For years, Antarctica - the “blue continent” at the bottom of the world - has topped my travel wish list.

With ten departures, and savings up to $8,200, these Antarctic cruise deals from Quark Expeditions, the leader in Polar adventures, might be just the ticket to getting there in 2012. 

Save up to 40% on this 12-day Antarctic adventure that begins and ends in Ushuaia, Argentina. Like adventurers of old, the voyage crosses the Drake Passage to explore the breathtaking Antarctic Peninsula and the mysterious South Shetland Islands. Passengers meet up with at least four different species of penguin, countless seals and “big ice” in all its Antarctic splendour.There’s also a full slate of adventure activities, including kayaking, camping, mountaineering and cross-country skiing. February 10-21, 2012, from $6,354 per person.

Quark Expeditions (888) 892 0334.

 

About Quark Expeditions
Since 1991, Quark Expeditions has specialized in expedition cruising to the Arctic and Antarctica, in ships with ice-strengthened hulls or in icebreakers. The first voyage operated by Quark was The Transpolar Bridge Cruise in 1991. The ship was the nuclear powered icebreaker Sovetskiy Soyuz. She sailed across the top of the world via Franz Josef Land, the North Pole, the New Siberian Islands, the Wrangel Island area and the Chukotka Peninsula, disembarking in Provideniya, Russia. 2011 is Quark Expeditions 20th anniversary as a polar adventure specialist.
  

photo by Martha de Jong-Lantink 

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Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".