Fly the Drake
A private flight across the Drake and straight to the ice. A private, tailored journey of 8-9 days in The Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, designed end to end by a Forest Travel advisor — with Virtuoso privileges at the finest luxury hotels, from US$25,000 per traveler.
- Expedition · Access
- Ideal length: 8-9 days
- Best time: Travel November through March, when the Antarctic summer opens the ice and daylight barely fades
- Private guiding, access and transfers throughout
- From US$25,000 per traveler — a starting point, tailored to you
- Designed one-to-one by a Forest Travel advisor
- Virtuoso privileges at the finest luxury hotels
A private flight across the Drake and straight to the ice. A private, tailored journey of 8-9 days in The Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, designed end to end by a Forest Travel advisor — with Virtuoso privileges at the finest luxury hotels, from US$25,000 per traveler.
Antarctica is the last true wilderness, a continent with no residents and no crowds, where a private expedition places the great white silence entirely at your own unhurried pace.
When to go
Travel November through March, when the Antarctic summer opens the ice and daylight barely fades; December and January bring peak wildlife, while November delivers pristine snow and March offers the finest whale watching. Your advisor times it to the light, the crowds and your own calendar.
The experiences
A sense of what this journey can hold — each one arranged privately and shaped to you:
- A private charter flight south across the Drake Passage, landing straight onto the ice.
- A first afternoon Zodiac cruise, arriving among the icebergs the same day you flew in.
- A short shore walk to a gentoo colony with the whole coast to yourselves.
- A quiet evening on deck at anchor, the sea flat and the peaks close on either side.
A sense of the rhythm
Flying the Drake trades two days of open-ocean crossing at each end for a couple of hours in the air, which turns a long expedition into something a busy schedule can hold. You reach the ice sooner, spend proportionally more of the journey among it, and leave the roughest water to those who prefer the traditional way. It is the Peninsula for the time-rich in attention but not in days.
How to do it well
The counsel our advisors give travelers planning this journey:
- Weather can shift a flight by a day; keep the surrounding schedule soft.
- The shorter format still delivers the essential Peninsula, distilled.
- Ask your advisor to pair the flight with a night in the gateway city beforehand.
- Pack light for the charter; luggage allowances are firmer than on a ship.
What only your advisor can open
The difference between a good trip and an unrepeatable one is access — and access is a relationship, not a booking. Every guide, room and moment is chosen and sequenced for you.
Who it's for
Travelers who value privacy, time and doing it once — beautifully — and who would rather have one trusted advisor orchestrate every detail than assemble it themselves.
Estimated investment
From US$25,000 per traveler, based on double occupancy — scaled to your dates, party size and level of privacy. A starting point, not a final quote; confirmed once your advisor tailors the itinerary.
Designed entirely around you
Nothing here is a package. A Forest Travel advisor shapes the whole journey and stays one message away before and throughout your trip.
Your Virtuoso privileges
As a Virtuoso member, Forest Travel includes benefits reserved for Virtuoso guests at the finest luxury hotels, at no added cost: a room upgrade on arrival when available, daily breakfast for two, a property credit toward dining or spa, and early check-in with late check-out when the hotel allows.
Continue exploring The Antarctic Peninsula
Part of our The Antarctic Peninsula travel guide. Related private journeys:
Begin the conversation
Tell a Forest Travel advisor how you like to travel and they will design Fly the Drake around you — privately, every Virtuoso privilege included. Request your private consultation →
Flying the Drake: what changes in practice
Flying trades two days of open-ocean crossing at each end for a couple of hours in the air, which turns a long expedition into something a busy year can absorb. The charter lands you straight onto the ice, and a first Zodiac cruise among the icebergs is possible the same day you flew in. Four practical things follow from that:
- Weather can shift a flight by a day, so the schedule either side should stay soft rather than tightly booked.
- Luggage allowances on the charter are firmer than on a ship — pack light, and expect the limit to be enforced.
- Pair the flight with a night in the gateway city beforehand, so a delayed connection never costs you the departure.
- The shorter format still delivers the essential Peninsula, distilled rather than abridged: a shore walk to a gentoo colony with the coast to yourselves, and evenings at anchor with the peaks close on either side.
Questions, answered.
Sailing is part of the pilgrimage for some; flying is a gift of days for others. If your calendar is tight or the open crossing holds no romance for you, the flight puts you on the ice with hours to spare.
Weather can shift the flight by a day, so plan for it rather than against it. Keep the schedule on either side soft instead of tightly booked, and ask your advisor to pair the flight with a night in the gateway city beforehand, so a delayed connection never costs you the departure. Your Forest Travel advisor stays one message away before and throughout the trip.
Pack light. Luggage allowances on the charter are firmer than on a ship, and you should expect the limit to be enforced. It is one of the practical trade-offs of flying the Drake rather than sailing it, and your advisor will go over it with you as part of planning the journey.
No. The shorter format still delivers the essential Peninsula, distilled rather than abridged. Flying trades two days of open-ocean crossing at each end for a couple of hours in the air, so you reach the ice sooner and spend proportionally more of the journey among it. A first Zodiac cruise among the icebergs is possible the same day you land, followed by a shore walk to a gentoo colony and quiet evenings at anchor.
Fly the Drake takes 8-9 days. Because the private charter trades two days of open-ocean crossing at each end for a couple of hours in the air, more of those days are spent on the ice itself. You land straight onto the ice, with a first afternoon Zodiac cruise among the icebergs possible the same day, then a short shore walk to a gentoo colony with the coast to yourselves and quiet evenings on deck at anchor. Keep the schedule either side soft, as weather can shift the flight by a day, and add a night in the gateway city beforehand.
As a private, tailored journey it starts from roughly US$25,000 per traveler (double occupancy) and scales with your dates, party and level of privacy — a starting point, never a fixed package price. Your advisor confirms the figure once the itinerary is tailored.
Travel November through March, when the Antarctic summer opens the ice and daylight barely fades, leaving long evenings on deck at anchor. December and January bring peak wildlife, November delivers pristine snow for your first landing on the ice, and March offers the finest whale watching. Your Forest Travel advisor times the charter flight to the light, the crowds and your own calendar.
On Fly the Drake, the first day can already hold the ice itself. The private charter flies south across the Drake Passage and lands straight onto the ice, and a first afternoon Zodiac cruise can take you among the icebergs the same day you flew in. Because the flight replaces two days of open-ocean crossing with a couple of hours in the air, the Antarctic Peninsula begins almost as soon as you arrive.
Yes. Fly the Drake includes a short shore walk to a gentoo penguin colony, arranged privately, with the whole coast to yourselves. Antarctica has no residents and no crowds, so the landing unfolds at your own unhurried pace. If wildlife is your priority, December and January bring peak wildlife on the Antarctic Peninsula; your advisor can time the journey around it.
Evenings on Fly the Drake are spent quietly on deck at anchor, with the sea flat and the peaks of the Antarctic Peninsula close on either side. Between November and March, the Antarctic summer keeps daylight from fully fading, so those evenings stretch long. It is the great white silence of the last true wilderness, experienced privately and without crowds.
Antarctica
See the collection →Tell a private advisor how you like to travel — no quotes, no obligation.
Begin Your Private Consultation
