Luxury at the Edge of the World
The world's most remote places once felt reserved for the hardiest travelers, the kind of trips that traded comfort for bragging rights. What I'm seeing now is different. Purpose-built polar ships, private aircraft that clear the roughest crossings, and remote lodges and ice camps built to a five-star standard now make the most remote places on earth some of the most comfortable travel I book. It's easy to see why it's become one of the fastest-growing trends in luxury travel.
Antarctica is the once-in-a-lifetime version of cold. Most voyages sail from Ushuaia across the legendary Drake Passage, though several operators now fly you over it in about two hours, landing you on the ice where your ship waits. The most exclusive option skips ships altogether, a private jet from Cape Town to a luxury camp on the ice, with heated suites, fine dining, and excursions to emperor penguin colonies.
One detail most travelers don’t know until I explain it: landing rules cap how many guests can step ashore at once, so the smaller the ship, the more time you spend off it, more landings, more Zodiac time among the icebergs, and the naturalists who know you by name. Onboard, the indulgence matches the setting, with suites that open onto the ice, spas, and chefs you’d expect at a five-star resort.
South America holds the warm weather side of expedition travel, ideal for travelers who'd rather not go quite so far or quite so cold. In the Galápagos, wildlife has no instinct to flee, so sea lions, marine iguanas, and blue-footed boobies carry on within a few feet of you, and the farther a small ship can reach, the more pristine and uncrowded the sites. Families or anyone prone to seasickness have an alternative I love, a highland lodge with day trips by yacht and a tortoise reserve and volcanic crater outside the window. The Amazon runs differently, a small riverboat as your base, with skiff excursions and guided walks to spot pink dolphins, caimans, monkeys, and macaws in channels too narrow for larger vessels.
The Arctic offers a different kind of beauty, with rugged coastlines, glacier-filled waters, and the chance to see polar bears, whales, and walrus in their natural habitat. Timing and route are everything: Svalbard for summer polar bears, Greenland for towering icebergs, Iceland for waterfalls and volcanic coastlines, the Canadian Arctic for a real shot at the northern lights from the deck.