Travelling to Antarctica Part I

Part I: The Flights

Booking flights involved more decision making than usual. There were no direct flights from London (or anywhere in the UK) to Ushuaia – so I was definitely going to have to change aeroplanes somewhere. But where?

One of the first pieces of travelling advice for women heading to South America on their own was not to take a taxi by yourself. If you had to take a taxi, then try to make sure that it had been booked officially using the desks inside the terminal or ask your hotel to arrange a transfer. 

The quickest flights to Ushuaia from London involved two airport transfers within a city: I would need to change airports in Rio de Janiero and then again in Buenos Aires. Each of these would need a taxi ride on my own in order to catch the next flight. I decided that I would prefer not to do this. Finding connecting flights which landed and departed from the same airport meant that the flight path was a little longer, but I was happy with the trade-off. So the flight path for me was: London – Rome, Rome – Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires – Ushuaia.

I left Heathrow at midday and landed in Rome just under 3 hours later. The first slight hitch was that when I checked in, I was told that they could only issue me the first boarding card in Heathrow. I would have to pick up the next two boarding cards at the Transfer Desk in Rome Fiumicino. However, when I arrived, the staff at the Transfer Desk said they’d never heard of such a thing – so I was to try at the boarding gate.

A little unnerved, I headed to the boarding gate, where the Aerolineas Argentinas staff (a little bemused over why I hadn’t just been given my full set of boarding cards in the first place) sorted everything out. So far, so good. Except, they then told me that international travellers to Argentina had to re-check their baggage and go through security at their first point of entry into the country: in my case, Buenos Aires.

I couldn’t believe that I’d somehow missed this in my preparation! But having settled down at Gate 27, I did a quick internet search. Very little information came up about this requirement – even when I knew what to search for – and most of the results were tourists asking ‘will I need to re-check my bags in Argentina?’ on various chat room sites. The answer is: yes, you do! But I believe that it’s only if you are connecting to a domestic flight and moving on to somewhere else within Argentina. When I arrived in Buenos Aires, I headed off to Passport Control.

Now, my Spanish is very patchy, but I can mostly follow and contribute basic holiday phrases. I’d brushed up a little before leaving and had downloaded the Spanish dictionary onto the Google Translate app just in case. However, it was 4am when I arrived and tried to follow what the Passport Control Officer was asking me. 4am: my brain decided that my Spanish was now non-existent and the officer decided that her patience was as well. I thought she’d asked me why I was travelling to Argentina – I answered “turismo” – she rolled her eyes, gave a proper ‘duh’ shrug, and then shook her head in exasperation.

I clearly answered incorrectly – but have no idea what she must have asked! One thing I did get right was having my hotel details memorised. Every international visitor to Argentina will be asked to give the name of their hotel (or wherever you are staying) at Passport Control. They will also take your photo and thumbprint.

So, after breezing through Passport Control like a pro… I then had to collect my luggage; go through Customs; leave Terminal A; walk for 10 mins around the outside of the building; enter Terminal C; check in my luggage at the baggage drop desks; go through security again and then I was back in the Departure Lounge. 

Now, I get it. Every country has their own set of security requirements – especially when it comes to airports and travelling in / out of that country. I’m not writing an extended list to complain about Argentinian safety measures. It’s more to make you aware of the potentially lengthy process – which may impact your travel plans. I would say it took me an hour to do all of the above – and that was at 4am, so lines were short and going back through security was pretty quick. I can imagine that this would double in length if you were arriving at a peak travel time, so bear that in mind when booking a connecting domestic flight. 

For the last leg of the journey (the flight from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia), I would offer this advice: take snacks with you. It’s a 3 hour flight on a small-ish plane. Although the flight seemed pretty smooth to me, the crew announced that they were unable to provide trolley service because of the turbulence. They must have known something we didn’t – because the only turbulence we experienced was just as we came in to land. It had been so smooth up until then, that people were getting up to go to the bathroom (assuming that it was safe to do so), but the crew would immediately announce over the tannoy that everyone had to sit down and fasten their seatbelts! We didn’t get any drinks or snacks until about 30 mins before landing. I was starving by that point – partly my own fault: I hadn’t eaten much at the airport, because I assumed there would be breakfast onboard. My own supply of crisps would have been great!

In-flight entertainment is provided on television screens, but they didn’t hand out any headphones. I would suggest saving them from the previous flight or bring your own with you.

Baggage reclaim was quick & because we’d already been through security at Buenos Aires, there wasn’t really any in Ushuaia. I mentioned in the Packing List post that I didn’t have any pesos on arrival, as the UK doesn’t exchange them at the moment. There is an ATM in Ushuaia Airport: it’s to the right as you come out of Baggage Reclaim & behind a sliding door (you have to swipe your card to open the door). It does charge you to take money out, but the charge worked out as about £1.50. Some ATMs in the UK charge you more than that, so I had no problem with it.

I was staying in Hostal Malvinas overnight before boarding the ship. After booking with them through Booking.com, the hotel sent me an email asking if I would like them to organise a taxi transfer from the airport. Heeding previous advice, I said yes – so a card with my name on it was waiting for me at the airport. The hotel charged me 600 pesos organising the taxi (about £10) and the taxi itself cost 300 pesos (£5). I was ok with this, as it put my mind at rest.

Hostal Malvinas was clean, comfy and the staff were so welcoming. Some of the staff spoke English & free wi-fi is available for guests. The hotel is only about 400 yards  (365 meters) away from Ushuaia port and the Oceanwide Expeditions check-in. So perfectly situated for the next stage of the journey!