Antarctica Travel Centre - West Melbourne, Victoria

Phương B. ?.

I had an amazing trip 19 days Falkland Island, South Georgia and Antartica peninsula on the SHVega cruise with Antartica travels. Ms. Mai Astoga supported me very well from i booked the trip till i boarded to cruise and she gave me the very good deal.

David F.

We decided to book our recent "trip-of-a-lifetime" to South America and Antarctica through Antarctica Travel Centre. And we are really glad that we did! Only a month or two before our departure, the ship that we were booked on to Antarctica ran aground up in the Arctic. Before we even knew about it, ATC had already found us an alternative ship and held cabins on board for us in case our ship was not able to make it down. This was a life-saver, as indeed the original voyage was cancelled. ATC made all necessary itinerary changes to make it all work smoothly.

The ship we ended up on, Sea Spirit run by Poseidon Expeditions, was excellent. A luxury ship but with an expedition focus - the best of both worlds! The expedition crew on board were always ready with lectures, workshops, and answers to all of our questions. With biologists, geologists, geographers, glaciologists, professional photographer etc. all on board, there was no shortage of expertise.

Hayley and the rest of the team at Antarctica Travel Centre were amazing throughout, always friendly and helpful, and all the accommodations, excursions, local tours and transfers arranged were fantastic. I would highly recommend their services to anyone planning a trip to South America and/or Antarctica.

Jaz F.

Confused as to what we paid for. Entry fee is a bit pricey considering what’s involved in the centre and especially depending on time you go as you won’t get the full experience. We arrived at 1110 and paid our admission to be told that the next Hägglunds Field Trip was not until 1:40 (over a 2 hour wait) which at first we were fine with thinking we’d kill time with the activities…. Boy were we wrong. There was not much to do inside. The storm room was over crowded and hard to get inside with storms running every hour…considering the queues it would have been nicer to have this running more frequently. The lines for the 4D cinemas was insane (however once you were inside it was pretty cool). The huskys were only out at 11 & 3 which we were never told on admission so we missed that. We were in there for an hour and a half - most of this was just waiting in queues. Then decided it wasn’t worth staying as we had done all the activities with another hour to wait until the Hägglunds Field Trip (so we decided to miss this). Feeling disappointed and down nearly $130 NZD between the two of us we felt ripped off by this experience. If you’re really interested in Antartica would recommended as it is an interesting place but definitely make sure you go outside of peek times and maybe call ahead to see what time the husky’s are out so you can at least experience everything, otherwise if you’re paying all that money and not even getting all the experience what’s the point?

Brian M.

My trip to Antarctica over Christmas 2017 with One Ocean Expeditions was one of the most sensational trips I have done ever...and, at the age of 65, I have done many across all seven continents over the last 40 years.
The ship was very comfortable and the ship's crew did a great job of getting us to the most amazing places and keeping us safe at all times. The food was plentiful and delicious and the dining staff did a great job every mealtime.
The hospitality and expedition staff were just fantastic; helpful and friendly beyond all expectations and nothing was to much trouble. The quality of the presentations given by experts throughout the trip was capitivating and fascinating.
It goes without saying that the scenery and the animals and our close up interaction with them was nothing less than a privelege very few people get to see and enjoy.
Many of my fellow passengers, from various parts of the world, with ages ranging from 12 years old to late 70's, were fascinating. This was no ordinary cruise. This was an expedition ship with 90 passengers who, for 48 of us, Antarctica was our seventh continent. A wealth of travel tales and information.
We had a lot of fun. got made an honoury member of staff and also accompanied a staff member on guitar when we played Christmas carols at Christmas lunch plus an old Scottish whalers folk song at night in the bar. A great time on board and many friends were made!

Of course, all of this was facilitated and seemlessly arranged by Jen from South America Travel Centre down there in Melbourne.

The service from her and her colleagues has been second to none, well beyond service I get at many other places. They listened to my needs and came up with a great itinerary for me. The hotels, flights etc all great and you arranged everything making it very easy for me.

A huge thanks for all your help and congratulations to you and your company for providing such a unique and unforgetable experience for people like me to enjoy.

Caroline A.

At short notice Hayley organised a five week South American Antarctic trip in November December 2015 for the two of us. The trip from Valparaiso, the Lakes District and down to Patagonia lead to the pinnacle of the trip an 18 day cruise through the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula. All excursions and connections were all well organised and picked out the must see places. We were really well looked after and even with last minute flight changes all our connecting flights were looked after without us knowing. Hayley and the team at Antarctica Travel Centre did a top job of organising our trip of a lifetime. Next time when we do a similar trip we will be calling Hayley to arrange our trip. They certainly know how to put a good itinerary together.

Maxine E.

I made an appointment to discuss a future Antarctica trip and met with an agent where we had a lengthy discussion. Details of possible expeditions were to follow via email. It is now 2 months since our discussion and still no email nor details of availability.
I sent an email to an email address on the agents business card which bounced back. I then rang Antarctica Travel thinking the agent had unexpectedly departed and was told they were very busy and try another email address!! The receptionist was going to pass on the message to the said agent.
I then emailed to ask why I hadn't received any email. Again no response.
To date no email nor details have been forthcoming.
Obviously they aren't interested in customer service!
Would I use them - NO!
I have made a booking through another expedition agency - their loss!
I am not happy - the availability of accommodation on our chosen cruise was very limited after wasting the months in anticipation of a return call or reassuring email.
Not good enough Antarctica Travel.

Mel H.