I was thinking about my Antarctica trip recently, and how I managed to drink in 4 different places on the trip (OK I'm cheating as three of them were onboard the boat!!!). But I thought I'd give all you Antarctic bound travellers some tips on how you can drink in Antarctica, yes there is even a bar there, there is even a Happy Hour and drinking in Antarctica is part of the experience to the world's southern most continent. Here's my Top 6 places to drink in Antarctica (of which I drank in only 4 of them, as sadly 2 of them we didn't visit)! One of my favourite Thirsty Thursdays to date.
1. Antarctica Drinking - on Antarctica itself
You're not meant to drink on Antarctic soil as it happens, but you're only going to be here once (probably) so you might as well raise a toast to this incredible continent with a drink. Bring a cold beer with you to one of the landings - preferably the last one.
2. Drinking in Antarctica: Out on Deck!
Having an ice cold beer out on deck while sailing down Antarctica was a dream of mine and I did it. It's a great way to relax and admire the epic views out of the window of the ship. As you cruise through blizzards, snowstorms and icebergs, get out on deck and admire the scenery over a cold pint of beer, at least the beer will be the perfect temperature!
3. Having a drink in Antarctica: Happy hour on board!
For the budget travellers this is a great option. Each excursion to Antarctica will of course be different, but ours had a Happy Hour from 5 - 6pm every day in the Lounge Bar. This also coincided with the daily gathering of everyone on board in the lounge to discuss the day's events and plan ahead for tomorrow. Our ship, the MS Expedition had two onboard bars and alcohol was available normally after 4pm on each day. There were 3 places to buy booze onboard, these were the two onboard bars and the restaurant:
- The lounge bar on board the boat is open from 4pm - 7pm normally.
- There's a late night bar which opens from around 8pm until whenever!
Alcohol was also available at dinner, served to you in the onboard restaurant, everything you ordered was added to your bill. There was no payment accepted in cash as far as I remember, they just added everything to your bill and you paid at the end of the trip. Be careful not to get too happy though, as even Happy Hour in Antarctica is more expensive than what you are used to!
4. Having a drink in Antarctica - bring some alcohol on-board
This is also a backpacker style option and where the real money saving is - buy some beer in Argentina and bring it on board to enjoy with your travel buddies!
5. Drinking in Antarctica: The Bar at the Ukranian Vernadskiy Station
You can visit an actual bar in Antarctica, which is just amazing and will totally make your trip complete if you like a drink. At the Ukrainian Vernadskiy Station they have a bar which even has a vodka which is made in Antarctica. Cheers!
6. Alcohol in Antarctica - have a beer at the South Pole
This would be the ultimate planet earth beer, and we didn't go that far, but it can be done. It's costly to get to the South Pole and if you do make it and manage to acclimatise, you will be pleased to know you can have a celebratory tipple, or if you really want to be a cheapskate, bring your own! There was a beer shipped out there last year called Pole Axed!
If you ever make it to the South Pole it would be an incredible moment to open a beer!
That's my 6 tips for drinking in Antarctica - if you can manage them all then I take my hat off to you! Congratulations!
1. Antarctica Drinking - on Antarctica itself
You're not meant to drink on Antarctic soil as it happens, but you're only going to be here once (probably) so you might as well raise a toast to this incredible continent with a drink. Bring a cold beer with you to one of the landings - preferably the last one.
2. Drinking in Antarctica: Out on Deck!
Having an ice cold beer out on deck while sailing down Antarctica was a dream of mine and I did it. It's a great way to relax and admire the epic views out of the window of the ship. As you cruise through blizzards, snowstorms and icebergs, get out on deck and admire the scenery over a cold pint of beer, at least the beer will be the perfect temperature!
3. Having a drink in Antarctica: Happy hour on board!
For the budget travellers this is a great option. Each excursion to Antarctica will of course be different, but ours had a Happy Hour from 5 - 6pm every day in the Lounge Bar. This also coincided with the daily gathering of everyone on board in the lounge to discuss the day's events and plan ahead for tomorrow. Our ship, the MS Expedition had two onboard bars and alcohol was available normally after 4pm on each day. There were 3 places to buy booze onboard, these were the two onboard bars and the restaurant:
- The lounge bar on board the boat is open from 4pm - 7pm normally.
- There's a late night bar which opens from around 8pm until whenever!
Alcohol was also available at dinner, served to you in the onboard restaurant, everything you ordered was added to your bill. There was no payment accepted in cash as far as I remember, they just added everything to your bill and you paid at the end of the trip. Be careful not to get too happy though, as even Happy Hour in Antarctica is more expensive than what you are used to!
4. Having a drink in Antarctica - bring some alcohol on-board
This is also a backpacker style option and where the real money saving is - buy some beer in Argentina and bring it on board to enjoy with your travel buddies!
5. Drinking in Antarctica: The Bar at the Ukranian Vernadskiy Station
You can visit an actual bar in Antarctica, which is just amazing and will totally make your trip complete if you like a drink. At the Ukrainian Vernadskiy Station they have a bar which even has a vodka which is made in Antarctica. Cheers!
6. Alcohol in Antarctica - have a beer at the South Pole
This would be the ultimate planet earth beer, and we didn't go that far, but it can be done. It's costly to get to the South Pole and if you do make it and manage to acclimatise, you will be pleased to know you can have a celebratory tipple, or if you really want to be a cheapskate, bring your own! There was a beer shipped out there last year called Pole Axed!
If you ever make it to the South Pole it would be an incredible moment to open a beer!
That's my 6 tips for drinking in Antarctica - if you can manage them all then I take my hat off to you! Congratulations!
About the Author:
For endless stuff like Drinking in Antarctica visit Don't Stop Living, the nomadic site of Jonny Blair for endless stories and tips.
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