The Frozen Continent
"More ships mean more options for Antarctic travelers, from activities like scuba diving and sea kayaking to multiple trip dates, departure points, and types of accommodations. "We're seeing more people in their 30s, 40s, and 50s now than in the past," says Kristy Royce, vice president of ExpeditionTrips, which specializes in ship-based Antarctic tours (www.expeditiontrips.com). You can expect to pay around $5,000 per person for a 10-12 day cruise -- not what most of us have in our back pockets, to be sure. But consider what you drop annually on vacations, and it begins to put that cost into perspective."