Antarctica

Antarctica is not a destination you choose for comfort. You choose it because it is the last place on Earth where human beings are genuinely outnumbered — by penguins, by seals, by icebergs the size of city blocks, by a silence so complete it has texture. The Drake Passage is rough. The air at the peninsula in December is cold. The experience is unlike anything else available to a traveler with money and time.

The expedition cruise format — a vessel of 150 to 200 passengers, with marine biologists and glaciologists and ornithologists presenting lectures in the evening — is the correct way to approach Antarctica. Silversea's Silver Endeavour, Ponant's Le Commandant Charcot (which can break through pack ice), and Scenic Eclipse are the vessels that set the standard.

The Antarctic Peninsula itinerary runs 10–12 days from Ushuaia, Argentina — the world's southernmost city. The classic route touches the Lemaire Channel, the Weddell Sea, and lands at Deception Island. Extended voyages reach South Georgia, where Ernest Shackleton is buried and 300,000 king penguins breed on the beaches.