Friday, February 27, 2015

Drinking In Antarctica

By Jonny Blair


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. Drinking in Antarctica: On Antarctic land

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. Alcohol in Antarctica - a drink on the deck of the boat!

With snowstorms on board the boat and epic views of the landscape, while cruising down the cold continent I can't think of anything better to do than have a beer and admire the views. A great place to relax - even if it is freezing! At least you won't have to keep your beer cold!

3. Alcohol in Antarctica - Happy Hour at the bar on the boat!

If you're on a tight budget, have no fear, happy hour is here! On board your boat you should be able to take full advantage of the Happy Hour meaning you can enjoy your backpacker lifestyle while sailing down the world's epic cold continent.

- There's a lounge bar on the boat which is usually open from 4pm - 7pm everyday.

- The Polar Bear Bar was open from around 8pm until closing time (whenever you wanted to stop drinking)

At dinner time in the on-board restaurant you can also enjoy a drink.

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

OK this could well be a regret in life, but on our trip we just didn't make it to the bar or even to the actual Ukrainian Vernadskiy Station, which not only has a cool bar but even makes its own hot pepper Vodka (I'm not even kidding). The Vernadskiy Research Station is the longest continually running one on the entire continent. It was the British that put the pub there when they owned it!!! We were caught up in a crazy snowstorm off the coast of Petermann Island, and seeing an Argentine Research Station from the boat was the closest we got to the set of Argentine Islands where the Vernadskiy Station sits.

6. Having a drink in Antarctica - head to the South Pole and celebrate with a drink

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!

Imagine having a beer at the South Pole!

If you have managed to do all six of these I salute you!! I was happy with the four I managed to get in on my amazing Antarctica adventure back in 2010.




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