Antarctica & Expedition Cruise Specialist

Penguins in Antarctica

Roughly 50,000 people visit Antarctica each year. For comparison, 13 million visit Paris annually. The travelers who have been to Antarctica tend to describe it the same way: as the most extraordinary thing they have ever done, a place that reorganizes their sense of the world so completely that everything else gets measured against it afterward.

I am Cheryl Bailey, co-owner of Yellow Umbrella Travel, based in New Braunfels, Texas. I plan expedition cruises for individuals and groups to Antarctica, the Galápagos, Africa, the Arctic, and beyond. I work with Lindblad, Quark, Silversea, Seabourn, Hurtigruten, and Viking Expedition.

I know the differences that matter. Lindblad for intellectual depth and the National Geographic naturalist partnership. Quark for the most adventure-focused polar program including camping on the ice overnight. Silversea for butler service and the fly-cruise option that bypasses the Drake Passage entirely. Seabourn for submarines that dive to 300 meters. Viking Expedition for the all-inclusive structure familiar to Viking river cruise fans, now applied to the Antarctic Peninsula and the Arctic.

For travelers concerned about the Drake Passage, the fly-cruise option — a two-hour charter flight from Punta Arenas to King George Island — puts you on the Antarctic Peninsula without two days of open ocean sailing in each direction. Silversea's new hotel in Puerto Williams, The Cormorant at 55 South, makes this the most seamlessly organized Antarctica experience available.

Expedition sailings, particularly peak December and January Antarctic departures, book 12 to 18 months in advance. If Antarctica has been on your list for years, the best time to start planning is today.

My planning services are completely complimentary.

Call 512-955-1320, Text 512-616-0947, or visit www.yellowumbrellatravel.com.