Sail to Antarctica

It’s hard to escape the rat race these days. There are queues to reach the summit of Everest, direct flights to remote Pacific islands and luxurious hotels in the rainforest. We’ve tamed and colonised most of the world, but one vast stretch of the planet remains beyond our grasp: Antarctica. This frozen continent at the end of the Earth has never been permanently occupied by man. Accessible only from November to March, it has no towns or villages, no habitation bar the odd research station or expedition hut; just grand, icy, unpredictable wilderness. Even if you’re travelling there on a cruise ship, as most people do, the solitude and the emptiness will envelop you and bring you down to scale.