the Weddell. Starting in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, you'll set out on the 108-passenger icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov, traveling to shore by Zodiac or helicopter, then hiking about a mile across the ice to the rookery. You'll make up to three trips, and because it's early in the season, you'll likely see parents nuzzling chicks at their feet.Price: $8,495-$15,495 Outfitter: Quark Expeditions, 800-356-5699www.quarkexpeditions.com When to Go: October-November
GREENLAND
KAYAK GREENLAND'S FJORDS
Explorers' Corner's 16-day sea-kayaking expedition through seven of Greenland's remote fjords isn't luxurious—accommodations are a tent pitched on permafrost, and some meals come freeze-dried. But the payoff is worth it: expansive views of the five-mile-wide Knud Rasmussen Glacier calving into the Tasiilaq Fjord. A 1.5-hour flight from Reykjavík, Iceland, and a two-hour skiff ride with an Inuit hunter are required to reach Tasiilaq (pop. 2,000) and the mouth of the fjord. From there, spend your days dodging motel-size icebergs in your 18-foot kayak and hiking beside 4,000-foot peaks. Three departures in July and August; by application, From $3,890; explorerscorner.com
GREENLAND & ICELAND
EXPLORE THE ARCTIC
When you and your camera venture into the realm of polar bears and musk ox, it's comforting to know there's an expert on board whose input could turn a wasted frame into the shot of a lifetime. Award-winning nature photographer Frans Lanting—as well as renowned polar explorer Will Steger—will accompany you on this 11-day voyage from Spitsbergen, Norway, to Keflavík, Iceland. The 46-passenger polar research ship Grigoriy Mikheev carries a fleet of Zodiacs for explorations of Greenland's east coast, where migrating seabirds and whales skirt the pack ice. The ship will make its way up Kaiser Franz Joseph Fjord in search of rare narwhals and visit Ittoqqortoormiit village en route to Iceland's southwestern shore. Price: $5,295-$6,995 Outfitter: Wilderness Travel, 800-368-2794, www.wildernesstravel.com
When to Go: September
