The Drake Passage is the toll booth of Antarctica and it deserves an honest telling. Two days south from Ushuaia across the roughest stretch of ocean on the planet, and the same two days back. Some crossings are the feared Drake Shake, thirty-foot swells and crackers for dinner; plenty are the Drake Lake, flat enough for yoga on deck.

You cannot book the weather, but you can prepare: modern expedition ships carry stabilizers that earlier polar travelers would have traded limbs for, the patch or pills work best started before sailing, and mid-ship cabins on lower decks move least. The crossing days are not lost time; they are filled with lectures that turn the landings ahead from scenery into meaning.

And for travelers who want the continent without the crossing, fly-cruise itineraries hop the Drake by plane from Punta Arenas and join the ship in the South Shetlands. It costs more. For some stomachs it is the best money in travel.